Mount Diablo Bird Alliance will meet Thursday, April 4, in the Camellia Room at the Gardens at Heather Farm.

6:30 PM Doors Open
7:00 PM Announcements
7:15 PM Refreshments and Raffle
7:30 PM Main Program: Bay Area Woodpeckers
*as a conservation organization we encourage you to bring your own mug for coffee or tea

Woodpeckers have captured the human imagination for generations. The distant sounds of pecking, flashes of red plumage, and inevitable disappearance into the shadows of the forest evoke a sense of wonder about these extraordinary yet elusive creatures. Jeffery Martin’s lecture and his close-up high-definition video segments explore the foraging strategies of our eight Bay Area woodpecker species. Insect excavation, acorn storage, the use of sap wells and other intriguing behaviors are our focus. Jeff’s video segments illustrate unique evolutionary adaptations. We examine the anatomy of feet, tail, tongue and head which enable agile vertical climbing, adept grabbing of prey, and protection from concussion and dust inhalation. From the exquisite green and rose-colored Lewis’s Woodpecker to the dazzling Northern Flicker, and more, we take a close-up look at the worlds of our eight North Bay Woodpeckers.

Videographer and naturalist, Jeffery Martin has filmed and produced “Bahia Wildlife Habitat” and “Birds of Las Gallinas Marsh” which can be viewed on the web sites of Marin Audubon Society and Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District. His films, “Woodpecker Haven” and “Birds of Lake Solano and Putah Creek” have been shown at the Lake Solano Visitors Center and Solano Parks Website. His “Bay Area Woodpeckers” and “Foraging Behavior in Large Wading Birds” lecture/video programs have been presented at several Bay Area Audubon Societies. In the past, Jeff has contributed to the slide library, visitor literature and campfire talks for Pt. Reyes National Seashore. He has created an assortment of natural history walks, lectures and training for adults and children. In another vein, he has lectured to college faculty, students, and National Park Service Rangers on “visitor motivation” and the “psychology of nature” including on safari in East Africa. In his “day job” Jeff is a clinical psychologist and associate clinical professor at UCSF School of Medicine.