by SC Reporter Reese Holiday
The 2021 Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society’s lectures are going virtual, starting off on Jan. 7 with a lecture called “Birds do the Darnedest Things” that answers any and all questions about the common behavior of Florida’s birds.
The speaker for this lecture, which is the first of eight, is Dr. Jerome Jackson, a professor emeritus for Florida Gulf Coast University and a host for WGCU’s “With the Wild Things.” His lecture will address things like why birds scratch with a specific toe or why some birds have a longer tail than others.
The SanCap Audubon’s Lecture Coordinator Bill Jacobson said Jackson has done these lectures in the past, leading him to come back with this enlightening topic.
“We might suggest a topic, but all of our lecturers do their own thing,” Jacobson said. “Jerry spends a lot of time in his history on birds and how they react to things, and that’s why he’s presenting ‘Birds do the Darnedest Things.’”
Jackson added that with these lectures and his overall educating career, joy is found in doing what he does.
“The joy and yes, I mean real joy that I find in learning and teaching about the living world comes from recognition of the tremendous diversity of life, the complexity of relationships among creatures and the complexity of interactions between these creatures and their physical environment,” Jackson said in a recent statement released by the SanCap Audubon.
The SanCap Audubon Society is an organization that promotes interest in wildlife and the conservation of Florida’s birds and their habitats. Jacobson said the lectures have been going on since he got involved with the program in 2003, but this year’s format will be different. Instead of hosting the lectures at the Sanibel Community House like in years past, the society decided to go remote to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“Historically, we have put on a lecture series in January and February at the Sanibel Community House,” Jacobson said. “This year we can’t do that, so we decided to do webinars.”
Despite 2021’s lectures being virtual, there will still be a busy slate throughout January and February. Every Thursday for those two months, a new lecturer and topic will be introduced and give something for anyone to enjoy.
Registration for the 2021 Sanibel-Captiva Audubon lectures can be done at http://www.san-capaudubon.org/programs.html, and all lectures start at 7 p.m. Anyone who wishes to attend a specific lecture must click “Join” underneath the desired topic up to five days before the event. These webinars are free, but a $10 donation is encouraged to pay for expenses and to promote conservation on Sanibel and Captiva.
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