Onondaga Audubon sponsors speakers on environmental and natural history subjects from around the world. These programs are free and open to anyone, of any age, with an interest in nature. The programs are commonly on the second Wednesday of most months and often run 1-2 hours.
Follow us on Facebook for information about attending these programs.
Don’t want to miss a meeting? Email “Subscribe” to OAS.Programs@gmail.com to receive updates on upcoming programs.
2025 Events & Programs

Fall Warbler ID
September 4, 6:30-7:30 pm (via Zoom)
Register: https://tinyurl.com/OASwarbler
Speaker: Kayla Fisk, Onondaga Audubon & World of Birds
Fall migration is beginning, bringing with it warblers heading south through Central New York on their way to their wintering ranges. Unlike in the spring, when these birds are in their bright and distinctive plumage, many have molted into much less flashy plumage colors. Species that were once easy to differentiate now can look a lot alike. Join Onondaga Audubon’s Kayla Fisk as she shares tips and tricks to differentiate many of our confusing fall warblers!

Drawn to Nature: The Beauty of Bird-friendly Building Design
September 9, 7:00-8:00 pm (via Zoom)
Register: https://tinyurl.com/OASbirdbuilding
Speaker: Katie Mulligan, Creator of SUNY-ESF mitigation murals and bird-friendly building advocate & Meredith Barges, Chair of Lights Out CNY and SUNY-ESF PhD student
Discover how beauty and conservation meet in this special webinar hosted by Onondaga Audubon Society. Join illustrator and conservationist Katie Mulligan and Lights Out CNY Chair Meredith Barges, as they share the story behind ESF’s innovative “Make ESF More Bird-Friendly” pilot project. They will also talk about the beauty of bird-friendly design more generally, while we look at some stunning examples of bird-friendly buildings in the U.S. and Canada.

