Main Program: Birds of the American West with Norman Kikuchi

Birding info: Microplastics: The ‘Almost’ Invisible Threat

Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic that are less than five millimeters (about the size of a grain of rice) or smaller.  These fragments of plastics are everywhere—in table sea salt, in fish and shellfish, in detergent, and personal care products. In her role as an environmental risk assessor, Jill Hedgecock has been on the leading edge of addressing the emerging environmental concern of microplastics.  Jill will share information of this “almost invisible threat” and ideas on how every person can reduce their “plastic” footprint. Jill Hedgecock is a long-time MDAS member. She has a master’s degree in Environmental Management from USF and a bachelor’s degree in the biological sciences from UC Davis.

Main Program: Birds of the American West with Norman Kikuchi

This program features a glimpse into the lives of iconic birds of the Western United States drawn from a personal selection of photographs from birding hotspots in New Mexico, Oregon and California. Starting in world famous Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, we witness the unforgettable spectacle of immense flocks of snow geese and sandhill cranes.

Norman Kikuchi’s childhood interest in birds began while stalking Ring Necked Pheasants in the foothills of Mt Diablo, but his real bird epiphany occurred during his college days when he witnessed the impalement of a Western Fence Lizard by a Loggerhead Shrike on a Joshua tree spine. He was transfixed by the moment!

Norman graduated from the University of California Davis with a degree in Zoology and a minor in herpetology. He completed medical school and family practice residency at University of California, Irvine. He currently practices Urgent Care and Occupational Medicine in Redding, California and is a lifetime member of the Santa Cruz Bird Club and field trip leader for Santa Clara Valley Audubon.