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, September 8th - 7:00 PM
Speakers: Rob Badger and Nita Winter

Register for the September Speaker Series Zoom Program HERE

Internationally acclaimed conservation photographers Rob Badger and Nita Winter take you behind the scenes of their 27-year journey photographing wildflowers throughout California and the West. As the climate changes, and development impacts the natural world, wildflowers are vanishing. This program shows how two dedicated photographers continue to use their art, and the voices of a diverse group of scientists, environmental leaders and nature writers, to inspire hope and action regarding climate change, land conservation and species extinction. 

Bob and Nina’s work has been featured in Time, Mother Jones and Sierra Magazines, the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times.  They are recipients of the Sierra Club’s 2020 Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography. In their new, award-winning book, “Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change”, art and science are woven together to celebrate California’s wildflowers and promote Rob and Nita’s conservation and climate change messages.

Photo caption – Desert Candles, Carrizo Plain NM
Photo by Rob Badger and Nita Winter

Thursday, February 10  at 7:00 PM
Speaker: Sparky Stensass
Photo: "Boreal Owl" by Sparky Stensass

Please register for the program HERE

After an Introduction to the Sax-Zim Bog and why it's the "magic mix" for boreal birds, we'll learn about the Invasion each winter of "vole snatchers": Great Gray Owls, Hawk Owls, Boreal Owls, Northern Shrikes, hawks, ermine, marten, fox, coyote and more survive and thrive on a diet of voles. And we'll also enjoy some HD video of these critters actually snatching voles. We'll also touch on the work of Friends of Sax-Zim Bog to preserve over 4,000 acres of bog lands for future generations of birds and birders.

Sparky Stensaas is the founder and executive director of Friends of Sax-Zim Bog (www.SaxZim.org). Sparky is also a naturalist, publisher, wildlife photographer and now YouTuber (really?). He is the author of 6 books on the natural history of the North Woods. You can see more of Sparky's images at www.ThePhotoNaturalist.com and his videos on YouTube “Sparky Stensaas”

Speaker: Rich Cimino
Host: Douglas Waterman
Thursday, January 13^th
Start: 7:00 PM (NOTE NEW TIME)

Photo caption - “Gray-crowned Rosy Finch”
Photo by Rich Cimino

Please register for the program HERE

 This month’s zoom presentation will take us into northeastern New Mexico-the Land of Enchantment. Currently eBird lists 556 bird species found in the state. From the Cottonwood Bosque Forest outside of Albuquerque to the aspen forests of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains surrounding Taos, it’s many birding spots include a variety of colorful habitats and landscapes. Rich Cimino will take us on a virtual tour of the New Mexico Central Flyway hotspot habitats during spring migration. Just a few of the birds found along the way include three species of Tanager, three of the Grosbeaks and the Cordellian Flycatcher.

Rich leads field trips for the Marin Audubon Society and works with the Corte Madera Restoration property, Point Blue Conservation and Golden Gate Raptor Watch. Rich is the owner and field guide for Yellowbilled Tours, offering small group birding tours to Alaska, Belize and other western U.S. states.

Speakers:  Mia Monroe and Ed Nute
Host: Missy Crowe
Thursday, December 9th
Start: 7:30 PM 

Photo: Monarch and Poppies
By Mia Monroe

Please register for the Zoom webinar HERE

Our program will review the monarch butterfly life history, causes of the current population crisis, the roles for community scientists and how we each can help offer a safer healthy future for this amazing butterfly.

Mia Monroe is a volunteer for Xerces Society and has helped coordinate the Western Monarch Count for its entire 25 years! She is also a National Park Service ranger, on the steering committee of OneTam and participates in the Marin Monarch Working Group.

Ed Nute, Marin Audubon Society board member, took the initiative to offer monarchs such chances at MAS properties at Deer Isle and Bahia by establishing a milkweed meadow. He will share the amazing experiences he and other volunteers have had as they grow up a successful monarch nursery amidst drought, pests and more!

Speaker: John Sterling
Host: Doug Waterman
Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
Start: 7:30 PM

Please register for the Zoom webinar HERE

Photo Caption: Northern Bald Ibis
Photo Credit: John Sterling

John Sterling will share highlights from his tours’ adventures in Morocco. With its high mountains, high desert, low Sahara desert, agricultural plains, coastal lagoons, cork oak woodland, and coniferous forest, Morocco has much to offer to birds and birders. Home to several endemic bird species as well as North Africa species not readily seen elsewhere, it is also along the major migratory pathway for European migrants including shorebirds, raptors, songbirds and others. Join us for virtual tour of the country’s birds, landscapes and culture.

John is a professional ornithologist and has worked for the Smithsonian Institution and US Forest Service research stations 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. 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, the Kern Water Bank, the California Rice Commission, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, National Audubon’s International Alliance Program, CA Dept. of Water Resources among other organizations.

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. 

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: 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: 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

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: 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

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: 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.