An enthusiastic group of some 200 scientists, ornithologists, conservationists, students and educators from across the Caribbean and beyond will flock to the vibrant city of Kingston, Jamaica next month. They will attend the 20th International Meeting of BirdsCaribbean at the Knutsford Court Hotel from July 25 – 29, 2015. The theme of the meeting is “Birds—Connecting Communities and Conservation.” Members of the Local Organizing Committee include the Forestry Department, Hope Gardens, Jamaica Conservation Development Trust, Caribbean Coastal Area Management Foundation, BirdLife Jamaica, Windsor Research Centre and others. For registration and other details, go to 2015Meeting.BirdsCaribbean.org

The conference has plenty to offer in an unusually urban setting. By contrast, participants will also venture out on exciting field trips to the Blue Mountains and Cockpit Country among other locations, and bird-watching sessions around Kingston – an opportunity to see some of Jamaica’s 29 remarkable endemic birds, or perhaps all of them!

BirdsCaribbean invites interested members of the public to a special “Jamaica Day” at the Knutsford Court Hotel on Saturday, July 25; and to a fund-raising workshop conducted by Mazarine Treyz (Wild Woman Fundraising) on Tuesday, July 28. Seminars, training workshops and roundtable discussions will enable conference delegates to network and share their research and latest conservation efforts in Jamaica and across the region. Activities will include a pre-conference taxidermy workshop with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; a symposium on Invasive Alien Species and sessions on Event Photography, Seabird Conservation, Forest Endemics, the Ecological Value of Migrants in the Caribbean, and much more. There is a brilliant lineup of keynote speakers and experts from the Caribbean, the U.S., Canada and Europe. A summer camp at Hope Zoo for children from selected schools is also on the calendar.

Do you love taking photographs? A highlight of the meeting will be a Photography Competition, open to all participants eighteen years and over, reflecting the theme of the conference. Full details can be found on the meeting website.

BirdsCaribbean (formerly the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds) is a non-profit organization committed to the conservation of wild birds and their habitats in the insular Caribbean. More than 80,000 local people participate in its programs each year, making it the most broad-based conservation organization in the region. Find “Birds Caribbean” on Facebook and on Twitter @BirdsCaribbean.