PEPtBO ANNUAL FALL DINNER 2010

Fall Dinner Speaker Professor David Bird With Young American Kestrels

The PEPtBO Annual Fall Dinner was held at Waring House at Picton ON on Saturday October 23rd 2010. Guests were treated to the music of Rita DiGhent and Sam 'the Shark' Sharkawy who were the entertainers at the beginning of the evening. They generously donated their time and talent.

Guest Speaker for the evening was Professor David Bird, Mc Gill University, author of The Bird Almanac and Birds of Canada. The title of his talk was " Watching Birds Naked". Professor Bird is well know for his humourous and insightful presentations on avian research.

David Bird's latest book on the birdlife of Canada

Biosketch of Professor David M. Bird:

Accompanied by his wife, Toni, David first came to Macdonald College, McGill University’s agricultural campus, in 1973 to study artificial insemination in falcons, believing that a successful captive breeding program might be the salvation for many populations of birds of prey endangered by the rampant use of chemicals such as DDT. After obtaining his M.Sc. in 1976 and being appointed as the curator of the Macdonald Raptor Research Centre, David quickly completed his Ph.D. in 1978. As Director of what is now called the Avian Science and Conservation Centre, David has published over 165 scientific papers on birds of prey, supervised to completion over 40 graduate students, and is currently supervising five. As a Full Professor of Wildlife Biology, he teaches several courses in ornithology, fish and wildlife management, ethology, and wildlife conservation. David is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on birds of prey and is often consulted by governments, universities, funding bodies, corporations, and the general public for his expertise. David has served as President (and Vice-President twice) of the Raptor Research Foundation Inc. and participated on numerous committees and organized several symposia, three of which had published proceedings. He just finished his term as President of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists this past February, is an elected Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union and an elected member representing Canada on the prestigious International Ornithological Committee. He is the only original member still serving on the Recovery Team for the Peregrine Falcon. Over the last 38 years, he has given countless talks all over North America and made innumerable radio and television appearances both in Montreal and across Canada. He has written and co-edited seven books, including City Critters: How to Live with Urban Wildlife and in 1999, The Bird Almanac: The Ultimate Guide to Facts and Figures on the World’s Birds, Bird’s Eye-View: A Practical Compendium for Bird-Lovers, and more recently, Birds of Canada. He is also is a regular columnist on birds for The Gazette of Montreal and Bird Watcher’s Digest magazine.

Professor Bird with a White Goshawk