Tag: Birding

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Birding with Bernie Master- February 4 & March 11

 

Ovenbird, Corkscrew

 

 

 

 

Bernard Master is an avid hiker of the CREW Trails, a phenomenal birder, a great educator and one of our most popular Strolling Science seminar leaders.

Due to popular demand, Bernie will be leading two hikes at the CREW Trails, scheduled for February 4 and March 11 at 8 a.m. at Bird Rookery Swamp.

Guests will learn about our winter resident birds that use Southwest Florida’s valuable habitat and why. They’ll have a chance to see early songbird migrants, learn their songs and how songs are used in population counts. Bernie will also introduce guests to how CREW biologists measure populations of breeding birds and lead hikers in a bird count activity.

An internationally recognized conservationist, Dr. Bernie Master has a Birding Life List that includes over three-quarters of the world’s bird species, in excess of 7,700 birds. He is the first American to see a representative of every bird family in the world. He was honored by HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands for his contribution to conservation.  A previously unrecorded song bird in Colombia, Vireo masteri, the Choco Vireo, is named for Master’s family and the discovery was published in IBIS in October, 1996.

Don’t miss this chance to learn from the internationally known ornithologist Bernie Master. Tickets are available at eventbrite.com; reservations are limited and required.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For assistance in purchasing tickets or additional information not found on the event website, email anne@crewtrus.mystagingwebsite.com or call 239-657-2253. A wait list will be available once the event sells out.

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Book Release by Bernard F. Master

Bernie Master

IN PURSUIT OF THE WORLD’S RAREST BIRDS

Author Bernard F. Master chronicles his adventures as a medical professional, businessman and legendary birder in No Finish Line.

Yellow-throated Warbler, BRS

Bernard Master is a avid hiker of the CREW Trails, a phenomenal birder, and a great educator. We have been lucky to have him as a leader in our Strolling Science Seminar series. He lead Birding with the Master at Bird Rookery Swamp in March 2015 and will be returning in our 2015-2016 series. Below details Dr. Master’s new book.

No Finish Line, Discovering the World’s Secrets One Bird at a Time, is one man’s epic journey through life as a successful doctor, businessman, lifelong birder and internationally recognized conservationist. Readers will be mesmerized with his travel adventures spanning six continents and 105 countries. He shares his most exciting adventures searching for the rarest birds in the world. He is the first American to see a representative from each of the 229 bird families in the world, as well as Vireo masteri, a bird in Colombia named after him.

Whether he is meeting Queen Noor of Jordan to discuss birds and world conservation or attending a special dinner in his honor with Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands to receive a commendation in recognition of his world conservation efforts, there is always an interesting story to tell. His forays take him to exotic locations including Venezuela where he rediscovered a bird that had been absent for fifty years. Additional adventures include a thwarted kidnapping in Brazil. His quest to see a representative from all the bird families takes him to Rwanda, the Arabian Peninsula, Cameroon and China, providing readers with photos of extraordinary birds and accounts of his 7,800 species to date.

In between birding trips, Dr. Master was busy building two thriving companies, Health Power, Inc. and its sister company, the MEDCenters. His thirty-five year medical career begins with a tour in Vietnam as a battalion surgeon in a combat unit and a year as post surgeon for the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence School. Obstacles and successes are the narratives he shares outlining the intricacies of founding a healthcare company and ultimately taking it public on the NASDAQ.

“My own life has been one amazing adventure after another with no finish line in sight.” Author Bernard F. Master currently resides in Worthington, Ohio.

No Finish Line, Discovering the World’s Secrets One Bird at a Time is available on amazon.com.

Bernie Master
Bernie Master
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Migration Season Has Begun at CREW

Red Maple
Red Maple

It’s that time of year. When birders get giddy and other folks who actually pay attention to things outside their cars and houses begin to notice different flying objects within their view. At CREW, the signs are obvious – the seasons are a-changin’. Water levels are high, the weather is hot and humid, and the maple trees are starting to turn burgundy while the cypress needles hint at turning brown. But the most dramatic changes right now are in the air.

Our feathered friends are heading for their winter homes, and that means some are leaving southwest Florida, some are arriving for their winter stay, and some are just passing through. During the past two weeks, the swallow-tailed kites have been seen circling in groups of 10, 20, 30 and more, staging for their trip back to South America.  This week, the tree and barn swallows have been racing through the skies in their characteristic swooping, circling flights chasing after flying insects like dragonflies, damselflies, and wasps. And Joe Bozzo, the SFWMD project manager for CREW, spotted prothonotary warblers and Louisiana waterthrushes at Bird Rookery Swamp already.

warbler
Photo by George Luther

So, if you want to catch some of this amazing migratory action, grab your binoculars and come on out to the CREW trails to see what you can find. The CREW Marsh Trails are a designated Great Florida Birding Trail site, and I’ve heard bitterns calling in the seasonal pond several times during the last two weeks. The Bird Rookery Swamp boardwalk and the trail just past the boardwalk is a regular “hot spot” for great migratory birds. Joe says to watch for yellow-billed cuckoos, red-eyed vireos, prairie warblers and black-throated blue warblers. Last year the orange-crowned warblers and Baltimore orioles were common sightings there, too.

Let us know what you see – post it here as a comment – so others can go see it, too.

 

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