PROGRAMS
In-person programs meet at the Seacoast Science Center, Odiorne Point State Park, 570 Ocean Boulevard, Rye. Join us for refreshments and conversation at 7:00; the programs begin at 7:30 pm.
Zoom programs begin at 7:00 pm.
Contact: Dan Hubbard, 603 978-0218, danielhubbard@peoplepc.com
The Shaping of New Hampshire’s Landscapes by Past Glaciations
Wednesday, September 11
This program by Dr. Joe Licciardi, Professor of Earth Sciences at UNH, will explore the glacial history of New Hampshire and how these processes helped create and sculpt the modern landforms and landscapes we see today. Geologically speaking, the glacial features that dominate much of the state are quite young and developed about 15,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch. The presentation will highlight the distinctive land forms in the New Hampshire Seacoast that owe their origin to past glacial activity and sea-level changes.
Bio: Dr. Joe Licciardi is a Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of New Hampshire. He received his B.A.s in Geology and Geography from State University of New York at Geneseo, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Geology from Oregon State University. Since starting his position at UNH in 2002, he has taught classes and conducted research in glacial geology, historical geology, paleoclimatology, and volcanology. His research group has worked in a range of study sites including Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, Alaska, Iceland, and Peru. Several student-led projects have recently focused on the glacial history of the New Hampshire Seacoast region.
Birding Colombia's Valle del Cauca
Wednesday, October 9
Colombia is known for having the greatest bird diversity in the world (1,908 species) and the Cauca Valley has recorded 1,000 of those species in an area that constitutes only 2% of the land area of the country. Join Katie Towler and Jim Sparrell as they present stories and photos from their trip in August of 2023 with Colombia Birdwatch, a local company that has a strong commitment to building the young birding/guiding community in the region. In a 12-day trip, they encountered hundreds of birds, mammals, plants, and insects and met many local families who invited them into their homes to share their birds and home-cooked meals.
Bio: Jim Sparrell and Katie Towler are recreational birders who have lived in the seacoast area for 33 years. They have served as the winter season editors for New Hampshire Bird Records for NH Audubon. Jim has worked as a psychologist for over 40 years and Katie is a writer who has published 3 novels and a memoir. In addition to Colombia, they have birded internationally in Costa Rica, Vietnam, and Europe.
Racing the Tides: Saltmarsh Sparrow Research and Monitoring in NH
Wednesday, November 13
Nicknamed the "Canary in the Coastline", Saltmarsh Sparrows shine a light on the threat that accelerated rates of sea-level rise pose to salt marshes across New England. This small secretive bird nests exclusively in salt marshes but, as marshes degrade, Saltmarsh Sparrows are at risk of global extinction, with estimates as early as 2035. Come hear Grace McCulloch, Community Science Project Leader at NH Audubon, share her experiences working with Saltmarsh Sparrows and her research which is currently being used to inform local salt marsh restoration. Learn about these amazing birds, the challenges they face, and what it is like to live in the salt marsh.
Bio: As a master's student at the University of New Hampshire and a Graduate Research Fellow at Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Grace McCulloch has a wealth of experience and stories to share from working in NH salt marshes. Focusing on understanding Saltmarsh Sparrow occupancy and nesting, she has been busy zigzagging across the Seacoast monitoring nests, conducting point counts, and banding. In her new position with NH Audubon as their Community Science Project Leader, she brings to the role a background in wildlife ecology and a passion for connecting people to their local wildlife. She has worked in various positions doing avian research in northern Vermont and New Hampshire, leading public programs at Acadia National Park, and even as a camp counselor at the Seacoast Science Center. In her free time, Grace enjoys photographing wildlife, hiking, and (of course) birding.
Range-wide Migratory Connectivity of the American Redstart
Wednesday, December 11
Global change threatens life on our planet. Migratory birds are particularly at risk, suffering multiple threats of global change during different stages of their full annual cycle. Moreover, stages of the full annual cycle are inextricably linked, where events during the nonbreeding period can influence events during the breeding period and vice versa. If we hope to elucidate how global change affects migratory birds, we must understand where populations go throughout the year, i.e., their migratory connectivity, or the degree to which populations remain together throughout their annual cycle. Understanding patterns of migratory connectivity are critical for tackling ecological questions about migratory birds, as the degree to which populations remain together throughout their seasonal movements determines their exposure to threats like habitat loss and disease, among others. To bridge this knowledge gap, Henry Stevens, PhD student at Georgetown University, used a full annual cycle perspective in his study of American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla), a migratory songbird in decline. This well-studied warbler occupies a range of habitats and has been a focal study system for understanding the ecology of migratory birds over the past 30+ years. This makes redstarts an ideal study species for uncovering how global change drives changes in migratory bird distributions. Here Henry, (a) discovers undescribed patterns of migratory connectivity for redstarts by collecting tracking data from across their range, and (b) combines them with other forms of data on migratory connectivity to develop the first integrated, range-wide migratory connectivity map.
Bio: Henry graduated from Tufts University in 2019 with a joint BS in Biology and Environmental Science. He grew up in Exeter, NH, where he discovered his passion for ornithology. He LOVES birds and his desire to understand their ecology is what gets him out of bed in the morning. Henry's research interests lie at the intersection of conservation ornithology and tropical ecology, and his past research has focused on the breeding biology and dispersal of Gray Vireos in New Mexico, the use of remote audio recorders for surveying cryptic species in the Amazon, improving the conservation site network for migratory shorebirds in the Americas, and uncovering the life histories of Andean Cock-of-the-rocks and other understudied species in the cloud forest of Ecuador. At Georgetown, Henry has studied the full annual cycle of Neotropical migratory wood-warblers, and used integrated population models to pinpoint factors driving their declines. With over 3.2 billion individual birds lost in North America since 1970, understanding and addressing the threats faced by these species is paramount for mitigating further declines.
