OCTOBER HAPPENINGS AT WBU SANTA FE

Join us Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026 for a guided bird outing and an in-store presentation with Josiah Lavender discussing Bird Migration - The Ins and Outs of a Perennial Pilgrimage.
Outing: 8am - 10am, Registration on Eventbrite.

In-store presentation: 11am (no registration required).

Talk Description:

The Ins and Outs of a Perennial Pilgrimage - Every spring, billions of birds fly thousands of miles from wintering grounds in equatorial regions to distant latitudes. Some migrate several thousand miles across open ocean, staying in flight for days at a time before arriving in the far north with precise timing to raise young during the brief arctic summer. Bird migration has captured human imagination for centuries, and seemingly bizarre theories were proposed as early as 300 BC to explain the seasonal “changing of the guard” observed in temperate regions due to migratory birds arriving as wintering birds depart. Thanks to the efforts of ornithologists, we now understand many aspects of bird migration, while some aspects remain as mystifying as they were to the very first natural scientists. In this presentation, Josiah will discuss the most remarkable bird migrations in the world, why birds migrate, how they navigate and sustain themselves on long nonstop flights, and much more.

Our Speaker:

Josiah Lavender is an avian ecologist, bird guide and Ph.D. student at the University of New Mexico, where he studies avian ecology and evolution, with a focus on how climate change affects migratory birds. He earned his B.S. in Ecology from the University of Georgia and has conducted research on species including Painted Buntings and Red-cockaded Woodpeckers.