Date

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Speaker

Location

Parking:
On site and free.

Time

Cost

Title

Lives and Times of Our Local Woodpeckers

Topics

From the western Transverse Ranges north of Santa Barbara to the Laguna Mountains west of Anza Borrego, nine species of woodpeckers hold year-round territories in largely complimentary habitats. Winter brings an influx of flickers and sapsuckers to the region, when some of the resident species wander a bit. Some of Southern California's local woodpecker populations have developed uniquely specialized lifestyles suited to their preferred islands of habitat, and at least one endemic subspecies inhabits the region's pine forests.

Join Oregon naturalist and woodpecker specialist Steve Shunk as he interprets the lives and times of our local woodpeckers. Steve will discuss natural history, adaptation, and hybridization among our resident and migratory woodpecker species, as well as potential identification challenges.

About the Speaker

For the last 10 years, Steve has studied woodpeckers on the east slope of Oregon's Cascade Mountains, and he is nearing completion of the Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America. He leads birding tours across western North America through his company, Paradise Birding, and he coordinates bird surveys for various agencies and organizations from his home base in Central Oregon. Steve co-founded the East Cascades Bird Conservancy and served as its first President. He also co-founded the Oregon Birding Trails project and coordinated its flagship project, the Oregon Cascades Birding Trail.