Thursday April 13, 2023 - 7:00 pm
California Condor – Forever Free
Speaker: Kurt Leuschner
Register HERE for this Speaker Series Program

In this presentation you will learn about the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) – one of the largest and rarest birds in the world.  Topics covered include:  their conservation and natural history, recovery, reintroduction, and on-going preservation efforts (past and present), fun facts, and locations to see condors in the wild.

Kurt Leuschner is a Professor of Natural Resources at College of the Desert where he teaches courses on Conservation, Entomology, Field Ornithology, Native Plants and GPS Navigation.  He has a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology from U.C. Santa Barbara and a Master’s in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida.  He is the founder of the Desert Cities Bird Club and is the past president of Western Field Ornithologists and the Natural Science Collaborative of the Desert.  His most recent publications are the Palms to Pines Birding and Nature Trail map and brochure and a Field Guide to Desert Golf Course Wildlife.  Kurt also teaches weekend courses and workshops on birdwatching, insect, PGS and backyard habitats.  His most recent research project involved the sound recording of the various subspecies of North American Scrub-Jays.

Photo: California Condor
Photo by: US Fish & Wildlife Service

Thursday May 18, 2023
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Bob Lewis
Please register HERE for this Speaker Series

Islands have played a key role in both the development of new avian species and the extinction of others. Because they are isolated land masses, species which arrive on islands evolve separately from their parent group and through genetic drift eventually become unique. But because island species are restricted to small areas and have small populations, they are also susceptible to chance events, human-caused pressures, and predation by introduced species and introduced diseases.

In this presentation, we will focus on the wonders of these unique island species, as well as discuss some of the issues and threats to island avians.

Bob Lewis trained as a chemist and worked in the energy field for 33 years. He’s taught birding classes in the Bay Area for over 25 years and served as the chair of Golden Gate Audubon’s Adult Education Committee.  Recently he’s been giving classes and talks via Zoom. Bob was honored with American Birding Association's "Chandler Robbins Award" for Education and Conservation in 2016, and Golden Gate Audubon’s "Paul Covel Education Award" in 2010 and 2017. He loves to travel and photograph birds and has chased birds in over 40 countries.  His life list is over 5000 species.

Photo Credit: Bob Lewis

Thursday June 15, 2023, 7:00 PM
Speaker: Jude Stalker
Register for this Speaker Series HERE

For almost twenty-five years Marin Audubon Society (MAS) has been acquiring wetlands (or historical wetlands) and adjacent upland properties in Marin County; restoring, stewarding, and preserving the land as valuable wildlife habitat.  Some of these properties came very close to being developed but ended up with MAS due to the perseverance of those individuals who early on understood the value and importance of wetland habitat.  Some have been stewarded by an impressive group of dedicated volunteers and enjoyed for their beauty and bountiful birdlife by many people throughout the years.

Jude Stalker will take you on a virtual tour of several of these properties and fill you in on the interesting ways that they were acquired and of how they have been restored, enhanced, and stewarded to support the many native plants and animals that are populating them now.

Jude is a wetland biologist who has worked in and around the SF bay wetlands for over twenty years.  She is a long-time member of the board of MAS and spends much of her free time volunteering to help steward the MAS (and other) properties.

Photos: Bahia Property
Photo by: Jude Stalker

Thursday September 14, 2023
7:00pm - 9pm
Speaker: Benny Jacobs-Schwartz
Register HERE for this Speaker Series

From Alaska to the high Andes of South America, join us as we explore the magic of hummingbirds!

With 360 species recognized globally, we’ll discuss their remarkable biology, expansive range, ecological significance, and the best way to attract them to your yard!  Mouth-watering media and local hummingbird ID section included!

Speaker Bio: Benny Isaac Jacobs-Schwartz owns and operates a bird-guiding business and lifestyle brand called BIRDS by BIJS (pronounced Bee-jus). Working professionally for over 10 years as a naturalist guide, expedition trip leader, and international bird guide, Benny has worked in a variety of locations coast to coast, including exotic places such as coastal Alaska, Central America, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Benny is a passionate educator and photographer, specializing in birds! Benny uses his ample collection of nature-based content to leverage an active social media presence. BIJS uses his passion for the natural world to inspire others to put down their phone and pick up their binoculars.

