Q-C biologist seeks pledges for China 'bird-athon'

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By Alma Gaul | Tuesday, October 14, 2008 11:43 PM CDT | () comments

Hampton, Ill., wildlife biologist and birder extraordinaire Kelly McKay is seeking the public’s help in furthering the cause of bird conservation in China through an unusual “bird-athon.”

In November, he and at least three other Midwest birders will travel to China at their own expense to spend three weeks documenting all of the birds they see in an area of southeast/south-central China. They are asking for pledges based on each species that they record.

The money will go toward organizing the first bird conservation organization in China and fostering educational programs about the importance of birds in ecosystems and the need to preserve bird habitat, he said.

While Americans may take for granted the existence of such organizations as the national Audubon Society and the idea that wild birds are a limited resource that, in many instances, needs protection to survive, “there is nothing like that in China,” said Ric Zarwell of Lansing, Iowa, who is organizing the bird-athon.

In China, wild birds often are eaten as food or captured and put in cages as pets, he said.

“That is why this is so important,” he said. “They need to see birds in a different light, and that is the educational challenge. We would be getting in on the ground floor, helping them get started.”

The project began when Zarwell met Ximin Wang, a Chinese graduate student in bird conservation at Zarwell’s alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Wang, the only editor of China’s only ornithological journal, explained how he wanted to set up a conservation organization that would raise awareness about the role birds play in the Earth’s ecosystems, and Zarwell came up with the bird-athon.

Not only would it raise money, but it also would provide baseline data on what kinds of birds, and how many, inhabit that particular area of China, which includes tropical forests and wetlands. Existing bird guides are inadequate, McKay said.

The researchers expect to find 250-300 species, so someone pledging 10 cents per species would be obligated for $25 to $30. Or one could make a flat-rate pledge.

“We’re going to be birding around the clock to see as many as possible,” said McKay, who previously has birded in Thailand, Panama, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and four African countries.

TO MAKE A PLEDGE

Pledge sheets are available at Wild Birds Unlimited, 3616 Eastern Ave., Davenport, and Pete Petersen’s Wild Bird Shop, 1108 Jersey Ridge Road, in the Village of East Davenport. Or you can write to Kelly McKay at P.O. Box 452, Hampton, IL 61256, with your name, address, telephone number and the amount of your pledge.

When McKay returns from China, he will let you know how much you owe. Checks will be made out to the International Crane Foundation, a registered nonprofit organization based near Baraboo, Wis. The foundation will send receipts for tax-deduction

purposes.

Alma Gaul can be contacted at (563) 383-2324 or agaul@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.