Leaders and Presenters for 2014

Amber Bachman

Since she was a young child, Amber Bachman has had a passion for photography. She has come a long way from her first APS film camera and in 2007 she opened her business Amaur Photography to pursue her passion. Today, Amber specializes in family photography both in the studio and outdoor. If you ask Amber the thing that matters most she will tell you it’s “helping others capture memories.”

Abbott Schindler

Abbott has been photographing birds, wildlife and general nature for several decades. His photographic work and equipment take advantage of his extensive R&D experience, studies of photographic technique and composition, and classroom experiences. His work has been published in scientific and industry journals and fine art books, and is used extensively by the High Desert Museum.

Abbott has worked as a photographer at the High Desert Museum since 2008. His work has brought him very close to the Museum’s birds, and his knowledge of their behavior and report with the Wildlife Team helps him to capture stunning photos of the birds during free-flight. He enjoys sharing this knowledge and helping others.

Abbott currently teaches photography and computer classes at Central Oregon Community College (Community Learning) and the Cascade Center of Photography. He currently leads the Photo Team at the High Desert Museum. He also provides private photography and post-processing sessions.

Brandon Breen

Brandon works to ensure effective outreach, science delivery, and community education in support of Klamath Bird Observatory’s mission to advance bird and
habitat conservation through science, education, and partnerships. He came to the Klamath Bird Observatory in June of 2012, after completing a B.A. in Biology from Bates College and a M.Sc. in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota. Brandon’s numerous avian research projects focused on such species as the California condor Andean condor, turkey vulture, golden-cheeked warbler, gray-crowned rosy finch, and Brewer’s sparrow. He also is Vice-President of the Turkey Vulture Society and editor of their newsletter, The Blue Skies Above. Through KBO, he serves on the International Migratory Bird Day Art Committee, and the US State of the Birds Communications Team.

Bill Thompson III

Bill Thompson III is the editor/co-publisher of Bird Watcher’s Digest, America’s longest-running magazine for birders. He’s the author of numerous books on birds, including Bird Watching For Dummies, Identify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Bird Identification Challenges, Identifying & Feeding Birds, and the just-published Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of North America. He edited a compilation of essays by Roger Tory Peterson for the book All Things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures.

He writes a weekly blog, Bill of the Birds (billofthebirds.blogspot.com) and hosts a podcast called This Birding Life which receives more than 600,000 episode downloads annually.

Bill regularly speaks, guides, and performs at birding festivals across North America and consults internationally on ecotourism marketing. He has watched birds in 47 US states and in 28 countries. He is a founding director of The Ohio Ornithological Society and currently serves as the organization’s vice president.

In 2008 Bill was awarded a Citizen Service Award from the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service for his contributions in making the National Wildlife Refuge system more bird and birder-friendly. That same year he was also awarded the Robert Ridgley Award for Excellence in Ornithological Publications from the American Birding Association.

In 2009 he was nominated for a “Heart of Green” award by thedailygreen.com for his work in fighting Nature Deficit Disorder by helping introduce kids to bird watching.

In his spare time he’s the leader of the country-rock band The Rain Crows (www.reverbnation.com/theraincrows). He resides on an 80-acre farm in the Appalachian foothills near Whipple, Ohio with his wife the author/artist Julie Zickefoose and their children Phoebe and Liam.

Brian Sullivan

Brian is the Project Leader for eBird and the Avian Knowledge Network at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He is also a stellar bird photographer and serves as the photo editor for Birds of North America Online and the American Birding Association’s journal North American Birds. He is a coauthor of the upcoming Princeton Guide to North American Birds and a renowned expert on raptors, especially Red-tailed Hawks.

Brian Woodbridge

Wildlife Biologist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the last 10 years; before that spent 20 years with U.S. Forest Service. Primary focus of my work has been ecology and management of forest raptors, also tropical ecology and conservation of migratory Swainson’s hawks. Began working with northern spotted owls and forest management in early 1980′s; most recently spent the past 4 years working on the Recovery Plan and Critical Habitat Rule for the northern spotted owl.

Clay Taylor

Clay Taylor bought his first big telephoto lens in 1971 (a Spiratone 500mm f/8 mirror lens) to photograph drag racing, but soon found out that bird photography was a challenge, too. After a decade of race cars, he switched over to birds in the 1980s, giving talks and leading nature tours across the USA. His North American life list is over 700 bird species, most of which he has photographed either with slide film or digitally.

