If your New Year's resolution is to help birds, one way to do that is to take an Earthwatch Institute working vacation. Most trips involve spending two weeks observing and documenting birds. For example, you can study macaws in the Peruvian Amazon (http://www.earthwatch.org/expeditions/brightsmith.html) or study the waterbirds of the Kakadu National Park, Australia (http://www.earthwatch.org/expeditions/dorfman.html).
The cost of an Earthwatch trip provides funding for the research, as well as food and lodging. All expenses are tax deductible, including your airfare to reach the research site. For more information on trips taking place in 2001, contact Earthwatch Institute, (800) 776-0188, or e-mail: info@earthwatch.org, or visit www.earthwatch.org.