BIRD MONITORING AND BANDING VOLUNTEERS (4-6). Ecuador Cloud Forest Bird Banding Expedition II - Bilingual Program. Join Dr. Dusti Becker for an exciting 2- week research expedition in the Andes of western Ecuador, 15-28 Aug 2010. Dr. Becker, a well-known tropical avian ecologist with over 15 years of experience in Ecuador, will lead the field project with assistance from experienced Ecuadorian field assistants, Pascual and MauricioTorres. Volunteers help with mist-netting of birds at Las Tangaras Reserve, Mindo, Ecuador to advance scientific understanding of a cloud forest avian community and species tolerances for deforestation and grazing. Your contribution of $1500 to the non-profit conservation organization Life Net is tax deductible and is used to sustain the reserve, while covering your transportation in Ecuador, meals, & lodging during the conservation research program. Las Tangaras boasts more than 25 species of hummingbird, a cock-of-the-rock arena, and fabulous numbers of Choco and Andean endemic bird species. Volunteers help set up and monitor mist nets, extract birds from nets, carry birds from nets to a banding station, and record basic ecological data. Bilingual volunteers can contribute to environmental education and ecotourism training. Volunteers will have some afternoons free to explore and/or bird the Mindo area. The expedition begins and ends in Quito. Contact DUSTI BECKER (EM: dbecker AT lifenetnature.org) for further details. Experience with mist-netting is desirable, but not required. Visit the Volunteer page (URL: http://www.lifenetnature.org) for more details.