University of California Research Expeditions: Bird Behavior and Conservation Studies Take Wing for Spring and Summer. Still waiting for those vacation plans to take flight? Leave your nest this spring or summer with the University of California Research Expeditions Program and team up with university researchers examining bird behavior and conservation efforts in Costa Rica, Venezuela or China.

Even with no previous research experience, volunteers become full-fledged members of the research team, with opportunities for hands-on experience. For the year 2000, UREP offers several expeditions geared specifically "for the birds." Participants in these expeditions will have opportunities to actively study wildlife and collect data while enjoying the experience of international travel.

Both backyard birdwatchers and experienced ornithologists will delight in watching the gregarious white-throated magpie-jay flit from treetop to treetop in the lush Costa Rican rainforest. With their UREP project leader, participants will put their observational skills to the test in order to learn more about the nesting and breeding habits of these feathered forest residents. This study, the first of its kind, will explore cooperative breeding and the magpie-jay's unique family dynamics.

For those more interested in conservation, travel to the Mai Po wetlands in China, a natural resource where thousands of waterbirds rest and feed during their long migration South. The Mai Po ponds and marshes sustain hundreds of species of sandpipers, spoonbills and warblers; but development from the nearby city of Hong Kong threatens this area. The UREP team will evaluate the water quality of the freshwater ponds so that improved conservation management can be implemented there in the near future.

A third UREP team will leave the binoculars behind and get up-close-and-personal with a flock of Orinoco geese that live in the central Venezuelan plains. These majestic birds are rarely studied outside of captivity, and their numbers are dwindling due to vanishing habitats. To combat present population declines, researchers are studying the effectiveness of nest boxes - a substitute for the birds' natural tree cavity nests. UREP participants will assist scientists to evaluate the effectiveness of the nest boxes and, hopefully, help efforts to save these threatened birds.

Fly the coop with UREP this summer and help expand scientific knowledge of the planet's past and present while encountering the sights, sounds and cultures of distant lands. Projects run from April to August and generally last two weeks. Costs average at $1200, but because these contributions support University of California research, they are tax-deductible.

For more information, see the web page at http://urep.ucdavis.edu, or Contact Melissa Gibson, Marketing Coordinator, or Jean Colvin, Program Director, at (530) 752-0692 or E-mail: urep@ucdavis.edu.