CLARION — The Seneca Rocks Audubon Society will host a presentation by Bob Mulvihill, a National Aviary ornithologist, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the Clarion Free Library.
Mulvihill will talk about his work as an ornithologist. This includes observing and studying birds, banding snowy owls and wintering hummingbirds, and studying and observing the spring migration of warblers.
It also includes conducting citizen-science research on backyard bird survival, tracking breeding birds from their nesting grounds to their wintering grounds and back again, monitoring the migrations of northern saw-whet owls through an urban landscape and more.
Mulvihill credits his mother’s casual backyard bird feeding hobby for his early interest in bird watching. His family had a cabin near Powdermill Nature Reserve, where at the age of 14 he met its founder, Robert C. Leberman, for the first time. Both Bobs — Mulvihil and Leberman — became and have remained close friends and colleagues for more than 40 years.
Mulvihill received his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1980 and became a full-time bander and education specialist at Powdermill in 1983. He earned an master’s degree in biology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1993. In 2011, Mulvihill joined the staff of the National Aviary.
He has conducted long-term field research on several bird species and authored more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles, edited volumes on the conservation of Pennsylvania birds, written dozens of popular articles about birds and nature, and given hundreds of talks about birds and bird- banding research throughout the United States, as well as Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
In 2013, Mulvihill brought Neighborhood Nestwatch, a citizen-science project developed by the Smithsonian Institution, to backyard bird-lovers in the greater Pittsburgh area. He also participates in Project Owlnet, banding northern saw-whet owls at a public park during their migration through western Pennsylvania.
There is no admission fee to attend the Clarion program. Doors will open at 6 p.m.