FEATURED PRESENTATIONS
"Ghost Bird" - A Featured Documentary By Scott Crocker
Date: Thursday, September 23 at 7 p.m. Description The Ivory-billed woodpecker has long been considered
the Holy Grail by diehard birders who refused to believe it went extinct over 60 years ago.
So when scientists announced that the bird had been found in the swamps of eastern Arkansas, it was celebrated around the world as the rediscovery of a lifetime. Following the largest recovery effort ever undertaken for a lost species, and despite millions of dollars in funding, Ivory-bills remain as elusive as ever. What can explain the mysterious absence of evidence while sightings by expert birders persist?
"Ghost Bird" brings the Ivory-bills blurry rediscovery into focus revealing our uneasy relationship with nature and the increasing uncertainty of our place within it.
Scott Crocker is an American documentary and feature film director
whose award-winning work has screened at the Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco's De Young Museum and at film festivals around the world. Trained principally as a visual anthropologist, Scott graduated magnum cum laude from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and has studied with cinema verite iconoclast Jean Rouch, maverick cinematographer Haskell Wexler, and philosophical film theorist Stanley Cavell. Under Small Change Productions, Scott has developed and directed films concerned with memory, identity and narrative impulse. He resides in Berkeley.
Cost: $10
Presenter: Director Scott Crocker
Transportation: Meet at Watsonville Civic Plaza Council Chamber
25 Years of Raptor Migrations at the Golden Gate
Date: Friday, September 24 at 7 p.m. Description For a quarter century, each fall the citizen-driven Golden Gate Raptor Observatory has kept track of the biggest hawk migration in the western US, over the Marin Headlands. Traditional scientific tools like binoculars, traps, and radio-transmitters have allowed volunteers to count 1000 hawks a day, to band dozens a day, and to follow a hawk to Mexico. But other volunteers weren't satisfied with the traditional, and so have created innovations for raptor study at the Golden Gate: among them, a standardized group-counting technique for measuring daily flights, a mechanical bird to lure hawks into traps for banding, and the first calibrations of West Nile Virus infection rates in California's wild raptors. A dynamic result of the partnership between the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the GGRO today makes use of 300 volunteers annually, and draws some 10,000 visitors to the Headlands each autumn. GGRO director Allen Fish chronicles both the Observatory's citizen contributions and its avian splendors. Amidst Goshawks and Golden Eagles, he'll tell tales of reverse-migrations, of a nearly-domesticated Redtail, and of a city with the highest density of nesting Cooper's Hawks ever recorded. Cost: $10Presenter: Allen Fish
Location: Council Chambers at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Director of the GGRO since its inception in 1985, Allen Fish
was a Redwood City kid who practiced his own altitudinal migrations each summer to the Sierra Nevada. Schooled at UC Davis, he now teaches Raptor Biology there each winter, and consults on avian conservation issues throughout the state. He lives in Berkeley with his wife, an art librarian, and two kids who can't have dessert until they can tell a Sharp-shinned from a Coop.
California - Bird's Eye View...
..or, Ornithological Californication
Date: Saturday, September 25 at 7 p.m.
Description - Oh admit it, Californians have certain smugness about them. Californians think they are special in some way, particularly when they are traveling "out east." Surely, we are all the same, and really there is nothing all that special about this part of the world - or is there? You know what; the birds suggest that this is indeed a special place. First of all, how many states actually have endemic birds? Not many, and California has more than one. Lots of states have a coastline, but not one of the most productive oceanic currents on earth, cleverly named the California Current! So the seabirds are great here, as are the whales. Winemakers knew this a long time ago, but California has special weather, unlike that found anywhere else in the continent - we are Mediterranean - far from a run of the mill climatological distinction. Then of course we have the mountains, a whole bunch of them, as well as an ancient dry inland sea we know as the Central Valley. Our mountains are not at all related to the Rockies, but divide the western avifauna into an interior group and a Pacific group, the latter perhaps more distinct and special than we give it credit. So we may as people be no more special than anyone else on our continent, but California as a place certainly is unique. Perhaps the singular nature of our nature influences who we are though? Come and see what our birds tell us about this wonderful state.
Cost: $10
Leader: Alvaro Jaramillo
Location: Council Chambers at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Alvaro (Al) Jaramillo is a staff guide for Field Guides, guiding birding tours throughout the Americas.
He was born in Chile but began birding in Toronto. Research forays and backpacking trips introduced Alvaro to the riches of the Neotropics, where he has traveled extensively. He is author of Birds of Chile, an authoritative yet portable field guide to Chile's birds. His other book (New World Blackbirds: The Icterids) deals with the biology and identification of this fascinating group of birds. He has also contributed both popular and scientific articles in various magazines and journals, including as a bird identification columnist for Bird Watcher's Digest. He lives in the gull watching Mecca of Half Moon Bay, near San Francisco.
