Is there any better place to immerse oneself into birds than the Rio Grande Valley, one of the most bird-rich places in the country? Birds here run the gamut of colors- from brown, black and white, to red, orange, yellow, green, blue and (almost) purple!! Join Tiffany Kersten on a Virtual Tour of Birding the Valley on Thursday, January 23rd, 6 pm to 7 pm at Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen. The Thursday Nature Lecture series has been made possible with the support of Thurmond Eye Associates.
An expert birder and amateur photographer, Kersten’s photographic presentation features the birds that call the Rio Grande Valley home for all or part of the year. Well over half of all bird species in the country can be found here during one or more seasons! Learn fascinating facts about our local birds-- one has corrugated feathers, another feeds almost solely on bees, and still another lays eggs in other birds' nests! Different sites (and sights!) will be covered as we "travel" the Valley from East to West, from the Laguna Madre all the way up to Roma Bluffs, hitting all of the best birding spots and exploring the different species of birds that can be seen at the various locations. Some birds are only seen in one or two spots in the whole Valley!
Tiffany Kersten, Education Supervisor at Quinta Mazatlan, has been birding since age 12. She grew up in Wisconsin, earning a B.S. in natural resources from Northland College. In her seasonal work she has surveyed songbirds and raptors for the U.S. Forest Service, censured waterfowl and marsh birds for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, ran programs for New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory, monitored nesting shorebirds for Massachusetts Audubon Society, banded honeycreepers in Hawaii and seabirds in Maine. She is a member of the Leica Sport Optics Pro-staff team, has assisted with teaching American Birding Association youth camps, and is a tour leader for the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival.
The Nature Lecture series takes place Thursday evenings through April 2014 and is proudly sponsored by Thurmond Eye Associates. The program fee is $3 per person and no advance reservation is required. Quinta Mazatlan is located at 600 Sunset in McAllen, one block south of La Plaza Mall on 10th Street. For more information contact Quinta Mazatlan at (956) 681-3370 or visit www.quintamazatlan.com.
Tiffany has traveled the country studying and watching birds. Here she holds an Atlantic Puffin chick in Maine which has just been banded for scientific research. Join us on a virtual bird tour of the valley, Thursday, January 23rd , 6:00 pm at Quinta Mazatlan