Our Crowdfunding Groups
Each spring, the Biology of Birds class at the University of Texas at Austin trains 20-40 students in the art and science of field ornithology. The course is a capstone experience for upper-level undergraduate students covering all aspects of bird biology from evolution to conservation. Students learn to identify Texas birds in the field by participating in weekly half-day field trips and two weekend excursions. Past weekenders have included the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Anahuac/High Island. These trips are not covered by programmatic funds and are beyond the minimum requirements for contact hours. However we believe that students must observe nature before they can learn to study nature as scientists. Students are required to detail their observations of 100 species of birds over the semester. The student record so far is more than 230 species.
Because of the fast pace of our weekend field trips, we stay in local hotels and grab meals on the run. These trips are optional and students must pay out-of-pocket for food and lodging. We would like to relieve students of the extra cost of weekend field trips so that all students can participate irrespective of financial concerns. With your generous support, we can make that happen.
Field biology courses are disappearing from biology curricula nationwide owing to high costs per student. For some students, a field course is their first in-depth experience with natural history and a vital piece of biological training. If you would like to support the Biology of Birds course at UT Austin beyond the levels presented here, please contact us.
Buy dinner for a hungry student who spent half the day running through salt marsh looking for rails.
Buy dinner for 2-3 hungry students. They see more birds when fed.
Fund a hotel room for 2-4 students for one night. Zzzzzzz. You will get a signed thank you note from supported students.
Fund 2-4 students' hotel room for two nights. They will need the rest. You will get a signed thank you note from the class.
You generous support will fund 4-8 students' food and lodging for the weekend. You will get a signed trip bird list, a thank you note from the class, and a copy of our trip portrait from the field.
You generous support will fund 8-16 students for the weekend trip. You will get a signed trip bird list, a thank you note from the class, and a copy of our trip portrait from the field.
Your generous support will fund our field trips for the semester, maintenance and improvement of our bird specimen collection, class optics collection and field guide library. You will get signed trip bird lists, thank you notes from the class, and a copy of our trip portrait from the field.
Your generous support will fund our field trips for the semester and future semesters, maintenance and improvement of our bird specimen collection, class optics collection and field guide library. You will get signed trip bird lists, thank you notes from the class, and a copy of our trip portrait from the field.
