Events

Speaker: Benjamin Jacobs-Schwartz
Host: Doug Waterman
Date: November 12, 2020
Start time: 7:30 PM
End time: 9:30 PM

Description:  International Bird guide, naturalist and photographer, Benny Jacobs-Schwartz will share his dazzling bird photos, captivating videos, and animated story-telling to bring a slice of the tropics to your screen!

Delving into topics of migration, tropical speciation, and bio-diversity, this media rich journey will share some of the fascinating and unique birds that inhabit the new-world tropics. Designed to both educate and entertain, this presentation will certainly leave you with a deeper understanding of tropical ecology, and knowledge about where some of our backyard birds spend their winters!

Benny Isaac Jacobs-Schwartz owns and operates a bird guiding business and lifestyle brand called BIRDS by BIJS (pronounced Bee-jus). Working seasonally as a naturalist guide, expedition trip leader, and international bird guide, Benny works in a variety of locations. Most recently bringing him to such exotic places like coastal Alaska, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Ecuadorian cloud forest.

Seasonally Benny or BIJS, is based in Los Angeles, where he leads public and private birding adventures to urban hotspots. He is also a passionate photographer, specializing in birds. He uses his impressive collection of content to leverage his prolific social media presence. Benny hopes his love of the natural world will inspire others to conserve the open spaces around them and look up more often from their phones!

CLICK HERE to join the Zoom Speaker Series Event. A Q&A will follow the presentation. To ask a question use the Chat feature on Zoom.

Please contact for questions regarding Marin Audubon's Speaker Series events.

Speaker: John Sterling
Host: Doug Waterman
Date:  January 14, 2021
Start time: 7:30 PM
End time: 9:30 PM

CLICK HERE to register for the Zoom Speaker Series Event. A Q&A will follow the presentation. To ask a question use the Chat feature on Zoom.

John will discuss the changes in our knowledge of bird distribution and populations in the Central Valley since the publication of Grinnell and Miller’s book on California birds in the 1940s. Loss of habitats, creation of new habitats, reduction of ranges, invasions of new species and other topics will be explored as we reconcile the fact that more species are detected now than prior to the book’s publication.

John is a professional ornithologist and has worked for the Smithsonian Institution, US Forest Service research stations, HT Harvey & Associates, Arizona and Oregon state universities among other organizations since 1981.  John has traveled extensively throughout California learning about local bird distribution and is an authority on that state’s avifauna. In 2015 he set the California's new big year record with 501 species and has many big day records as well. John currently has his own company, Sterling Wildlife Biology (www.sterlingbirds.com), specializing in tours, birding classes, research and environmental consulting for The Nature Conservancy, National Audubon’s International Alliance Program, CA Dept. of Water Resources among other organizations.

Speaker: Roger Harris
Host: Doug Waterman
Date: February 11, 2021
Start time: 7:30 PM
End time: 9:30 PM
Please sign up HERE

Many of our common Marin County birds, whose abundance we now take for granted, were rare or absent only three-quarters of a century ago. Since the beginning of the Southern Marin Christmas Bird County in the 1970s, for instance, Red-shouldered Hawk detections have increased tenfold. Habitat restoration and maturation, conservation efforts, and cultural changes in the behavior of individual bird species have all contributed to shifting – and, for Marin, generally increasing – bird populations. 

Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, and Great Blue Herons, which had been extirpated from the Bay Area, returned in the mid-twentieth century.  Black-necked Stilts were first recorded nesting in our marshes in the mid-1960s, followed by American Avocets in 1984.  In 1996, Forster’s Terns nested in Corte Madera Shorebird Marsh for the first time in Marin County.

The dean of California ornithology, Joseph Grinnell, wrote in 1915 that the Ridgway’s Rail “seems destined to early extinction.”  The rail is the logo bird of the Marin Audubon Society and conservation advocacy efforts have made Grinnell’s prediction of a century ago at least premature.

Our speaker, Roger Harris, will unpack the evolving dynamics of avifaunal population change using data from Christmas Bird Counts, the Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas, and a variety of other sources. Roger is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and a longtime member of the Marin Audubon Society. Once the pandemic resolves, he hopes to return to leading international eco-tours for the Oceanic Society.

Photo courtesy of Roger Harris

Speakers: Miles and Teresa Tuffli
Host: Doug Waterman
Date: March 11
Start time: 7:30 PM
End time: 9:30 PM
CLICK HERE to join the Zoom Speaker Series

Photo credit: Green Heron by Teresa & Miles Tuffli

Join Teresa and Miles Tuffli as they take you on a virtual birding-by-kayak trip along the lower Russian River in Sonoma County. A leisurely paddle is an ideal way to experience the wildlife the Russian River has to offer on a gorgeous summer day. Herons, swallows, raptors, ducks, and songbirds galore are easily observed while quietly moving along the tranquil river. They'll share some of their favorite photos and audio recordings captured while kayaking and map out their preferred launch spot and route. 

Miles and Teresa Tuffli are avid birders from Guerneville who especially love helping “bird-curious” folks take the next step of getting into the field to enjoy the bird world! They lead guided bird walks and give educational presentations for local organizations including the PRNSA Field Institute, Redwood Region Ornithological Society, Laguna Foundation, and Sonoma Land Trust. Residents of West Sonoma County for 11 years, Miles and Teresa also enjoy writing about and documenting our local birds at their website: I’m Birding Right Now ( https://imbirdingrightnow.com).

Speaker: Daniel Edelstein
Host: Doug Waterman
Date: April 15th, 2021
Start time: 7:30 PM
End Time: 9:30 PM
Register for Zoom Webinar HERE

• Which wood-warbler species typically nest annually in in Marin County and the North Bay region?
• Which are year-round residents and when do returning spring migrant species arrive?
• And why do vagrant wood-warblers in fall visit the Outer Point at Point Reyes National Seashore?

