Leaders/Presenters

	LOUISE ABBOTT Los Osos, California Louise Abbott is a self-proclaimed Silicon Valley escapee. She spent most of her career in the high-tech world, retiring as a program manager for Cisco Systems. Since moving to the Central Coast she has become very active as a State Park docent, and is the current Chair of the Docent Council. Born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, she fully appreciates the beauty -- and especially -- the moderate climate here. One of her favorite places is the heron rookery.
	LARRY ALLEN Rosemead, California Larry is a California native who has been birding since the early 1980s. He writes, presents lectures, and leads field trips for many Southern California Audubon Society chapters and other organizations. He has led field trips to locations as varied as Southeastern Arizona to the pelagic waters off California's coast. Larry is the compiler of the Malibu Christmas Bird Count, Project Coordinator for the Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas, lead author of the forthcoming Atlas volume, and presenter of annual gull workshops for Los Angeles Audubon Society and the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival. Larry's research interests include gulls, psittacids (family including parakeets and parrots), desert birds, and factors that drive the breeding distributions of land birds.
	RUTH ANN ANGUS Morro Bay, California Ruth Ann is a travel, wildlife, nature, and agriculture writer/photographer who publishes in many local and national magazines, including SLO County Travel Guide, San Luis Obispo County Magazine. Senior Living Magazine, Sunset, Country, Farm & Ranch Living, Canoe & Kayaking, Sea, WildBird and Animal Watch and has columns in local newspapers, The SLO City News, The Bay News, and the Coast News. She specializes in travel, nature and agricultural articles. She also works with the Morro Bay National Estuary Program and has been published in many of their brochures and booklets. Her photographs and descriptive writing are on area interpretive nature signs at Avila Beach, The Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, and along the Morro Bay Embarcadero. Ruth Ann is a member of the National Audubon Society for the past 33 years and has served on the local Morro Coast Audubon board of directors. She was the official photographer for the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival since its inception and is now Publicity Director for the festival.
	RICK AUSTIN Morro Bay, California Rick is an 8th grade math teacher. He cautiously began birding 40 years ago and has since birded six of the seven continents in search of avian colors, vocalizations, and novel behaviors. He has led tours in Alaska and California, and recently spent three weeks "twitching" in Ecuador. He thoroughly enjoys helping beginning birdwatchers discover the joys of birding. Rick's current approach to birding reminds him of a Storm Petrel, as he/it erratically pursues sightings that move through the Central Coast.
	MIKE BAIRD Morro Bay, California Mike has been a State Park Docent since 2001 and leads Digital Photowalks (www.photomorrobay.com). He is a PhD Computer Scientist with an MBA, retired from ask.com, and author of Engineering Your Start-up (www.eysu.org). Mike is editor of www.morro-bay.com, a prolific local photographer, publishes at www.bairdphotos.com, www.birdsofmorrobay.com, and www.flickr.com/people/mikebaird/, where his images have been viewed 2 million times. He is also an active social network leader.
	BOB BARNES Weldon, California Bob Barnes has been birding through California for the past 35 years. His expertise in Southern Sierra species distribution and status is unparalleled. Bob has led over 200 birding tours, and he authored the section on Kern River Valley and Southern Sierra Nevada birding in "A Birder's Guide to Southern California" by Brad Schram. Since 2004, Bob has worked on birding/wildlife tourism development project teams in Missouri, northwestern and southern Nevada, and Pennsylvania. He also serves on the board of the Kern River Valley Heritage Foundation. Bob is an independent biological consultant and serves as the executive director of the Arthur & Sidney R. Barnes Foundation; which works to sustain the unique cultural and environmental character of rural communities facing rapid development, especially along California's Highway 178 Corridor from Death Valley National Park through the Kern River Valley to Bakersfield.
