Speakers

The Invasive Spartina Project (ISP) is tasked with removing invasive Spartina species to restoring native habitat in SF Bay and protect our newly restored tidal wetlands. Tall, dense, and fast-growing, hybrid Spartina outcompetes other marsh species, overrunning wetlands and mudflats. Infestation reduces shorebird habitat but also provides cover for secretive marsh birds, including endangered California Ridgway’s Rails (RIRA). From 2005-2025, hybrid Spartina was reduced from 805 to 18 net acres, a reduction of over 97%. We also actively enhance habitat, including planting over 650,000 natives to provide cover for rails at over 40 sites. In 2027, we plan to begin our restoration work in San Leandro Bay, including at Arrowhead Marsh. This talk will cover what we have achieved so far and our plans for the future.

About Our Speaker

Jeanne Hammond
Jeanne Hammond has worked on the Invasive Spartina Project for Olofson Environmental since 2008. She wears many hats for the ISP but the main one is as Restoration Program Manager. Before working on tidal marsh restoration projects for OEI, Jeanne worked at Point Blue Conservation Science conducting songbird research and monitoring projects, primarily in restored riparian habitats. She has a B.A. in Urban Studies and Environmental Planning from UCSD and an M.S. in Natural Resources: Wildlife Management from Humboldt State.

Tobias Rohmer
Tobias Rohmer is the Monitoring Program Manager for the San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project and works for Olofson Environmental. Tobias has a B.A. in German Studies and a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of Arizona, and received his M.S. in Ecology from UC Davis where he did his master’s thesis on California Ridgway’s rails. When not working in tidal marshes, Tobias is most often traveling in pursuit of fun birds to watch.

Jen McBroom
Jen McBroom is a biologist at Olofson Environmental Inc. and has been conducting surveys for Ridgway’s rails since 2005 for the Invasive Spartina Project. Jen 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.

Date: Thursday, April 16 (7pm)

Location: Online via Zoom

Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83469900711?pwd=ctwB0S75KKRaETeYpaAjE9WZTavNlY.1

Passcode: 146181…

Merlin Sound ID has made it possible for anyone to identify birds by sound, but how does it actually work, and how should birders use it? In this talk, I’ll give an accessible overview of how Merlin Sound ID listens to audio and turns it into species suggestions. I’ll describe the kinds of recordings that teach Merlin, how the system continues to improve, and where its strengths and limitations lie.

About Our Speaker

Grant Van Horn is a machine learning researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where he works on the Sound ID and image-recognition models used in the Merlin Bird ID app. His work focuses on building practical tools that help people engage with nature. Grant received his PhD from Caltech, where he studied how to train and deploy large-scale machine learning models on mobile devices, work that contributed to technologies now used in iNaturalist, Seek, and Merlin. He is currently on leave from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is an assistant professor of computer science. Learn more about Grant’s work here.

Date: Thursday, February 19 @ 6pm

Location: Online via Zoom

Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87377145453?pwd=Jt8aYrFqyD9zTBGl09jH58J5s9gbev.1

Passcode: 052289

…

Drinks and Dessert will be provided!

About Our Speaker

Bob Lewis has taught birding classes in the Bay Area for over 25 years and loves to travel, especially to islands in search of birds.  He is a board member of the Farallon Islands Foundation, created to foster life on islands.  Bob has visited many of the larger islands populated with unique species, including Madagascar, Borneo, Hawaii, Indonesia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Cuba etc.  The talk will be illustrated with his photos of birds from these places.

Date: Thursday, March 12 @ 7pm

Location: Tamalpais Room @ the David Brower Center (2150 Allston Way, Berkeley 94704

This event will be hybrid (both in-person an online via Zoom) and will be recorded to watch later.

ADVANCED REGISTRATION REQUIRED for attending in-person.

Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86499042053?pwd=xrOKGippyDfyHVK8Cs3YbH9gLMjYNO.1
Passcode: 969967

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About Our Speaker

Jeff Miller is a naturalist, conservationist, and passionate advocate for wildlife. He has dedicated several decades to championing protection of endangered species and native wildlife habitat in the Bay Area. He’s the founder of the nonprofit Alameda Creek Alliance and a senior conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, spearheading biodiversity and wildlife protection campaigns throughout the Bay Area and California.

The Irreverent Naturalist website.

Date: Thursday, March 19 @ 7pm

Location: Hybrid — Tamalpais Room @ the David Brower Center (2150 Allston Way, Berkeley 94704 and online via Zoom

If you plan to attend in-person, please RSVP at the button below. Otherwise, you can join us via Zoom through the link below.

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Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87377145453?pwd=Jt8aYrFqyD9zTBGl09jH58J5s9gbev.1

Passcode: 052289…