MARQUETTE — The topic of the next monthly meeting of the Laughing Whitefish Audubon Society will be “Captive breeding program for scarlet macaws in Costa Rica” presented by Gary Palmer, keen birder and professional migration counter.
The program will take place Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Peter White Library, George Shiras Room located on the third floor.
Palmer spent eight months volunteering (internship) for the Wild Scarlet Macaw Breeding Center and Preserve located in Punta Islita, Costa Rica. Macaw populations have declined significantly in recent decades. The main causes are illegal poaching for the pet trade and the loss of mature forest habitats, which they depend on for food and nesting. The goal of this center is to breed birds for future release to help restore the wild population.
Palmer was able to release a captive-bred herd of 12 into the wild. It was an incredible experience that he is excited to share with the group.
Palmer is a longtime member of the Laughing Whitefish Audubon Society, serving on the board of directors since 2012. He fell in love with birding more than a decade ago during a spring ornithology class at Northern Michigan University and has since been completely hooked. Palmer spent several seasons as a professional migration counter at sites such as Whitefish Point and Hawk Ridge and summers counting breeding birds in Illinois and Idaho.
The Laughing Whitefish Audubon Society, founded in 1992, represents birders in Marquette and Algiers counties. LWAS engages in a variety of community activities, including monthly programs, field trips, bird counts, and sponsorship of UP avian research.
For more information about the Laughing Whitefish Audubon Society: https://laughingwhitefishaudubon.com