The Severson Dells Nature Center located in Rockford, Illinois is hosting a presentation on California Condor reintroduction to celebrate Earth Day. Time TBA at Rock Valley College in Rockford.
Earth Day Celebration
Saturday, April 21 (time to be announced 11:00-3:00pm Rock Valley College)
California Condor Reintroduction; An Avian Study on the N.W. Coast
Presented by Dan Varland
Sponsored by The David and Neva Burdick Memorial Fund of Severson Dells Nature Center and The Varland Family Trust
Dan Varland of Coastal Raptors will discuss sampling techniques used to monitor Bald Eagles, Common Ravens, and Turkey Vultures in coastal Oregon and Washington. With positive results from these tests, reintroductions of California Condor to this area may follow. As of November 2011, there were 391 California Condors in existence, 209 in the wild and 182 in captivity. Dan will talk about the natural history of the California Condor and the monumental effort to recover the species to the point of removal from the Endangered Species list.
Dan was born and raised in Rockford. He is now the Executive Director of Coastal Raptors, a non-profit organization focusing on research, education and conservation programs for raptors in coastal environments (www.coastalraptors.org). Dan’s research on Peregrine Falcons, Bald Eagles and other raptors along Washington’s coast dates to 1995. A leading expert on the application of visual markers to identify raptors, Dan is senior author of Marking Techniques, a chapter in the 2007 book, Raptor Research and Management Techniques. Working in cooperation with environmental organizations and agencies, in 2011 Dan initiated a new, multi-year study to examine avian health and disease on the Pacific Northwest coast.
Free to attend.