Wingspan Board Game Learn & Play (open to all experience levels)
October 4, 10:30 am – 2:30 pm
Location: Manlius Library, 1 Arkie Albanese Way, Manlius, NY
RSVP Required: https://forms.gle/4TZ2RqiEPhWKhf4PA
Join us for a relaxing and fun Wingspan Game Day, where bird enthusiasts and board game lovers alike can learn how to play the award-winning game Wingspan. Whether you’re a seasoned player or brand new to the game, all experience levels are welcome! We’ll walk through the rules, play a casual round, and enjoy the beautifully illustrated world of bird conservation. This is a great opportunity to get familiar with the game ahead of our Wingspan Competition coming later this winter! All materials will be provided. Space is limited so RSVP today!
Programs held in 2024
July – David DuBois & Anna Stunkel (Baltimore Woods & Onondaga Audubon) – Let’s Go Mothing at Derby Hill
June – Birding Book Club: A Shimmer of Hummingbirds by Steve Burrows
April – Alli Smith (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) – Behind the Scenes of Merlin Sound ID
March – Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps Photography Program
February – Birding Book Club: Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper
January – Anna Stunkel (Onondaga Audubon) – Discovering Birds Through Colored Pencil Sketching
Programs held in 2023
October – Onondaga Audubon Information Night Open House
September – Jonah Cummings (CNY Lyme Alliance) – Ticks and Tick-Borne Disease of Central New York: Awareness and Prevention!
May – Chloe Beaupre (SUNY ESF) – Migratory Ungulates from the Intermountain West to the Arctic
April – Rick Bunting (SUNY Potsdam) – Cavity Nesters!
March – Sam Krebs (SUNY ESF) – Winter Foraging in Central New York Songbirds
February – R. Bruce Richardson – Birds of Australia View February Program Recording
January – Holly Grant (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) – NestWatch: Birds in Your Backyard View January Program Recording
Programs held in 2022
November – Annie Mills – Spotted Lanternflies in New York
October – Paul Taillie – The Hidden Life of North America’s Most Secretive Marsh Bird: The Eastern Black Rail View October Program Recording
May – Holly Stekl & Rick Garrett – Educator’s Week at Hog Island Audubon Camp
April – Stephanie Cunningham – Population Dynamics and Habitat Use in New York Fishers View April Program Recording
March – Lynn Schofield – Bird Migration: Connecting Continents View March Program Recording
February – Matthew Young – From Finches to FiRN View February Program Recording
January – Dr. Connor Wood – The BirdNET Project: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Opportunities for Bird Conservation View January Program Recording
Programs held in 2021
November – Sarah Shute & Tina Hill Thomas – Bald Eagles, the Haudenosaunee, and the Establishment of the Great Law of Peace Center View November Program Recording
October – Julie Hart – New York Breeding Bird Atlas: What’s Hatching? View October Program Recording
August- Michael J. Patane – The Past, Present, and Future of the Great Swamp Conservancy
May – Phil Allman – Sea Turtles of the Atlantic: Stories of Conservation and Hope
April – Cameron Fiss – Evaluating the Cause of Wood Thrush Declines: The Role of Managed Forest Landscapes
March – Leesia Marshall – A Warbler, a Tangled Bank, and the River Continuum Concept
February – Lauren Pharr – Effects of Urban Noise and Light Pollution on Birds
January – Jeremy Kirchman – Specimen-based Teaching and Research at the New York State Museum
November – Rebeca Linhart – Stopovers: Semipalmated Sandpipers in Atlantic Canada and Brazil
October – Ruth Bennett – Bird Friendly Coffee: How Coffee Growing Impacts Migratory Birds
September – Juita Martinez – Brown Pelicans on a Changing Coastline
May – Michelle Stantial – Factors Limiting Abundance and Productivity of Piping Plovers in New Jersey
March – Alex Cook – Survival in an Age of Sea Level Rise and Urbanization
February – Matt Kosty – Creating a Winter Refuge for Backyard Birds
Programs held in 2019
November – Andy Mason – Raptor Migration at Franklin Mountain Hawkwatch
October – Craig Baarck – Migration at Magee Marsh
September – Jason Luscier – Citizen Science with CatTracker: A Smartphone App for Understanding an Ecological CATastrophe
June – Anton Ninno, Christopher Paoli – Hog Island Educator’s Camp: Bringing Nature into the Classroom
May – Linda Ziemba – Birds of Prey of Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
April – William A. Powell – How a Single Gene Could Save the American Chestnut
March – Daniel Baldassarre – Linking Behavior and Biodiversity in Birds
February – Paul D. Harris – Canada Geese: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Programs held in 2018
November – Jean Soprano – From Capture to Release: Rehabilitating Wildlife in Central New York
October – Susan Parks – Can You Hear Me? Impacts of Noise on Whale Communication
September – Hilary McManus – Growing On Ice: Climate Change, Women, and Antarctica
June – Janet Allen – Creating a Bird-Friendly Yard
May – Kelly Powers – River Otter: New York State’s Elusive Carnivore
April – Kyle Horton – Using Radar to Quantify and Forecast Bird Migration Patterns
March – Harrison Goldspiel – Amphibian Ecology in Northeastern Forests CANCELLED
February – Sam Peterson – Current Status and Ongoing Research of Moose in the Adirondack Park
Programs held in 2017
November – Cody Gilbertson – Rare Snail Chit Chat
October – Irene Mazzocchi – Managing New York’s Non-game Wildlife
October – Kurt Gielow – The Role of Birds in Lyme Disease Dispersal
September – Ronald Calvo – Tropical Birds Then and Now
September – Alison Kocek – Bird Banding at Baltimore Woods
June – Ian Davies – Birding in the 21st Century
May – Nicholas Piedmonte – Ticks and Tick-Borne Disease in Onondaga County
April – Dr. Lee Harper – Common Terns on the St. Lawrence River:
From Peril to Prosperity
April – Bernie Carr – Habitat and Ecology of Native Orchids of New York State
March – Chee Pheng Low – Coyotes and Foxes of Fort Drum
February – Amanda Cheeseman – A Brush with Bunnies: Perils Faced by New England Cottontails in New York’s Changing Landscape
Programs held in 2016
November – Justin Droke – Satellite Telemetry Study of Ducks of the New York Finger Lakes Region
October – Jason Luscier – Impact of Urbanization on the Birds of Ireland
September – Bill Evans – Automated Monitoring of Nocturnal Migrants at Derby Hill
June – Rick Bunting – 2016 Florida Birding Highlights
May – Gerry Smith – Birds of Conservation Concern
May – John Rogers – All About Bluebirds and More
April – Matt Perry – Urban Peregrine Falcons of Utica
March – Dr. Ernest Williams – The Endangered Migration of Monarch Butterflies
February – Samantha Dean – Reptiles and Amphibians of New York
Programs held in 2015
November – Deanna King – Audubon: Father of Ornithology
October – Linnea Rowse – Golden-winged Warbler Habitat Restoration
October – Abigail Darrah – Birds of the Amazonian Ecuador
September – Bronson Curry – Conserving Bats in the Northeast
June – Jeff Benjamin – Geese of Central New York
May – Michael Schummer – People and Waterfowl
May – Janet Allen – Bringing Back Bees
April – Angelina Ross – Spruce Grouse in New York
April – Melissa Althouse – Tourism and Terns
March – Dave Wheeler – Spring Migration at Derby Hill
February – Michelle Stantial – The Night Life of Birds
Programs held in 2014
November – Wells Horton – A Photo-a-day 365: One Photographer’s Journey
October – Julie Covey – Eastern Lake Ontario Conservancy
October – Shannon Farrell – Golden-cheeked Warbler Habitat Selection
September – Greg Craybas – Bald Eagles of Onondaga Lake
June – Michael Schummer – Our Changing Waterfowl Migration
May – Irene Mazzocchi – Birds and Habitats of the North Country
May – Andy Zepp – Conserving Finger Lakes IBAs
April – Andrea Thomen – Organic Chocolate and Birds of Hispaniola
March – Gerry Smith – North Country Raptors
March – Steve Kolbe – Derby Hill: More Than Just Raptors
February – Chris Lajewski – Restoring Montezuma
Programs held in 2013
November – Drew Weber – eBird and the New Birding Technology
October –
Scott Stoner and Denise Hackert-Stoner – A Week in the Everglades
September – Jeffrey Freedman – Birds of Africa
June – Jean Soprano – World of Raptors*
May – Rudy Gelis – Eco-Tourism and the Birds of Ecuador
April – Shannon Buckley – Rusty Blackbirds
March – Maureen Durkin – Snowy Plovers
Programs held in 2012
November – Alison Kocek – Saltmarsh Sparrows in urban area wetlands
October – Mike Fishman – Bats in New York and whitenose syndrome
September – This evening’s program was cancelled because of a power outage. Always check the calendar page of this website for last minute changes.
June – Dave Figura – Tales of Central New York Nature
May – Paul Hai – Environmental Education of Children
April – Joseph Folta – Attracting Wildlife to Your Property
March – Dr. Jonathan Cohen – Virginia: The Secret of the Red Knots
Programs held in 2011.
February – Elizabeth Hunter – Galapagos Birds
March – Ellen Wisner – Birds and Urban Noise
April – Onondaga Environmental Institute – Historical Ecology of Onondaga Lake
May – Dr. Bill Shields – Birds of Australia
September – Rescheduled for December
October – Chris Standley – Owls of the Pacific Northwest
November – Margaret Tsen – Birds of India
December – Mike Allen – Bald Eagle Recovery in New York
