Speaker Series

Thursday, March 13th 7:00pm - 9:00pm Speaker: Heidi Perryman Register HERE for this Speaker Series Topic: Beavers and their dams create wetlands, store and filter water, augment fish populations, raise the number of migratory and songbirds, and have a dramatic positive impact on biodiversity. Dr. Perryman will discuss how working to help people understand and coexist with this single species will continue to have a beneficial trickle-down impact on both humans and wildlife and improve resilience to ongoing climate changes. Speaker Bio: Heidi Perryman, Ph.D., is a child psychologist who became an accidental beaver advocate when beavers moved into her hometown in 2006. She started the organization “Worth A Dam” to coordinate solutions and educate others about their value in the watershed. She has helped coordinate information and network support with other beaver advocates across North America and Europe, and her website martinezbeavers.org is an important source of information and advocacy for the species.

Thursday, April 10, 2025 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Speaker: Pete Warzybok - Point Blue Conservation Science Register HERE for this Speaker Series Topic: Take a deep dive into the Farallon Islands, where Point Blue biologists have spent more than 58 years living and working on the islands.  Learn about the 500 thousand seabirds, tens of thousands of pinnipeds, and other wildlife who call these islands home and hear about the threats they face living in an ever-changing environment and some conservation success stories. Speaker Bio: Pete Warzybok is a Principal Scientist and Farallon Program Leader with Point Blue Conservation Science.  Pete’s work focuses on the ecology and conservation of marine ecosystems, overseeing research activities at Point Blue’s long-term research station on Southeast Farallon Island.  Pete has been with the Farallon Program since 2000, and his current research interests include the study of seabird diet and foraging ecology and the impact of ecosystem variability on breeding success and population dynamics of Farallon seabirds and pinnipeds.

Thursday, May 8, 2025
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Speaker: Cin-Ty Lee & Andy Birch, Rice University
Register HERE for this Speaker Series

Topic:
Flycatchers are a difficult group of birds to identify. Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch will guide you through the basics of flycatcher identification using a holistic approach. In this tutorial, you will learn how to use relative field marks, such as proportional lengths of tail and primaries, plumage contrasts, bill shape and size, and more. We will also discuss the importance of migration timing and vocalizations in identification.

Speaker Bio:
Cin-Ty Lee is a geologist. Andy Birch is a professional illustrator. Both Cin-Ty and Andy have had a lifelong passion in tackling challenging bird identifications. Together, they have produced the two volume Princeton Field Guide to North American Flycatchers. They are currently working on volume 3, which will include photographs and more of Andy's illustrations.

Thursday, June 12, 2025 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Speaker: Marilyn Latta, California State Coastal Conservancy Register HERE for this speaker series. Topic: Marilyn Latta will share information about living shorelines efforts in San Francisco Bay, including design and monitoring data from the San Rafael Living Shorelines Project, a mix of oyster reefs and eelgrass bed plantings in a multi-objective and experimental living shorelines design.  Marilyn will share updates on how this and other pilot projects are providing lessons learned and best practices in support of the Regionally Advancing Living Shorelines in San Francisco Bay Project. Speaker Bio: Marilyn Latta is a Project Manager with the California State Coastal Conservancy, a state agency that works to protect and enhance the 1200-mile California coast. She holds a dual degree in Marine Biology/Zoology from Humboldt State University and has worked for multiple education and policy organizations on projects ranging from community-based restoration to planning and implementing large capital projects.

Thursday, September 11, 2025 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Speakers: Larry Nigro & Molly Donohue Event is free. Register HERE for this speaker series. Topic: In 2024, Larry and Molly planned a transcontinental birding trip from Fairfax to Key West Florida to identify at least 700 species in the American Birding Association (ABA) They added a trip to Alaska, with the chance of identifying a total of 800 species. In their presentation, Larry and Molly will re-live their favorite birding moments of 2024, from the cliffs of the Alaskan Pribilof Islands to the southern tip of the Florida Keys.   Their slideshow will cover their search for birds like the Golden-Winged Warbler, Bare-throated Tiger Heron, Black-capped Vireo, Steller's Sea Eagle, Masked Booby, Kirtland's Warbler, Ross's gull, Spectacled Eider, Snowy Owl and so much more. Speaker Bios: Larry Nigro is a retired Marin County school teacher.  His birding started with taking students on bird walks. Now retired he has completed the Master Birding Program at California Academy of Sciences, the California Naturalist Program and numerous volunteer birding surveys including Marin Bird Breeding Atlas II. Molly Donahue is an educator and nature enthusiast from West Marin. She has been exploring Marin hills since she was a child and now loves to adventure and bird with her husband, Larry Nigro.  She is a certified California Naturalist and participated in the Marin County Bird Breeding Atlas.  Sharing, learning, and exploring our natural world is one of her greatest joys.