Bay Area Birding
Sunday, 10am, Building 69, Mare Island, Main Stage
FEATURED TALK by Mark Stephenson,
President, Napa-Solano Audubon Society
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Mark has been the President of the Napa-Solano Audubon chapter for the past 5 years. He began birding in the 4th grade and his birding knowledge expanded dramatically when his family moved to Ithaca, NY where he birded regularly with his mentor, Dr. Arthur Allen, founder of Cornell’s Laboratory of Ornithology and other leading experts from the Lab. During college he worked summers at Sapsucker Wood’s and for the Massachusetts Audubon Society before heading west and directing Environmental Education Programs at Foresta Institute in Washoe Valley, Nevada. After a career of more than 30 years in public education in Benicia and Napa Valley schools, he is enjoying retirement. When Mark’s son, Lucas, caught the “Birding Bug,” Mark turned from his passion for portrait and landscape photography to focus on birds. With Lucas, he has traveled to every corner of California, Arizona, Texas, Ohio, Florida, and Costa Rica observing and photographing birds. This Spring, after previously attending the Biggest Week 8 years ago with Lucas, Mark returned to the festival with his brother Tom and our very own Tom Slyker and took hundreds of photos of Ohio’s migrants and resident birds. He is excited to share his experiences with our community and his friends from Napa-Solano Audubon.
Girls Who Save the Planet: Careers That Make an Impact
Sunday, 10:30-11:45am, Building 69, Mare Island, Workshop Zone
WORKSHOP for 8th-12th grade Solano county students
Led by Sarah Lynch, Principal Biologist, Monk & Associates
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Sarah M. Lynch is the Principal Biologist, Owner, and CEO of Monk & Associates, Inc., where she brings over two decades of professional experience in wildlife biology, wetlands ecology, and endangered species permitting. Throughout her career, she has led complex biological assessments and multi‑agency permitting efforts across the Bay Area, Santa Rosa Plain, and Central Valley, earning a reputation for scientific rigor and practical, solutions‑focused guidance.
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Sarah holds advanced federal and state authorizations that place her among a select group of biologists qualified to work directly with California’s most sensitive species. Her credentials include a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 10(a) recovery permit for California red‑legged frogs, vernal pool branchiopods, and California tiger salamanders, as well as recognition as a Service‑approved salt marsh harvest mouse biologist. She also maintains a California Department of Fish and Wildlife Memorandum of Understanding for these same listed species. A graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Girls that Save the Planet workshop
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For 8th‑Grade Girls and Up — Presented by Monk & Associates
This empowering workshop is designed especially for 8th‑grade girls and older students who are curious about science, nature, and real‑world environmental careers. Led by the Sarah Lynch of Monk & Associates, a woman‑owned environmental consulting firm, and other respected subject matter experts, this session invites young participants to explore how their interests can grow into meaningful work that protects California’s most sensitive habitats.
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Students will discover the many creative and accessible pathways into conservation, ecology, and biology—from high‑school volunteering and community college programs to university degrees, certifications, and hands‑on field experience. The workshop breaks down real job roles in environmental consulting, showing what each position does and how students can begin preparing now.
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Through interactive activities—including a career‑ladder matching game, field‑tools exploration, and a mini case study on marshland restoration—participants will see how different environmental careers contribute to wetlands protection, endangered species recovery, and sustainable community planning.
This session encourages every student to recognize that there is no single “right” way to enter this field. Curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to explore are the first steps toward becoming a scientist, planner, restoration specialist, or even a future firm owner.
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Registration is encouraged, as space is limited and materials are provided for hands‑on activities.
Join us to meet inspiring women biologists, learn about real career paths, and discover how your passion for the planet can become a powerful future.
Salt-loving Birds in the Big City
Sunday, 10:35am, Building 69, Mare Island, Main Stage
FEATURED TALK by Nathan Van Schmidt, Ph.D.
Director of Regional Strategies, San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory
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Can urban habitats help save phalaropes?
Wilson's Phalaropes and Red-necked Phalaropes are exceptionally unique shorebirds that specialize in hypersaline habitats, and the former species was recently petitioned to be listed under the Endangered Species Act due to threats to saline lakes across the Great Basin. Nathan Van Schmidt will be talking about his research on the challenges facing phalaropes within the San Francisco Bay and across their intercontinental migration. He will dig into decades of long-term monitoring data within the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, which is part of an effort to restore salt production ponds across San Francisco Bay to natural tidal marsh. However, the habitat needs of saline specialists complicate these restoration efforts, especially as saline lakes like California's Mono Lake decline across the world under the combined pressure of unsustainable water withdrawals and climate change. The talk will conclude with a discussion of the outstanding key research questions and next steps that SFBBO plans to address these conservation science needs.
Nathan Van Schmidt is the Director of Regional Strategies at San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO). A native of the midwest, he obtained his B.S. from University of Wisconsin — Madison and moved to the Bay Area in 2011 to obtain his Ph.D. at U.C. Berkeley, where he studied how anthropogenic wetlands allowed Black Rails to persist through California's droughts. He has worked as a researcher in the U.S. Geological Survey, U.C. Santa Cruz, and the International Crane Foundation. In his current role he leads monitoring and research on the Project's non-breeding waterbird guilds, community scientist monitoring of colonial waterbird breeding activity across the nine counties of the Bay Area region, waterbird
Hope is the Thing with Feathers
Sunday, 11:10am, Building 69, Mare Island, Main Stage
FEATURED TALK by JD Bergeron, Chief Executive Officer, International Bird Rescue
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Hope is the Thing with Feathers: Lessons from Rehabilitating SF Bay-Delta Birds
JD Bergeron thrives on inspiring people to take action by exposing them to the natural wonders all around us. He appreciates birds as indicators of the health of nature. JD joined International Bird Rescue in 2015, where he values curiosity and optimism in his leadership of more than 300 staff and volunteers. He specializes in organizational change, fundraising, team development, and public speaking.