Zoom Program: A Birding Cruise around Cape Horn
Wednesday, January 8
Join Becky Suomala on a boat trip from Santiago, Chile around Cape Horn to Buenos Aires, Argentina. In addition to seabirding for albatross and the other pelagic species in southern waters, there were landbird stops in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. One of the highlights was a visit to a penguin colony on the Falkland Islands. See some of the great seabirds, landbirds, and even mammals such as guanacos, as well as the beauty of Cape Horn, the Magellanic Strait, and the Beagle Channel.
Bio: Becky Suomala is an avid birder who birds extensively in New Hampshire and takes birding trips to far flung places. She retired from NH Audubon in 2024 after over 36 years as a biologist. She led research on Common Nighthawks in NH and participated in numerous field projects including Common Tern restoration at the Isles of Shoals. She is a songbird bander at the Appledore Island Migration Station in spring and fall and tends her garden in the summer.
As the event nears, please revisit this website to register for the Zoom program.
Missed some of our recent online programs? You can access them below:
Zoom Program: Wildlife of the White Mountains
December 2023
Wildlife viewing is a favorite activity of White Mountain residents and visitors. This illustrated program, by David Govatski, US Forest Service retiree, features the natural history of many of our iconic species that we might see along the trail including black bear, moose, snowshoe hare, bobcat, Canada lynx and American marten. We will also learn about interesting and unusual insects, reptiles, amphibians, and birds that make the White Mountains their home. We will discuss trends in wildlife populations such as range expansion and contraction.
Bio: David Govatski retired from the US Forest Service after a 33-year career as a Forester and Silviculturist. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Management and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Silviculture from the US Forest Service. He has a keen interest in forest and wildlife conservation and he co-authored “Forests for the People: The Story of the Eastern National Forests.” His articles and photographs have appeared in several magazines and he is a frequent guest speaker and trip leader.
Zoom Program: Caught in the SNOWstorm: 10 Years of Snowy Owl Research
Janaury 2024
The winter of 2013-2014 saw the largest invasion of Snowy Owls into the eastern United States in perhaps a century and marked an unprecedented opportunity to learn more about these mysterious Arctic hunters. Author and researcher Scott Weidensaul will share the story of Project SNOWstorm - how a huge collaborative effort focused on Snowy Owls came together in a few frantic weeks, funded with the help of people from around the world, and continues to make discoveries and unexpected insights into the life and ecology of this great white raptor.
Bio: Scott Weidensaul is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist "Living on the Wind" and his latest, the New York Times bestseller "A World on the Wing". Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon and writes for a variety of other publications, including Bird Watchers Digest and the Cornell Lab's Living Bird. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society and an active field researcher, studying Northern Saw-whet Owl migration for more than 25 years, as well as winter hummingbirds in the East, bird migration in Alaska, and the winter movements of Snowy Owls through Project SNOWstorm, which he co-founded.
Zoom Program: There's Something About Owls
February 2024
Owls are much loved in the bird world and seeing any owl is indeed a thrill. The secretive lives of owls are part of their mystique and can make them very difficult to find in the wild. "There's Something About Owls", presented by Gina Nichol, founder of Sunrise Birding LLC, goes beyond the incredible adaptations of owls and reveals strategies to increase your chances of seeing owls in your backyard, local patch, and beyond. Preparation for your search, ethical field practices, skills, and tactics for success are discussed and illustrated with anecdotes and experiences from the field. Suggestions for what you can do to help owls are also included.
Bio: In 2005, Gina Beebe Nichol founded Sunrise Birding LLC, a company offering personalized, authentic, affordable birding and wildlife tours around the world. A naturalist and birder for more than thirty years, Gina first became fascinated with the natural world in rural upstate New York where she spent most of her childhood exploring the outdoors.
She received her B.S. in Environmental Education from Cornell University and her M.A. in Educational Technology from Fairfield University. She began her career as a Naturalist at the Rye Nature Center in Rye, NY. Gina's interest in human/wildlife interactions then took her to Volunteers for Wildlife in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. There she coordinated the operation of a 24-hour Wildlife Crisis Hotline and developed programs dealing with wildlife rehabilitation.
In 1987, she became Program Director for the National Audubon Society in Greenwich, CT. In that capacity, she led numerous environmental workshops and local field trips. Also while there, Gina also led ecotours for Audubon Nature Odysseys. Destinations included Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, the Pacific Northwest and Baja CA. Upon leaving Audubon, Gina taught biology, chemistry, physical and environmental science, and computer courses for several years at Greenwich Academy in Greenwich, CT.
Gina's avid interest in wildlife biology led her to the Yellowstone Institute in Wyoming where she studied animal behavior as well as methods for tracking animal movements. She also worked on a research project on the Isle of Skye in Scotland where she investigated habitat requirements of Eurasian otters. In addition, she participated in an Earthwatch study of mountain lions in the Jim Sage Mountains in Idaho.
Her varied interests and love of the natural world have taken her to all seven continents. She has led wildlife tours to Central and South America, Alaska, Antarctica, China, Kenya and countless countries in between.