Andrea Nelson started carrying a bird guide on her runs down the Provo River Trail to Utah Lake after noticing birds she didn’t recognize. The spark was ignited, and she has incorporated bird ecology into her environmental education work at Red Butte Garden, the Natural History Museum of Utah and FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake. She currently heads the volunteer, education and outreach programs for the Utah Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and serves on the education committee of Great Salt Lake Audubon.
Janet Nelson's love of the natural world began with her grandparents, who were both biologists. Her appreciation and fascination for nature deepened through family camping vacations and many outdoor experiences with the Girl Scouts. Janet then started volunteering with HawkWatch International in August 2007, and in September 2013 joined the HWI staff as an Educator. Janet loves caring for the raptor ambassadors and looks forward to continuing to educate school students and the general public about raptors, HWI's mission, and their scientific studies that effect conservation change.
Ann Neville works for The Nature Conservancy of Utah. She is also the North American representative for Birdlife International.
Ogden Nature Center: Located in the heart of Ogden, you'll find a 152-acre nature preserve and education center open to the public year-round. Visitors enjoy 1.5 miles of walking trails, picnic areas, tree houses, bird blinds and an exhibit of live birds of prey. Two of Utah's greenest buildings are on site to teach about sustainable structures. A unique gift shop is located in the Visitor Center. The Ogden Nature Center offers a wide variety of classes & workshops for all ages including art, photography, birding, wildlife in Utah, outdoor recreation, conservation, sustainability, summer camps and more.
Bryant Olsen has been a bird lover since he picked up an 'Audubon Society Guide to Birds of North America' when he was 19 and has been actively studying and seeking out the company of birds ever since- almost 20 years now. Really more of a naturalist than a 'birder', he focuses on the way birds interact with their environment. Besides birds, he also has an interest in no-feathered wildlife, botany, geology, astronomy, as well as gardening. He works at the Salt Lake City Public Library.
Charity Owens is the Naturalist and park ranger at Antelope Island State Park. She first became interested in birding as a park ranger at Utah Lake 13 years ago. Antelope Island has given her great opportunities to learn about new birds, especially burrowing owls. She loves to share insider knowledge about Antelope Island State Park with visitors.
Don Paul is president of AvianWest Inc., a bird and habitat conservation business. He currently serves on the Shorebird Science Team for the Intermountain West Joint Venture. He is also President of the Linking Communities, Wetlands and Migratory Birds, Utah Committee. He also consults for a variety of organizations interested in conservation. He is a career wildlife biologist having served 34 years in several positions for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and four years as the Great Basin Bird Conservation Region Coordinator. Don is also a founding member of the GSL Bird Festival planning committee.
Terri Pope has worked as a biologist for the Division of Wildlife Resources since 2012. She is currently the Sensitive Species Biologist in the Central Region. Terri earned her Master's degree from Northern Arizona University and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. Her research focused on how differences in habitat conditions affect avian behavior.
Vivian Schneggenburger began doing river trips many years ago and has been enthralled with the bird life along our Western river corridors. As a nurse she has a flexible schedule and spends time birding while hiking, river running and skiing.
Bret Selman and his family are the owners of 4-Mile Ranch. They have been caretakers of this unique land for generations and are avid birdwatchers.
Arnold Smith has been interested in birds, especially their nesting behavior since he was eight years old. He is a long time active member of Wasatch Audubon.
Dickson Smith graduated from high school in Louisiana and attended USU. He's lived in Florida, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska and Utah. Dickson has always had a love for the outdoors and especially for birds - "I envied them that they could fly and I couldn't. I remember as a boy running across the front yard flapping my arms trying to take off and fly." Dickson's cousin introduced him to birding when he was 6 living in Oklahoma, showing him a pair of nesting Killdeer and how they did the broken wing routine. He was hooked. He started photographing birds years later while a police officer in Alaska. Dickson also enjoyed falconry - " I loved the relationship of being able to be a part of a hunting partnership with a hawk or a falcon." He still lives in Utah and enjoys the beauty the outdoors has to offer.
Weston Smith grew up watching birds with his father, Arnold. As a lifetime resident of Morgan County he has spent countless hours bird watching in different areas of the county. Weston also enjoys feeding birds and has counted approximately 124 species of birds in his yard over the past 6 years. Weston is a new member of the Board of Directors for Wasatch Audubon Society.
Kyle Stone graduated from Weber State University in 2006 with a bachelors in zoology. While there he discovered his love for birds while taking an ornithology class and began working for the Avian Ecology Lab. In 2009, after 4 years with AEL, he was hired by UDWR as a biologist on the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program..
Les Talbot is a retired Biology teacher, and has been an avid birder for the last 10 years. He is the fieldtrip chairman for the Wasatch Audubon, and sits on their Board of Directors. He currently volunteers at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge teaching Environmental Education classes, and leading bird tours.
Tracy Aviary: 589 East 1300 South Salt Lake City This newly remodeled site is open to the public for events, guided visits and self-guided visits to see birds. Tracy Aviary inspires curiosity and caring for birds and nature, in and out of the classroom.
Utah County Birders- members including Dennis Shirley and Suzi Holt lead the Utah County Hotspots birding trip.
Jim Van Leeuwen assists John Luft with the Great Salt Lake boat tours.
Bob Walters is retired as the DWR's Watchable Wildlife Program Coordinator. He initiated Bald Eagle Day in 1990 and has led/hosted myriad Watchable Wildlife Program Field Trips for years. He instigated and continues to maintain, nurture and sustain the famous Salt Lake City peregrine falcon family in downtown SLC. With the cooperation of the LDS Church and SLC Peregrine Falcon Watchpost Team volunteers, Bob informs, educates and showcases the falcon family to passersby, spearheads the annual vigil to safeguard the first flights of the young-of-the-year birds and, since 2006, makes possible real-time, worldwide web coverage of the family via the SLC Peregrine Falcon Cam.
Jesse Watson is a Research Biologist who has been with HawkWatch for one year. He co-manages HawkWatch's migration network and is significantly involved in their American Kestrel Study. He also assist in a variety of other raptor related research projects focusing on species ranging from Rough-legged Hawks to Golden Eagles. Jesse is also in the process of completing his M.Sc. research studying Ferruginous Hawks through the University of Alberta.
Nikki Wayment received a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife from Utah State University. Her non-profit experience comes from her tenure at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, Ga, where she served as Curator of Science and Education. She has been with HawkWatch International for 5 years and loves sharing her passion for raptors, the environment, and the important work that they do.
Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah executive director is DaLyn Erickson. She has over 13 years of experience training and working with species of raptor as well as most non-raptor species native to Utah. Throughout these years DaLyn has also provided wildlife education programs for groups of all ages. Address 1490 Park Blvd, Ogden UT 84401
Ben Woodruff is wildlife artist, falconer, and former Director of the Hutchings Museum.