STORIES IN FLIGHT AT THE IONA ISLAND BIRD OBSERVATORY
Presented by Paula Gomez Villalba and Chloe Boynton
Hundreds of thousands of birds fly over us each spring and fall in incredible waves of migration. WildResearch’s flagship program, the Iona Island Bird Observatory (IIBO), monitors the birds that move through Iona Beach Regional Park through bird banding and surveys.
Join biologists Paula Gomez Villalba and Chloe Boynton as they share what bird banding is all about, why it matters for conservation science, and how you can get involved. With a spotlight on Wilson’s Warblers and swallows, they’ll show how feathers can tell an individual bird’s story, and how those stories can deepen our understanding of migratory birds and the challenges they face.
This presentation will be held via Zoom video conferencing and will begin at 7:30 pm. Nature Vancouver members will receive the Zoom link in the weekly eNews on the Monday preceding the event. Non-members are welcome and are asked to email zoom-request@naturevancouver.
Speaker Bios:
About Paula Gomez Villalba (she/they)
Paula is a biologist, science communicator, and Latina settler who grew up on Muisca traditional territory in Colombia and on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) territory in Richmond, B.C. She is part of the IIBO Leadership Committee and has been volunteering and banding with WildResearch for seven years. Paula has a Bachelor’s degree in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and experience in research and conservation that grounds her passion to connect communities and local ecosystems.
About Chloe Boynton (she/her)
Chloe is a biologist and birder who grew up and lives on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples. She completed a Bachelor of Science at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON and her Masters of Science at Simon Fraser University. She has been a WildResearch member for over 10 years, serving on multiple committees over the years and is currently a Director at Large on the Board of Directors and chair of the Research Committee. She is passionate about birds, nature and sharing that interest with others.