Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay
Cape Cod Natural History Conference
Date: Saturday March 5, 2016
Time: 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Location: Cape Cod Community College
“A Wing and a Care” Building a Future for Birds
Latest video from Migration Productions
Produced by Jim Grady and Shawn Carey
Graphics Sabina Grady
Narrated by Ken Lacouture
Script writer Devin Griffiths
Sound Track Chris Duval
Snowy Owls, Atlantic Puffins, and American Kestrels are connected by more than simply a resemblance of form or function. A crucial thread ties them together: each one has an advocate committed to protecting it and educating others about its plight. Migration Productions’ latest work, “A Wing And A Care,” opens a window onto the lives of these three birds, and introduces you to the men dedicated to their preservation and survival.
For more than 30 years, Norman Smith has been studying Snowy Owls. Through his Snowy Owl Project, which he started in 1981, Smith has banded and released 700 birds, shedding light on migration routes, learning their habits, and gaining insight into their lifestyles. Along the way, Smith has given countless public presentations in his relentless effort to promote Snowy Owl conservation.
Four decades ago, Dr. Stephen Kress founded Project Puffin with the goal of restoring Atlantic Puffins to Maine’s Eastern Egg Rock—a historical breeding site that had been empty of puffins for nearly a century. Thanks to Dr. Kress’ vision and more than half a lifetime of dedicated and tireless work, he has done what many thought impossible: the Puffins are back, and Eastern Egg Rock is once again home to a thriving colony of these delightful birds.
Tom Sayers is a retired schoolteacher and keen observer of the natural world. Deeply involved in the Connecticut birding community, Sayers began to see a sharp decline in the local population of American Kestrels. In 2010, Sayers took action, launching a groundbreaking program to establish and monitor Kestrel nest boxes, banding each year’s new birds. Over the course of six seasons, he’s banded almost 450 fledgling Kestrels, collecting valuable data and shining a light on the habits and health of this magnificent falcon.
“A Wing And A Care” follows the stories of these three men as they work to protect the birds they love, and shows how a single individual can make a world of difference in the life of a bird. And it asks a critical question: how can each one of us get involved and help build a better future for these incredible birds?
