Welcome to the Bird Study Group
The Bird Study Group is a northwestern Louisiana organization of birders based in Shreveport. The Bird Study Group offers field trips, bird discussions, a bird sighting database, and other programs for people with an interest in birds. Regular meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month except July and August.
The next meeting of the Shreveport Bird Study Group is scheduled for Tuesday, April 11, 2023 @ 6:30 p.m. (Come at 6 p.m. to chat with other birders. ), at the LSUS Museum Annex, located next to the LSUS Museum. The Annex is accessible from the sidewalk next to the faculty parking lot across from the University Power and Physical Plant. Signs will be out to direct everyone to the correct location.
BSG Member Josh Eyler will provide a program on:
"AVIAN EXTINCTIONS OF ANTHROPOGENIC ORIGIN" Or
("Hey wait, where did all those turkey-sized pigeons go...?")
Thousands of plant and animal species, including birds, have gone extinct during the Holocene (c. 9700 BCE - present), the current geological epoch which corresponds with the rapid emergence and proliferation of human civilization worldwide. In more recent times, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List documents 164 bird species that have disappeared from the wild since the 16th century alone, nearly all of them due principally to human activity. Josh will present just a few of these fascinating species from our history along with remarkable facts about them and of course, plenty of speculation. Along the way he will discuss peculiar traits that many of these doomed species had in common, along with the most common reasons for their downfall. Finally, he'll look at some current "de-extinction" projects that may bring a few of these species back in some form at a future date. By studying the animals that didn't make it, perhaps we can develop ecological insights for future conservation efforts.
Josh graduated from LSUS with a math degree in 2013, then embarked on a brief career in software development. After a while he realized this particular line of work wasn't something he was really passionate about. His interest in birds began simply by watching a montage video of a Japanese tit nest on Youtube that he stumbled on one night last June. He found it fascinating and even moving, and has become enamored with our feathered friends in the months since. He has reconnected with nature and now has plans to return to LSUS in the fall to pursue a Master's in Biology with the ultimate goal of starting a career working with animals or nature. He found the Bird Study Group in the most secret, esoteric way possible — by typing 'shreveport birding club' into Google — and here he is.
For additional information, contact:
Larry R. Raymond
lrraymond@aol.com
318-347-3134
Spring 2023 Bird Walks. Click here for the flyer with upcoming dates.
Red River National Wildlife Refuge
150 Eagle Bend Point
Bossier City, LA 71112
BSG programs are free and open to the public. For more information or directions to the Museum Annex, you can call 318-347-3134 or email: lrraymond@aol.com. Click here for a map to the Museum Annex at LSU Shreveport.
Please keep appropriate social distance at the meeting.
Reminder: 2023 Membership Dues can be paid at the meeting.
The Bird Study Group is a non-profit membership-based organization devoted to the observation, study, and enjoyment of birds. The BSG is open to anyone with an interest in any aspect of birdwatching, study, or conservation.
"Lunch Time" Great Egret, C. Bickham Dickson Park, Shreveport, LA. Photo by Cran Lucas.
"Let no one tell you again that science is only for specialists; it is not. It is no different from history or good talk or reading a novel; some people do it better and some worse; some make a life's work of it; but it is within the reach of everybody."
Jacob Bronowski in "A Sense of the Future" (1977, Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, p. 4)