15^th Annual Hummer/Bird Celebration Speakers

 CARRIE CATE is the manager of Resaca de la Palma State Park-World Birding Center in the Rio Grande Valley and is the Technical Advisor for the North American Butterfly Association Butterfly Park located near Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park. 

“If you plant it…they will come.” This program will focus on butterfly gardening in South Texas using primarily native plants.  Carrie will include an overview of the relationship/dependence of butterflies on plants. 

KAREN KREBBS is a Conservation Biologist at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona.  She has worked at the Desert Museum for more than 16 years.  Karen has studied bats in Arizona and Mexico for 20 years.  She conducts workshops, lectures, and serves as an expert on bat biology, natural history, and care to agencies, groups, schools, and other zoological institutions around the United States.  She is currently working on 5 bat field research projects in Arizona with local government agencies and conservation groups.  Karen’s lectures and workshops on bats are exciting and popular. 

“Amazing Bats of the United States” Bats are one of the most beneficial and misunderstood mammals in the United States.   They eat an enormous amount of insects nightly and are important pollinators of some of the cacti and succulents in the desert southwest.  The U. S. has 21 species of bats and some of these will be covered during Karen’s presentation.  Bats have some amazing and unique abilities that will change your opinion if you are not a strong bat supporter.  Karen will dispel some of the superstitions and misunderstandings that many people have about bats.  Come learn more about the amazing lives and abilities of bats that will make you batty!

Mercedes & Xavier Munoz own a company dedicated to promoting the avifauna of Equador, Bolivia and Peru.  Neblina Forest, the birding company, has created specialty trips to observe hummingbirds and other gems in Equador.  This country, located on the equitorial line, has 135 species of hummingbirds many of which come to feeders in the several habitats visited. 

“Hummingbirds and other Gems” Mercedes and Xavier will showcase the different areas of Equador and some of the hummingbirds as well as Tanagers and Mountain Toucans seen there. 

Kent Rylander is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Texas Tech University.  He is currently at the Texas Tech University Junction Campus, where he teaches ornithology and animal behavior at Texas Tech’s newly established Fredericksburg and Marble Falls campuses.  He is author of The Behavior of Texas Birds (University of Texas Press, 2002).

“Texas Birds and Their Intriguing Behavior” Patient birders have been rewarded by seeing birds behave in unexpected and intriguing ways:  pelicans feeding a blind member of the flock, Red-tailed Hawks playing by dropping and catching objects, and Scaled Quail “anting.”  In this presentation Kent will discuss a number of interesting behaviors reported from birds that are found in Texas.

David Dauphin has been an avid birder for over 30 years.  He is past President of the Texas Ornithological Society and co-author of “A Birder’s Checklist of the Upper Texas Coast.”  He is a licensed bird bander and has served on boards of the Houston Ornithological Group, the Outdoor Nature Club of Houston, the Houston Audubon Society and the Texas Ornithological Society.

“Fall Beach Birds” Fall birds of beaches, bays and marshes can be very difficult to identify and this program, presented by a leading authority on birds of Texas, will help birdwatchers of all skill levels to better identify this often confusing group of birds.  After the program, participants are invited to meet David at Rockport Beach Park for field identification tips.

JESSE GRANTHAM is the Director of Conservation for Texas Audubon, the state program of the National Audubon Society.  He is responsible for developing and implementing comprehensive bird conservation programs throughout Texas.  He served as Manager of National Audubon Society’s Texas Sanctuaries System in the ‘80’s and is an acknowledged expert on the birds of Texas.  He is the co-founder of the Hummer/Bird Celebration.

“Landscaping for Wildlife” This is a landscaping workshop for beginners showing how native plants that attract hummingbirds can be used in the home garden.  A slide presentation will feature flowers and gardens as examples.

Gene Blacklock, Project Manager for Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, is a leading authority on the subject of natural history with a special emphasis on birds.  He is the author of numerous bird and checklists and several books including Birds of the Texas Coastal Bend and A Field Guide to Birds of Texas.  Gene has taught classes on natural history and led natural history field trips for over 35 years and counts among his students a large number of Coastal Bend birdwatchers.

“How to Identify Birds the Easy Way” Designed for adults with little or no background in this science, this program will concentrate on how to easily identify birds by focusing on the habitats in which they are found and the special adaptations they use to make their living.  The program for adults is scheduled for Friday morning and a special presentation for birdwatchers 18 years of age and younger is scheduled for Saturday morning.

GLORIA AND JOHN TVETEN are full-time freelance naturalists, writers, and photographers whose weekly column, “Nature Trails,” appeared in the Houston Chronicle for more than 24 years.  They are the authors of several books including The Birds of Texas, Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas, Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas, and Coastal Texas.  In addition, their photographs and articles have appeared in several hundred other books and magazines.  John has also led numerous natural-history tours throughout North, South, and Central America and the West Indies for the Smithsonian Institution travel program and for other organizations.  The Tvetens have served as featured speakers at nature festivals throughout Texas and have received several statewide awards for conservation and education.

“The Golden World of Sunflowers” Few wildflowers are as broadly distributed or as popular as the large, showy sunflowers of the genus Helianthus.  Learn about the wide variety of North American species and their value to the wildlife community, from colorful birds to tiny insects.  Discover, too, the role of sunflowers through human history and their present-day value on the agricultural scene.

