(Oneida, NY- Jan. 2016) Matt Perry, Upstate ornithologist and nature writer, will be coming to Oneida Public Library Thursday Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. to present his popular show and tell “Songbirds of the Woods,” which features the most exciting songbirds found in the forests and woods of Central New York.
Perry’s talk about the habits and distinct songs of dozens of local songbirds will be complemented by video footage of seldom-seen migratory birds like the scarlet tanager, wood thrush and hooded warbler. Both experienced birders and beginners will learn much about the region’s remarkable avian diversity.
Perry is the Conservation Director and Resident Naturalist for Spring Farm CARES, an animal and nature sanctuary in Clinton. Perry oversees the sanctuary’s habitat restoration project involving 260 acres of nature reserve.
Perry is also a regional editor of the quarterly journal “The Kingbird,” published by the New York State Ornithological Association, as well as a contributing writer of nature articles for Mohawk Valley Living Magazine.
Perry currently serves as president of the Utica Peregrine Falcon Project, which is dedicated to supporting the continued presence of breeding pairs of falcons in downtown Utica. While peregrine falcons disappeared east of the Mississippi River by 1968, thanks to the destruction of their eggs from the toxic chemical DDT, they have returned east since DDT was banned by the U.S. government in the 1970s, and New York State has some 70 breeding pairs, according to the project’s web site (http://uticaperegrinefalcons.com).
For more information, stop by the OPL, 220 Broad St., or call 315-363-3050.