Photo: Sword-billed Hummingbird
Photo by: Benny Jacobs-Schwartz

Thursday October 12, 2023
7:00pm-9:00pm
Unique and Rare Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa
Speaker: John Sterling
Please register HERE for this Speaker Series

Topic:
John will take us on a virtual tour of some of Africa’s most unique and rare birds from his travels in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa, and will discuss some of the threats and challenges for some of the endangered birds and their habitats.

He will be discussing conservation issues such as climate change and loss of habitat; and many of the species in peril, such as Montane Blue Swallow, Picathartes, Shoebill and Nahan’s Partridge.  He will also talk about other bird families and species unique to the sub-Saharan region, such as Hammerkop, Ostriches, Turacos, Flufftails and Egyptian Plover.

Speaker Bio: 
John has been actively birding since 1971 and embarked on a career in ornithology while a student at Humboldt State University in 1979. He has worked for the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in Washington DC, research labs of the US Forest Service, and many other organizations in Latin America and California.

Photo: Shoebill (whale-headed stork)
Photo by: John Sterling

Thursday November 9, 2023
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Rich Cimino
Register HERE for this Speaker Series

Topic:
Rich will be discussing and showcasing his favorite birds from the Sierra Nevada.  He will share with us where he has photographed certain species and illustrate population distributions with maps.  He will be discussing their various habitat requirements and conservation concerns.

Among other birds, Rich will be showing the Flammulated Owl, Clark’s Nutcracker, American Dipper, Nashville Warbler and Black Swift.

Speaker Bio:
Rich Cimino lives in Larkspur and is an active member of the Marin Audubon Society, where he participates in three Marin Christmas Bird Counts and the Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas. He has been birding Northern California for 55 years, leading Bay Area Audubon and Marin Audubon field trips. He is also active in conservation groups in Northern California, emphasizing preservation of habitat.

Photos: Summer Tanager
Photo by: Beverly Meekins, USFWS

Next Speaker - Thursday, December 14
Controlling Invasive Spartina and Protecting SF Bay Marsh Habitats, by the California Invasive Plant Council

Thursday, December 14, 2023, 7:00 pm - 9 pm
Speaker: Jen McBroom, California Invasive Plant Council
Register HERE for this Speaker Series Program

Topic:
San Francisco Bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of North America and a critical stopover along the Pacific Flyway migration route for millions of shorebirds and waterfowl.  Rimming the Bay between freeways, airports, and landfills remain precious tidal wetlands and opportunities to return salt evaporator ponds to functioning ecosystems.  Since 2005, the Coastal Conservancy’s Invasive Spartina Project has used airboats, genetic testing, sophisticated GIS, and a lot of hard, muddy work to push back the invasive plants that threaten habitat for shorebirds, waterfowl, and the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. Learn about how hometown heroes are doing their part to address the global biodiversity crisis.

Speaker Bio:
Jen McBroom is a biologist at Olofson Environmental Inc. and has been counting Ridgway’s rails for the Invasive Spartina Project since 2005. She got her start in the tidal wetlands of the San Francisco Bay studying song sparrows and marsh wrens after finishing her degree at UC Davis. Since then, she has logged many hours in muddy boots mapping invasive plants and observing the wildlife at the edge of the Bay.

Photo: Marsh along San Leandro Bay
Photo by: Simon Gunner

Next Speaker - Thursday, January 11, 2024
Northern Spotted Owls, by Taylor Ellis, National Park Service

Thursday, January 11, 2024
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Speaker: Taylor Ellis, U.S. National Park Service
Register HERE for this Speaker Series

Topic:
Taylor will discuss Marin’s unique spotted owl population, which is geographically and genetically distinct from other northern spotted owl populations to our north.  Northern spotted owls are considered an indicator species of healthy forests and were federally listed as a threatened subspecies in the 1990s and have been monitored closely by the National Park Service and Point Blue since then.    Taylor will discuss the main threats to Marin’s spotted owls, including the threat from barrel owls, who have taken over most of the nesting sites for spotted owls to our north.  He will also discuss what makes Marin's spotted owl population so unique relative to others.

