Ever since Aristotle wondered where the swallows went in winter, humans have been curious about the movements of birds. Even given the very basic methods available in the 19th and most of the 20th centuries, what we learned was astounding. However, in the past few decades, new technologies have allowed us to uncover secrets of bird migration that are simply mindboggling, confirming that birds are capable of feats that seem to belong more in the realm of science fiction than science fact. Our speaker will tell us about how these new technologies are turning much of what we thought we knew upside down.

After a checkered and inconsistent college experience that included dropping out and touring Europe as a drummer for a rock-&-roll band, Ed Pandolfino finally settled down and earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Washington State University. He spent over 20 years working in various management positions in the medical device industry. Since retiring in 1999, he has devoted his life to birds, working on habitat conservation and avian research. Ed has been President of Western Field Ornithologists, Vice President of San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, Conservation Chair for Sierra Foothills Audubon Society, and a Regional Editor for North American Bird. He has published more than four dozen articles on the status, distribution, and behavior of western birds; has contributed chapters to two books; and co-authored Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status, and Distribution and Sacramento Breeding Birds: A Tale of Two Atlases and Three Decades of Change.

Ed Pandolfino will join us by Zoom. Be sure to do the same!

Wednesday, March 16.  Social time: 6:45 p.m. Program (see below) begins: 7:00 p.m.

Please RSVP to Bob Crowell at bva3ruddyducks@att.net if you would like to join us on Zoom. Your invitation will be emailed to you the day of the lecture.