Events and Monthly Meetings

Speaker(s): Shai Mitra

Topic: Avian Vagrancy: The Sport and the Science of Rare Birds

Vagrant birds—individuals occurring far beyond the expected geographical limits of their taxa—have fascinated people for centuries. Long dismissed as the stuff of mere sport and as biologically meaningless accidents, these records are emerging as a valuable dataset.

This talk begins with a discussion of the sport of finding and documenting rare birds, which is still more of an art than a science, despite technological revolutions in meteorology and surveillance. The resulting body of records constitutes a rapidly growing and increasingly accessible dataset that offers insights into important scientific questions: demographic trends in distant populations, the causes and consequences of long-distance dispersal, the biological properties of local sites, the forces shaping community composition, and, ultimately, a more rational approach to conservation.

Shai Mitra has studied birds in the northeastern United States and around the world for more than 40 years. He received a BA in Biology from Cornell University in 1989 and a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chicago in 1996. From 1996 to 2000, he operated a major bird-banding station at the Fire Island Lighthouse on the South Shore of Long Island. Currently, he is an assistant professor of biology at the College of Staten Island, with research interests in the areas of avian ecology, evolution, and conservation. Shai is editor of The Kingbird, the quarterly publication of the New York State Ornithological Association; co-compiler of bird records for the New York City and Long Island region; chair of the Rhode Island Avian Records Committee; and co-compiler of the Southern Nassau County and Napatree, Rhode Island, Christmas Bird Counts.

Open to the public. Free of charge. Light refreshments served. No need to RSVP.