SA54 Saturday Night Keynote with Alvaro Jaramillo | 2024 | FREE with Paid Registration; $10 a la carte ticket

The Main Hall will open at 5:00 p.m. for a Happy Hours Social with a cash bar that will give you a final chance to bid on items in the Silent Auction. The auction will end at 6:30 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. the winner of the 2023 Humboldt County Bird of the Year will be announced, followed by the keynote.

Presentation: “Birding Fast and Slow” by Alvaro Jaramillo

As we know, birding can be immensely gratifying. But there is a lot to it that we do not think about. Our brains actually engage in different ways to identify a bird. You have heard of the “reptilian brain” well there is something to that, and some aspects of what we do as birders is reflexive, other aspects are deeply thoughtful and contemplative. The two modes interact in our brains, in different ways. When we are a beginner, it is tougher and a different brain mode is in operation to identify birds than when one is expert. The expert actually does not identify birds, it is even easier than that! I will let you know how that works at the talk. Even the role of the field mark is perhaps not as important as you would think. But it all gets down to our modes of brain function. Fast or slow!

This is what makes birding so rich. There is perhaps no activity as complete as birding, in that it can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways, by essentially every type of person. Even every personality can get something from birding. As a pastime birding is also like a good hot sauce, it goes well with everything! It adds to other outdoor activities, and even to mundane situations like doing outdoor chores. There is a lot to birding, and perhaps what we forget is that it makes us privileged to become connected with nature. This connection is not only fun, it is vital, and it is absolutely wonderful for your health. Yes, I can assure you that in time doctors will prescribe birding to people as it is good for us! Come see how, and why this is.

Alvaro Jaramillo, owner of international birding tour company Alvaro’s Adventures, was born in Chile but began birding in Toronto, where he lived as a youth. He was trained in ecology and evolution with a particular interest in bird behavior. Research forays and backpacking trips introduced Alvaro to the riches of the Neotropics, where he has traveled extensively. He is the author of the Birds of Chile, an authoritative yet portable field guide to Chile’s birds. For some time, Alvaro wrote the Identify Yourself column in Bird Watcher’s Digest. He is author of a major New World sparrow chapter for the Handbook of Birds of the World (now Birds of the World), and the new ABA Field Guide Birds of California. He was granted the Eisenmann Medal by the Linnaean Society of New York, it is awarded occasionally for excellence in ornithology and encouragement of the amateur. He organizes and leads international birding tours, as well as a full schedule of pelagic trips in central California. Recently, he started Birding Your Best Life (www.birdingyourbestlife.com) a membership community relating to birding and enjoying birds. Alvaro lives with his family in Half Moon Bay, California.

A ticket to the Saturday keynote is included in both the Lite and Basic Registration categories. Tickets may also be purchased a la carte. Please register if you plan to attend so we that have an idea of the head count. A limited number of tickets will be available for sale onsite.

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