These questions and others will be addressed in this virtual, Zoom slide show highlighting one of our area’s most captivating bird families.

In creating this program, Avian Biologist and Birding Guide Daniel Edelstein utilizes his 30+ years of watching wood-warblers throughout the USA to discuss both common and rare Marin County/North Bay wood-warbler species.  

A professional Birding Guide (WarblerWatch.com) since the mid-1980s, Daniel Edelstein works full-time as a freelance, Consulting Avian Biologist, Environmental Scientist, and is a Certified Wildlife Biologist Associate. He has presented birding programs and led tours in more than 20 USA states. In addition, he teaches college-level birding classes as an Adjunct Faculty member in the Biology Department at Merritt College (Oakland, CA) (Merritt.edu). His popular blog — WarblerWatch.blogspot.com — featuring wood-warbler articles and photo quizzes is now 15 years old.

Photo credit: Wilson's Warbler by Elyse Omernick

Speaker: Amie MacDonald
Host: Doug Waterman
Date: May 13, 2021
Start time: 7:30 PM
End time: 9:30 PM
Register for the Zoom Meeting HERE

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System, is an international collaborative research network that uses automated radio telemetry to track birds, bats, and insects. This presentation will include an overview of the Motus system, which consists of a large number of receiving-towers strategically placed all over the world. When a tagged bird (or butterfly) passes within range of a tower, its presence is recorded and incorporated into a database accessible to interested investigators wherever they may be. (And, yes, the system has also been used to track butterfly migration.) 

The network is rapidly expanding as more and more ornithologists and researchers seek to determine what can be done to conserve and enhance survival for these beautiful animals.

Amie MacDonald works as the Western Motus Coordinator for Birds Canada, and is currently working to expand the Motus Wildlife Tracking System in British Columbia. Previously, she studied Red Knots during migratory stopover on the James Bay coast, and has also spent several years working as a field technician, primarily with shorebirds in James Bay and the Bay of Fundy, but also with seabirds, passerines, and small mammals on various projects.  She loves being in the field and is interested in migration, population ecology, and the conservation of highly mobile species.

Photo: Tagged bird prepared for Motus Tracking System

Speaker: John Shewey
Date: June 10, 2021
Start time: 7:30 PM
End time: 9:00 PM
Register for Zoom meeting HERE

Hummingbirds amaze and intrigue us. Their high-speed enigmatic lifestyles are a blur; their startling colors and exotic behaviors are delights. Hummingbirds also inspire us—they are like tiny ambassadors with the power to usher people into a deeper interest in and appreciation for the natural world. Author John Shewey taps into the intrigue in this program based on his new book, The Hummingbird Handbook. Join John for this fun-filled program and learn more about hummingbirds, how to attract them, how to cater to them, and how to be a great hummingbird host in your yard.

Lifelong birding enthusiast John Shewey is a veteran writer, editor, and professional outdoor photographer, with credits in Birdwatching, along with dozens of other magazines and he is co-author of Birds of the Pacific Northwest, a Timber Land Press Field Guide. John has photographed birds from the mountains of Alaska to the jungles of Central America to the islands of the Caribbean, and his website chronicles many of these travels in rich photographic detail. Visit him at birdingoregon.com.

Speaker: Wendy Dreskin
Host: Missy Crowe
Date: September 9, 2021
Start time: 7:30 PM
End time: 9:30 PM
Please register for the Zoom Webinar HERE

Famous for having the biggest concentrations of large mammals on the planet, Tanzania is also an exciting birding destination.  This presentation will feature birds travelers would be likely to see on a safari to Northern Tanzania in the winter, before migratory birds have left for their breeding grounds, as well as some of the large mammals. Birds you will meet include the Hammerkop, a compulsive nest-builder, the Sacred Ibis, extirpated from Egypt but easily seen in Tanzania, the vulnerable Southern Ground Hornbill, the endangered Saddlebilled Stork and other storks, Ostriches, Coursers, Bee Eaters, the Secretary Bird, and a variety of eagles.

 Wendy Dreskin is a professional nature educator.  She has been teaching the popular class, Meandering in Marin, at College of Marin for over 20 years as well as teaching nature education classes for children. She has been leading trips to Tanzania since 2014.  

Photos in the presentation are by William Dreskin, an award-winning photographer whose photographs have appeared in books and magazines including Marin, and Bay Nature. He has exhibited in numerous galleries and national exhibitions, and his photographs are in private and corporate collections.

Photo by Willam Dreskin
Photo caption: "Superb Starling"

Speaker: Alison Quoyeser 
Host: Doug Waterman
Date: October 14, 2021
Start time: 7:30 PM by Alison Quoyeser
End time: 8:30 PM
Please register for the Zoom webinar HERE

Photo: Amigos Alados Bird Observation Walk by Alison Quoyeser

How do we teach the younger generation to know and care about birds? How do we raise the next generation of conservationists? This presentation will be about Amigos Alados, an environmental education and pen pal program founded 14 years ago to address those questions. Amigos Alados links school classes in California and Mexico in the study of 16 migratory birds that they share. The program uses bird studies to guide children towards becoming stewards of the environment, as well offering an opportunity for cultural and scientific exchange across the US-Mexico border.

Alison is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Amigos Alados. Upon retiring from 28 years of teaching at a local elementary school, she has been able to devote much of her time to the project. She is also a faculty member with STRAW or Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed, which is the educational arm of Point Blue Conservation Science. She works with students in the Bay Area to raise awareness of birds and their habitats, watershed ecology, and environmental restoration, as well as to instill cultural appreciation of our friends in Mexico.