They say birds of a feather flock together. Well, together we can support bird research at Bernheim. Donate to Bernheim through Kentucky Gives Day on Tuesday, May 14, and help us raise $20,000 toward installing Motus wildlife tracking stations at Bernheim, the first of its kind of conservation research capability in Kentucky.
Your donation will also have a flock! Thanks to a generous donor, we have a $10,000 in a dollar-for-dollar match on May 14 only. So if you donate even $10, your donation will become $20 (up to $10,000).
As you may know, Bernheim has a history of bird research. Since 2013, we have been tracking an eastern golden eagle on his journey between Kentucky and Canada each spring and fall. In 2019, we began tracking a second eagle, a female, perhaps making them the first pair of golden eagles ever tracked in the eastern United States. Installing Motus at Bernheim will substantially increase our bird research capabilities, becoming one of the leading bird research facilities in the state.
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an international network of researchers using coordinated base stations to study movements of wildlife at local, regional, and hemispheric scales. Motus base stations allow animals tracked by other research projects throughout North and South America to be detected along with Bernheim tagged animals. This information feeds into the larger Motus database, which adds to the research community’s knowledge base of bird and other wildlife migration. Through this system, Bernheim will learn which birds are migrating through our forest from other research projects, adding to our understanding of how birds use Bernheim Forest.
Since 2012, more than 16,581 individuals of over 171 species of birds and other wildlife have been tracked by over 232 projects in 28 countries. This network of 525 partners and collaborators tracks wildlife during all phases of the annual cycle (breeding, migration, and nonbreeding), and at a variety of spatial scales, resulting in novel insights into the movement behavior of small flying animals.
Our goal is to install Motus this year, allowing us to track 25 individual birds by installing a series of solar-powered antennae and tracking chips. Base stations would be installed at Bernheim near the Education Center and the Fire Tower.
How can you help? Donate to Bernheim this Kentucky Gives Day. We have a $20,000 goal, but with our dollar-for-dollar match, we just need you to help us raise $10,000. This $20,000 will go directly toward helping Bernheim become a leading bird research institution in the state and beyond.
Kentucky Gives Day is an online 24-hour annual fundraising event hosted by the Kentucky Nonprofit Network, which brings charities and Kentuckians—near and far—together for a powerful day of action. Each year, the event gives Kentuckians the opportunity to support causes they care about and gives Kentucky’s nonprofits the opportunity to share their amazing stories—all through one giving site and in just 24 hours!
Kentucky Gives Day has raised nearly over $1.7 million in partnership with participating nonprofits since it was launched in 2012.