Connecticut
Ornithological Association
COA ANNUAL MEETING
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Middlesex Community College, Middletown, CT
Featured Speakers:
Richard Crossley, Alvaro Jaramillo, and Wayne Petersen
RICHARD CROSSLEY
Past, Present and Future – A story told in a Yorkshire brogue through a camera lens that loves color and art.
Tales of lessons learned while growing up in the wild British birding scene - from travels around the world to living in
Cape May. With humor and depth it highlights the thoughts behind the revolutionary ‘The Crossley ID Guide’ series.
But is changing how we look at books and birds enough? ‘Heck, no!’ says Richard.
Come listen to his past, perhaps it will change your thoughts on the future!
Richard Crossley is an Englishman. This internationally-acclaimed birder and photographer grew up living sport.
After birding at age 8 with a schoolteacher, he was soon hooked. As part of the wild British birding scene he hitchhiked over 100,000 miles while
at university in his quest to find birds. After graduation, he made his first trip to the USA and fell in love with Cape May and Warblers. He now lives
there with his wife Debra, and daughters Sophie and Sam.
After wetting his feet with The Shorebird Guide, he began to work on “The Crossley ID Guide”.
Whether you call it work or love, his goal was to take every image and piece them together in the books revolutionary format. Richard is fascinated by the
relationship between people and the ways they react to TV, advertising, books and business. These things have shaped his thoughts – so get ready for
some surprises in The Crossley ID Guide and the numerous other projects Crossley Books is working on.
Richard’s father is an abstract artist and many of his influences can be seen in Richard’s work.
Richard’s goal is to popularize both birding and a love of the outdoors, through a combination of books, TV projects and the internet.
ALVARO JARAMILLO
Alvaro Jaramillo was born in Chile but began birding in Toronto, where he lived as a youth. He was trained in ecology and evolution with a particular interest
in bird behavior. Research forays and backpacking trips introduced Alvaro to the riches of the Neotropics, where he has traveled extensively. He is the author of
Birds of Chile, an authoritative yet portable field guide to Chile's birds. Alvaro writes the Identify Yourself column in Bird Watcher's Digest.
Among various projects he recently finished part of the sparrow chapter for the Handbook of Birds of the World, and is writing a photo guide to the birds and wildlife of Patagonia.
Alvaro was recently granted the Eisenmann Medal by the Linnean Society of New York, it is awarded occasionally for excellence in ornithology and encouragement of the amateur.
When not writing, he runs Alvaro's Adventures, a birding and nature tour company that emphasizes fun and a rich birding travel experience. He lives with his family in
Half Moon Bay, California.
WAYNE PETERSEN
Wayne Petersen is Mass Audubon's director of the Massachusetts Important Bird Areas (IBA) program. Wayne has lectured and conducted birding workshops across
North America for over 35 years, and his tour leading experiences have practically taken him around the world. His writing projects include authoring the National
Audubon Society's Pocket Guide to Songbirds and Familiar Backyard Birds (East), co-authoring Birds of Massachusetts and Birds of New England, co-editing
the Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas, and contributing to The Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding, The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior,
and Arctic Wings.
Wayne was a founding member of the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee, is a New England Regional Editor for North American Birds, and serves on the
advisory committee for the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. His knowledge and broad perspective of the seasonal distribution
of New England bird life was recognized in 2005 when he received the American Birding Association’s Ludlow Griscom Award for outstanding contributions
in regional ornithology.