I’ve been managing ABA Events for just over a year now and the one question I am asked perhaps more than any other is: “When are we going to have another convention?”
Now I can happily say NEXT YEAR, in 2014! The convention will be held April 22-26, in Corpus Christi, Texas! It’ll be the peak of spring migration and we have a fantastic array of speakers and leaders lined up.
Our last ABA Convention was held 5 years and for those who attended ABA Conventions regularly (a few diehard members hardly missed a single one), this seems an eternity. ABA Conventions were pioneering events, and one of the key influences on today's myriad birding festivals and events. This was a model we developed quite successfully and now there are many great birding festivals all over the U.S. and Canada, and the ABA takes an active part in many of them. Now we are excited to announce this Convention in Corpus Christi; the first of what we hope represents a new generation of ABA Conventions. As we continue to evolve as an organization this event represents another landmark for the organization, as we both honor our past and look to the future of the ABA; the new ABA, if you will, now in our 46th year. In addition to celebrating our traditions while creating new ones, we will raise money for hawk research in cooperation with HMANA (Hawk Migration Association of North America) who are celebrating their 40th anniversary. Congratulations to HMANA!
Convention Speakers:
Gerrit Vyn is a multimedia producer and staff photographer at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Recent work has found him documenting the last remaining Spoon-billed Sandpipers in the Russian Far-east, as well as wildlife poaching in China, and the breeding behavior of birds on Alaska’s Yukon Delta. Gerrit’s images appear regularly in books, magazines, websites and multimedia productions. He was the primary image provider for the 2009 and 2011 State of the Birds reports that were delivered to the Obama administration and congress by a coalition of leading environmental organizations. He has produced two CD compilations, Voices of North American Owls and Bird Songs of the Pacific Northwest, and is an affiliate of the International League of Conservation Photographers. Gerrit will present a talk on his expedition to capture the first ever high quality media of the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper in Chukotka, Russia.
Brian Sullivan is project leader for eBird, and photographic editor for the Birds of North America Online at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. An expert lecturer on hawks, he is a co-author of The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors, and the forthcoming Princeton Guide to North American Birds. Brian is also co-authoring a book with George Armistead to be published by Princeton titled Essential Birding. He served as photographic editor for the ABA’s journal North American Birds from 2005-2013.
Jeffrey Kimball has made a career in film as a music supervisor/executive on films including A Bronx Tale and Good Will Hunting. But in 2012 he debuted his documentary Birder’s: The Central Park Effect. Jeff will air this film and discuss how and why he made this insightful movie about birders.
ABA Convention Staff: Jeff Gordon (ABA president), Tom Johnson (Birding photo quiz editor), Jen Brumfield (Tropical Birding Tours and Leica Birding), Jennie Duberstein (Editor of The Eyrie), and George Armistead (Events ABA Coordinator), among others.
Join your ABA event staff and fellow ABA members for a fun and educational birding extravaganza on the Gulf Coast of Texas. See what the new ABA is all about. It’ll be the peak of migration with Mississippi Kites and warblers pouring through, and of course the many South Texas specialties will be in place. If you are interested in hearing more about this convention contact Nancy Hawley at nhawley AT aba.org to register your interest. Let’s go bird Corpus, together. Registration opens July 10th!
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