Virtual Owl Expert Speaker Series
Join us from the comfort of your home on Sundays throughout the winter of 2020-2021 to learn more about owls from experts around the world. We aim to make these live, virtual programs free for all to attend as long as we can continue to find generous sponsors. (Contact us if you'd like to sponsor a program.) Once you register to attend you will automatically receive an email with a link to use to join the program via Zoom. Contact us if you'd like to sponsor a program.
Sunday, February 28th, 2021 - 1:00 PM Central Time
Neotropical Frequent Flyers: Tracking the long-distance migration and stopover ecology of Flammulated Owls
Dr. Brian D. Linkhart, Biology Professor, Colorado College
Colorado, USA
Sponsored by everyone who has donated to support this speaker series.
Neotropical Frequent Flyers: Tracking the long-distance migration and stopover ecology of Flammulated Owls
Dr. Brian D. Linkhart, Biology Professor, Colorado College
Colorado, USA
Sponsored by everyone who has donated to support this speaker series.
The Rocky Mountains of southern Colorado have been the home base for a 40-year investigation of the breeding ecology of Flammulated Owls, a fist-sized insectivore that primarily breeds in the pine forests of western North America. Generations of banded (ringed) adults and their offspring on these study sites have revealed many insights on patterns in reproduction and survival, but until relatively recently, almost nothing was known of the owl’s wintering habits—indeed, migration had never been fully documented in the species, and some researchers suggested the owls might simply undergo torpor. That changed in 2010, when small coin-sized devices carried on the backs of Colorado breeders first revealed their fall and spring journeys and winter destinations, and more recent recoveries show the owls migrate as far south as southern Mexico and Central America. In this presentation, we track this annual journey, and discuss risks posed by a changing climate and habitat fragmentation.
Dr. Brian D. Linkhart has been a Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Ecology at Colorado College since 2001, where he teaches field courses in Ornithology, Ecology, and Field Biology. Previously, he was a seasonal research biologist for the U.S. Forest Service for 18 years, and he began teaching summer field seminars on forest ecology in the mid-1980s. Over the past 40 years, Brian has conducted research on the ecology of songbirds, grouse, hawks and owls across the American Southwest, but for the past 20 years most summers have been devoted to mentoring 8-10 undergraduate students while conducting field research on Flammulated Owls.
This presentation will also be livestreamed to our YouTube channel and will be saved for later viewing after it concludes. Click below to register to watch it as a Zoom webinar and be able to ask questions.
Dr. Brian D. Linkhart has been a Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Ecology at Colorado College since 2001, where he teaches field courses in Ornithology, Ecology, and Field Biology. Previously, he was a seasonal research biologist for the U.S. Forest Service for 18 years, and he began teaching summer field seminars on forest ecology in the mid-1980s. Over the past 40 years, Brian has conducted research on the ecology of songbirds, grouse, hawks and owls across the American Southwest, but for the past 20 years most summers have been devoted to mentoring 8-10 undergraduate students while conducting field research on Flammulated Owls.
This presentation will also be livestreamed to our YouTube channel and will be saved for later viewing after it concludes. Click below to register to watch it as a Zoom webinar and be able to ask questions.
Sunday, March 7th, 2021 - 1:00 PM Central Time
Owls for Peace
Prof. Dr. Alexandre Roulin, full professor, University of Lausanne
2021 World Owl Hall of Fame Champion of Owls Award winner
Switzerland
Sponsored by everyone who donated to support this series.
Owls for Peace
Prof. Dr. Alexandre Roulin, full professor, University of Lausanne
2021 World Owl Hall of Fame Champion of Owls Award winner
Switzerland
Sponsored by everyone who donated to support this series.
The Barn Owl is cosmopolitan, its plumage varies in coloration and it shows remarkable behavior including cooperation between young siblings. In this talk Dr. Roulin will highlight some key results his research group obtained:
-Barn owls vary in the degree of melanin-based coloration from white to reddish and from spotless to heavily marked with black spots. The degree of reddish coloration is important in the context of natural selection (predator-prey interaction), whereas the size of black feather spots is important in the context of sexual selection (male mate choice).
-Barn owls have interesting sexual behavior such as extra-pair copulations and divorce.
-Barn owls are exceptionally peaceful. Nestlings preen each other, they feed each other and they vocally negotiate which individual will have priority access to food instead of fighting.