He was hired by Swarovski Optik North America in 1999 to be their Naturalist Market Field Coordinator (later Manager) and discovered that using a spotting scope for super telephoto photography was not only possible, but remarkably good. As the digital photography era dawned, the craft of ‘Digiscoping’ emerged, leading to a succession of point and shoot cameras and then trying out a Nikon D1 on his spotting scope. When that combination worked, he not only adopted DSLR Digiscoping as his choice for nature photography, but he also helped Swarovski Optik to develop the current line of spotting scopes and dedicated adapters for digiscoping—the ATX or STX Modular Spotting Scope and the TLS APO digiscoping adapter.

Damian Fagan

Damian is a biologist and author with a range of expertise in natural resources. Although his specialty is wildflowers, having co-authored several books including “Pacific Northwest Wildflowers,” he also works as a contract biologist focusing on owl, raptor and breeding bird surveys. He is active in the East Cascades Audubon Society.

Dan Gleason

Dan is the author of Birds! From The Inside Out, an introductory textbook about birds, richly illustrated by his wife, Barbara. He is a retired faculty member of the Biology Department at the University of Oregon, where he continues to return each year to teach the Field Ornithology course. He also teaches community courses about birds for anyone who is interested in learning more about birds and the natural world. Dan has served on the Board of Directors of Lane County Audubon Society for many years. He is also on the Board of Directors of Oregon Field Ornithologists, and he volunteers at Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene, providing instruction about birds to their staff, volunteers and public. Dan has been actively involved in environmental education throughout the Eugene area leading field trips, workshops and volunteer guide training. Each month he writes a column, Backyard Habitats, for Eugene’s major newspaper, The Register Guard, and he is a frequent guest speaker at schools, clubs and organizations throughout the state where he enjoys sharing his knowledge and interest in birds and the natural world.

Darrel Samuels

Darrel Samuels is currently a Board member of the Klamath Basin Audubon Society and past President and Vice President of KBAS. Having lived in Klamath Falls for almost nine years, he and his wife Diana (Festival co-coordinator) are enthusiastic birders and feeders of birds and have succeeded in drawing in a wide range of species into their backyard. In addition to the more usual culprits, some more infrequent visitors have been: White-headed and Pileated Woodpeckers and a Sooty Grouse.

Dave Haupt

Dave Haupt is a Klamath Falls resident, where he teaches biology and art at Tulelake High School. Dave got his start in birding while at the University of California, Santa Barbara. There he worked as a consultant for many years in the management of Bell’s vireo and other endangered bird populations. Since moving to southern Oregon in 2000 his work with the Klamath Bird Observatory as well as personal endeavors has given Dave keen knowledge of the area’s avifauna.

Dave Hewitt

Dave is a research fisheries biologist with the Klamath Falls Field Station of the U.S. Geological Survey. He moved from Virginia to Klamath Falls in 2008. Dave didn’t start birding until some fellow students at North Carolina State University coerced him into it in 2002, but he’s been obsessed ever since. Dave is a long-time member of Audubon and has served on the Board of Directors for the Klamath Basin Audubon Society. He helps to maintain the Klamath County bird checklist, runs the regional email listserv, and serves as regional reviewer for eBird in Klamath County.

Dave Mauser

Dave is currently the lead wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges, a position he has held for many years. Dave is responsible for the biological program on the refuges, including all wildlife inventory, monitoring and habitat management activities.

Prior to coming to the Klamath Basin, Dave held waterfowl management or research positions with several federal and state agencies in California, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Missouri. He received his B.S. from Humboldt State University, M.S. from University of Wisconsin, and Ph.D. from Oregon State University.

Dave believes that the diversity of wetland wildlife, the variety of habitats, and the conservation challenges facing the Klamath Basin make it one of the most unique and rewarding areas to work in the country.

Dick Ashford

Dick is a past Board President of the Klamath Bird Observatory and former Board Chair of the American Birding Association. He is also a board member of the Crater Lake Natural History Association and a former Mayor of Sonoma, California. He has spent hundreds of hours in the field watching hawks and an equal amount of time researching their natural history.

Dick leads hawk-watching outings in both California and Oregon, and is a graduate of both the Institute for Field Ornithology’s Winter Raptor Workshop and Cape May Bird Observatory’s Hawk Identification workshop.

Faye Weekley

Faye is a biologist at the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, having worked as a biologist in research and habitat restoration in the Klamath Basin since 1993. Faye is responsible for biological survey and monitoring at Klamath Marsh, as well as the Williamson River restoration project on the refuge.

