January Speaker Series | Bird Monitoring Program in Belize
Abidas Ash, bird biologist and lead bird bander for the program in Belize, will talk about the current MoSI (Monitoring of Overwintering Survival of Neotropical Migrants) program and how they have been working as a network. She will talk about the current status of each station, providing data on total banded birds, species diversity, and interesting finds so far. In addition, she will talk about the future of the program and bird conservation in Belize.
Abidas Ash is from Belize and grew up learning about sustainable agriculture, permaculture, and conservation from her parents, who have been practicing sustainable farming for 50+ years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Management from the University of Belize. As an undergrad, she learned about bird conservation and bird monitoring techniques. She worked at a field station for 2 ½ years, where she expanded her skills and knowledge in bird banding. She then joined the University of Belize Environmental Research Institute, where she has been leading the MoSI program for the past six years. She is the lead bird bander for the different MoSI stations and has conducted many training sessions and demonstrations with students and community members.
