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 available on the second Wednesday of most months and often run 1-2 hours.

Follow us on Facebook for information about watching these programs. Programs are also listed on the Calendar page of this web site.

Don’t want to miss a meeting? Email “Subscribe” to OAS.Programs@gmail.com to receive updates on upcoming programs.

2023 Programs

Migratory Ungulates from the Intermountain West to the Arctic
Wednesday, March 8, 6:30 pm
Zoom link   *RESCHEDULED as a Virtual Meeting – we apologize for any inconvenience*
Speaker: Chloe Beaupre, Postdoctoral Researcher, SUNY-ESF

Human recreational activities have been found to have a serious impacts on ungulates in western Colorado. Chloe Beaupre, postdoc at SUNY-ESF, will discuss how GPS tracking data are being used to better understand and conserve bighorn sheep in the intermountain west and barren-ground caribou in the Arctic.

Cavity Nesters!
Wednesday, April 12, 6:30 pm 
Zoom link 
Speaker: Rick Bunting, Professor Emeritus, SUNY Potsdam

Now retired from a 33-year teaching career, Rick Bunting is professor emeritus from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he was chair of music education and conductor of the renowned Crane Chorus. In his private life, Rick pursued his love of birds by taking thousands of incredible photos of them. Join us this evening for a journey into the amazing world of cavity nesters!

Winter Foraging in Central New York Songbirds
Wednesday, May 10, 6:30 pm 
Marcellus Free Library, 32 Maple St, Marcellus, NY
Speaker: Sam Krebs, graduate student, SUNY-ESF

What do songbirds eat during the frigid winter months around the Finger Lakes and Central New York? Sam Krebs, a SUNY-ESF graduate student in wildlife ecology and management, will present his research on the role of staghorn sumac as a food source for wintering songbirds. His talk will also address important bird/food interactions, how birds see and use ultraviolet light, and overall wintering ecology of our hardy upstate New York songbirds.

Programs held earlier in 2023

February – R. Bruce Richardson – Birds of Australia View February Program
January – Holly Grant – NestWatch: Birds in Your Backyard View January Program

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