FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Pronatura Veracruz World Series of Birding team

["Andy Rabin" <andyrabin@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Virginia Birders,

This year's World Series of Birding (WSB) is just around the corner, and for
the 7th straight year the Holy Order of Loggerhead Shrikes will be birding
for 24 hours in Cape May to help support Pronatura Veracruz
(http://www.pronaturaveracruz.org/). It is my hope that some of you will be
willing to make a pledge this year to help support our team and Pronatura.
This year's big day will take place on Saturday, May 13th. The team will be
competing for the Cape Island Cup, which is the award given for the team
that finds the most species south of the Cape May Canal. It's a small area
at the tip of Cape May, but has several great birding hotspots within it. I
don't know if we will be able to find our usual 150 species that we see in
the entire county, but we're going to give it a try.

We will be sponsored again this year by Eagle Optics
(http://www.eagleoptics.com/). My two teammates this year will be John
Hubbell (DC) and Gordon Gover (NJ). Unfortunately, team captain and founding
member Don Simonson (MD) has an injury that will prevent him from competing.

This year, as in the past, 100% OF YOUR DONATIONS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO
PRONATURA VERACRUZ. Pronature Veracruz is probably best known for their
"River of Raptors" conservation program in which they count and study the
MILLIONS of raptors that pass through Veracruz, Mexico each year. Here is a
brief note that Norma Ferriz, executive director of Pronatura Veracruz, sent
to me to pass along to give you a better idea of how helpful your donations
are:

 ---------------

Dear Friends,

We are honored to be supported by the great team of the Holy Order of
Loggerhead Shrikes once again. They are indeed a very good team and their
long-term commitment to support us is creating a difference! We hope they
are joined once again by many of you who have supported us through them in
the past, and by new people as well. As you know here in Mexico we "get more
for the buck" in terms of investments. Since we are located in the point
where the most migratory raptors concentrate in the world, research done
here is very efficient in terms of providing data for raptor population
trends. We also do research and work towards conservation of passerines and
aquatic birds. We are also happy that we work with many partners, so we can
better leverage resources. We continue working in seven different strategies
that together have an impact: Generation and management of information,
environmental education, sustainable community development, habitat and
species management, strategic communications, advocacy and institutional
development. Yet the road to follow is still very long and we have many
challenges ahead in terms of reducing the impact of threats. Sometimes we
get a bit frustrated that we are losing the race against those threats, but
like the Holy Order of Loggerhead Shrikes, we continue doing our best effort
till the end, because every single bird counts, and every single step
towards conservation counts! Thank you for your support.



Norma Ferriz



 ---------------

If you would like to make a pledge to support our team and Pronatura
Veracruz, either for a flat amount or an amount for each species we find in
Cape May, please visit our website (http://www.holyshrikes.com) and fill out
the pledge form, or send me an e-mail directly: andyrabin@xxxxxxxxxxxx

The Shrikes and Pronatura Veracruz thank you for your support!

Andy Rabin
Leesburg, VA

You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email 
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.