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Nikon and The Brevard Nature Alliance present the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Brevard Community College, Titusville Campus 1311 North U.S. Highway 1, Titusville January 24 - 28, 2007 -- Titusville, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
Birds in Ancient Florida
Keynote Presenter: Ryan Wheeler
Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research
Ryan will discuss the role of birds in ancient Florida with a special focus on portrayals of birdlife in the carvings and ceramics of Florida's First People. Birds were not only important in the diet of many of Florida's Indians, but also had a place in the cosmology and symbolism of these ancient cultures. Ryan will present images of some of the more notable Florida artifacts that depict birds, including wood carvings from the Fort Center site, carved and decorated bone from southern Florida sites, effigy pottery from the Weeden Island culture and objects made of precious metal salvaged from Spanish shipwrecks. Ryan is the State Archaeologist and is involved in protection and conservation of archaeological sites throughout the state. He studied archaeology at the University of Florida where he researched the art of Florida's ancient peoples.
ARTICLE — www.flheritage.com/archaeology, www.trailofthelosttribes.org
Wednesday, January 24, 6:15pm-7:45pm: BCC Auditorium; $10.00
The Perils and Pitfalls of Birding
Keynote Presenter: Bill Thompson III
Bird Watcher's Digest
In this humorous take on the common problems (can't find the bird) and confusing conundrums (when is it OK to pish?) associated with bird watching, Bird Watcher's Digest editor Bill Thompson, III, shares with you the fabulous disasters, funny and embarrassing moments he's experienced during his 35+ years of bird watching. His goal is to help you avoid similar pain and suffering while you're watching birds.
ARTICLE — www.birdwatchersdigest.com
Thursday, January 25, 6:15pm-7:45pm: BCC Auditorium; $10.00
Birding the Ends of the Earth
Keynote Presenter: Debra Shearwater, BR.
Shearwater Journeys
From one end of the earth to the other, join Debra Shearwater as she brings these regions to life with her slide show. Debra is best known for having operated Shearwater Journeys on the central California coast since 1976. As a full-time marine naturalist-birder, she has participated in over 1800 pelagic trips which have produced many important North American records. Debi began expedition-leading in 1996 and has never looked back. Her journeys have taken her to many of the most remote realms of the earth and to all seven continents. She is a past board member of the American Birding Association. Along with Les Lieurance, she co-produced a professional DVD, "Through the Seasons: An Introduction to the Seabirds and Marine Mammals of Monterey Bay."
ARTICLE — www.shearwaterjourneys.com
Click for a Don Doolittle photo gallery.
Friday, January 26, 6:15pm-7:45pm: BCC Auditorium; $10.00
Return to Wild America
Keynote Presenter: Scott Weidensaul
Scott will be discussing the good and the bad during his keynote for this year's Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival, based on his new book, Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent's Natural Soul. From the great seabird cliffs of Newfoundland to the cypress swamps of Florida, from the cloud forests of the Sierra Madre in Mexico to lonely islands far out in the Bering Sea, we'll seek out the wild heart of the continent - and find that it's still strong. Scott Weidensaul is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Living on the Wind, about migratory birds, and The Ghost With Trembling Wings, about the search for animals that may or may not be extinct. Scott writes for such publications as Smithsonian, Audubon, Nature Conservancy and National Wildlife. He lives in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania, where he studies the migration of hawks, owls and hummingbirds.
ARTICLE — www.scottweidensaul.com
Saturday, January 27, 6:15pm-7:45pm: BCC Auditorium; $10.00
How Ivory-billed Woodpeckers and Other Birds Are Helping to Save the World
By Dr. John Fitzpatrick
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Using a variety of sounds and illustrated stories, John will describe the vital roles that birds play in fostering conservation of biological diversity throughout the world. Most important, birds represent our most accessible and sensitive indicator of ecological change. This role has increased dramatically with the advent of the Internet, which now provides individual citizens the opportunity to provide real data that answer important questions about bird populations at continental scales. Today, human beings all over the world can serve as the biosphere's first real-time, self-monitoring system. The question is, will we also self-correct? Birds present us with motivation to do so and a barometer for measuring our successes and failures. Recent rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker provides an outstanding case in point. John will explore this rediscovery, examine the controversies it has sparked, provide the latest news on searches for new populations around the southern U.S., and discuss what this spectacular "Lord God Bird" teaches us about both human nature and environmental protection.
ARTICLE — www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/
Sunday, January 28, 3:00pm-4:15pm: Fox Lake Park Pavilion; $10.00
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