Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds 2025: wildfires, window safety, climate and habitat, and more
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 southern California.
This is the fifth season of Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds. Tingley’s presentation might prove to 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.
The 2025 series will also feature three other young scientists discussing their research on urgent avian conservation issues; and an expert from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who will talk about urban community organizing on behalf of birds.
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 cost for members is $9 per presentation or $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 recording of the presentations.
All proceeds from the series go directly to Connecticut Audubon’s bird protection work throughout the state.
Morgan W. Tingley, Ph.D.
Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles
After the Fire: Birds in the Pyrocene
Thursday, January 23, 7 p.m.
Fire is a critical and natural part of many ecosystems, but the nature of fire is rapidly shifting due to climate change. From a biological perspective, fire is a regular disturbance that affects the distribution and abundance of species and has shaped evolution for millions of years. Nevertheless, we are entering an unprecedented period where the dominant nature of fire is rapidly changing, disrupting both human and animal lives.
In this lecture, Dr. Morgan Tingley will discuss the myriad ways that fire has shaped the ecology of birds and how the shifting nature of fire is impacting biodiversity. By learning how species are currently responding to a rapidly changing world, we are offered a glimpse into what our increasingly flammable future will hold.
Kaitlyn Parkins
Glass Collisions Program Coordinator for American Bird Conservancy
Practical solutions for preventing bird-window collisions at home and in your community. Wednesday, February 5, 12:30 p.m.
Well over 1 billion birds die each year in the U.S. because of building collisions. That estimate comes from a study published in 2024 and it was eye-opening because it was much higher than previous estimates. One of the study’s authors, Kaitlyn Parkins of the American Bird Conservancy, will show us which techniques actually work to reduce window crashes and which don’t. This is news you can use for those of us trying to make a difference for bird conservation.
Kaitlyn Parkins is the glass collisions program coordinator at American Bird Conservancy, where she works to reduce bird-window collisions through education, outreach, glass testing, and policy solutions. Before joining ABC, Kaitlyn managed the Project Safe Flight collision monitoring program at NYC Bird Alliance, and was part of the team that worked to pass NYC’s landmark bird-friendly building ordinance.
Fengyi (Freda) Guo, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and a Rose Fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Stopover ecology and conservation of migratory land birds in the Eastern United States Thursday, February 20, 7 p.m.
Migratory land birds are experiencing dramatic population declines in North America, but little is known about the important habitats they use as stopover sites during migration. Freda’s research leverages the power of weather radar to monitor the continental-scale movement pattern of migratory land birds, identify critical stopover hotspots and key habitats birds use during migration, and assess how land birds confront migration barriers lacking stopover sites.
Hannah L. Clipp, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station
Seeing Both the Forest and the Trees: Insights into the Effects of Global Climate Change on Forest Birds of Eastern North America
Thursday, March 6, 7 p.m.
Global climate change threatens biodiversity and bird populations, and predicting future impacts is challenging but necessary. Hannah will describe three of her research projects in New England and the Appalachians.
The projects are designed to improve understanding of how climate change affects forest bird populations in eastern North America; and how those birds are affected by other landscape changes and habitat associations. She’ll explain the role of land cover and tree species distributions and they relate to the forest bird communities of New England.
Hannah Clipp is a postdoctoral research fellow with the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station. She graduated in 2023 with a PhD in Natural Resources Science from West Virginia University. Her dissertation research focused on long-term responses in bird communities and abundance to forest management and climate change in the Appalachian Mountains. Hannah is also an avid birder and nature enthusiast. She formerly served as the President of the Mountaineer chapter of the National Audubon Society in West Virginia and is currently an active board member.
Marilu Lopez Fretts
Project Leader, Celebrate Urban Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Equity in Birdwatching: Reflections and Experiences through a Community-led Perspective
Thursday, March 13, 7 p.m.
To foster effective conservation, communities need to feel connected to their local environment, highlighting the importance of partnerships between scientific institutions and underrepresented groups.
The Equity in Birdwatching initiative promotes inclusivity, social justice, and community-led conservation, emphasizing that diverse perspectives enrich our understanding and help us find solutions.
By connecting us with nature and other cultures, birding can inspire us to address equity issues and foster conservation of our planet’s natural wealth, recognizing birds as indicators of environmental health and catalysts for positive change.
Celebrate Urban Birds is a community-led science project from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology based on equity and inclusive practices in birding and ornithology.
