Speaking Program: Laura's Conservation Big Year
In 2013, Laura did a “Big Year” covering the Lower 48, focusing on birds of conservation interest rather than on chasing down vagrants. She ended the year with 604 species, 593 “countable” by ABA rules, putting her in the top 10 on ABA Listing Central’s Lower 48 Big Year lists as of July 2015. She had lots of memorable experiences, which make for great stories. She got up close and personal with Atlantic Puffins, Lesser Prairie-Chickens, California Condors, and more, took plenty of photos of most of the birds she saw, and got uncomfortably close to a mountain lion when she was hiking alone out of cellphone range. Learn how giving up beef helped her snag Pacific Golden-Plovers for the year, how she was serenaded all night by a Flammulated Owl when she was camping by herself in New Mexico, and how she lucked into an amazing encounter with a Boreal Owl on Superb Owl Sunday. She’ll have tips for great birding trips and how to economize on travel as well as minimizing our carbon footprint while birding.