	JODEE BENNETT San Luis Obispo, California Jodee is employed at Cal Poly State University as a gardener, and has a BS degree in horticulture. She has lived and enjoyed hiking on the Central Coast for 22 years and leads hikes once a month for the Natural San Luis program which is a collaboration between ECOSLO (Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo) and the City. A different open-space parcel is showcased every month. Jodee says, "There are over 6500 acres of open space in SLO to explore!!! I have become a birder by osmosis...picking up tidbits from other birders and exploring other avenues to learn more. Since I focus mostly on plants, I team up with an "expert" to do the Felsman Loop hike on Monday of the Winter Bird Festival. Hope to see you there!"
	DANIEL BOHLMAN San Luis Obispo, California A naturalist from a very early age, Daniel's interest in birding really took off while working on a degree in Ecology from Cal Poly. Since then he has worked as an volunteer on the California Condor Recovery Program, as well as a bird guide for a local outdoor tour outfit. Currently, Daniel is the Stewardship Manager for The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County and is working to preserve and protect San Luis Obispo County's unique and diverse landscape.
	BILL BOUTON San Luis Obispo, California A retired college biology teacher, Bill has led nature trips to many locations in the USA, and foreign destinations such as Costa Rica, Peru and Ecuador, including the Galapagos Islands. Bill began birding at 11 years of age. He is now heavily involved in many aspects of nature, including photography, particularly of butterflies. Bill leads trips and uses his photographs when presenting programs at various local groups' meetings. His images are widely used by web sites, nature centers, universities, museums and environmental groups, and many can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/billbouton/sets/
	ERIC BRUNSCHWILER Cambria, California Eric is a 10th grade student at Coast Union High School. Surrounded by nature at a very young age, Eric has enjoyed camping, hiking, fishing, bird watching and mushroom collecting with his family. Much of his expertise with birds can be attributed to his association with Maggie Smith, Doug Stinson, Al Schmierer, and other mentors. His other hobbies include surfing, skate boarding, and playing trumpet.
	JOYCE CORY Los Osos, California Joyce is a volunteer for the California State Parks and active at Montaña de Oro State Park. She is a field trip leader for Easy Birding at the Cloisters Park in Morro Bay. Joyce began birding when she moved to the Central Coast in 1996. Her nature photos can be found at flickr.com/docentjoyce.
	KATHY DUNCAN Morro Bay, California Kathy is the Education/Outreach Chair of the Pacific Wildlife Care Center. She has worked with PWC for 8 years as a wildlife rehabilitator and wildlife educator. PWC holds permits from the Department of Fish & Game and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to possess and rehabilitate wildlife. Last year the Center, which is located in Morro Bay, took in over 1,600 animals. Kathy also conducts wildlife educational presentations throughout the county at schools, service groups, and community events. She believes passionately in teaching people to appreciate and protect the wild creatures that share our planet.
	JOHN FLAHERTY Los Osos, California John is Central Coast Outdoors owner, 2003 to present, and an outdoor guide since 1991. He currently runs kayak eco-tours on Morro Bay and enthusiastically shares his wealth of knowledge about life in and on the bay, including shorebirds, migrating waterfowl, seabirds and many others. John's wife Virginia works at Pacific Wildlife Care and specializes in sick and injured seabirds. You can learn more about John and Central Coast Outdoors at www.centralcoastoutdoors.com.
	WES FRITZ Solvang, California Wes is a native Californian who lives in Solvang in bird rich Santa Barbara County. He was first introduced to birding at age ten. Wes has birded extensively all over the United States, spending almost 365 days every year birding, much of it guiding guests who engage him through his private California Target Birds guide service. He has led numerous field trips - for the American Birding Association, Audubon chapters, The Nature Conservancy, Western Field Ornithologists, and birding festivals. Wes has also served as a leader on several pelagic trips. He has birded the Kern River Valley and Southern Sierra Nevada extensively - independently, guiding private parties, and as a Kern River Valley Spring Nature Festival field trips leader. Wes is especially tireless at leading people to target birds. Since 2000, he has been a co-moderator for the Yahoo Groups "Inland County Birds" which covers California's Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Wes was the field trips coordinator for the 2006 American Birding Association Regional Conference.