ANNA REEMSNYDER - For decades, the climatic and soil conditions of South Texas challenged Anna and Curtis Reemsnyder’s best gardening efforts.  A magazine writer and photographer, Anna vowed to learn more after publishing articles in the early days of Lady Bird Johnson’s Wildflower Research Center in Austin, Texas.  Behold, butterflies magically swarmed to certain wildflowers; native shrubs produced not just berries but attracted colorful birds and healthy ponds spawned not just fish but baby alligators!  The Reemsnyders, both Texas Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists, mark this the 11th year spent “restoring their wilderness,” 55 wooded acres north of Aransas County Airport.  Now designated as a Texas Wildscape, theirs has been a Hummer Home since the beginning of the Hummer/Bird Celebration.

“Restoring Habitat to Benefit Wildlife”  Anna will present a narrated slide show featuring wildflowers, native plants and adapted plants benefiting wildlife.  You are invited to visit the Reemsnyder Home (see the Hummer Home self-guided tour map for directions) during the Celebration to see first-hand the amazing and beautiful results the Reemsnyder’s restoration efforts have produced.

MALCOM BECK is the co-author of The Texas Bug Book and is a much-respected pioneer of organic farming and gardening.  He developed natural controls for several pests and brought the use of composting as a means of water conservation and plant disease control to the forefront.  Malcolm has written numerous articles and publications on organic farming and gardening, composting, mulching and non-toxic weed and plant control and helped to write the rules and regulations on composting for the T. N. R. C. C.  In 1997, he received the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. 

“Understanding the Insects” This program will focus on good and bad insects and follow their development from egg, larvae or nymph, pupa to adult.  Malcolm will explain the purpose of design of many of the insects found in gardens.  He will also cover how to control troublesome insects without using poison. 

Eddie Holik is a Houston native, a graduate of Texas A & M’s horticultural department, and has served as the Head Horticulturist at the Cockrell Butterfly Center since its opening 9 years ago.  He also runs a landscaping company that specializes in native habitats.  One of his main interests is biological control, the use of insect predators to control insect pests (thus avoiding use of pesticides).

“Beyond Butterflies in the Garden” You’ve got butterfly gardening down, and now what?  This talk will tell you how to go beyond butterflies.  Hummingbirds and hummingbird moths, praying mantis, dragonflies, ladybugs, bumblebees, and more, your garden can provide a home for these fascinating creatures as well.  Since butterfly gardens typically feature many native plants and must eschew any pesticide use, you have a natural environment to welcome these and other interesting and beneficial residents.

JAMES LASWELL has an M.S. in Aquatic Biology from Sam Houston State University and has worked with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Stephenville, Texas for 22 years.  He has worked with a variety of insect related studies including insect vectored diseases of plants.  He became interested in dragonflies while working on an EPA funded project to evaluate the use of constructed wetlands to clean non-point source agricultural pollution.  James has authored or co-authored several articles on dragonflies and is now working on a book on dragonflies which is scheduled for publication next spring. 

“Dragonflies; Winged Jewels of Summer” James will cover a wide range of topics dealing with dragonflies including the prehistory (fossil dragonflies), dragonfly folklore, and dragonflies of Texas and how to easily separate them into families.  He will also include water gardening for dragonflies.

CONNIE TOOPS is an accomplished nature writer and photographer.  She is the author/principal photographer of nine books for adults, including Bluebirds Forever (winner of the Midwest Independent Publishers Association Merit Award for Best Environmental/Nature Book), Hummingbirds: Jewels in Flight, The Florida Everglades, and Great Smoky Mountains.  She also created the Let’s Explore series of outdoor activity books for children.  She serves as contributing editor to Birder’s World and Nature’s Best magazines.  She was a semi-finalist for the 1998 Humanitarian Photographer of the Year Award and received the first Outstanding Service Award from the North American Nature Photography Association. 

“Hummingbirds: Jewels in Flight” Naturalist John James Audubon described the breathtaking appearance of a hummingbird as “a glittering fragment of the rainbow”.  Connie Toops will present a lively discussion about the territorial behavior, courtship, nesting, and migration of these fascinating birds.  She will mention eight types of hummingbirds seen regularly in the United States, plus the Southwestern specialties, but will concentrate on the Ruby-throated Hummingbird which is the most numerous hummer on the Texas coast.

Martha & Bob Sargent

“How to Identify Hummingbirds at Your Feeder or in the Field” Please see information on the Sargents and their workshop elsewhere in this program.

BOB HILL has been photographing birds of the Coastal Bend for over 15 years.  His photos were primarily the result of an effort to describe to his family and friends the fascinating things Mother Nature had revealed to him.

“Photos and Comments on Selected Birds of the Coastal Bend” An avid outdoorsman for over 60 years, Bob will feature his unique photographs of special birds of the Texas Coastal Bend (most new for this Celebration).  He will share some of his observations of nature while encouraging you to participate in the enjoyment and protection of the great outdoors.

RICHARD WOLINSKI  has a B. S. from Central Michigan University and a M. S. from Eastern Michigan University, both in biology.  He has been an active field ornithologist for over 30 years and is currently employed as an ecologist for the Michigan Department of Transportation.

“Purple Martins” - An introduction to how the martin makes is living while on the wing in North America.  Richard will discuss the martins’ travels, foraging behavior, nesting habits and how humans and martins interact.  He will include basic information on attracting and keeping martins.