Programs & Main Events

All Chapter meetings till further notice will be conducted virtually on ZOOM, please contact Don for more information – Greatauk4@gmail.com

March 11, 2026 at 7:30 pm

Marina Richie: Searching for Belted Kingfishers

Marina Richie is an award-winning nature writer living in Bend, Oregon. Growing up in a National Park Service family with a bird-loving father influenced her passion for protecting wildlife and wild places. Halcyon Journey In Search of the Belted Kingfisher received the 2024 John Burroughs Medal for distinguished nature writing, a National Outdoor Book Award, and a Foreword Indies Award. Her new book Feathered Forest, with Chelsea Green Publishing, comes out Fall 2026.

She is also the author of two children’s books–Bird Feats of Montana and Bug Feats of Montana. Her articles, essays, blogs, and poems have appeared in National Wildlife, Audubon, Birding, Birdwatching, A.T. Journeys, Post Road Magazine, Montana Naturalist, Think Journal, Vision and Research View (University of Montana), Center for Humans and Nature, Lothlorien, Panorama, Humans of the World, and Tiny Seed Literary Journal. Essays and poetry appear in book collections: Field Notes from the Montana Natural History Center; Placed, An Encyclopedia of Central Oregon; and a poems in Central Oregon Writers Guild 2023 and 2024 Literary Collections. She’s also written award-winning interpretive wayside exhibits. She publishes a bi-monthly nature blog on her website: www.marinarichie.com

April 8, 2026 at 7:30 pm

Kevin Karlson: On Warbler Identification

Kevin has devoted his life to teaching us about North American birdlife. He is a superb photographer and has done field studies of birds at their Alaskan nesting grounds and in migration. He published 9 books and 5 field guide pamphlets illustrating our bird species, especially helpful for bird identification in the field. Kevin has led hundreds of field trips and is an inspirational speaker at birding festivals across America. He contributed many fine images to online bird atlases. Kevin has worked tirelessly to promote appreciation and conservation of American wildlife.

May 13, 2026 at 7:30 pm

Teresa Doss: What’s new in the NJ Meadowlands

Terry Doss is a Certified Restoration Practitioner who serves as Director and Chief Restoration Scientist for the Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute, the science arm of the NJ Sports and Exposition Authority. Over the past 40 years, Terry has served as a local leader in restoring the natural areas located within the urban wildlands of NY and NJ, with a primary expertise in managing coastal and wetland restoration projects to reduce flood risks while improving resilience in coastal communities. Terry has nurtured projects from baseline assessment, through design and permitting, to the final construction and monitoring of these natural areas. Since joining NJSEA, Terry’s primary focus has been on assisting the Authority with meeting their stated mandate to protect the delicate balance of nature.

June 10,2026 7:30 PM

Chris Garza: Ornithomycology: Where birds and fungi intersect

With birds in the air and fungi in the soil, you may think that the two aren’t interconnected. However, there are several documented ways that fungi and birds play roles in each other’s lives. In this talk, we will explore some of the known interactions and observations that have been studied or documented. From collecting for food, to nest building, or even to impress mates, birds have proven to utilize fungi in several interesting ways. Join us to learn about these and the other ways that birds and fungi interact.

Chris Garza is a Certified Ecologist, ISA Certified Arborist, and Certified Ecosystem Restoration Practitioner. Chris has a M.S. in Forestry from Texas A and M University and a B.S. in Biology from St. Edward’s University. Chris currently works as senior environmental scientist for GFT. Some of Chris’ other interests include botany, entomology, mycology, foraging, and rock climbing.

September 9, 2026 7:30 PM

Sophie Osborn: Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds

Birds are visible, vocal sentinels that alert us to environmental harms through their declining numbers or their failure to thrive. In her book Feather Trails—A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds, Sophie Osborn shares her personal experiences reintroducing endangered Peregrine Falcons, Hawaiian Crows, and California Condors to the wild. While immersing readers in the triumphs and tribulations of being a wildlife biologist, Sophie explores the threats that imperiled these birds, and reveals that what harmed them threatens us, too. She will discuss what led to the endangerment of these three captivating species, recount the efforts of biologists to recover their populations, and read a few excerpts from her book that describe what it was like to work with these magnificent birds.

Sophie A. H. Osborn is an award-winning writer and wildlife biologist whose work has included the study and conservation of more than a dozen bird species in the Americas. She contributed to reintroduction efforts for several endangered birds and served as the field manager for the California Condor Recovery Program in Arizona for four years. Her first book, Condors in Canyon Country, won the 2007 National Outdoor Book Award for Nature and the Environment. Reviewers for the American Birding Association chose her second book, Feather Trails, as their favorite bird book of 2024. Sophie has written articles for Bird Conservation, BirdWatching, and Wyoming Wildlife magazines, and co-edited an anthology of short stories Wild Work—Adventures of Women Field Biologists (out September 2026). She also writes the “Words for Birds” blog on Substack.

All programs and events are free and open to the public. We are supported by memberships and donations.

If you have suggestions or would like to help with future programs, please contact Marilyn Sadowski msadowskibcas@gmail.com