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Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

On Zoom. Social Time begins at 7:00 p.m.

ARI RICE: "BIRDS AND HYBRIDIZATION"

Approximately 16% of all bird species have been known to interbreed (i.e., hybridize) with each other, and thanks to genetic tools, eBird, and increasing numbers of attentive birders, the list keeps growing.  Ari Rice is a lifelong ENSBC member and PhD student at Texas Tech University who studies the genetic, ecological and evolutionary outcomes of avian hybridization.  Join him for a talk on why some species hybridize more than others, what can be learned from each case of hybridization, and what hybridization means for birders and bird conservation.  A significant portion of this talk will also focus on Ari’s current research, which involves an unusual and little-known population of hybrid Virginia’s x Colima warblers in the mountains of West Texas.

 

Tuesday, February 27, 2024, 7:30 p.m.

On Zoom. Social Time begins at 7:00 p.m.

BOB DOGLAN: “FILMS AND FLUDDLES”

What do Montrose Point, The Magic Stump, and fluddles have in common? They are all topics of Bob Dolgan's films. Dolgan will join us to share excerpts of his work and some behind-the-scenes stories from the making of these films. He'll also highlight continued opportunities for advocacy and conservation. Dolgan is a birder, journalist, filmmaker, and marketer who has made two films about Chicago's late Piping Plovers, Monty and Rose.  His films "The Magic Stump" and "Fluddles" are the first two in a Prairie State trilogy about Illinois.

 

Tuesday, March 26, 2024 7:30

Location: Robert Crown Community Center, 1801 Man Street, Evanston

VIC BERARDI: "HAWKWATCHING IN NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS, WHAT WE SEE & WHAT WE'RE LEARNING"

Vic's presentation will include all the raptors regularly seen at the hawkwatches in northeastern Illinois during the fall migration period, including Illinois Beach Sate Park, Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve and the Greene Valley Forest Preserve. He will highlight favorable times of the fall for sightings of each species along with several photos describing them. He will also include charts showing trends over the site's 24 years of data collecting and some insight explaining these trends. Vic has been a long-time ENSBC member and is an extraordinary photographer.

 

 

 

Tuesday, April 23, 2024 7:30

Location: Robert Crown Community Center, 1801 Main Street, Evanston

CHRIS WHELAN: "BIRD NESTS AND NESTING ECOLOGY"

The amazing diversity of bird species on Earth is matched by the diversity of nests that birds build, and the unique nesting ecology of each bird species. While some nests share certain characteristics (e.g., open cup, platform, pendulous, among many others), the nest of each species is unique. Many bird species are master builders -- to verify this, just try to construct a nest out of grass clippings and twigs yourselves. There are exceptions to this of course -- many species simply create a shallow scrape, and the familiar mourning dove builds nests so flimsy that they often do not last through the entire nest attempt. In this presentation, we will consider the diversity of nests, review what is known about bird nest-construction behavior and highlight the importance of nesting ecology in the life history of birds. We will consider how human activity has affected nesting ecology, both for the good and for the bad. Chris Whelan, in the Biology Department, University of Illinois at Chicago, will share techniques for studying and quantifying bird nesting ecology, and some of the controversies surrounding some of these techniques. The overall goal is to develop a greater appreciation for this amazing and critical aspect of bird biology and natural history.