Bay Area Woodpeckers

Jeffery R. Martin

San Francisco
Thursday, June 20
6:30 p.m. refreshments,
7p.m. program

Please Note: New venue for San Francisco Speaker Series

Sports Basement
1590 Bryant Street
San Francisco  94103

Woodpeckers have captured the human imagination for generations. The distant sounds of pecking, flashes of red plumage, and inevitable disappearance into the shadows of the forest evoke a sense of wonder about these extraordinary yet elusive creatures. Jeffery Martin’s lecture and close-up high definition video explore the foraging strategies of our eight North Bay woodpecker species. Insect excavation, acorn storage, the use of sap wells and other intriguing behaviors are our focus. Jeff’s video segments illustrate unique evolutionary adaptations. We examine the anatomy of feet, tail, tongue and head which enable agile vertical climbing, adept grabbing of prey, and protection from concussion and dust inhalation. From the exquisite green and rose- colored Lewis’s Woodpecker to the dazzling Northern Flicker, and more, we take a close-up look at the worlds of our eight North Bay Woodpeckers.

Videographer and naturalist, Jeffery Martin has filmed and produced “Bahia Wildlife Habitat” and “Birds of Las Gallinas Marsh” which can be viewed on the web sites of Marin Audubon and Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District. His films, “Woodpecker Haven” and “Birds of Lake Solano and Putah Creek” have been shown regularly at the Lake Solano Visitors Center. A number of years ago, Jeff presented “Foraging Behavior in Large Wading Birds” – a similar lecture and video program for the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Speakers Series. In the past, Jeff has contributed to the slide library, visitor literature and campfire talks for Pt. Reyes National Seashore, and natural history walks and lectures for adults and children. In another vein, he has lectured to college faculty, students, and National Park Service professionals on “visitor motivation” and the “psychology of nature” including on safari in East Africa. In his “day job” Jeff is a clinical psychologist and associate clinical professor at UCSF School of Medicine.