Friends of the Arboretum Lecture
"Pandora's (Bird)box: Challenges and Solutions for Birds That Require Cavities"
John Gerwin, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Part of the 12th Annual Birdhouse Competition
Sponsored by Wake Audubon Society, the North Carolina Bluebird Society, and the JC Raulston Arboretum
- Thursday, April 12, 2012 – 7:30 pm–9:00 pm
Birds face a number of challenges when nesting or roosting in cavities; and some cavity users face challenges during other parts of their annual cycle. Come join us to hear ornithologist John Gerwin as he showcases those challenges and some "lesser known" solutions that birds, sometimes with the help of people, have come up with to raise young or get a good night's sleep. John will discuss some of his research and other project involvement with birds that use cavities. He will also highlight a few unusual cavity-use stories.
About John Gerwin
John began watching birds at about age 5. He was fortunate to be in a nature club for teenage kids, when he was 11-15 years of age. He received a B.S. in biology from the University of Minnesota, and an M.S. in zoology from Louisiana State University (where he studied the genetic evolution of some tropical hummingbird species). John has worked at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences for 24 years. He conducts research on a variety of birds that breed in North Carolina. He serves on the NC Audubon Important Bird Areas Technical Advisory Committee. He served on the review committee for the Piedmont region of the NC Birding Trail program. He has served on the board of the Wake Audubon Society since 2005 and is currently the treasurer. He co-advises students at NC State University and University of North Carolina, Wilmington. He enjoys doing a wide variety of public programs across the State, but especially at the City of Raleigh's Walnut Creek Wetland Center. He speaks Spanish and co-leads ecotours to various Latin American countries, especially Nicaragua, where he currently has two students studying several species of migratory birds. He is on the organizing committee for his neighborhood "gardening for wildlife" club called WildWest (in the Avent West district of Raleigh). He enjoys sharing a few spare moments with his fiance Kathy and their rescued Bouvier des Flandres, Nathan.
- Cost
- Free for Friends of the JC Raulston Arboretum members, NC State University students (with ID), and Department of Horticultural Science faculty and staff, all others $5.00.
- Registration
- Advanced registration is not available.
- Location
- Ruby C. McSwain Education Center, JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.
- Directions
- Need directions? Click here.
- Parking
- Free parking is available at the JC Raulston Arboretum and along Beryl Road.
- Questions
- Please call (919) 513-7005 for more information about this lecture.