Native Bird Connections
Sunday, 12:00pm, Building 69, Mare Island, Main Stage
LIVE ANIMAL PRESENTATION by Jenny Papka, Native Bird Connections
www.nativebirdconnections.org
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Jenny has a Bachelor's degree with honors from UC Davis in Environmental Interpretation. She has been involved with wildlife since 1988, first with Lindsay Museum for 13 years, and currently with Native Bird Connections for 25 years. Native Bird Connections is permitted with the State and the Federal Fish and Wildlife Departments as well as USDA to conduct educational programs within Northern California. NBC supports 9 non releasable raptors as educational partners.​
Keep 'em Flying: Helping Raptors Survive in the Human Environment
Sunday, 12:50pm, Building 69, Mare Island, Main Stage
FEATURED TALK by Craig Nikitas, Chief Operator of Bay Raptor Rescue
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In this presentation Craig Nikitas discusses what raptors are, how they get in trouble, and describes some interesting rescue stories. We think you will enjoy this insider’s look at a very specialized and compelling niche in Wildlife work.
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Bay Raptor Rescue is a volunteer‑run service dedicated to helping injured, grounded, or distressed birds of prey throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization provides free, expert assistance to animal control agencies, wildlife rehabilitation centers, businesses, and the general public across Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties.
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Craig Nikitas, a retired urban planner, has been a wildlife volunteer working with raptors for over fifty years. His career has included caring for captive animals at the Randall Museum, Steinhart Aquarium, and the San Francisco Zoo, tending birds in rehab at Wildcare, and trapping and banding migratory and dispersive birds of prey for 30 years with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory.
San Francisco Bay Area: An Environmental History
Sunday, 1:25pm, Building 69, Mare Island, Main Stage
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT by David D. Schmidt, author
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David D. Schmidt, author of San Francisco Bay Area: An Environmental History, is a lifelong Bay Area resident, naturalist, and environmental historian known for his deep research into the region's ecology, culture, and human impact, having worked with the EPA and the Greenbelt Alliance, and is praised for weaving together tales of destruction, resilience, and stewardship to offer a hopeful path forward for the Bay's future.
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​David is a native of Mountain View, he lived in San Francisco for over 50 years before moving to Santa Rosa. He worked for the U.S. EPA in San Francisco (1991-2021) and is an avid hiker and volunteer for land conservation groups like the Greenbelt Alliance and the California Native Plant Society. His work explores the intersection of ecology, history, and culture, focusing on natural forces, Indigenous stewardship, colonization, urban growth, and restoration efforts. He has been praised for meticulous research and accessible storytelling, his book covers themes like fire, flood, species extinction, and the rise of Silicon Valley, providing an essential guide to the Bay Area's past and future.
About Flight Lessons: A Folk Opera About Falcons & People
Sunday, 2:00pm, Building 69, Mare Island, Main Stage
CONCERT by Deborah Crooks, musician
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Deborah Crooks is a seeker. The San Francisco Bay Area-born and bred singer/songwriter grew up at the nexus of two tectonic plates; close to a city known for its history of social, musical and political upheaval. Crooks is a vibrant artist carrying on the San Francisco tradition of powerful female singer/songwriters with literate lyrics and progressive musical attitudes; well respected within the music scene and increasingly so outside of it.
Having built a worldview through the lens of opportunity and tragedy, California native Deborah Crooks sees in her surroundings the opportunity to make the world a better place. She has lived through earthquakes, personal loss and even the 9/11 attacks in New York City.
As a songwriter, Crooks reflects the contradictions she sees in the world in song, unveiling in her lyrics truths that are simultaneously pragmatic and mystical. The Blues/Americana musical blend that is her canvas is simply the base from which Crooks’ songs grow. Ultimately, her music is a cultural ecotone born of her California roots, her spiritual development, her transcendant instinct and the quest for enlightenment that is both of and divergent from the disparate influences that bore it.
STEAM Challenge Awards
Sunday, 2:30pm, Building 69, Mare Island, Main Stage
AWARD CEREMONY
solanocoe.net
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Solano County Office of Education partnered with Winged Migration to create this challenge for ​​K-12 Solano County students to explore the incredible journeys of local migratory birds and create fun STEAM projects.
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Project drop off is January 30, 2026, so if you missed the challenge and it's not too late, build your own creation to celebrate STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) that showcases the amazing Pacific Flyway and it's birds.
Exploring the Lindsay Wildlife Hospital's Past & Present
Sunday, 2:50pm, Building 69, Mare Island, Main Stage
FEATURED TALK by Jillian Jorgenson, Wildlife Husbandry Coordinator, Lindsay Wildlife Experience
lindsaywildlife.org​
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Jillian Jorgenson is a dedicated wildlife care professional whose work blends hands‑on animal husbandry, volunteer leadership, and public education. As the Wildlife Husbandry Coordinator at the Lindsay Wildlife Experience, she plays a central role in the daily operations of one of the nation’s oldest and busiest wildlife rehabilitation hospitals. Lindsay Wildlife treats approximately 5,000 injured, orphaned, or sick wild animals each year, continuing a legacy that began in 1970 when it became the first wildlife rehabilitation hospital in the United States.
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In her current position, Jillian oversees the daily care and rehabilitation of a wide variety of native California species. Her work spans small songbirds, Virginia opossums, squirrels, bobcats, and numerous species of raptors. According to her professional profile, she manages the full spectrum of husbandry needs for these patients, ensuring they receive appropriate nutrition, medical support, enrichment, and pre‑release conditioning.​​​