[SEMCO] Migrant songbirds face challenges - subject of upcoming talk

[Melissa Lowe]

"Trials and Tribulations of Migrant Songbirds"
Presentation by Dr. John Kricher

Wednesday, August 22, 7:30 p.m.
at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

Long distance migrants, warblers, thrushes, orioles, tanagers, and other passerine species, face multiple challenges in that they inhabit two worlds and one in between. They must be adapted to a breeding habitat, a wintering habitat, and be able to use stop over sites as they migrate thousands of miles, often over the ocean, twice annually. Dr. John Kricher of Wheaton College will describe some of the ongoing research on migrant ecology and conservation. Topics include ecology of migrants on their wintering grounds, stable isotope analysis of migratory patterns, and use of DNA sequencing to trace evolutionary histories. The talk will also focus on how predicted climate change will affect patterns of migration and distribution.

John Kricher is a professor of biology at Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts. His books include "Galapagos: A Natural History", "A Neotropical Companion", and three ecology field guides (Eastern Forests, Rocky Mountain and Southwestern Forests, California and Pacific Northwest Forests) in the Peterson series. John is a Fellow in the American Ornithologists Union and past-president of both the Association of Field Ornithologists and Wilson Ornithological Society. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the American Birding Association and serves on the Council of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He resides with his wife Martha Vaughan on Cape Cod.

NEXT WEEK AT WELLFLEET BAY: Dr. Ian Nisbet, ornithologist and local tern expert, and Monica Williams, USFWS Biologist, will be speaking on the important role Chatham and the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge play for nesting coastal birds such as common and least terns. Talk will focus on how the local populations fared this summer and provide a historical perspective on terns in our region. Talk is scheduled for Wed, August 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Registration is not required for the talks. Cost is $5 for Mass Audubon members and $7 for non-members. For more information please call the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at 508-349-2615.

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Melissa Lowe, Education Coordinator
Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
PO Box 236, South Wellfleet, MA 02663
mlowe at massaudubon.org
508-349-2615, ext 107

Protecting the Nature of Massachusetts
www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay