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Keynote
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The 2008 Godwit Days Keynote Speaker will be Andrew Farnsworth, PhD, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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Andrew is studying flight calls of migrating birds.
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Many species of birds migrate nocturnally, and the only method for
identifying these migrants as they pass is to listen to or to record
their flight-calls. However, flight-calls can be challenging to
identify, both by ear (listening) and by eye (spectrograms). In this
presentation we'll focus on this exciting way to study and to experience
nocturnal bird migration from broad and new perspectives. We will
listen to a variety of pre-recorded flight-calls (both published and
unpublished recordings), focusing on how to listen to these ephemeral
notes and methods to distinguish them. We will also discuss the
importance of acoustic monitoring of flight-calls, in particular for
conservation ends, highlighting needs and plans to expand such
monitoring in the western United States. The topics we cover will
range from the most fundamental aspects of understanding migratory
patterns and listening to sounds, to advanced topics such as
predicting fallouts and separating difficult to identify "zeep" notes. |
Andrew Farnsworth developed a keen interest in birds at a young age.
By age five he was birding around his home in Rye, New York. As his
passion for birds grew, Andrew developed a particular interest in bird
migration, fostered by many autumn days at local hawk watch sites. By
age ten Andrew was regularly leading bird walks at Westchester County
parks, especially at Marshlands Conservancy in Rye. In May 1990 Andrew
captained the first youth birding team in the 24-hour World Series of
Birding in New Jersey. In 1998 and 1999, Andrew captained consecutive
winning teams in the Great Texas Birding Classic. Although birds have
always been his true passion, Andrew is also a performing musician;
since July 1997 he has toured extensively with his band, Mectapus,
which has released three CDs to date. Andrew received his B.S. in
natural resources from Cornell University in 1995; his M.S. in zoology
in 2001 under Dr. Sidney Gauthreaux, comparing nocturnal bird density
measures from surveillance radar and nocturnal flight-call counts from
acoustic sensors; and his doctorate in ecology and evolutionary
biology in 2007 under Dr. John Fitzpatrick, studying ecological and
evolutionary characteristics of flight-calls. Andrew combines his
extensive field experience with explicit research goals focused on
nocturnal bird migration, flight-calling behavior, and radar
ornithology, conducting his fieldwork on flight-calls in numerous
locations across the United States, Mexico, and the Greater and Lesser
Antilles while pursuing a variety of other ornithological projects,
including two Rapid Biological Inventories in Cuba, the Ivory-billed
Woodpecker Recovery Project in Arkansas, and co-authoring species'
accounts for the Handbook of the Birds of the World. In 1995 he co-led
his first tour for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours in Peru, leading trips
more recently in Minnesota, New York, Texas, the Lesser Antilles, and
northeastern South America. At present, Andrew lives in New York with
his wife, Patricia Ryan. |
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Andrew Farnsworth
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