FEATURED WORKSHOPS
Tricolored Blackbird - Colonial Land Bird
Date: Thursday, September 23 at 1 p.m.Description The Tricolored Blackbird is North America's most colonial land bird. Found almost exclusively in California, its breeding colonies often teem with more than 50,000 birds, sometimes all settled into a single 10-acre field or wetland to raise their young. In the 19th Century, Tricolored Blackbird flocks were described as so numerous "as to darken the sky." Since then, the population has declined from several million to slightly less than 400,000 today. Over just the last 70 years, the Tricolored Blackbird population has decreased by more than 80 percent. This talk will range from basic identification, life history traits, and nesting locations of the Tricolored Blackbird to the current conservation efforts being undertaken by Audubon California and other members of the Tricolored Working Group. The Working Group has been lauded as an effective model of cooperation between public and private interests to avoid the Tricolored Blackbird's future population decline and possible listing as a Federally Endangered Species. This talk will be a great way for you to get to know a California specialty; the Tricolored Blackbird. Cost: $10
Leader: Keiller Kyle
Location: Council Chambers at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Keiller Kyle has recently joined Audubon California as the Tricolored Blackbird Conservation Coordinator
where he organizes the efforts of state and federal agencies, non-profit organizations, private landowners, and farmers to protect and stabilize Tricolored Blackbird populations within California. He received his Master's Degree in Ecology from Purdue University in 2008 where he worked on avian community responses to human disturbance in Monteverde, Costa Rica. He has also done avian fieldwork in California, Arizona, Hawaii, and Venezuela. He grew up on a dairy farm in Central New York and has also recently worked for his family business selling products to Central Valley dairy farmers to help improve the quality of life of California cows.
Seabirds of the Pacific
Date: Thursday, September 23 at 3 p.m.Description When we look to the ocean, we see a large expanse of blue. What we usually don't see is the incredible amount of wildlife below the surface and above. The most visible of this life are the seabirds. These ocean-going wanderers have developed unique behavior and feeding styles which have enabled them to survive a life at sea. We will talk about the Seabirds of the Pacific from the noble albatrosses to the diminutive storm-petrels and phalaropes and all species in-between. We'll discuss behavior, breeding, and species distribution through photographs. This workshop is highly recommended for birders going on Friday, Saturday and Sunday pelagic trips. Cost: $10
Leader: Jim Danzenbaker
Location: Council Chambers at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Jim Danzenbaker started birding in New Jersey at age 6 and quickly grew interested in all facets of birding.
In 1970, he took his first pelagic trip off Virginia Beach and the pelagic bug has been coursing through his veins ever since. This interest has led to studying seabirds off the East and West coasts of North America as well as overseas off Japan and Chile. He is a staff naturalist on an annual cruise to the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula where he lectures on seabird identification. He has been privileged to co-lead over 250 pelagic trips for Shearwater Journeys for the last 25 years and has led more than 15 neotropical birding tours to Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador.Photographing Wild Birds
Date: Thursday, September 23 at 1 p.m.Description Everything you need to know about photographing wildlife - especially birds - will be discussed by Santa Cruz photographer Larry Selman. This workshop will give you tips on how to capture that perfect photograph of your favorite bird. Cost: $10
Leader: Larry Selman
Location: Watsonville Library meeting room at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Capturing life and documenting it in an artful way. This concept has fascinated Santa Cruz photographer Larry Selman since he was a teenager,
shooting pictures with my Speed Graphic camera and developing school class photos in a Cleveland, Ohio basement darkroom.
His first bird photograph (at age 16) was a self-portrait with his family Parakeet, Pretty Boy, sitting on the edge of a pencil that he held in his mouth. About 10 years ago, his brother-in-law (an avid birder from Florida) helped to rekindle his interest in birds-ancient creatures who have inhabited the planet much longer than we, and whose migratory capabilities and habits have enabled them, over the centuries, to own the planet. He enjoys photographing wildlife-especially birds-in their natural surroundings, as they go about their business of everyday living. For him, photographing birds is especially challenging, because they remain so little time in one place. They are literally moving subjects. One has to study their surroundings, favorite foods, migratory schedules and quirky habits, in order to have a chance to capture anything on film (or now, on a digital card).
Creative Art Journaling
Date: Friday, September 24 at 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.Description Whether you use it to record ideas, for travel, or as a tool for observation or self-discovery, the practice of keeping a visual journal is an enriching way to express and record your deeper creative self. In your travels and daily life it helps you to experience place on a deeper and more meaningful level. It is a tool to awaken your senses and help you see the world through artist's eyes. We'll visit the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center at Pajaro Valley High School and take advantage of an excellent collection of mounted local birds loaned by Richard Gurnee.
