Kenn Kaufman
Kenn Kaufman burst onto the birding scene as a teenager in the 1970s, hitch-hiking all over North America in pursuit of birds—an adventure later chronicled in his cult-classic book Kingbird Highway. After several years as a leader of birding tours worldwide, he transitioned to a career as a writer, editor, and illustrator. Most of his energy currently goes into book projects and painting bird portraits. His 14 books include his latest, The Birds That Audubon Missed, published in May 2024. Kenn is a field editor for the National Audubon Society, a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society, and the only person to have received the American Birding Association’s lifetime achievement award twice.
The Texas Birds That Audubon Missed
In 1837, shortly after the Republic of Texas gained independence from Mexico, John James Audubon paid a visit here. His goal was to discover new subjects to paint for his monumental Birds of America. But he didn’t find a single new species—a remarkable result, considering what we know now about Texas birdlife. What were the reasons? In this talk, based on a chapter from his most recent book, Kenn Kaufman will discuss the early days of Texas bird study, and how that history relates to birding, travel, and discovery in our own time.
Amar Ayyash
"Man & Gulls – A Complex Relationship"
Of all the world's “seabirds”, gulls are the most visible to humans, gaining admission into our most immediate surroundings. Often approached with apprehension, gulls have earned a love-hate relationship with many birders, and they're sometimes perceived as 2nd class avian creatures. But among these larids are some of the most coveted bird species in the world, presenting us with an interesting juxtaposition. Amar Ayyash will take us through an entertaining and intriguing journey of their natural history, along with some of their less known adaptations and quirky behaviors.
Amar Ayyash is both an expert on the gulls of North America and an evangelist for “gull recreation”. He coordinates the Annual Gull Frolic on Lake Michigan, hosts the website anythinglarus.com, administers the Facebook group “The Gull Guide: North America”, and is often found speaking at birding events and leading trips throughout the continent. Much of his free time is dedicated to traveling the world to photograph and study gulls. Ayyash has published a number of articles on gull identification, distribution and molt, and is the author of the upcoming book, The Gull Guide. Amar lives in northern Illinois where he teaches mathematics.
