2021 KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS
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Cranes: Ambassadors for Conservation
with Richard Beilfuss President & CEO,
International Crane Foundation
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Date: Thursday, May 6
Time: 5:30 PM EDT Registration required Cranes, with their deep cultural connections, high visibility, extraordinary beauty, dramatic migrations, and striking behaviors, are among the most loved and revered birds on earth. Yet cranes are also among the most endangered families of birds in the world, with eleven of 15 species threatened and many populations in peril. Over the next 20 years, emerging challenges will further jeopardize cranes and the places where they dance --the rapid development of China (home to eight crane species), for example, and the impact of climate change on wetlands and water in Africa, Asia, and the USA. We will explore the role of cranes as ambassadors for conservation, bringing people together to save some of the most extraordinary places on earth, and the people and wildlife that depend on them. We will explore win-win solutions for “Sarus Rice” and biodiversity conservation in Southeast Asia and new pathways for cranes, big mammals, and community livelihoods on the Kafue Flats of Zambia. We will share lessons learned from the struggle to bring back our iconic Whooping Cranes from the brink of extinction and the remarkable return of Sandhill Cranes to the Midwest. |
A Message from the Common Pigeon
with Audrey Peterman
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Date: Thursday, May 6
Time: 7 PM EDT Registration required An avid birder, Mrs. Peterman has gawked at a Swainson’s Thrush in Denali; walked among nesting Magnificent Frigatebirds in Dry Tortugas; heard the haunting song of the Colima Warbler in Big Bend; seen condors in Grand Canyon; watched flocks of Roseate Spoonbills in the Big Cypress and regularly observes endemic Doctorbirds in her garden in Jamaica where she currently lives. But none delivers a message more plaintive and poignant than the Common Pigeon. |
From Birder to Bird Watcher. Confessions of a Lapsed Lister
with Dr. Drew Lanham
Date: Friday, May 7
Time: 7 PM EDT
Registration required
Drew is a lifelong "bird-brain" and professional ornithologist whose passion for birds has taken him from the backyard boondocks discovery of "common" birds, to international expeditions in search of some of the earth's most exotic avifauna. Once an avid lister, he fell in love with certain birds and could no longer rapid fire list them! Come learn how an intense obsession with slowing down just might help you see more! Drew will share personal experience through poetry and pictures to introduce his multi-step therapeutic recovery for those similarly afflicted with "ODD -- Ornithological Distracted Disorder".
Time: 7 PM EDT
Registration required
Drew is a lifelong "bird-brain" and professional ornithologist whose passion for birds has taken him from the backyard boondocks discovery of "common" birds, to international expeditions in search of some of the earth's most exotic avifauna. Once an avid lister, he fell in love with certain birds and could no longer rapid fire list them! Come learn how an intense obsession with slowing down just might help you see more! Drew will share personal experience through poetry and pictures to introduce his multi-step therapeutic recovery for those similarly afflicted with "ODD -- Ornithological Distracted Disorder".
Secret Superheroes of the Birding World
with Kenn Kaufman
Date: Sunday, May 9
Time: 7 PM EDT
Registration required
When we look at how birding has developed in North America, some famous names stand out—names like John James Audubon or Roger Tory Peterson. And it’s true that those people had a big impact on how we go birding today. But they’re not the only ones. Kenn Kaufman has been researching the history of birding, ornithology, and bird conservation, and he has found that some of the most important, lasting influences came from people who didn’t necessarily become famous as a result. In this program he’ll talk about some of these little-known but amazing individuals, his “secret superheroes” of birding.
Time: 7 PM EDT
Registration required
When we look at how birding has developed in North America, some famous names stand out—names like John James Audubon or Roger Tory Peterson. And it’s true that those people had a big impact on how we go birding today. But they’re not the only ones. Kenn Kaufman has been researching the history of birding, ornithology, and bird conservation, and he has found that some of the most important, lasting influences came from people who didn’t necessarily become famous as a result. In this program he’ll talk about some of these little-known but amazing individuals, his “secret superheroes” of birding.
An Unlikely Scientist: The case for an intersectional perspective with Corina Newsome
Date: Monday, May 10
Time: 7 PM EDT
Registration required
Just as the challenges in wildlife conservation consist of complex and intersecting issues, our approach to problem-solving must also be foundationally intersectional. Corina Newsome will share her story as a backdrop for understanding the importance of intersectional perspective in the environmental movement, and draw on current advocacy efforts, such as the Black Birder's movement, to demonstrate its necessity.
Time: 7 PM EDT
Registration required
Just as the challenges in wildlife conservation consist of complex and intersecting issues, our approach to problem-solving must also be foundationally intersectional. Corina Newsome will share her story as a backdrop for understanding the importance of intersectional perspective in the environmental movement, and draw on current advocacy efforts, such as the Black Birder's movement, to demonstrate its necessity.