Cost: $30
Trip Leaders: Susan Dorf
Transportation: Departs from Watsonville Civic Plaza
Activity Moderate
Susan Dorf
is a Santa Cruz artist who has been creating, exhibiting and teaching art on the Central Coast for almost 30 years. She is known for her colorful and painterly depictions of birds and other subjects. Her work has been exhibited and published in several countries. She has kept art journals all of her life and teaches art journaling locally at the Santa Cruz Art League. Her paintings can be viewed at Many Hands gallery in Capitola and on her website at www.susandorf.comThe Condors of Pinnacles National Monument
Date: Friday, September 24 at 1 p.m.Description Pinnacles National Monument is one of five release sites for the critically endangered California Condor. The Monument has been a part of the California Condor Recovery Program since 2003 and now has 23 free-flying condors released from the park. These condors have integrated with the 21 condors released along the Big Sur coast by Ventana Wildlife Society, forming the Central California flock. Condor biologists closely monitor the activities of each bird to increase its chances of survival. In addition to tracking condor movements and habitat use, biologists are researching the impacts of incidental ingestion of lead (Pb) bullet fragments, the influence of other contaminants, and nesting behavior. There are currently five condor nests in Central California - one near Pinnacles National Monument and four along the coast.
Cost: $10
Leader: Daniel George
Location: Council Chambers at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Daniel George is the Condor Program Manager at Pinnacles National Monument.
He has worked for Mt. Rainier National Park, Point Reyes National Seashore, and several nonprofit organizations. Most of his work has been with threatened and endangered birds, including Marbled Murrelet inventory, Spotted Owl demography, and current work to re-establish the Condor in Central California. Pinnacles manages over twenty free-flying Condors that have integrated into a single flock of nearly 50 that include those released and managed by the Ventana Wildlife Society along the Big Sur coast.Snowy Plover Conservation
Date: Friday, September 24 at 3 p.m.Description When numbers of Western Snowy Plovers along the Pacific Coast dropped to very low numbers, many biologists decided that they should be protected under the Endangered Species Act (E.S.A.). In 1993, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) gave Snowies special protection by declaring them "threatened." Point Reyes Bird Observatory has been at the forefront of conservation efforts and studies to advocate for not only the protection of Snowy Plovers, but for the recovery of their population. Kriss Neuman will provide an overview of those efforts along with an inside look at the lifestyles of the Snowies of our region. Cost: $10
Leader: Kriss Neuman
Location: Council Chambers at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Kriss Neuman is a biologist with the Wetlands Ecology Division of PRBO Conservation Science, where she has been since 1996. Prior to joining PRBO, Kriss, a resident of Aptos, studied seabird reproductive biology in Alaska and Maine, and shorebird migration in the Midwest. Since 1996, Kriss has been involved in a long-term study of snowy plover reproductive success on Monterey Bay beaches. In 2003 she completed an M.S. in Environmental Studies; her thesis work focused on the effect of predator management on reproductive success of snowy plovers. Kriss's primary research interests are snowy plover conservation and management, ecology of sandy beach shorebirds, and the impacts of human disturbance on shorebirds.
Basic Raptor Identification
Date: Saturday, September 25 at 10:30 a.m.Description Do buteos bowl you over? Do falcons make you falter and do accipiters make your eyes cross? You are not alone! Come join us for a quick class in basic raptor Identification. This will be a shortened version of the ten-hour identification training for new hawk spotters at the Golden Gate. By grouping California's diurnal raptors into four types, we will cover 20 species, and you will be able to take your new lingo - carpals, patagials, streaking, barring, windows, wingpits, and rump patches - right into the field on your next hawk hike. Cost: $10
Leader: Allen Fish
Location: Council Chambers at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Director of the GGRO since its inception in 1985,
Allen Fish was a Redwood City kid who practiced his own altitudinal migrations each summer to the Sierra Nevada. Schooled at UC Davis, he now teaches Raptor Biology there each winter, and consults on avian conservation issues throughout the state. He lives in Berkeley with his wife, an art librarian, and two kids who can't have dessert until they can tell a Sharp-shinned from a Coop.Advanced Raptor Identification
Date: Saturday, September 25 at 1 p.m.Description There are some tough calls in California raptor identification that can set even the best birder in the room a bit on edge. Cooper's v. Sharp-shinned Hawk is the best known and most quickly deferred, but there are other headaches as well: differentiating young Bald from Golden eagles; telling juvenile from female harriers; and where do you even start on dark morph buteos? Join us for a review of the knottiest problems in Advanced Raptor Identification, and be ready to impress your birder-buddies with your knife-sharp knowledge of raptor jizz. Cost: $10
Leader: Allen Fish
Location: Council Chambers at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Allen Fish is Friday night's keynote speaker presenting "25 Years of Raptor Migrations at the Golden Gate" at 7 p.m.
Shorebird Identification
Date: Saturday, September 25 at 3 p.m.Description Alvaro Jaramillo is a birder who is also keenly interested in all aspects of the natural world and in understanding the biology and behavior of the birds we seek on trips. He enjoys teaching and incorporating gee whiz facts from his great internal database of bird information into the day's birding, including shorebird ID. With a wealth of sloughs and shorebird habitat along the central coast, every birder living in or visiting the region will want to hone their shorebird identification skills. Al's great enjoyment of humor is also part of the package, so if you want to have great fun birding the Americas...you know where to find him. Cost: $10
Leader: Alvaro Jaramillo
Location: Council Chambers at the Festival Headquarters at Watsonville Civic Plaza
Al Jaramillo is Saturday night's keynote speaker presenting "California - A Bird's Eye View" at 7 p.m.