Dr. Roulin believes the barn owl is an inspiration for us as humans and uses this bird to bring Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinians to the same table. Farmers spread poison to kill rodents that devastate their agricultural fields. This is an ecological disaster because predators that consume poisoned rodents accumulate poison and die. He and his colleagues thus motivate farmers to use barn owl as an environmentally-friendly biological pest control agent. To implement this project in the three regions they organize workshops with Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinians. Diplomats, farmers, state leaders and even the Pope have been interested in this project to demonstrate its relevance in reconciliation between communities in war.
Alexandre Roulin is a full professor of biology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. For two decades he has studied barn owls to answer evolutionary and ecological scientific questions. His main scientific interests are the adaptive function of melanin-based coloration and negotiation processes taking place in animal societies. Since 2009, he has actively participated in the project of promoting cooperation between the Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian communities using nature conservation as a tool. His ambition is to reconcile humans with nature and to use inter-disciplinary approaches to promote peace and respect to our environment.
This presentation will also be livestreamed to our YouTube channel and will be saved for later viewing after it concludes. Click below to register to watch it as a Zoom webinar and be able to ask questions.
-Barn owls vary in the degree of melanin-based coloration from white to reddish and from spotless to heavily marked with black spots. The degree of reddish coloration is important in the context of natural selection (predator-prey interaction), whereas the size of black feather spots is important in the context of sexual selection (male mate choice).
-Barn owls have interesting sexual behavior such as extra-pair copulations and divorce.
-Barn owls are exceptionally peaceful. Nestlings preen each other, they feed each other and they vocally negotiate which individual will have priority access to food instead of fighting.
Dr. Roulin believes the barn owl is an inspiration for us as humans and uses this bird to bring Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinians to the same table. Farmers spread poison to kill rodents that devastate their agricultural fields. This is an ecological disaster because predators that consume poisoned rodents accumulate poison and die. He and his colleagues thus motivate farmers to use barn owl as an environmentally-friendly biological pest control agent. To implement this project in the three regions they organize workshops with Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinians. Diplomats, farmers, state leaders and even the Pope have been interested in this project to demonstrate its relevance in reconciliation between communities in war.
Alexandre Roulin is a full professor of biology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. For two decades he has studied barn owls to answer evolutionary and ecological scientific questions. His main scientific interests are the adaptive function of melanin-based coloration and negotiation processes taking place in animal societies. Since 2009, he has actively participated in the project of promoting cooperation between the Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian communities using nature conservation as a tool. His ambition is to reconcile humans with nature and to use inter-disciplinary approaches to promote peace and respect to our environment.
This presentation will also be livestreamed to our YouTube channel and will be saved for later viewing after it concludes. Click below to register to watch it as a Zoom webinar and be able to ask questions.
Saved presentations may be viewed on our YouTube channel:
Hedwig: the Snowy Owl that lived, with Dr. Roar Solheim from Norway
Owls in Myth and Culture: a Global Perspective, with David H. Johnson from Virginia, USA
Barred Owls Come to Town: A Nocturnal Predator Thrives in Suburban Habitats, with Rob Bierregaard from Pennsylvania, USA
Owls and Education: Changing owl perceptions in southern Africa, with Jonathan Haw, South Africa
Colours of Grey, with Roar Solheim from Norway
Following Forest Owls: Community science-driven studies of small owl communities in western North American forests, with Dave Oleyar from Idaho, USA
Interspecific competition between owls, raptors and mammalian predators, with Fred and Henk-Jan Koning
Owl We Need is Love, with Milan Ružić
Haunting Hoots of Indian Owls: ELA Foundation Story, with Prof. Dr. Satish A. Pande
Hedwig: the Snowy Owl that lived, with Dr. Roar Solheim from Norway
Owls in Myth and Culture: a Global Perspective, with David H. Johnson from Virginia, USA
Barred Owls Come to Town: A Nocturnal Predator Thrives in Suburban Habitats, with Rob Bierregaard from Pennsylvania, USA
Owls and Education: Changing owl perceptions in southern Africa, with Jonathan Haw, South Africa
Colours of Grey, with Roar Solheim from Norway
Following Forest Owls: Community science-driven studies of small owl communities in western North American forests, with Dave Oleyar from Idaho, USA
Interspecific competition between owls, raptors and mammalian predators, with Fred and Henk-Jan Koning
Owl We Need is Love, with Milan Ružić
Haunting Hoots of Indian Owls: ELA Foundation Story, with Prof. Dr. Satish A. Pande
