Presenter: Debra Hamilton, Monteverde Institute Costa Rica

With the great loss of tropical forests in the past 50 years, the question of what happens to migratory birds on their overwintering grounds is urgent. Are restored forests providing the habitat they need? What do migrants encounter when they return each year to Costa Rica, a country long recognized for its leadership in environmental stewardship? Debra Hamilton, research affiliate with the Monteverde Institute and president of the Costa Rican Conservation Foundation, will share insights from her and collaborator Luisa Moreno's work tracking these birds at banding stations and studying how reforested landscapes and native tree plantings on agricultural land are shaping their survival. Debra has studied the use of agricultural windbreaks as micro-corridors for forest dwelling birds, avian community changes in relation to climate change, and started the MoSI (overwintering survival of neotropical migratory birds) station in Monteverde. She was a founding member of the Costa Rican Conservation Foundation, an organization with the mission to protect and restore forest habitat on Costa Rica’s Pacific slope to aid the recovery of the Three-wattled Bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus).  Her publications include articles on vocalizations, habitat use, and frugivory patterns of bellbirds, as well as tropical forest restoration topics. Working alongside a dedicated team of naturalists, she explores how restoration, conservation, and human pressures are reshaping the future for migratory birds in the tropics.

This program is at 7:30 on zoom and will be recorded.  The zoom “doors” will open at 7 pm.