2020 FEATURED SPEAKERS
Scott Weidensaul is the author of more
than two dozen books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize
finalist "Living on the Wind," "Return to Wild America" and "The First
Frontier." His newest book, "A World of Wings" about global migration,
will be released in 2020. Weidensaul is a contributing editor for
Audubon, a columnist for Bird Watcher's Digest and writes for a variety
of other publications, including Living Bird. He is also an active
field researcher, studying saw-whet owl migration for more than two
decades, as well as winter hummingbirds, bird migration in Alaska,
and the winter movements of snowy owls through Project SNOWstorm,
which he co-founded.
Catherine Hamilton began birding at age seven with her
father, an avid birder, and started her first birding sketchbook at
that time. Mysteriously, her parents encouraged this activity, and
today she melds birding and art into a career. She leads birding and
field sketching tours around the globe, works out of her studio in
Los Angeles, and gives keynote speeches and workshops at birding festivals
in the U.S. and abroad.
Catherine holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School
of Design and a Master of Fine Arts from Bennington College, and has
taught painting and drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design and
other institutions throughout the 27 years she has been a professional
artist. Catherine’s fine art can be found in private, corporate, and
small museum collections in the US and abroad. Her illustrations and
writing can be found in books like the Princeton University Press
book “The Warbler Guide” and “Good Birders Still Don’t Wear White”
from Houghton Mifflin, and in journals and magazines such as the journal
“Nature,” “Living Bird,” “Bird Observer,” and “Orion Magazine.” Catherine
is featured in the 2012 HBO documentary “Birders: the Central Park
Effect,” and is the presenter for the 2018 short film “A Reason For
Hope,” where in her role as ZEISS Sports Optics’ Ambassador for Birding,
Catherine worked with partner organization Birdlife International
to help promote conservation awareness through birding and art.
Kyle Lima is a wildlife ecologist, nature-lover, and birder who works in conservation of the natural world. He obtained his B.S. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Maine Orono in 2019 and now works as a traveling field technician. Kyle's passion for wildlife began in 2012 on a trip to Florida which sparked his love for birds, leading him down the career path he has followed. Working field jobs related to bird ecology, forest management practices, phenology, mammal scavenging, and global land-use change has taken him all over the United States and southern Africa. These jobs, travels, and experiences inspired him to purse a conservation and research-focused career while finding ways that both humans and nature can thrive while maintaining cultural respect. Kyle also is a hobbyist artist, photographer, rock climber, and backpacker.
