We’ll take the evening to explore terns in all of their charisma and beauty, while simultaneously weaving in the moments of the joy, excitement, boredom, and heartbreak that went into creating the book, Terns of North America. While terns are the subject, we will also be getting into the messy business of why it took nine years to write a book about them.
An avid birder for thirty years, Cameron’s passion is teaching others about birds and the nuances of bird identification. He is the owner and operator of Avocet Birding Courses, a company that offers workshops and tours that focus on teaching birding skills and knowledge to make birding more fun. He is the coauthor of The Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching and author of the new Terns of North America, a Photographic Guide, as well as numerous articles on shorebird and waterfowl identification.
Kevin Karlson is an accomplished birder, professional tour leader and wildlife photographer who has published numerous articles on bird identification and natural history for an assortment of magazines, journals, calendars and CD/DVDs. A former editor for North American Birds, he currently writes the Birder’s ID column for Wild Bird Magazine.
As the sole ornithologist for Cornell Lab of ornithology’s DVD Birds of North America, Kevin prepared photos and wrote captions for over 2600 bird images, including over 800 of his own. He is a regular presence at numerous Bird and Nature festivals around North America, where he gives keynote presentations and workshops on bird identification and natural history, and leads field trips to a variety of locations. Kevin also leads a select number of photography and birdwatching tours.
Kevin’s books include The Shorebird Guide (2007); Birding by Impression: A Different Approach to Bird Identification (2015); Birds of Prey, with Pete Dunne (2017); (all three Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers); Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Identification Approach, (Princeton University Press, 2018); and Bird Families of North America (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021), both with Pete Dunne as co-author. A new book titled “The Shorebirds of North America: A Natural History and Photographic Celebration” with Pete Dunne (Princeton University Press) was just released (July 2024). This book is a verbal and photographic celebration of this unique bird family, and not an ID guide.
Photography books include The Birds of Cape May and Visions: Earth’s Elements in Bird and Nature Photography (Schiffer Publishing). Kevin also produced six photographic laminated foldout ID guides for Quick Reference Publishing (Raptors of Eastern and Western North America (2012); Waterfowl of North America (2013), Warblers of North America (2016); Shorebirds of North America (2014); and Owls and Nightjars of North America (2017).
This light-hearted presentation examines birdwatching through Kevin’s eyes and explores some of the reasons why so many people enjoy watching and studying birds, including a unique camaraderie with other birders. Photos of birds, people and other creatures from various locations will be shared, as well as humorous events and stories that make the ride so interesting. Forty-five years of casual and passionate birding have shaped Kevin’s life in so many ways, with much of it revolving around the study and enjoyment of birds, and this show shares his appreciation for that journey. Come along for a ride through time that we all can relate to, with birds, people and unique places, the stars of the show. Kevin is cutting back on many bird-related activities, so this is a special presentation.
Kevin Karlson
