Featured Presentations and Workshops
Birds of Peru
Date: Thursday, September 13, 7:30 p.m.Pepe Rojas
Description: With one of the most diverse avianfaunas in the world, Peru is a real birdwatchers paradise. In this presentation, we will explore some of the best birding areas of Peru (and its specialties) as well as the fascinating world of Macaws and their claylicks, arguably one of the best shows on earth.
Presenter: Pepe began his career as a field ornithologist in 1989 as a founding member of the Tambopata Macaw Project in Tambopata, Southeastern Peru. Over the next decade, he spent eight years living and working in this region, studying the natural history and reproductive behavior of macaws, as well as developing new reintroduction techniques to increase depleted populations. During his research, he also spent six months in the savannas of Beni, Bolivia, gathering data from the endemic and endangered Blue-throated Macaw.
More recently, Pepe has been collaborating with the Environment, Conservation and Culture program at the Chicago Field Museum. He has been - and continues to be - a member of the logistics and ornithology teams for the Museum's ongoing series of Rapid Biological Inventories throughout Peru. Gathering field data about avianfauna and later working as an editor on the results, his participation on these expeditions has led to the creation of several protected areas in Peru, and has enabled him to see species not only rare, but with very limited ranges as well.
Currently, Pepe is finishing a degree at UC Santa Cruz where he is focusing on Environmental Studies. Beginning in January 2013, he will join Field Guides Inc. as one of their full-time guides. Pepe's tour calendar has him leading tours all over the Americas; from the Pribilofs Islands of Alaska, to the Andean regions of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Joining the Field Guides team will enable him to combine his love of birds and passion for guiding on a more permanent basis.
Cost: $10
Location: Watsonville Civic Plaza Council Chambers
Seeing Rare Birds In California
Date: Friday, September 14, 7:30 p.m.Joe Morlan
Description: Why California list is the largest in the United States at 647
species... and you can help find more.
Joe Morlan will discuss recent expansion of the California list and the contributions
by active birders in detecting new species for the state. Joe will offer tips on finding
and documenting rarities and how listing can help advance our understanding of
distribution and status of some of the rarest birds in the state. Please join us for
what promises to be an informative and entertaining presentation.
Presenter: Joe Morlan, a long-time California birder and teacher received the prestigious American Birding Association (ABA) Ludlow Griscom Award for 2010, an annual prize "given to individuals who have dramatically advanced the state of ornithological knowledge for a particular region."
Joe Morlan's extensive contributions to Northern California birding span over three decades, during which time he has taught countless birder through his classes at City College of San Francisco, where he is an instructor. He launched, and has maintained, the Northern California Bird Box, a telephone messaging system for alerting birders to rarities in the area. He extended these efforts with his superb website (http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/) devoted to all aspects of birding in California.
Joe served as co-author (with Guy McCaskie, Paul De Benedictis, and Richard Erickson) of the 1979 publication "Birds of Northern California, An List;" he revised the work for the 1988 edition as well. Joe edited "The Birds of San Francisco and the Bay Area by Chris Fisher," in 1996.
He is a well-known contributor to birding publications, an active force in the
Western Field Ornithologists (WFO), and a valued member of the California Bird
Records Committee (CBRC) for over two decades.
Cost: $10
Location: Watsonville Civic Plaza Council Chambers
The Big Year
Date: Saturday, September 15, 7:30 p.m.Greg Miller
Description: The Monterey Bay Birding Festival is honored to have The Big Year birder Greg Miller as the keynote speaker on Saturday, Sept. 15. In addition, Greg will lead several field trips during the festival Sept. 13-16 2012.
I have been birding since...umm...well I can't remember because I was too young. I do not remember getting my first pair of binoculars or my first birding trip with my dad. It was my father that got me into birding at an early age. I have been birding for over 50 years and have birded in all 50 states and much of Canada. And I have always been smitten by the birding bug. I love to get outside and go find birds. Every trip out is an adventure!
In 1998, I zigzagged across the continent to try to see as many species of birds in one calendar year as possible. It was an incredible experience passing the 700-species mark-an achievement many birders aspire to in an entire lifetime. But there was competition. Two other birders, Sandy Komito and Al Levantin also doing Big Years the same year as me broke the 700-mark, too. Our competitive quests are documented in the book, "The Big Year", by Pulitzer Prize winning author Mark Obmascik. And unbelievably, Twentieth Century Fox made the full feature motion picture inspired by the book! Besides Jack Black, the cast has a A-list of actors as Steve Martin and Owen Wilson.
Presenter: Greg Miller is a resident of Sugarcreek in Tuscarawas County in Northeast Ohio and was the real-life inspiration for Brad Harris, the character played by Jack Black in the movie. Brad is one of three birders - the others are played by Steve Martin and Owen Wilson - who spend the movie having a Big Year, trying to find as many different bird species as possible in North America in a single calendar year.
The film is a fictionalized adaptation of Obmascik's 2004 book, The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, which chronicled three men birding in 1998. That year, Sandy Komito, the inspiration for Wilson's character, set a Big Year record of 745, which still stands (although it is in danger of being broken this year); Miller had 715, and retired businessman Al Levantin, 710.
Greg Miller, one of the subjects of the book, is credited as a consultant for the film; he reviewed the script for birding errors and spent about three weeks with the cast and crew at filming locations. He also appeared as an extra in some scenes.
