Community Programs
Community Programs
The winter wildlife of Japan offers a number of spectacles unmatched in the wild! Tens of thousands of Cranes of at least 5 species can be seen feeding on snowy fields or flying into roost against the backdrop of glorious sunsets in Kagoshima. The famous dancing Red-crowned Cranes are in full performance in Kushiro. Snow Monkeys (Japanese Macaques) frolic in hot thermal pools in the Jigokudani valley. Japanese Murrelets come to near shore islands to breed. Steller’s Sea-Eagles, White-tailed Eagles, hordes of seabirds and ducks winter on and around Hokkaido. And, if you know where to go, you can watch the massive Blakiston’s Fish-Owl catch fish right out your bedroom window! This program reveals the winter wildlife of Japan with vivid photos and anecdotes from travels around this island nation of eastern Asia.
A naturalist and birder for more than thirty years, Gina first became fascinated with the natural world in rural upstate New York where she spent most of her childhood out of doors. In 2005, Gina founded Sunrise Birding, LLC to offer personalized, authentic, affordable private and small group bird watching and wildlife tours around the world.
We've all heard amazing facts about bird migration—the long distances that birds travel, the ways that they navigate, etc. But did you ever wonder how we figured all of this out? While working for the American Ornithological Society, Rebecca Heisman became fascinated with the varied and creative techniques that scientists have used to study bird migration, and this eventually became the basis for her book Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird
Migration. In her talk, she'll share some surprising stories from the history of bird migration research and discuss why understanding migration is so crucial for bird conservation.Rebecca Heisman is an award-winning science writer who lives in Walla Walla, Washington, and has worked with organizations including the Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the American Ornithological Society. Flight Paths is her first book.
This year the Connecticut State Legislature is meeting in a “long session”. Audubon has several areas in which legislation is sought to protect birds and the places they need. Among these are legislation regarding:
Regulating neonicotinoids for non-agricultural use
Expanding nature based solutions
Protecting vulnerable communities from climate change by supporting urban forestry and community interest in tree planting and maintenance, parks, and/or community gardens in densely populated areas
x us as we host Robert LaFrance, Director of Policy for Audubon Connecticut, for a discussion of these and other legislative initiatives and learn what you can do to help getting them passed. Before joining Audubon, Rob had a long career with DEEP as its legislative liaison and brings long relationships with legislators to Audubon.
Ticks are a significant concern in Connecticut due to their role in transmitting various diseases, most notably Lyme disease. The state's dense woodlands, moderate climate, and diverse wildlife make it an ideal habitat for ticks, particularly the black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick.
Addressing the problem with ticks in Connecticut requires a multi-faceted approach involving personal vigilance, community efforts, and scientific research to mitigate the risks and protect public health.
Join a talk by Dr. Scott C. Williams, Head of the Department of Environmental Science and Forestry at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station about tick management research. Scott will discuss tick and tick-borne pathogen management research he and his team are conducting throughout Connecticut including Guilford.
His recent research is investigating host-targeted efforts, specifically the impacts of medicating white-footed mice and white-tailed deer, similar to treating pets against fleas and ticks but at drastically lower doses. He hopes that this strategy can reduce tick and pathogen abundances at a town-wide level, which should translate to fewer ticks and reduced opportunity for the public to obtain a tick-borne disease. Come with questions on ticks and disease ecology and he will be happy to entertain them.
We've got a fun-filled evening set for this Community Program with a view of some members' photos, a bird quiz, and more.
Between the photo shows we will have a bird quiz. How well do you know the size of birds? How about bird name anagrams? Can you id birds from blurred photos? Don't worry. There are no exotic birds, just common backyard and park birds. Have a competition with your family.
