Story of bird migration focus of Audubon Society’s free presentation

By MARILYN MCMAHON

WRITER

“Flight Paths,” the story of how the scientific community came together to understand bird migration, will be the topic of the Santa Barbara Audubon Society’s free April program.

Co-hosted by Audubon and the Santa Barbara Public Library, it will be held from 7:30 to 9 p.m. April 19 at the Faulkner Gallery in the library, 40 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara.

“Flight Paths” is the neverbefore-told story of how a group of migration-obsessed scientists in the 20th and 21st centuries engaged nearly every branch of science to understand bird migration — from where and when birds take off to their flight paths and behaviors, their destinations and the challenges they encounter getting there.

Bird enthusiast and science writer Rebecca Heisman, the author of “Flight Paths,” will trace the development of each technique used for tracking migratory birds, from the first attempts to mark individual birds to the cutting-edge technology that enables ornithologists to trace where a bird has been, based on unique DNA markers. Along the way, she’ll share the almostforgotten stories of the scientists who harnessed breakthrough inventions to further the understanding of nature.

Ms. Heisman will speak about how the real power of science happens when people work together, focusing their minds and knowledge on a common goal. While the world looks to tackle massive challenges involving conservation and climate, the story of bird migration research offers a beacon of hope for finding solutions to difficult and complex problems, according to a news release. email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

Ms. Heisman is a science writer based in eastern Washington who loves nerding out about birds. She’s contributed to publications including Audubon Magazine, Sierra Magazine, Hakai Magazine, bioGraphic, Living Bird (the magazine of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and Bird Conservation (the magazine of the American Bird Conservancy).

From 2015 to 2020, she worked for the American Ornithological Society, the world’s largest professional organization for bird scientists.

While at AOS, she became intimately familiar with the North American ornithological community and got excited about the varied methods for studying bird migration.

FYI

“Flight Paths” will be discussed from 7:30 to 9 p.m. April 19 at the Faulkner Gallery in the Santa Barbara Central Library, 40 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. For more information, go to santabarbaraaudubon.org/programs.