Indoor Program – Ken Elkins -Under Cover of Darkness: Observing Nocturnal Bird Migration

Note: this meeting will be in the 6th floor conference room at the Whitney Center.  There will be people at the normal entrance to show you the way.  You don’t need to halt your birding adventures just because it gets dark outside. Discover the wonderful world of nocturnal bird migration. Just after sunset every fall, millions of birds take off to cross North America and head to wintering grounds in the south- ern US and in South and Central America. Tonight’s eminently qualified speaker will cover this amazing phenomenon, which is detectable by sight, sound, and even radar. Then you too can enjoy nighttime birding as you listen for migrants’ calls and search for their silhouettes against the moon. Ken’s lifelong in- terest and career in conservation education and birding inclu- des work for the Connecticut Audubon Society, where he direc- ted their 5 centers’ education programs and led many EcoTravel trips. In 2008, he moved on to National Audubon to the position of Education Program Manager at the Audubon Center at Bent of the River in Southbury. Enthusiastic and versatile Ken has tripled the enrollment in the Bent’s summer camps, and he created a nationally recognized therapeutic program—Bird Tales—in which he uses birds to engage people with dementia.