Speakers

  • The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: connections and complexity

    In this talk, Aaron will discuss the connections that created and define the Delta
    from its formation to its ecology and biodiversity. The talk will also explore some of the
    ecological and social complexities the Delta embraces and faces.

    About Our Speaker

    Aaron N. K. Haiman has been a student of nature his entire life. He spent countless hours
    birding across California and has lived and birded in the California Delta for over a decade.
    Aaron volunteered from a young age with numerous bird research organizations before
    attending the University of California, Berkeley (BS in environmental science), rotating through
    several bird-focused internships, attending the University of California, Davis (MS in avian
    science and a second MS in animal behavior), working for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
    Conservancy, and now as a Senior Environmental Scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Board.
    Beyond his formal career, Aaron leads bird walks for a variety of organizations, mentors high
    school students on ecology and sustainability, leads a youth bird-a-thon team for Point Blue
    Conservation Science, gives presentations on birds and habitat restoration, has written for
    multiple science websites, and creates content for his own blog, social media platforms, and
    YouTube channel all under the A Birding Naturalist handle.

    Date: Thursday, June 26 (7pm)

    Location: Online via Zoom

    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83516705279?pwd=a76VLb7FhDsDqGxt2HE9XChkKQHrbW.1

    …

  • Restoring the San Franciso Bay Estuary: Wetlands, Birds and More!

    The San Francisco Bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of the United States, and is home to a wide range of birds, from rails to shorebirds, waders, and ducks. Over 90% of the tidal wetlands around the estuary have been lost, but there is now large-scale local support for protecting and restoring the estuary. We’ll review efforts to restore San Franciso Bay wetlands, including challenges and opportunities associated with sea-level rise and climate change, and implications for local birds. 

    About Our Speaker

    John Callaway is a wetland ecologist who specializes in plant and soil ecology of tidal wetlands, but his original motivation for researching wetlands was driven by an interest in waterbirds. He recently retired from Department of Environmental Science at the University of San Francisco. His research has focused on sea-level rise impacts, carbon sequestration, and restoration issues for salt and brackish marshes in the San Francisco Bay estuary.

    Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025 (7pm)

    Location: Online via Zoom

    https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87631566197?pwd=Eb7h5It2RWiLoBoJbzAML0KE2TYHG7.1

    Passcode: 381334…

  • Lend an ear: Studying Hearing in Songbirds

    Songbirds communicate with one another for many reasons – to find and attract a mate, to defend their territory, or even to band together to ward off a predator. However, levels of human-generated noise, also known as anthropogenic noise, and encroachment into bird habitats continue to rise year after year. Birds are thus faced with the ever-increasing challenge of still communicating with one another amidst these changes. The naturally occurring mixed-species flocks of black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, and white-breasted nuthatches offer the perfect means to understand how anti-predatory behaviors are affected by noise, and how these behaviors may be explained by the species’ auditory physiology. This walk will answer questions about how these songbirds communicate in rising levels of urban noise, and how their signals have evolved/are evolving to overcome the challenges of anthropogenic noise. 

    About Our Speaker: Trina Chou is currently a second-year Ph.D. student in the Ecology of Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, studying acoustic communication in treefrogs and other anuran species with Dr. Jessie Tanner. She originally hails from Sunnyvale in the South Bay Area and she graduated from Vassar College in the Spring of 2023 as a Neuroscience and Behavior Major. At Vassar, she worked in Dr. Megan Gall’s lab for three years studying anti-predator behaviors and communication between black-capped chickadees, tufted titmice, and white-breasted nuthatches.

    Date: Thursday, February 20, 2025 (6pm)

    Location: Online via Zoom

    Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83222428797?pwd=9i6Ppa4ecLWnScO3fTtu1Oa3spyvob.1

    Passcode: 944037…

  • Alcatraz Island – A Climate Refuge for Seabirds

    Alcatraz Island Brandt’s Cormorants moved into San Francisco Bay in the early 1990s during a coastward population shift. Alcatraz is now one of the largest Brandt’s Cormorant breeding colonies, outperforming its ocean counterparts despite a high level of human disturbance in this urban setting. The bay hosts a large anchovy population and demersal fish nursery, with strong tidal currents and the river plume into the ocean concentrating prey for seabirds and other predators.  We are working to mitigate anthropogenic stressors to support this important colony and increase seabird resilience to climate change.

    Julie Thayer has worked in the California Current marine ecosystem for three decades, with a brief hiatus on the north coast of Brazil. She studied at the University of California at Santa Cruz/Long Marine Lab and UC Davis in Marine Biology and Ecology. Thayer has done field research on Alcatraz seabirds, studying population changes, diet, productivity, and human distrubance to Brandt’s Cormorants and Western Gulls since 1990.

    Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025 (7pm)

    Location: Online via Zoom

    Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82062580580?pwd=JbHzA9NssDTyrD0Vs58Yy1S2XX8xV0.1

    Passcode: 404139…

  • The most overlooked birds in North America: Females

    Female birds often hide in plain sight. Typically drabber and more inconspicuous than males, there is an unconscious bias towards male birds in birdwatching, photography, and even in our scientific knowledge about birds. This talk explores the history of focus on male birds, why it’s important to focus on females, and gives female bird identification tips. Joanna challenges the audience to confront their own biases in our pursuit of birds

    About Our Speaker: Joanna Wu is a PhD student studying female birds in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA. She previously worked at the National Audubon Society and is a member of the Galbatross Project, a group of birders, scientists, writers, and conservationists who are passionate about spreading awareness about female birds.

    Date: Thursday, January 16 @ 7pm

    Location: Online via Zoom

    Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85100101253?pwd=a7NPTNa1V2rL640GDMj9vAeJvXIXFP.1
    Passcode: 330162

    Event Photo: Kingfisher/Graham Montgomery via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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