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• Raptors 101

  • When
    2 Oct 2023
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    via Zoom only

  Have you ever wondered what that speck of a hawk is, way out on the distant horizon or circling right over your head? Do you ponder which birds of prey visit your backyard? Would you like to fine tune your hawkwatching skills and learn more about these exciting birds found here both year-round and in migration? If so, this is the talk for you! Birds of prey are consistently one of the most difficult varieties of birds to identify, and this presentation will raise your appreciation and understanding of raptors to new heights.

  ​Come join Erik Bruhnke as he shares field-learned techniques for identifying raptors both up close and at a distance. From his raptor jokes and identification anecdotes, to his wide range of impressive raptor photographs, Erik’s raptor identification workshop is sure to captivate and educate audiences of all skill levels!

  Erik Bruhnke has loved birds since he was a child looking at chickadees. He graduated from Northland College in Wisconsin with a Natural Resources degree in 2008 and taught field ornithology at Northland College for three semesters. His college summers and summers to follow graduation were spent conducting bird surveys through northern forests, vast prairies, and western mountains. He worked as an interpreter for six fall seasons at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, Minnesota; counted migrating raptors at the Corpus Christi HawkWatch in Texas in 2015; and was the 2016, 2017, and 2018 hawk counter at the Cape May Hawkwatch in New Jersey. Erik’s wildlife photography has won national awards, and he’s written for the American Birding Association’s Birder’s Guide, BirdWatching magazine, and Bird Watcher’s Digest. Erik is a birding tour guide for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours as well as his own business, Naturally Avian. He enjoys hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing and just being out in the snow. In his free time he loves to cook and bake.

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

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• Birding Costa Rica, Part 1

  • When
    6 Nov 2023
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Five Rivers EEC

  Birding Costa Rica - Part 1

  Birding Costa Rica (Part 1): An Overview of Birding in Costa Rica (with a focus on the Talamanca range, San Isidro Valley, Osa Peninsula, and the Pacific Coast) with brothers Tim Colborn and Jon Colborn

  Costa Rica is a verdant tropical country teeming with wildlife! Birds in particular abound throughout the many provinces of this Central American paradise. Costa Rica is smaller than West Virginia, yet contains more than 900 bird species, nearly one-tenth of the world’s total. Toucans, Trogons, Motmots, Woodcreepers and more than 50 species of hummingbirds are among the draws for birders and naturalists from around the world to its tropical rainforests and other habitats. Costa Rica has set aside nearly one third of its land in national parks and preserves, from coastal lowlands to volcanic highlands.

  In this program, the first of a two-part series, Tim will share an overview of the country's general ecozones and birding hotspots with an eye toward creating your own birding routes or helping you decide between tour company itineraries. He and Jon will share photos and experiences from their recent 16-day trip held earlier this year that focused on the Caribbean lowlands and a loop south though the Talamanca Mountains to the Southern Pacific Lowlands (including the Osa Peninsula) and back north to the Central Pacific Lowlands (including Carara National Park).

  
  

  
  

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• HMBC Holiday Party and program - Birding Costa Rica Part 2

  • When
    4 Dec 2023
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    Five Rivers EEC

  HMBC holiday party and program - Birding Costa Rica part 2. A focus on the Caribbean Highlands with Scott Stoner and Denise Hackert-Stoner.

  The lovely Central American country of Costa Rica is smaller than West Virginia, yet contains more than 900 bird species, nearly one-tenth of the world’s total. Toucans, Trogons, Motmots, Woodcreepers and more than 50 species of hummingbirds are among the draws for birders and naturalists from around the world to its tropical rainforests and other habitats.  Costa Rica has set aside nearly one third of its land in national parks and preserves, from coastal lowlands to volcanic highlands.  In this program, Scott and Denise will showcase some of the birds of the Caribbean foothills and lowlands of this tropical land, along with a sense of the experience of visiting this nature mecca. 

  White-necked Jacobin

  Collared Aricari

  
  

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• Program: Birds of Central Park

  • When
    8 Jan 2024
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    via Zoom only

  Sundar Das Ruben Giron on Birds of Central Park. Details TBA. 

  
  

  
  

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• Birdie Big Year: Elevating Women Birders

  • When
    5 Feb 2024
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    via Zoom only

  Tiffany Kersten didn't set out to do a Big Year, but after a series of unanticipated and serendipitous events, she suddenly found herself amidst one. As a sexual assault survivor, she spent 2021 traveling to all corners of the Lower 48 States, tallying birds and gifting personal safety alarms to women she met along the way. Her goal was to see 700 species, and to raise awareness of women's safety in the outdoors. She ended up surpassing her goal and setting a new record, of 726 species. In her presentation, Tiffany will lead us through the fear, empowerment, struggles, and healing that all played vital roles in the personal growth she experienced on this wild adventure.

  Biography:

  Tiffany Kersten is a Wisconsin native. She holds a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Northland College, and has spent over a decade as an environmental educator, teaching about bird migration with the Cape May Bird Observatory, monitoring shorebirds on Cape Cod, banding Honeycreepers in Hawaii, and finally landing in South Texas where she worked at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuged and then managed the McAllen Nature Center. After completing her Lower 48 States Big Year in 2021, she founded her own company, Nature Ninja Birding Tours. She guides primarily in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, and offers international tours as well.

  

  

  
  

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• Program: Iceland

  • When
    4 Mar 2024
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    TBA

  Speaker: Bruce Dudek. Details to follow.

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• Birding Belize

  • When
    6 May 2024
  •  
    6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Location
    5 Rivers EEC

  Birding Belize with John Hershey. Details TBA.

  
  

  
  

  
  

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