Speakers

California experienced rapid and widespread destruction and modification of natural
hydrological ecosystems and wetlands after the Gold Rush, including the loss of nearly all tidal
wetlands in San Francisco Bay, many of which were converted to commercial salt production
ponds. The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project is now restoring large swaths of tidal marsh
habitat, but they are faced with a new dilemma: many bird species that had used wetlands lost
or degraded elsewhere in California, including the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada, have come
to use the salt ponds as accidental habitat.

About Our Speaker

Dr. Van Schmidt is an ecologist whose research emphasizes understanding ecosystems and
land-use as coupled systems, combining field research with simulation methodology. His talk
will explore habitat use and connections between “serendipitous” anthropogenic wetlands not
only in the San Francisco Bay’s salt ponds, but across California, and reflect on how efforts to
adapt water-dependent ecosystems to climate change may have surprising trade-offs for
wildlife that need to be accounted for. The talk will draw not only on his current work as
Director of Landscape Sustainability Science, but also on past research at UC Berkeley on Black
Rails in the Sierra Nevada, the US Geological Survey on saline lakes and sage grouse, and on
reintroduced Whooping Crane’s use of farmland.

Date: Thursday, June 20 @ 7pm via Zoom

Jonah Benningfield and Mark Rauzon both did seabird field work in Alaska’s Bering Sea. Jonah was situated on the famed Pribilof Islands, especially St. George and Mark cruised by there in the fog, surveying at sea from Victoria BC to Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow. 

On-island and at-sea perspectives will show how changes in the Bering Sea affect its birds, from St. George’s 1,000 foot tall cliffs where 75% of the world’s Red-legged Kittiwakes nest, to the new range extension 500 miles north of the previous one, an indication of how animals are moving north into the Chukchi Sea. While Jonah tantalizes with an envious experience of rare Asian migrants like Long-toed Stints he studied daily behavior of Least Auklets. Mark provides a 50 year reflection from when he was there in 1976.  Join us for in person for what will be a unique evening of Alaska birding at its best.

About Our Speakers

Mark James Rauzon is a tenured geography professor at Laney College, Oakland. He is also a seabird biologist, specializing in the effects and eradication of invasive animals and plants on islands.  He is a research associate with the Point Blue Conservation Science and has received the Special Achievement Award from the Pacific Seabird Group in 2006 and was their Vice Chair for Conservation in 2018-20. In 2022, he received the Paul Covel Education Award from Golden Gate Bird Alliance. He is currently working on a book about the Bering Sea.

Jonah Benningfield was born and raised in San Francisco, and currently goes to community college in the city. When not in school he works as a field tech in remote places, especially throughout Alaska and on islands. 

Date Thursday, May 23 @ 7pm

Location: Tamalpais Room at The David Brower Center (2150 Allston Way, Berkeley CA) and online via Zoom

Zoom Recording:

Please join us on Thursday night for a special GGBA Travel Program Speaker Series talk. Our speaker is Ivan Phillipsen, who with Steve Robertson, founded Wild Latitudes travel. The GGBA Travel Program has been working with Wild Latitudes for seven years now, and in that time Ivan has become a favorite tour leader among our members who
have traveled with him.

Thus far Ivan has run four different trips in the western U.S. for us: to Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, and Alaska. He also runs our popular international trip to Iceland. Ivan’s a bit of a Renaissance man, which partly accounts for his success as a tour leader. He’s got a M.S. in biology from Cal State San Bernardino and a Ph.D. in zoology from Oregon State University.

During his time in graduate school, Ivan worked in the field of conservation genetics, studying amphibians and aquatic insects. He became a naturalist and a tour leader to better serve his growing interests in reptiles, plants, geology, and, of course, birds. When the pandemic hit and travel companies like his were forced to temporarily close, Ivan found a new outlet for his many talents—he created a popular podcast called “The Science of Birds.” He describes it as “fun and accessible,” and in my experience, that describe it perfectly. If you like podcasts, you’ll love this one.

He’s collaborating with his Wild Latitudes partner, Steve Robertson, in offering a new trip for us this fall—Birds of the Oregon Coast—which will be the topic of his talk.