Braddock Bay Bird Observatory

In 1985, a group of citizen scientists founded the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory, with a mission dedicated to ornithological research, education, and conservation. Our objectives are:

• To study and monitor the status and ecology of birds including, but not limited to, migration, breeding and wintering birds.
• To provide a place where avian research will be fostered and supported, and data pooled and stored to be available to amateur and professional biologists and students carrying out appropriate research.
• To educate the public in all aspects of avian life, including bird banding, migration, conservation and ecology, and thereby increase awareness and appreciation of wildlife values.
• To develop and promote sound stewardship of avian and other wildlife resources and of the environments upon which wildlife and people depend.
• To cooperate with organizations with similar objectives.

BBBO is located just west of Rochester on the shore of Lake Ontario. This area is a focal point of bird activity, especially during spring and fall migration when it is possible to see over 130 species of songbirds.

Migrating birds use the lakeshore as a stopover site - as a place to rest and refuel. Suitable stopover sites are critical in the life-cycle of birds, as a lack of adequate resources along the journey may contribute to declining populations. BBBO's scientific program is aimed at understanding how birds use stopover sites, so that we can then focus our conservation efforts on preserving appropriate sites

Each year, we band and release thousands of songbirds in an effort to document and understand how they behave during migration. We additionally serve as a field research site for students and professors conducting more than a dozen projects related to avian physiology, ecology and behavior.

BBBO also believes that education must be part of any conservation effort. Every day during the banding season, we open our doors to the public. Annually we host more than 900 visitors from the US and abroad. Visitors include groups from local colleges and universities; public schools and home school associations; book clubs, boy scout troops, hiking clubs, and other groups. We are open to the public, and we welcome drop-in guests of all ages.

We participate in educational outreach events including Spring into Nature at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Imagine RIT, and the Birds of Prey Days at Braddock Bay Raptor Research.

We are one of a handful of observatories in the US and Canada that offers structured training for new banders. We teach four week-long adult classes annually, and we also offer a teen day camp aimed at encouraging local youth to become environmental stewards.

We are run entirely by volunteers, and all our programs and events are funded by memberships and donations.