Speaker Bio:
Taylor Ellis is a wildlife technician at Point Reyes National Seashore, where he implements the northern spotted owl monitoring program as well as monitoring other wildlife species throughout the year. Taylor has been working with spotted owls for 20 breeding seasons since first interning with the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico in 2003.  Taylor received his M.S. in Biology from Sonoma State University after studying the indirect impacts of tule elk on small mammal populations at Tomales Point in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Photos: Northern Spotted Owl
Photo by: Taylor Ellis

Next Speaker - Thursday, February 8, 2024
Snowy Plover - by Matthew Lau, National Park Service

Thursday, February 8, 2024
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Matthew Lau, U.S. National Park Service
Register HERE for this Speaker Series

Topic:
There is a small but locally significant breeding population of western snowy plovers at Point Reyes National Seashore. They are federally listed as Threatened and California state listed as a Species of Special Concern, but the local breeding population size has been gradually increasing over the past half decade due to intensive management and monitoring across the range. Matt will present on the fascinating breeding biology of western snowy plovers, cover local conservation issues that snowy plovers face, and review local population trends and ongoing research and management at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Thursday, March 14, 2024
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Jordan Boersma, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Register HERE for this speaker series

Topic:
Jordan will discuss the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon, a critically endangered species that hasn’t been documented by scientists since it was first described in 1882. In 2022, Jordan and his team embarked on an expedition to Fergusson Island, Papua New Guinea, and by leveraging the natural history knowledge of local hunters, was able to confirm the existence of this species, known locally as Auwo., thus demonstrating the invaluable role of Indigenous communities in ongoing efforts to relocate species lost to Western science. Plans are to build on the partnerships formed in 2022 to help conserve this elusive and culturally important species and continue to uncover natural history information about Auwo and other endemic taxa on Fergusson island.

Thursday, April 11th
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Mia Monroe and Ole Schell
Register HERE for this Speaker Series

Topic:
Where have all the monarchs gone?  Recent population trends and data on the Monarch Butterfly will be shared, as well as the good habitat work going on throughout Marin, especially Ole Schell's West Marin Monarch Sanctuary.  Tips for how you can help will be offered, and a few controversies will be discussed, such as the role of eucalyptus and the dangers of tropical milkweed.  Local photographers will be featured, and the work of the Marin Monarch Working Group will be a focus.

Thursday, May 9, 2024
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Speaker: Sarah Killingsworth
Register HERE for this Speaker Series

Topic:
Wildlife photography is an increasingly popular hobby, and time in nature observing wildlife can bring great joy to a photographer. Wildlife images can be powerful tools for conservation and education. At the same time, our time with wildlife impacts the individual animal and potentially the entire ecosystem. Using her own photos to highlight the concepts, Sarah will discuss photography ethics and etiquette - what they are, and why they matter. She will also share tips for photographing our natural world in ways that create impactful images.

Thursday, June 13, 2024
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Speaker: Nils Warnock
Register HERE for this Speaker Series

Topic: Nils will talk about the status and trends of our North America shorebirds, with a focus on Pacific Flyway birds, particularly those that occur in Marin County. He will first discuss how shorebirds around the world and in the USA are doing and then talk about the results of a 30+ year winter shorebird monitoring program that Audubon Canyon Ranch has been conducting at Tomales Bay since 1989. Overall, numbers of wintering shorebirds on Tomales Bay have declined by over 65% over the past decades with Dunlin and Western Sandpipers among the biggest losers. Of the 14 taxa that ACR analyzed, 3 increased over the past 30 years, 1 stayed stable, and 11 species declined. Nils will discuss potential reasons why our shorebird populations have declined and what we might do about it.