	MARLIN GREENE Seattle, Washington Marlin's professional background is in graphics and design. He is the current owner of 3 Hats Design, an Internet web design and hosting company in Seattle that has about 35 clients. Marlin decided that his background with computer graphics, especially Photoshop, mixed nicely with the medium of digital cameras. He learned the basics of enhancing a digital image with a computer and making prints. His original photographic subject was ducks, since there are a lot of water and water birds around Seattle. He now spends as much time as possible in the field, photographing birds and learning how to improve the quality of the prints he makes. He has held Photoshop workshops with birders in and around Seattle and in Burns, Oregon.
	KARA HAGEDORN Atascadero, California Kara grew up in Colorado and graduated with a degree in Zoology from Colorado State University. She moved to Ithaca, New York, in 1987 and worked as a Research Assistant at Cornell University for several years before landing a dream job as a Naturalist and Environmental Educator for New York State Parks. While in Ithaca, Kara volunteered for five years at the Cornell Hawk Barn Rehab Center where she learned about the behavior and individual personalities of many species of raptors. Kara was encouraged to adopt and train an unreleasable Red-tailed Hawk named Sunshine for her nature programs at the parks. In 1999 she and her husband moved to the Central Coast, along with Sunshine. Together they have presented hundreds of programs focusing on the beauty, behavior and value of raptor species across the United States. Kara has volunteered on the Central Coast doing programs and leading hikes for The Museum of Natural History, Pacific Wildlife Care, Friends of the Estuary, Morro Coast Audubon Society, ECOSLO, and SWAP.
	FREEMAN HALL Morro Bay, California Freeman was encouraged to study birds in 1941 by his Scout Master, who identified a California Condor for him. Freeman is a retired NOAA meteorologist who used his vocation to investigate raptor migration along the front range of the Colorado Rockies. He was the leader of National Audubon's week-long field trip to Colima, Mexico, for four years in the 1980's. He and his wife, Worth, have traveled the world searching for birds, and have seen one-quarter of our 9,000 species.
	MARLIN HARMS Morro Bay, California Marlin has been birding for over 30 years, has lived in Morro Bay that entire time, and considers the bay his back yard. He has been a leader in each of the previous winter bird festivals. He has a degree in biology, assisted in research at Mono Lake and the Farallon Islands in the 1980s, and in the 1990s he coordinated numerous shorebird censuses in conjunction with PRBO. In the past decade he has been more a photographer and has used his photos in numerous San Luis Obispo county land conservation projects. Flickr photo site: www.flickr.com/marlinharms
	CYNTHIA HARTLEY Ventura California Cynthia has been involved with birding and conservation for over 20 years. She holds a US Fish and Wildlife recovery permit for California Least Terns and Western Snowy Plovers and is the Ormond Beach WSP nest monitor. In the off-season she spends her free time in river mouths, harbors and beaches watching the shorebirds she loves. She has been the Santa Clara River Mouth site lead for the Christmas Bird count for 11 years, is an executive committee member of the Ventura Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, and works for Amgen as scientist.
	CATHY AND GORDON ILLG Lakewood, Colorado Cathy and Gordon Illg are full-time nature photographers whose work is widely published, including numerous covers of magazines like Backpacker, Defenders, National Geographic Young Explorer and National Wildlife. They have authored the book, Dynamic Wildlife Photography. Gordon is also a senior contributing columnist for PhotoMigratons on-line magazine. This husband-wife team will give you their time-tested tips on taking exceptional nature photos. Visit their website at www.advenphoto.com.
