People

David Bonter

As the Arthur A. Allen Director of Citizen Science at the Lab of Ornithology and a Senior Lecturer at Cornell University, David is in the fortunate position of engaging the public in research focused on birds and encouraging the development and scientific explorations of a growing cohort of bright undergraduate students. Dozens of students attend my weekly lab group meetings. Below are profiles of students who have published work resulting for independent research in my lab.

Christian Zeser

Cornell Class of 2028

Christian’s work is focused primarily on prairie birds and fishes of Northern Indiana. He is currently working on understanding the historic range of Henslow’s Sparrow, analyzing Percina hybrids using CT technology, and using NestWatch data to understand how human visitation affects nest success in North American birds. His goals are to utilize place-based and citizen science to better our understanding of the hidden worlds around us.  

Asher Perla

Cornell Class of 2028

Cornell Class of 2028

Asher is a birder and ecologist hailing from the mountains of northern California. His current research is focused on the effects of latitude and elevation on clutch size in Northern House Wren, which he studies using data from NestWatch. Outside his studies, Asher can be found catching weird bugs, singing, or backpacking in the Sierra Nevada. 

Lorena Patrício

Cornell Class of 2026

As an undergrad, Lorena worked in northeast Brazil with the NGO Aquasis Cara-suja Project in the translocation of the Ceara Gnateater to a forest where the species had been extirpated. She is now using passive acoustic monitoring to understand which other species of concern are missing in this forest to guide future avian reintroductions.

Brian Hofstetter

Cornell Class of 2026

Brian studied Black-throated Blue Warblers at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest for his senior thesis, investigating how parents invest in their offspring after they fledge. He also conducted field work in Brazil with Lorena Patrício to conserve the Ceara Gnateater. In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors looking for bugs and birds.

Eric Hughes

Cornell Class of 2021

Eric studied birds in Peru, Kenya, and Australia in his time as an undergraduate. He worked with Master’s student and labmate Rachael Mady for his thesis, which examined the accuracy and biological meaning of radio-frequency identification data recorded by RFID-equipped bird feeders and was published in Ecology & Evolution. Interested in environmental management and protection, Eric hopes to pursue a career in government or environmental consulting.

Samantha Hagler

Cornell Class of 2020

Sam’s primary research interest is in behavioral ecology, and she is especially interested in studying social behavior, cooperation, and polygamous mating systems in birds. She is keenly interested in the movement and foraging ecology of raptors. For her senior thesis, Sam studied the breeding biology and diets of Harris’s Hawks in South Texas, with a goal of better understanding the benefits of cooperation in this uniquely social raptor species. This work was published in the Journal of Raptor Research.

Rachael Mady

MS Student

Rachael’s work examined how supplemental feeding affected the distribution of wild birds. Her primary thesis chapter was published in Behavioral Ecology. Now a full-time research assistant with the Lab’s Center for Engagement in Science and Nature, Rachael’s work bridges the social and ecological sciences in studying how to engage the public in science.

Andrew Schmalfuss

Cornell Class of 2020

Andrew’s academic research and career plan is focused on raptor movement ecology, behavior and conservation. His senior thesis, entitled Response of Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) to an unintentionally provided, superabundant prey resource, studied regional changes in the distribution and abundance of birds near the Ithaca NYSDEC Game Farm and Cornell University compost facility and was published in the Journal of Raptor Research.

Chris Sayers

Cornell Class of 2020

Chris is an avid birder and photographer who, during his undergraduate career, traveled twice to Kenya on Ivy Expeditions collecting wildlife media for Macaulay Library. For his senior thesis, Chris collaborated with the SHARP team to study mercury in sparrows in saltmarshes along the East Coast. This work was published in Ecotoxicology.

Facundo Fernandez-Duque

Cornell Class of 2018

Facundo studied gulls and swallows on Appledore Island, Maine; fairy-wrens in Australia; and bluebirds and House Sparrows in Ithaca during his undergraduate career. He’s a skilled bird bander always looking for an excuse to study birds. His first manuscript on the use of egg oiling to limit reproduction in an invasive passerine was published in Avian Conservation and Ecology.

Sarah Dzielski

Cornell Class of 2017

Sarah has traveled the globe studying birds in Panama, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Australia, and already has two scientific publications. For her senior thesis, Sarah worked with Vanya Rowher and Lilly Twinning to study mercury contamination in historic and contemporary bird specimens. While in the lab, Sarah worked on a supplemental feeding study, published in the Journal of Field Ornithology.

Max Witynski

Cornell Class of 2017

Max is an experienced birder and bander who studied Yellow Warblers in Wisconsin and Maine as well as lyrebirds in Australia. His senior thesis project used light-level geolocators to study migratory connectivity in Yellow Warblers, and was published in the Journal of Field Ornithology.

Connor Rosenblatt

Cornell Class of 2017

When not running really long distances, Connor conducts research focused on how birds of open fields (Snow Buntings, Horned Larks) utilize habitat during the nonbreeding season. He’s now pursuing a graduate degree at Ohio State University. Connor’s senior thesis was published in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology.

Liam Berigan

Cornell Class of 2017

Liam’s senior thesis examined factors correlated with House Sparrow declines across North America using data from Project FeederWatch and was published in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology. He also worked on a GIS project examining nest site selection in Common Eiders on Appledore Island, Maine. Following Cornell, Liam completed a Master’s degree studying prairie-chickens at Kansas State and then began a PhD at the University of Maine.

Taylor Heaton Crisologo

Cornell Class of 2016

Taylor studied parental nest defense behavior and the factors influencing nesting success in Herring Gulls at Shoals Marine Lab. She also worked on Superb Lyrebird displays as well as fairy-wrens in Australia. Taylor’s senior thesis was published in Ethology.

Hunter Reed

Cornell Class of 2016

Hunter’s senior thesis focused on the influence of bird feeders on the distribution of small mammals, and was published in Ecological Applications. He graduated from Cornell Vet School in 2020 and is currently a wildlife veterinarian with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Michelle Moglia

Cornell Class of 2014

Michelle studied the array of coloration in bird eggs, using the gulls of Appledore Island as a model system. She has two scientific publications from her undergraduate career based on her two summers of adventures working in the gull colonies at Shoals Marine Lab.

Shailee Shah

Cornell Class of 2014

Shailee’s novel research demonstrated how gulls encode information in their alarm calls—work published in Animal Behaviour. Shailee went on to complete a PhD at Columbia University conducting research on Superb Starlings in Kenya.

Luke DeFisher

Cornell Class of 2013

Pulled from the kitchen at Shoals Marine Lab, Luke proved to be a keen biologist and inspirational member of the lab. Luke’s thesis work on the effects of invasive ants on gull reproduction was one of two publications from his undergraduate career. Luke is now an expert cider maker at Rootstock Ciderworks.

Sarah MacLean

Cornell Class of 2013

A founding member of the lab group, Sarah won the SUNY Chancellor’s Prize and numerous other awards during her illustrious undergraduate career. She has 3 scientific publications from her undergraduate work and went on to complete a PhD at UC Berkeley. Check out her website.

Matt Savoca

Cornell Class of 2010

Matt’s research on gull nest site selection and success led to his first publication and sparked an interest in seabird ecology. He completed a PhD at University of California, Davis, studying why seabirds ingest plastic, a major conservation issue. Learn more about Matt’s work.