The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is the only scientific institution dedicated solely to studying migratory birds. The center is located at the Bird House at the National Zoo, newly reopened after a six-year, $69 million remodel. We’ll tour the facility with ornithologist Dr. Brian Evans to learn about the current understanding of threats to bird populations, how to be better environmental stewards for birds, and how the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the Bird House use science to inform conservation. The tour will especially highlight what we have learned about how birds respond to the environment in the metropolitan Washington DC region.
Our visit will include:
- Introduction to the Bird House/Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the core mission of conserving migratory bird species.
- Lesson on how to bird like a pro.
- Guided tour of the Bird House’s walk-through aviaries, which include a re-creation of the habitat of Delaware Bay full of shorebirds, the Prairie Pothole region breeding grounds with waterfowl, and a bird-friendly coffee farm featuring neotropical migrants including warblers.
- Coffee tasting featuring Bird-Friendly Coffee, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s certification program that conserves the wintering habitat of neotropical migrant birds.
- Tour of the Bird House gardens and closing conversation.
- Appropriate for ages 10 and up.
You are welcome to explore the zoo on your own for the remainder of our time. Tour time for the Migratory Bird Center is 10 am. Your registration with NHSM gets you one zoo pass for entry into the National Zoo at 930 am. Parking is not included. Parking passes are the participant’s responsibility and are released one month in advance, on May 20. Passes may sell out: purchase yours earlier than later. Public transportation is also available.
Click here to reserve a parking pass: Reserve Parking Pass. Click the middle box labeled, “PARKING + ENTRY PASS.” You do not need to add an entry pass. Cost is $30 per vehicle. No re-entry, standard-sized parking spaces only, and refundable up to one day before the ticket date.
The exact meeting location will be listed in your confirmation email after registration has been received.
While this activity is free of charge through the Smithsonian, your registration fee covers our cost in planning, event management, and trip moderation this program for you.
For questions, please email Jayne at JAsh@marylandnature.org.