Upcoming Programs

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• From Finches to the FiRN and the Grosbeak Recovery Project

  • When
    5 Oct 2026
  •  
    6:30 PM
  • Location
    Five Rivers EEC & Zoom

  Speaker: Matthew Young

  Birders have been fortunate and delighted to observe some winter finches in recent years, and some will be seen this year too, but you likely will have to go searching for them this year where last year some came right to us (Evening Grosbeaks and Purple Finches). They are colorful visitors from the North which brighten any winters day. In this program, “From Finches to the FiRN and the Grosbeak Recovery Project,” we will talk about finch irruptions and superflights, the decline of the Evening Grosbeak, and get into to the distribution and ecology of different Red Crossbill and Evening Grosbeak flight calls.”

  Matthew Young, President and Founder of the Finch Research Network, will talk about these interesting and beautiful winter finches and what led to the formation of the Finch Research Network (FiRN), and what FiRN plans to accomplish into the future to help them. Some of this will be covered from the book Matt wrote, Finches of the United States and Canada with co-author Lillian Stokes.

  
  

  Matthew Young is a co-lead on the Evening Grosbeak Road to Recovery Project in addition to being the Founder and Board President of the Finch Research Network.  Matthew worked in the field of social work with special needs populations at the William George Agency for 12+ years and is currently a Wild Bird Products Specialist and Conservation Coordinator for Aspen Song Wild Bird Food. Additionally, Matthew worked at the Cornell Lab across 15 years where he worked on Golden-winged Warblers, Voices of Hawaii’s Birds, Merlin Bird ID, and was Project Lead on Lab’s first Irruptive Finch Survey in 1999. Co-author on Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada, Matt is widely known as a preeminent authority on finches of North America who has written finch species accounts for breeding bird atlases, Birds of the World accounts, and published several papers on finches and the Red Crossbill vocal complex.

  
  

  

  
  

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• Trouble in Paradise: Invasive Parasites and Their Interactions in Darwin’s Finches of the Galápagos Islands

  • When
    2 Nov 2026
  •  
    6:30 PM
  • Location
    Fiver Rivers EEC & Zoom

  Speaker: Alex Soldo of the Albany Pine Bush

  Title: Trouble in Paradise: Invasive Parasites and Their Interactions in Darwin’s Finches of the Galápagos Islands

  Description: The Galápagos Islands are home to a unique assemblage of endemic birds, including Darwin’s finches, whose evolution in isolation has made them an iconic example of adaptive radiation. However, isolation can leave island species particularly vulnerable to introduced parasites and pathogens. Today, Galápagos birds face several introduced threats, including the blood-feeding avian vampire fly (Philornis downsi) and avian pox virus. In nature, hosts often contend with multiple types of parasite at once, with the potential for complex interactions that influence infection and disease. In this talk, we’ll take a closer look at this system through the small ground finch (Geospiza fuliginosa) and consider what these interactions might mean for the conservation of Galápagos birds.

  Bio: Alexandria (Alex) Soldo is the Field Ecologist & Entomologist at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Alex earned her B.S. in Conservation Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2019, and her M.S. Degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut in 2024. Her graduate thesis examined the effects of invasive parasites on Darwin’s finches in the Galápagos Islands. Her interests broadly include avian ectoparasites, disease ecology, host–parasite interactions, and the ecology and conservation of birds and insects.

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• Holiday Party & World Birding

  • When
    7 Dec 2026
  •  
    6:30 PM
  • Location
    Five Rivers EEC & Zoom

  Holiday celebration and program by Pete Fererra

  Speaker: Pete Ferrera

  Pete Ferrera came to the Albany area in 1993 to start his residency in Emergency Medicine and has lived in Slingerlands since 1997. His interest in birding started in late 1997, when his wife put out a makeshift birdfeeder made out of a 2 liter Pepsi bottle in their backyard. They started to watch the birds and she had Pete identify them using a Peterson’s field guide. She suggested they keep a list of what they saw. Then in March 1998, Pete was in Maine and heard the strangest sound. It was the call of a Pileated Woodpecker. He walked down to a dead tree and saw this massive bird ripping out huge chunks of bark to feed. Pete got within 10 feet of the bird, but it couldn’t care less about him. From that moment on he was hooked on birding. Since then, Pete has planned almost all of his trips around birds and other wildlife. He has traveled extensively to see and photograph birds and other wildlife. These days, Pete considers himself more of a wildlife photographer than a birder, but still enjoys looking at the birds in his backyard everyday. He and his wife have traded up the Pepsi bottle for real feeders these days.

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• Real Birds Eat Squid

  • When
    4 Jan 2027
  •  
    6:30 PM
  • Location
    Remote by Zoom only

  Speaker: George Armistead
  

  "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." -  Karen Blixen

  Perhaps the most romantic and least familiar group of birds in the world, the seabirds are truly awe-inspiring. Storm-Petrels, Petrels, Shearwaters & Albatrosses live miraculous lives that are impossible to fathom. Many feed at night on squid, hence the title here, which has evolved as a tribute among seabirders to their favorite group of birds. For birders, these birds are often hard to access, and difficult to achieve a familiarity with, but only the coldest and least curious would fail to marvel at their dynamism. We'll examine their lives and habits, the nature of pelagic birding, and explore the myths and legends that relate to sea-faring folks, birders or otherwise.

  George Armistead, a birder since the age of nine years old, has a long history in connecting people with nature through guided trips and expedition travel. Leading field trips since his teenage years, he began guiding tours professionally in 2002. After 20 years of developing and guiding tours to countries across all seven continents, he formed Hillstar Nature with the goal of bringing together a team who can provide fulfilling and authentic wildlife experiences. George has authored two books on birds including Better Birding: Tips, Tools, and Concepts for the Field (2015, Princeton University Press) and The ABA Field Guide to the Birds of Pennsylvania (2016, Scott & Nix, Inc.). He received a masters degree in environmental studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and is an associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, where he spent seven years helping to curate the photographic and specimen collections. Today he lectures on birds, co-hosts Lifelist: A Birding Podcast, is a board member of the American Birding Association, and guides tours across the globe. When not traveling George enjoys birding at home, is an avid fan of Philadelphia sports, and loves spending time with his wife Kristin and their golden retriever.

  
  

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