Program and Presenter Details

Sep 27, 2022 Jean Iron The Nature of Arctic Birds
Arctic birds have a special attraction for birders and many are amongst our
most sought-after species. In this presentation, Jean will take us north to
the Arctic to look at birds whose exceptional endurance and lifestyle are
determined by the relentless forces of nature. Physical adaptations of
Arctic birds, their color schemes, short breeding season, populations, and
impressive migrations, including the swimming migration of Thick-billed
Murres, are characteristics that Jean will highlight with photos.

Jean Iron is a well-known Ontario birder. She was president of the Ontario
Field Ornithologists (OFO) for nine years and editor of its newsletter for
14 years. In 2016, she received the OFO Distinguished Ornithologist Award.
Jean has a special interest in the qualities and adaptations of Arctic
birds. As an expedition leader for Quest Nature Tours to Canada’s High
Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic, she experienced
Arctic birds in their natural habitats.
Annually from 2002 to 2018, Jean went north to Hudson Bay and James Bay to
survey shorebirds and geese for the Canadian Wildlife Service and the
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.


Oct 25, 2022 Bob Falcone National Geographic Nature Tours
Bob’s program will focus on the trips he has taken with National Geographic
Expeditions. He will discuss the locations he has visited with them,
including Yellowstone National Park in the winter, the Columbia River in
Oregon, the Channel Islands off California, and the Galapagos Islands. He
will share the logistics of traveling with National Geographic, including
the special arrangements required to travel to the Galapagos. The program
will feature scenery and wildlife photos taken on the various trips.

Bob Falcone has been a Colorado Springs, CO, resident for more than 31
years. A retired career firefighter and U.S. Air Force veteran, Bob is an
avid hiker, outdoors enthusiast and photographer. Bob spends his days
traveling around Colorado and the American Southwest searching for hiking
and photography opportunities and adventures, often with his loyal companion
Coal the dog. He has taken several trips with National Geographic and
Lindblad Expeditions.
Bob is an accomplished and award-winning landscape and nature photographer
and a member of Canon Professional Services. He shares his knowledge and
adventures by writing the "Outdoors" column for the Colorado Springs
Independent, and also with his weekly "Outdoors with ‘Hiking Bob’" podcast
and is a frequent guest on Colorado Springs' TV news stations, for stories
regarding outdoor recreation and photography.


Nov 22, 2022 Mike Petrick The Birds of the Big Bend and Davis Mountains
The Trans-Pecos Mountain Region of Texas is a vast region reaching from the Pecos River on the east to El Paso on the west and from the border with New Mexico on the north to Big Bend National Park on the south. The region contains some of the most beautiful scenery in our state but is rarely visited by many Texans. The region contains some of the most diverse flora and fauna found in Texas. Its location puts it in the Western Flyway and very near the mountains of Northern Mexico. You will see many different birds there that we never see in the eastern half of Texas. This program consists of many of the photos that I have taken on several trips to the region.
Mike Petrick developed a love of the outdoors early in life growing up hunting, fishing, and camping in the woods around Burnet and Lake Buchanan. His interest in photography came from a summer job taking tour pictures in Longhorn Cavern while in high school. Mike is a 1960 graduate of Burnet High School and a 1968 graduate of Angelo State University. He taught in San Angelo for 18 years and in Lewisville for 20 years. The last 8 years of his career he taught outdoor education, which included hunting and boating safety, fishing, camping, Dutch oven cookingetc. at Huffines Middle School in Lewisville. After retiring in 2007 he needed something to do to stay active and had heard of the Master Naturalist program. He became a Texas Master Naturalist in the class of 2011. Once he became a Master Naturalist, he began going on bird walks and field trips and have become an avid birder and bird photographer. He has been able to combine his love of the outdoors, birds, photograph, and teaching by volunteering as at trail guide at The Heard Refuge in McKinney and at The Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area near Lewisville. He also volunteers at the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge near Sherman as a tram tour guide as well as helping with the weekly bird census there. Almost all his birding has been done in Texas with multiple trips to the Texas Coast and the Rio Grande Valley as well as the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park.