Committee Members

Frank Mantlik (Chair)

As a teenager, Frank’s eyes were opened to the natural world after attending a local nature walk. He has served as COA president and has been active in organizations including Connecticut Audubon and New Haven Bird Club. He is the Region Coordinator for the ongoing CT Bird Atlas and also helps monitor the Milford Point Purple Martin colony. Frank is a talented photographer, with images showcased in Audubon, Natural History, The New York Times, American Birds, Birding, and Bird Watcher’s Digest. After retiring from a postal career he guides trips for Sunrise Birding LLC. As one of the hardest working birders in the state with a bevy of good finds, his more exceptional discoveries include first state records of Anhinga, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Bell’s Vireo, and Pacific Golden-Plover. He enjoys birding Stratford, where he shares a home with his wife Linda and four adopted cats.

Phil Rusch (Co-Secretary)

Phil grew up in Mystic, Connecticut and spent his teenage years working at the Pequotsepos Nature Center where he caught the birding bug. He graduated from the University of Connecticut (UCONN) in 1985 with a degree in Biology. While a student there, he spent 3 ½ years working in the vertebrate research collection. An avid hiker, as well as birder, Phil has climbed the New England 4000 footers, 3 times and the New England 100 Highest peaks. He has traveled and birded extensively in the lower 48 states and is a veteran of over 50 deepwater east coast pelagic trips. Now retired, he birds as much as possible and resides in Chaplin with his wife and daughter. His notable finds include the first state record of Lapwing as well as local rarities such as Yellow and Black Rails and Pomarine Jaeger.

Frank Gallo (Co-Secretary)

Frank is one of CT’s most well-known birders and spent his early birding years working with the Falkner Island Tern Project. A gifted environmental educator, forged from years working as a New Haven Park Ranger, Dir. of Eco-Travel and Field Studies at New Canaan Nature Center, and more recently, as the Sr. Naturalist and Dir. of CT Audubon Society’s Coastal Center, his teaching has inspired many people to appreciate the state’s bird life. Frank is also a former President of New Haven Bird Club, a master bird-bander and author of Birding in Connecticut, a definitive site-guide, as well as two children’s nature books, Bird Calls and Night Sounds. A published freelance photographer and lecturer, he now guides for Sunrise Birding, LLC. His notable finds are first state records of Jackdaw, Trumpeter Swan and Red-necked Stint as well as rarities such as Pacific Loon and Yellow Rail.

Nick Bonomo

Nick is an Orthopedic Surgery Physician Assistant. When he’s not roaming the hospital halls looking for bones to fix, he can be found birding the coast of New Haven County, boating/fishing Long Island Sound or watching the Mets blow a 5-run lead! He enjoys global travel and has spent time guiding for Connecticut Audubon to places including Africa and Brazil. Nick is one of the most active and sharpest birders in the state with notable finds that include first state records of Short-billed (Mew) and Slaty-backed Gulls and Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, as well as a host of other top-drawer finds including Red-necked Stint, Lark Bunting, Franklin’s and California Gulls.

Tina Green

Tina has loved birds since she was a young child but did not begin birding until 2008 after her children were grown. She is a past president of the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) as well as co-chair of their Annual Meeting and the co-coordinator for the First Wednesday Walk for the New Haven Bird Club. While she loves CT birding she spends as much time as possible sea watching on Cape Cod. When not birding, you can find her in a Westport studio designing stained glass panels or working on leaded glass window restorations. Her notable finds include first state records for Western Meadowlark and Common Murre, as well as rarities such as Sabine’s Gull and Fork-tailed Flycatcher.

Julian Hough

Originally from the UK, Julian spent most of his childhood years chasing rarities and worked briefly as a journalist on Britain’s top-selling magazine Birdwatching. A keen interest in identification led to extensive global travel. Before settling in CT, he had visited the USA as a backpacking teenager and spent extended periods in Cape May, NJ. As a widely published artist, writer and photographer his work has been featured in many magazines and books. His notable finds are first state records of Snowy Plover, Little Stint, Vega Gull, and Band-rumped Storm-Petrel as well as rarities such as Franklin’s, and California Gulls, White-winged Dove, Hoary Redpoll and Swainson’s Hawk. Julian lives in New Haven with his son Alex, and splits his time between Brooklyn, New York with his partner Ingrid.

Jay Kaplan

Jay is the long-time director of Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton. An active birder for almost fifty years, he has birded throughout the United States, Canada and tropical America.  Jay is a past president of both the Hartford Audubon Society and the COA and has been the compiler of the Hartford Christmas and Summer Bird Counts for many years.  Jay is a member of the Canton Conservation Commission and serves on the Board of Directors of the Canton Land Conservation Trust. Jay holds a BS from Cornell University in Conservation Education. He refused to enroll in ornithology his senior year because he did not want to get up at 5 am to watch robins pull worms out of the ground. His notable finds are a first state record of LeConte’s Sparrow and hard-to-catch-up with state rarities such as Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Henslow’s Sparrow, and Common Murre.

Alex Lin-Moore

Alex is a molecular biologist who began birding as a child on the Texas coast and has long been interested in bird distribution, vagrancy and evolution. Alex has lived in and birded across the United States and beyond. 

Alex’s notable Connecticut finds include the state’s second inland record of Tricolored Heron, Swainson’s Hawk, and Black Brant.

Jeremy Nance

Jeremy started birding as a child in North Carolina and has lived in Tucson and Seattle before settling in Connecticut in 2014. Fascinated by migration spectacles, bird vocalizations, and identification challenges, he spends much of his time birding locally in Fairfield County. Some of his notable local finds include Say’s Phoebe, Common Gull, Yellow Rail, and Slaty-backed Gull. Jeremy splits his time between Connecticut and New York City, where he works as a cell biologist. 

Dave Tripp

Dave began birding at the age of 12 and started the Barkhamsted CBC at 16 (which he still currently compiles). He is a veteran of the Connecticut Army National Guard. One notable memory of his time at Fort Benning in Georgia, was seeing a Red-Cockaded Woodpecker during basic training. He has traveled to many countries including Africa and Venezuela and continues to lead trips for Litchfield Hills Audubon Society, as well as group-led trips to Costa Rica and Trinidad. Dave is the founding member of the Connecticut Big Day team, The Raven Lunatics, and currently serves his community as the Deputy Fire Chief in Torrington. His most notable find is the first state record of MacGillivray’s Warbler.

Glenn Williams

Glenn has had a lifelong interest in nature, baseball and music. He did not begin his serious birding obsession until his late 20s, distracted more by other wildlife and is indebted to the local birding community for its patience and encouragement in the early years. He has contributed articles for the CT Warbler, served on the COA board and has co-compiled the Napatree CBC. Glenn graduated from UCONN with degrees in biology, anthropology, and education and has been a science teacher for 30 years. He enjoys spending nights listening for rails, owls, or nightjars and his notable finds include Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Black Rail and Black-necked Stilt. He lives in Mystic with his wife and two daughters.