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Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival November 7 - 11, 2001 -- Brevard County, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
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Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival November 7 - 11, 2001 -- Brevard County, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Seabirds and Marine Mammals
of Monterey BayDebra Shearwater
Attracting visitors from all over the world, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the largest federally protected area in the lower 48 states, and one of the richest marine environments in the world. This sheltered, half-moon shaped bay sits at the end of a deep submarine canyon and is host to an immense variety of seabirds and marine mammals, especially during fall migration. From majestic Blue Whales to flocks of thousands of tiny Ashy Storm Petrals floating in rafts, this unique area tantalizes both the beginner and advanced naturalist. Join Debra Shearwater, field ornithologist and pelagic birder extraordinaire, for an introduction to this wondrous world beyond the shore.
Kevin Karlson Debra Shearwater is founder of Shearwater Journeys www.shearwaterjourneys.com, a tour company that has specialized in pelagic birding trips off the central California coast since 1976. As a full time naturalist/birder, she has participated in over 1460 pelagic trips. Seabirds and marine mammals have been a major part of her life. Shearwater Journey's trips have produced many important North American seabird records. Over the last 25 years, Debi has seen many ocean wonders: 800,000 feeding Sooty Shearwaters, the annual rafting of thousands of storm petrals, the delicate calling of a pair of Ancient Murrelets, breaching Baird's Beaked Whales, mating dolphins, singing Humpbacks, newborn Grey Whales. She has been eye-to-eye with the largest animal on Earth, the magnificent Sperm Whale. Even after all the years at sea Debi says, "the magic of the ocean is still there, stronger than ever for me. The beauty of the ocean lies in its unknown revelations."
Evening keynote address on Thursday, Nov 8
The Dry Tortugas:
A Deceptive Island ParadiseKevin T. Karlson
Sixty-eight miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico are seven tropical coral islands called the Dry Tortugas. Rich in history and the site of a major seabird colony, these islands seem to be an oasis to lost or stranded passerine migrants that pass this way while flying to and from their northern breeding areas. However, with no fresh water on the islands except a single fountain, these migrants face an additional hardship on their long journey across the Gulf to their breeding grounds in North America. Over the last ten years, Kevin has spent over 170 days and nights on the islands during migration and has developed a unique perspective about the fate of the migrant birds. This show explains natural hazards encountered by migrating birds, including weather-related problems and long distance passages over large bodies of water.
Kevin Karlson
Kevin T. Karlson has been a wildlife photographer for 20 years and active as a birder for 22 years. He has traveled from the wilds of the Alaskan Arctic to the rainforests of Central and South America to photograph birds. His photo collection from the fragile Alaskan Arctic habitat region is one of the best in the world. His work is widely published in most birding magazines and journals, as well as books, field guides, and CD Rom projects. Kevin currently serves as the photo editor for "North American Birds," a birding journal published by the American Birding Association. A resident of Cape May County, N.J., Kevin is a 10-year member of the N.J. Bird Records Committee and is active in the Cape May birding community. He is the founder and president of Jaeger Tours, Inc., www.jaegertours.net, a small birding tour company.
Kevin Karlson Friday, Nov 9th evening keynote presentation.
Biographies
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