North Coast Natural History Symposium
"Birds In The Coastal Ecosystem"

April 29,2000 - Seaside High School 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Sponsored by
North Coast Land Conservancy & Neawanna Stewardship Program

The North Oregon Coast provides unique habitats that play critical roles
in the life cycles of marine birds and shorebirds. These birds depend on
rocky cliffs, sea stacks, beaches, mudflats, and the nearshore ocean for
nesting and feeding during their life cycles. The highly specialized
adaptation and diverse ways these birds avoid direct competition with
similar species is one of the truly amazing wildlife stories of the
North Coast. You are invited to enjoy this story as told by regional
bird specialists using the outstanding photography of coastal bird life.

SHOREBIRDS OF THE NORTH COAST - Mike Patterson
The North Coast provides critical habitat for local shorebirds and for
tens of thousands of birds during spring and fall migration. Mike
Patterson will share with the audience his observations from the local
area on shorebird feeding adaptations, migration timing, and local
shorebirds sites.

MIKE PATTERSON is past president of the Oregon Field Ornithologists and
has been observing birds most of his life. He has been active in raising
public awareness about birds in the local landscape. Mike is currently
conducting bird inventories and banding studies associated with local
estuaries.
________________________________________________________________________

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY - Neal Maine
Using his background as an ecologist, Neal Maine has pursued his hobby
of wildlife photography in the local area for the past thirty years.
Birds are one of the most popular of wildlife subjects and some simple
techniques to improve your photos will be demonstrated. Information on
using video to capture birds will also be included.

NEAL MAINE has lived in the area all his life and has used his
photography to help raise public awareness about wildlife on the coast.
He makes his photos available to local media and has used his
photography in education programs throughout the region and the state.
________________________________________________________________________

MARINE BIRDS OF THE NORTH OREGON COAST - Roy Lowe
The rugged coast line in this area, with it rocky sea stacks and cliffs
provide nesting habitat for a variety of marine birds. Some of the local
rocks have nesting populations of over 40,000 birds. The audience will
get an aerial tour of the bird populations using these rocks for nesting
and explore the life cycle ecology of these special birds.

ROY LOW is a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and has
been instrumental in helping to establish wildlife reserves along the
Oregon Coast to protect shorebirds and waterfowl. He has been surveying
marine bird populations in this region for the last 15 years.
________________________________________________________________________

MARINE BIRDS OF THE LOWER COLUMBIA - David Craig
Specialized birds such as cormorants, ring billed gulls and Caspian
Terns use the estuary habitat of the Columbia extensively. The results
of four years of research on this group of birds will be presented. Dr.
Craig has helped uncover some of the ecology associated with feeding and
nesting.

DR. DAVID CRAIG has been providing local leadership for this research
during the last three years. Growing up in Scappoose has given him a
keen sense of the local environment. He is currently working for the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State University.


*******Field Programs April 30, 9:00 am to 12:00

Special Field Programs - Sunday April 30 - Skilled birders will be
stationed at Chapman Point Beach (park at Les Shirly Park in Cannon
Beach, out to the beach and due North) Necanicum Estuary (In front of
the high school), and the South Jetty (parking lot C) Spotting scopes &
binoculars will be available to assist in seeing birds.



--
Mike Patterson
Expounder of Scientific Wisdom
Astoria High School, Astoria OR
http://columbia-pacific.interrain.org/ahscience/

"The thing I like best about God
is not truth or beauty, but irony..."
from the play Hapwood by Tom Stoppard