FI Audubon Club April Program – “North on the Wing”

The passage of spring in North America, with the blossoming of wildflowers, chorusing of frogs, leafing-out of forest canopies, and the migration of neotropical songbirds, constitutes the Hemisphere’s most wondrous annual event.

In 2015, Dr. Beehler followed spring migration from the coast of Texas and Louisiana, up the Mississippi valley, and into the vast boreal forests of northern Canada. He drove more than 13,000 miles, camped out in a tent 100 consecutive nights, and immersed himself in the sweep of spring up through America’s Heartland.

The purpose of this field expedition was to obtain first-hand knowledge on the state of spring in the year 2015—68 years after Edwin Way Teale conducted a similar field trip, which he described in his best-selling book North on the Wing..

Although Dr. Beehler is a professional ornithologist and conservationist, this journey was not a scientific exercise. Instead, he acted as a naturalist and reporter, focusing on songbirds, nature, environmental history, and American culture. The objective was to tell a unique story of little-known natural environments, dedicated local naturalists, their innovative projects, and their strategically-placed field stations. These critical components make up the front line in the ongoing campaign to study and conserve migratory birds, their critical habitats, and the phenomenon of neotropical migration in a world undergoing rapid change.

Dr. Beehler’s presentation includes a selection of the more than 5,000 digital images he took featuring birds and nature.

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