	KEN LEVINE Arroyo Grande, California Ken retired from Veterinary Medicine after practicing for 34 years in Arroyo Grande. One of his major interest now is the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden, where he serves as Chair of the Education Committee, and as Garden Docent. Ken has always enjoyed looking at and identifying living things, whether it is a mollusk, a plant, or a bird. Ken and his wife Gaby love to travel, and make birding part of their travels. Gardens are a great place to view birds, and the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden is no exception.
	CURTIS MARANTZ Riverside, California Curtis is a NSF International Postdoctoral Fellow, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, 2006 to 2009. Curtis began birding in southern California as a teenager in the late 1970s and attended Cal Poly as an undergraduate, but has spent much of the last 15 years in South America studying Neotropical birds, with an emphasis on patterns of song variation and biogeography in woodcreepers. This work has taken him to Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, and, most recently, Venezuela, where he has recorded the vocalizations of many species for his studies of song evolution. Curtis and Tom Edell are also preparing a book on the status and distribution of the birds of San Luis Obispo County that includes the data from the breeding bird atlas project.
	JOHN McCABE Atascadero, California John McCabe is a docent at the Museum of Natural History at Morro Bay State Park. He is also an instructor in Community Programs and a tutor of geology at Cuesta College. He is past President of the Santa Lucia Rockhounds, a gem and mineral society. John holds a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Arizona.
	DANI NICHOLSON Dani Nicholson serves as Center Operations Chair at Pacific Wildlife Care. She has been actively involved at PWC since 2001 and has been a permitted rehabilitators specializing in seabirds since 2001. As Center Operations Chair, she is involved full time caring for the animals and training volunteers. She has completed numerous courses in wildlife rehabilitation. Dani worked for 20 years in accounting and construction management, and she and her husband owned a health food store in Morro Bay for eight years.
	JERI ROBERTS San Luis Obispo, California Jeri is a wildlife rehabilitator with Pacific Wildlife Care. She has chosen to specialize in the care of birds of prey. Jeri also enjoys presenting educational outreach programs to children and adults throughout the community. Currently, Jeri cares for an educational owl and an educational Merlin who live with her in specially designed aviaries. She also maintains flight cages for wild birds of prey that need flight conditioning or are nearly ready for release.
	MARILYN ROSE Mendocino, California Marilyn Rose is the co-owner of Out of this World (DiscountBinoculars.com on the internet), a science and optics store in the beautiful coastal town of Mendocino. Marilyn and her husband, James Blackstock, opened the store in 1988 and the business has grown to be one of the largest optics providers in the state. Marilyn and James pride themselves on evaluating all binoculars and spotters on the market and pre-selecting the best choices for birdwatching in every size and price point. This service and their knowledge of the market enables customers to pick and choose from only "good" models and not "bad" ones (or which there are many!) Marilyn is a dog lover, a bird watcher and a star gazer. She has a B.A. in English from Tulane University and an M.B.A. from George Washington University.
	ROUVAISHYANA Los Osos, California Rouvaishyana has been Manager, Morro Bay Museum of Natural History since 2005, a State Park Interpreter since 1989, Bird Festival program committee member or co-chair since 2006, and Morro Coast Audubon Society program co-chair since 2006. Birding informally since childhood, he began leading beginning bird walks for California State Parks in the early 1990s. He particularly enjoys shorebirds, seabirds, raptors, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and calling birds with whistled and vocal sounds. Rouvaishyana also works as a naturalist on local whale-watching boats, where he has numerous opportunities to observe seabirds.
	JOHN SAYERS Los Osos, California John has been an Environmental Scientist, for the California State Parks, San Luis Obispo Coast District since 2005. He first started birding in earnest in 2005 while monitoring snowy plover populations along the beaches of San Luis Obispo County. John grew up in Southern California amidst all the development and habitat destruction, but also near its open space and wild elements. An interest in ecology and gardening got him involved with native plant propagation and restoration techniques. John has been involved with the Winter Bird Festival since 2006.
