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by Pat Leonard last modified 2009-04-22 09:39

2009 Student Team


JayMcGowan_09.jpgJay McGowan
Jay is a senior biology major at Cornell with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He has lived in Ithaca for most of his life, and although he has traveled to Peru, Mexico, and much of North America, most of his birding has been in the Northeast. A dedicated birder since the age of eight, he was introduced to birds by his father, Kevin McGowan, also an accomplished birder and former long-time member of the Sapsuckers. Jay has scouted for the Sapsuckers during the World Series of Birding since 2002, and participated in the newly-formed Digiscoping  division in 2006.

 
shawnbillermanShawn Billerman
Shawn is a senior biology major, concentrating in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Although his research lies mainly in the Lab, studying Barn Swallows and Mockingbirds, he is always itching to get out birding. He comes from Long Island, New York, where he has been a serious birder for over 11 years. Shawn has spent most of his time birding in the US and Canada, in addition to a brief trip to the tropics of Mexico. He looks forward to the chance to raise money for undergraduate research and conservation as a member of The Redheads again in 2009!

 

Tom_Johnson_09.jpgTom Johnson 

When he isn't birding, Tom is a junior biology major at Cornell. With generally more temperate inclinations than several of the more tropical Redheads, Tom has enjoyed many road trips around the United States and Canada learning about bird distribution and identification.
His interest in birds stems from a love of migration, and he is currently involved in research projects attempting to understand the peculiarities of migration in the Northern Saw-whet Owl and the Lesser Black-backed Gull.  Tom hails from Pennsylvania where he grew up birding and currently serves on the Pennsylvania Ornithological
Records Committee.

 BradWalker_09Redhead.jpg

Brad Walker
Brad is a senior biology major with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He has been birding since the age of 12, when he found his first Peterson Field Guide at his grandmother's house. Brad has spent most of his time birding in the Northeast around his home in Troy, New York. He began working as a field technician studying Hudsonian Godwits in Churchill, Manitoba, last summer and plans on continuing the work this year. This is Brad's first year as a member of the Redheads.