Photo: American Ornithogists Union I was lucky enough to attend two wonderful conferences and present research papers this summer. In July, I attended the International Congress on Conservation Biology in Baltimore, MD. In addition to having the best crab cake of my life at Faidley's Seafood, I got to soak up a lot of cutting edge science on urban ecology, biodiversity management, coral reef conservation, and restoration ecology. I was particularly moved by the plenary presentation by John Fitzpatrick and Caren Cooper of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on the value of citizen science to conservation. I was awed by the animated film the Lab of O has made recreating the experience of being under a flock of migrating Passenger Pigeons. So incredibly moving, to imagine that most amazing of natural spectacles, so massive in size, numbers, and sound is gone forever. I very much enjoyed meeting other folks working on the important issue of marine derived nutrients as subsidies to freshwater ecosystems, and present findings from our first three years my work on the Elwha Restoration Project.
Stravinsky in Millenium Park Then in August, it was off to Chicago for the annual joint meeting of the American Ornithologists Union and the Cooper Ornithological Society. This conference was a wonderful experience for me as I got the chance to not only present a research paper on American Dippers and a poster on my work with building collisions in Chicago, but also serve on several committees. Most rewarding of all was having the opportunity to meet several of the most famous ornithologists in the world while working with the AOU Historical Committee. I also loved seeing the incredible film on juncos by Jonathan Atwell and the Junco Project, it will make a wonderful classroom tool, particularly for teaching evolutionary ecology. Having the Field Museum as hosts really made for a spectacular experience, and an amazing setting for a closing banquet. I even got a little culture thanks to a free concert in Chicago's Millenium Park, with the Chicago Symphony performing Stravinsky's "Right of Spring"" for free in a crazy spaceship shaped band shell (pictured)!!
All in all, a fantastic set of conferences, now its' time to run some isotope samples and work on papers.
All in all, a fantastic set of conferences, now its' time to run some isotope samples and work on papers.
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