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Bob Lewis

Berkeley
Thursday, July 18, 2019
6:30 p.m. annual membership meeting
6:30 p.m. refreshments
7p.m. program

Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania are all part of the Australian geological plate, or Sahul.  After a brief visit to O’Reilly’s, a wonderful jungle lodge near Brisbane, Australia, we’ll fly to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.  Our route in PNG will take us from the lowlands in the south of the island to the highlands on the western border, and then on to Mount Hagen, a 12,000’ extinct volcano.  New Guinea has 708 species of birds and 5 endemic families, and is home to most species of spectacular Birds of Paradise and fascinating Bowerbirds.  We’ll discuss a bit of geological history, a bit of taxonomy, and look at examples of many of PNG’s 70 bird families.

Bob’s second career is very avian.  He’s served on the GGBA board where he led the Adult Education Committee.  He’s an award-winning photographer and world traveler, and frequent public speaker on avian topics at libraries and Audubon Societies.  He co-teaches Master Birding, Avian Evolution and Bay Area Birds, and his bird life list stands at 4992. He is hoping to reach 5000 on GGBA’ Namibia tour in August.…

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.…

Peter Pyle

Berkeley
Thursday, May 16
6:30 p.m. refreshments,
7p.m. program

Black-footed Albatross Farallones 10.14.2013

The Gulf of the Farallones lies within an “Eastern Boundary Current System,” one of five such current systems around the world, where cold ocean currents and other environmental factors lead to high ocean productivity; an estimated 85-95% of the world’s seafood originates from these five systems. Peter’s talk will cover the ecology and conservation of the Gulf’s marine vertebrates, from birds to pinnipeds to cetaceans, with emphasis on his main research species, breeding and pelagic seabirds, and great white sharks. We will not only learn about some of the Gulf’s keystone species, but will look in on the excellent research that has been undertaken in the Gulf and the conservation and management actions that have resulted.

Peter Pyle has worked as an ornithologist and marine biologist throughout the Pacific. From the 1980’s to the 2000’s much of his research was conducted on birds and white sharks at the Farallon Islands, California. He is now an identification specialist and consultant for the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary’s Beach Watch program. He is a Research Associate both at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, and the B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. To date he has authored over 170 papers in scientific journals and two books, and has described a new species of shearwater (Puffinus bryani) and named it after his grandfather, Edwin Bryan. Peter currently works as a staff biologist for the Institute for Bird Populations in Point Reyes Station.…

Jonathan Young

San Francisco
Thursday, April 18
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

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)helping out on a fish removal day at Mountain Lake

San Francisco’s Mountain Lake, neglected and degraded through centuries of urbanization, became a cesspool of invasive wildlife, toxic algae blooms, and poor water quality. Many native species that depended on the lake succumbed to local extinction, pushing the lake’s health further past the precipice. Beginning in the early 21 st century, the newly formed Presidio National Park began to actively shift the ecological trajectory by restoring the health and function of the lake. From terrestrial and aquatic vegetation to wildlife reintroductions and stormwater runoff management, join Presidio Trust Wildlife Ecologist Jonathan Young as he journeys through the socio-ecological past, present, and future of Mountain Lake.

Jonathan Young, a native southern Californian, began his relationship with the Presidio restoring habitat as a volunteer in 2010. During a three year stint as a Presidio ecological restoration intern, Jon completed his Master’s degree studying amphibian conservation and disease ecology at San Francisco State University. Throughout this time is when he became intimately involved in the Mountain Lake project. Upon completing his graduate studies he became the first Presidio Trust staff member fully dedicated to the park’s wildlife and has been continuing to build the Presidio’s wildlife program over the last five years.…

Samantha Arthur

Berkeley
Thursday, January 17
6:30 p.m. refreshments,
7p.m. program

The Tricolored Blackbird is a colonial breeder that is nearly endemic to California. Historically, these birds bred on wetlands in the Central Valley. As a result of the loss of 90 percent of the wetlands, Tricolors increasingly nest in agricultural fields. When nesting and farmers’ harvest schedules conflict high proportions of the Tricolor population are put at risk. Tricolored Blackbirds were listed as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act in April 2018 due to sharp, ongoing population declines. In this presentation Conservation Project Director, Samantha Arthur, will discuss Audubon California’s multi-pronged approach to save the Tricolored Blackbird. This approach includes creating new wetland habitat, working with dairy farmers to delay harvest until after chicks have fledged from nests, and advocating for protections under the state and federal Endangered Species Acts.

Samantha Arthur is a Conservation Project Director for Audubon California, focusing on improving wetlands management for the benefit of bird species in the Central Valley. She also manages Audubon California’s campaign to save the Tricolored Blackbird.

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