Events - Event View

“The Epic Migrations of Birds“ with Dr. Peter Marra, Director of the Georgetown Environmental Initiative (GEI), Laudato Si’ Professor in Biology and the Environment, and Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy. Dr. Marra had a 20-year career at the Smithsonian Institution, most recently as Director of the Migratory Bird Center.

Peter Marra has a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College and has authored over 225 papers published in journals such as Science, Nature and Conservation Biology on various aspects of the biology and conservation of birds and other animals, as well as on topics as broad as urban disease ecology. He co-edited the frequently cited book - Birds of Two Worlds and recently published a second book - Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of Cuddly Killer. Migration is one of the most engaging phenomena of the animal world and one epitomized by birds. Migratory birds are the Olympiads of the natural world - traveling extreme distances, flying at night in flocks of tens of thousands of individuals, and moving through treacherous terrain with untold obstacles threatening their every move. Today, over 50% of North America’s migratory species are declining at unprecedented rates – and for most of these species we don’t know why.

Dr. Marra will take us on a hemispheric journey to discover the unknown migrations of the birds, explaining the latest technologies used for tracking and why it’s up to us to uncover the secrets of their biology to protect these marvelous species.

A Partnership Between Little Falls Village & the Little Falls Library (MCPL)