Cost: $10
Location: Watsonville Civic Plaza Council Chambers
The Mystery Of Bird Song
Date: Thursday, September 13, 7:30 p.m.David Lukas
Description: How do birds learn to sing such beautiful songs? And why do they produce so many different types of vocalizations? David Lukas will help answer some of these questions and share his insights into the magical world of bird song -from the ways we study bird song, to the anatomy of how birds produce sounds, to some of the social behaviors that explain common bird vocalizations.
Presenter: David Lukas is a California naturalist and the author of six books, including "Sierra Nevada Birds" and "Wild Birds of California". He grew up in Oregon but has been living in the Sierra Nevada and leading bird programs in California for nearly 20 years. David's newest book "Bay Area Birds" is the first comprehensive guide to the life history, status, and distribution of all the birds that occur in the Bay Area from Sonoma County to Monterey Bay. http://www.lukasguides.com.
Cost: Free
Location: Watsonville Civic Plaza Council Chambers
A Big Year on A Small Budget
Date: Friday, September 14, 1:00 p.m.Greg Miller
Description: "The Big Year" birder Greg Miller will share how you can have a "big year" birding on a small budget. He will offer tips on a variety of subjects.
Presenter: Greg Miller is a resident of Sugarcreek in Tuscarawas County in Northeast Ohio and was the real-life inspiration for Brad Harris, the character played by Jack Black in the movie. Brad is one of three birders - the others are played by Steve Martin and Owen Wilson - who spend the movie having a Big Year, trying to find as many different bird species as possible in North America in a single calendar year.
The film is a fictionalized adaptation of Obmascik's 2004 book, The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, which chronicled three men birding in 1998. That year, Sandy Komito, the inspiration for Wilson's character, set a Big Year record of 745, which still stands (although it is in danger of being broken this year); Miller had 715, and retired businessman Al Levantin, 710.
Greg Miller, one of the subjects of the book, is credited as a consultant for the film; he reviewed the script for birding errors and spent about three weeks with the cast and crew at filming locations. He also appeared as an extra in some scenes.
Cost: Free
Location: Watsonville Civic Plaza Council Chambers
How to Learn Bird Songs and Calls
Date: Friday, September 14, 3:00 p.m.Greg Miller
Description: Learning bird songs and calls is a challenge, however "The Big Year" birder Greg Miller will talk about how he has learned bird songs and calls.
Presenter: Greg Miller is a resident of Sugarcreek in Tuscarawas County in Northeast Ohio and was the real-life inspiration for Brad Harris, the character played by Jack Black in the movie. Brad is one of three birders - the others are played by Steve Martin and Owen Wilson - who spend the movie having a Big Year, trying to find as many different bird species as possible in North America in a single calendar year.
The film is a fictionalized adaptation of Obmascik's 2004 book, The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, which chronicled three men birding in 1998. That year, Sandy Komito, the inspiration for Wilson's character, set a Big Year record of 745, which still stands (although it is in danger of being broken this year); Miller had 715, and retired businessman Al Levantin, 710.
Greg Miller, one of the subjects of the book, is credited as a consultant for the film; he reviewed the script for birding errors and spent about three weeks with the cast and crew at filming locations. He also appeared as an extra in some scenes.
Cost: Free
Location: Watsonville Civic Plaza Council Chambers
How to Become a Better Birder, No Matter What Your Level
Date: Saturday, September 15, 3:00 p.m.Greg Miller
Description: "The Big Year" birder Greg Miller has been birding since...umm...well he can't remember because he was too young. He doesn't remember getting his first pair of binoculars or going on his first birding trip with his dad. He has been birding for over 50 years and has birded in all 50 states and much of Canada. Greg will entertain you with tales about how to become a better birder.
Presenter: Greg Miller is a resident of Sugarcreek in Tuscarawas County in Northeast Ohio and was the real-life inspiration for Brad Harris, the character played by Jack Black in the movie. Brad is one of three birders - the others are played by Steve Martin and Owen Wilson - who spend the movie having a Big Year, trying to find as many different bird species as possible in North America in a single calendar year.
The film is a fictionalized adaptation of Obmascik's 2004 book, The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, which chronicled three men birding in 1998. That year, Sandy Komito, the inspiration for Wilson's character, set a Big Year record of 745, which still stands (although it is in danger of being broken this year); Miller had 715, and retired businessman Al Levantin, 710.
Greg Miller, one of the subjects of the book, is credited as a consultant for the film; he reviewed the script for birding errors and spent about three weeks with the cast and crew at filming locations. He also appeared as an extra in some scenes.
Cost: Free
Location: Watsonville Civic Plaza Council Chambers
Field Sketching
Date: Saturday, Sept. 15, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Morning session indoor classroom 9:30 to Noon
Lunch break
Afternoon session outside at the wetlands 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Carol Bennett
Description: This workshop is designed to enhance your bird watching experience. The morning session will include hands-on, step-by-step instruction using various local bird specimens to study shape, proportion, color and texture. The afternoon session will resume with observation and sketching of the wetlands. Bring a sketch pad, #2 soft pencil, colored pencils, sharpener and eraser. For the afternoon at the wetlands bring a folding chair, sun hat, and don't forget the binos!
Cost: $30
Location: Departs from Watsonville Civic Plaza Council Chambers