	ROSS SCHAEFER Atascadero, California Ross Schaefer has been birding since he was six years old. He's thirteen now, and plans to have a career involving birds. He has co-led hikes at the Kern River Nature Festival, and for the Paso Robles Recreation Department. Some of his other hobbies include tennis, surfing, and playing trumpet and piano.
	ALAN SCHMIERER Morro Bay, California Alan is an active member of the Morro Coast Audubon Society and Chairman of the Fields Trips Committee 2004 to present. He has also been a Winter Bird Festival Program Committee member 2004 to present. Alan started birding in New England as a child in the 1940s. His working career was as an optometrist, in the Army and in the Indian Health Service, where he moved around 23 times to 13 different states, finally retiring to this area, to enjoy the great weather and the fantastic birding. His nature photos can be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/sloalan/sets
	BRAD SCHRAM Arroyo Grande, California Brad started birding in the 1940s as a child in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. After retiring early from the business world, he has served since 1997 as a part-time birding tour leader for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours and as a naturalist aboard adventure cruise ships. His tours have extended north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle as well as across the South Pacific through Polynesia and Melanesia. Brad has birded on all continents and has led birding tours on five of them.
	STEVE SCHUBERT Los Osos, California Steve is an active member of the Morro Coast Audubon Society: President 2000-2001; past Program Chairman; author "The Peregrine Falcons of Morro Rock: A 40-Year History" (www.morrorockperegrines.com); and Volunteer Coordinator (1996-present) for the Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Project (www.condorlookout.org). Steve teaches at a residential environmental education program attended by more than 3,000 students each school year and teaches natural history courses for Community Programs at Cuesta College. He has been a speaker and field trip leader for the Winter Bird Festival each year since its inception. His wildlife and landscape photography can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/12571965@N07/
	KATHY SHARUM Carrizo Plain National Monument, California Kathy has been a Wildlife Biologist for the Bureau of Land Management since 1999, and tour leader and interpreter on the Monument from 1995 to 2007. She began birding informally in 1997 and as part of her job from 2004 to present. Working and residing on the Monument has provided many unique opportunities for viewing birds. She especially likes the fall when migrants are passing through.
	DENNIS SHERIDAN Los Osos, California Dennis Sheridan is a native Californian who grew up in Arcadia. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in biology, specialty entomology. He moved to Morro Bay in 1974 and began a career in photography, concentrating on birds of prey and native wildlife, as well as fungi, lichens, insects, wildflowers and California scenery. Dennis has traveled worldwide photographing nature and has published many photographs in magazines, books and calendars including Audubon field guides. He contributes his photography and naturalist services to the California Native Plant Society, Audubon Society, Small Wilderness Area Preservation, Morro Estuary Greenbelt Alliance.
	MIKE STILES Los Osos, California Mike is native to the central coast of California and started birding in 1973. He has lead field trips for the Morro Coast Audubon Society and the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival. He has served on the Audubon board as Field Trip Chair and is currently serving as Communications Chair and manages the website. He works at Cal Poly State University as a Technician in the Biology Department. Mike also has interests in native plants and is an avid backpacker.
	JAN SURBEY Santa Margarita, California Jan has been a Morro Coast Audubon Society Board member 2006 to present (Hospitality, chair, President, Past President). A retired teacher from St. Louis, Missouri, Jan moved to the Central Coast in 1999 to enjoy year-round running. Even after traveling to all seven continents, Jan's favorite places on this planet remain southern Utah and Santa Margarita Lake, where she birds, lives, and works on weekends.
	ROGER ZACHARY Atascadero, California Roger is a recently retired biology teacher and former North Cuesta Audubon President and Field-trip Leader. He has been a compiler of the Carrizo Plain CBC since 1983, is presently an active field-trip leader for Morro Coast Audubon Society, and enjoys digital photography. (www.flickr.com/photos/sloroger).

Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival

Leaders/Presenters