Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds 2025 to start with UCLA Professor Morgan Tingley, formerly of UConn, discussing the Los Angeles wildfires
Morgan Tingley will discuss birds and the Los Angeles wildfires.
January 16, 2025 — Connecticut Audubon’s Young, Gifted, and Wild About Birds series starts its 2025 season with a January 23 Zoom presentation by UCLA professor Morgan Tingley, Ph.D., about the Los Angeles fires and the effects of climate change-induced wildfire on bird populations.
Tingley, a former University of Connecticut professor, lives and works in the heart of the area being devastated by wildfires. He’s been studying the effects of fire and smoke on birds and will also have an up-to-date report on the situation in the Los Angeles area.
This is the fifth season of Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds. Tingley’s presentation might be the timeliest and most newsworthy one we’ve offered.
“After the Fire: Birds in the Pyrocene” is scheduled for 7 p.m., Thursday, January 23.
Dr. Tingley’s presentation is the first of 5 this winter.
The cost for members is $9 per presentation of $36 for all 5.
The cost for non-members is $12 per presentation or $48 for all 5.
Each presentation will be via Zoom. Those who sign up will also receive a video of the presentations.
All proceeds from the series go directly to Connecticut Audubon’s bird protection work throughout the state.
Connecticut Audubon started Young, Gifted, and Wild About Birds in the winter of 2020-21 as a way to present the research and ideas of a diverse group of young, cutting edge scientists and others. The 20 presentations have featured 25 experts and drawn a total attendance of about 1,500.
In his January 23 presentation, Tingley will delve into the complex relationship between birds and fire. While fire is a natural part of many ecosystems, climate change is dramatically altering its frequency and intensity, creating what some scientists are calling the Pyrocene – an age of fire.
Tingley’s research and his position at UCLA provides him with a unique vantage point to discuss the devastating effects of these fires on birds. His lecture will explore how this new era of fire is disrupting bird ecology, impacting biodiversity, and shaping the future of the landscapes.
From 2014 to 2019, Tingley was an assistant professor at UConn, where among other accomplishments he helped organize the Connecticut Bird Atlas. He was a David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow at Princeton University.
He is the president-elect of the American Ornithological Society.
Kaitlyn Parkins of ABC Birds will talk about how to make your windows safer for birds.
The five-part Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds series will also feature these presentations:
- February 5, 12:30 p.m. — Practical Solutions for Preventing Bird-Window Collisions at Home and in Your Community: Kaitlyn Parkins, American Bird Conservancy.
- February 20, 7 p.m. — Stopover Ecology and Conservation of Migratory Landbirds in the Eastern United States: Fengyi (Freda) Guo, Ph.D., Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
- March 6, 7 p.m. — Seeing Both the Forest and the Trees: Insights into the Effects of Global Climate Change on Forest Birds of Eastern North America: Hannah L. Clipp, Ph.D., U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station.
- March 13, 7 p.m. — Equity in Birdwatching: Reflections and Experiences through a Community-led Perspective: Marilu Lopez Fretts, Project Leader, Celebrate Urban Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Each presentation is via Zoom. Tickets are $9 for Connecticut Audubon members and $10 for non members.
Or subscribe to all 5 presentations for the cost of 4: $36 for members and $40 for non members.
For more information about all 5 presentations, click HERE. Or click this blue button to subscribe to all 5.