Thursday, September 12th
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Daniel Edelstein
More information will be announced closer to the event

Thursday, October 10th
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Scott Harris (Author & Photographer)
More information will be be announced closer to the event

Thursday, November 14, 2024 7:00PM - 9:00PM Speaker: Josiah Clark Register HERE for this Speaker Series Topic: Josiah will speak to us about the upcoming Christmas Bird Count (CBC), the annual early-winter bird census conducted in December.  Josiah will be discussing counting strategies and best practices for counting birds and covering areas on the count, including the virtues of the count circle, methods for preventing undercounting, tips on note taking and how good CBC coverage and data collecting habits set the stage for increasing numbers of detections and the accuracy of counts.  He will also discuss strategies for promoting the CBC and attracting younger birders. Speaker Bio: Josiah Clark grew up steeped in the natural history of the Bay Area, where he has been birding for more than 20 years. Some of his defining birding experiences include observation and mist-netting on Southeast Farallon Island; extensive travel, study, and tour-leading in Latin America; and a 24-hour birding and bicycling marathon in Marin County during which he spotted 158 species. Josiah runs Habitat Potential, dedicated to interpreting, preserving, and creating productive wildlife habitats in the Bay Area human landscape.   Next Speaker - Thursday, December 12, 2024 Colombia: South America’s Birding Mecca Speaker: Benny Jacobs-Schwartz

Thursday, December 12, 2024 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Speaker; Benny Jacobs-Schwartz Register HERE for this Speaker Series Topic: Get ready for a dive into South America’s birdiest country! Together we’ll explore Colombia’s unique ecology, breathtaking scenery, and unparalleled avian diversity! Colombia holds the record with nearly 2,000 bird species and an impressive 80 endemics! During our time together, we’ll discuss what has given rise to such incredible diversity. Topics include the country’s five regions, how the Andes Mountain Range formed into three distinct cordilleras, the importance of the mighty Rio Magdalena, and national conservation successes. From sloth-eating Harpy Eagles to shy antpittas, and menageries of colorful tanagers and hummingbirds, Colombia’s astonishing diversity will leave you wanting more! Speaker Bio: Benny Isaac Jacobs-Schwartz owns and operates a bird-guiding business and lifestyle brand called BIRDS by BIJS (pronounced Bee-jus). With a background in biology, ecology, and outdoor education, Benny has worked for over 13 years as a naturalist guide, expedition trip leader, and international bird guide. Benny offers guided birding outings in Southern California and small-group birding tours to his favorite tropical locales like Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Colombia. Benny is a passionate educator and photographer, specializing in birds! Benny is active on social media where he creates fun, educational videos and posts to inspire others about the natural world with the goal of getting folks to put down their phones and pick up their Binos. Next Speaker: Migratory Shorebirds Thursday, January 9, 2025 Speaker: Matt Reiter (Point Blue)

Thursday, January 9, 2025 7:00 - 9:00 PM Speaker: Matthew Reiter - Point Blue Conservation Science Register HERE for this Speaker Series Topic: Shorebirds are some of the most migratory species on the planet. However, their populations in the Western Hemisphere have been declining over the past 40 years. To better understand what is driving changes in shorebird populations and to turn data into knowledge and then conservation action, in 2011 Point Blue and partners launched a coordinated research, monitoring and conservation network for shorebirds in the Pacific Americas Flyway. The Migratory Shorebird Project is now a network of over 50 partners in 13 countries from Canada to Chile working together to study shorebirds and shorebird habitats and to implement conservation actions at scales that are relevant for these long-distance travelers. Speaker Bio: As a Research Director and quantitative ecologist with Point Blue Conservation Science, Dr. Matt Reiter’s work focuses on the ecology and conservation of migratory waterbirds and their wetland habitats in order to understand the impacts of threats such as habitat loss and climate change across broad migratory landscapes. Matt received an M.S. (2006) and Ph.D. (2009) in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Minnesota and has been at Point Blue since 2009. Next Speaker: Thursday, February 13, 2025 Bay Area Wildlife: An Irreverent Guide Speaker: Jeff Miller