THE NORTH SHORE AUDUBON SOCIETY PRESENTS: "AVIAN VAGRANCY ON LONG ISLAND: INSIGHTS INTO THE COMPOSITION AND CONSERVATION OF AVIAN COMMUNITIES" BY SHAIBAL MITRA

Tuesday March 22, 2016
7 P.M.
Manhasset Public Library
30 Onderdonk Avenue
Manhasset NY 11030
www.northshoreaudubon.org
Open to the General Public.
Admission is Free.
 


​Vagrant birds—individuals occurring far beyond the expected geographical limits of their taxa—have fascinated people for centuries. Long dismissed as the stuff of mere sport and as biologically meaningless accidents, these records are emerging as a valuable dataset. Available in great detail via citizen science, records of rare birds are yielding insights into the causes and consequences of long-distance dispersal, the biological properties of local sites, the demographic trends of populations, the forces shaping community composition, and, ultimately, a more rational approach to conservation.
 
Shai Mitra has studied birds in the northeastern United States and around the world for more than 35 years.  He received a BA in Biology from Cornell University in 1989 and a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chicago in 1996. From 1996-2000 he operated a major bird-banding station at the Fire Island Lighthouse, on the South Shore of Long Island. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the College of Staten Island, with research interests in the areas of avian ecology, evolution, and conservation. Shai is Editor of The Kingbird, the quarterly publication of the New York State Ornithological Association; co-compiler of bird records for the New York City and Long Island region; Chair of the Rhode Island Avian Records Committee; and co-compiler of the Captree, Southern Nassau County, and Napatree Christmas Bird Counts.

---