Searching for Lost Birds with John Mittermier
Originally presented July 8, 2021 6:30PM ET, this meeting of the Skowhegan Bird Club features a talk by John Mittermier about rarely-sighted birds that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Searching for Lost Birds: how rare birds can inspire exploration and conservation in the age of extinction
Out of the nearly 11,000 species of birds on earth, around 200 are currently “lost” with no confirmed observation in at least a decade. While some of these lost species may simply be hard to find, others are almost certainly on the verge of extinction and are desperately in need of updated observations and conservation efforts. John C. Mittermeier will describe his experiences looking for lost birds in places like the Solomon Islands and Madagascar and discuss how searching for these lost species can help us to understand the current extinction crisis and provide opportunities for people around the world to participate in science and conservation.
John C. Mittermeier is an ornithologist and conservation biologist who has had a life-long interest in endangered birds and their conservation. He has done fieldwork in more than twenty countries around the world including Suriname, Indonesia, Madagascar, and the Solomon Islands, and holds a PhD in biodiversity science from the University of Oxford. He currently works as the Director of Threatened Species Outreach at American Bird Conservancy in Washington, DC.