Faye’s wildlife work prior to coming to the Klamath Basin includes research-related positions on sandhill cranes in Michigan, waterfowl in California, and spotted owls and goshawks in Oregon. She received her B.A. degree from Kent State University and M.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin. With nesting sandhill cranes, yellow rails and bald eagles, migratory birds, elk, otters, bears and spotted frogs, Faye views the Klamath Marsh as an amazing world of its own.

Gerry Hill

Gerry Hill, a life-long birder and 8 year amateur bird photographer, has a passion for his “subjects”. He has lived at the Running Y for the past 10 years and the bird numbers and diversity played a large part in his choice of this area for retirement. He looks forward to sharing many of the “local bird gems” with Winter Wings participants at the Feeder Hop.

Hallie Rasmussen

Hallie started working for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2003. She completed a B.S. degree in environmental education, and completed a graduate degree in recreation management at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. When she learned of the opening at the Klamath Basin Refuge Complex she knew it would be a perfect fit. She couldn’t wait to start learning and educating others about an entirely different part of our beautiful country.

Hallie says that she has been so incredibly fortunate to find a job that she loves, focused on getting people outside in nature to learn about the amazing treasures that await.

Harry Fuller

Harry Fuller is a bird guide and author who lives in Ashland, OR. He has been leading birding trips for two decades and currently works for Partnership for International Birding. He’s led trips for Golden Gate Audubon, Pt. Reyes Field Institute and Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO). He is currently president of the Board of Directors for KBO. He is co-founder of the Ashland Christmas Bird Count. His book on birding Interstate 5 is FREEWAY BIRDING [freewaybirding.com]. His birding blog is at atowhee.wordpress.com

Jack Graham

Jack Graham is a professional photographer with over 23 years of experience. Jack resides near Portland Oregon, in the heart of the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
Jack leads photo workshops in California, Wyoming, Utah, Iceland, Ireland, Canada, Arizona, the Midwest as well as the Pacific Northwest. as well workshops for the Strabo Tours and the Pacific Northwest Art School on Whidbey Island, Washington. Jack also offers single day, workshops for extensive one on one instruction. Jack’s workshops are sponsored by Hunt’s Photo & Video Really Right Stuff, Singh-Ray Filters, NIK Software, Gura Gear, Lensbaby,www.outdoorphotogear.com, www.lensrentals.com, Nodal Ninja, and the Photograph America Newsletter.
Jack has been successful in publication and stock photography as well. Photo and writing credits include Outdoor Photography, Landscape Photography Magazine ( www.landscapephotographymagazine.com), Nature’s Best Photography, NANPA”S Expressions, California Wild, Current’s (NANPA) and many DNR publications, Audubon, The Luminous Landscape, The Nature Conservancy, Chicago Wilderness and Sierra Club publications as well as many calendar credits. Corporate work includes prints and stock applications for internal as well as publication use. Jack’s two successful eBooks are available on his website.

Jack Noller

Jack Noller has been “taking pictures” most of his life, but has only been into serious photography for about 20 years. His work is primarily in outdoor photography, with the emphasis on wildlife.His favorite subjects are eagles, other raptors, pelicans and other waterfowl.
He tries to capture interactions between birds and/or other species, displays of attitude, or humorous situations. He especially enjoys flight shots. Mainly, he just tries to have fun, and, if possible, to occasionally impress himself.
Other outdoor photo interests include old barns, fall colors, other local scenery and, especially Crater Lake. His trips to Crater lake are always pre-dawn, to see what happens at sunrise.

Jherime Kellermann

Jherime Kellermann is an assistant professor of Environmental Sciences at Oregon Institute of Technology and the Science Coordinator of the Crater Lake Science and Learning Center in the Park. Jherime has been an avian ecologist for nearly 20 years, with much of that time spent in the upper Klamath Basin as well as Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the arid southwest

Jim Dicecco

Jim’s love for photography started back in 1968. For the last four and a half years he has been working as a Canon Digital Camera Product Educator. As a trainer he is responsible for the training of high end camera store staff and their customers and Canon’s EOS Discovery Day presentations. With a degree in education, Jim has taught computer classes in graphic design and Photoshop.

Jim Stamates

For more than 30 years Jim Stamates, of Low Impact Wildlife Photography, has been producing stunning images of Natural History, Wildlife, and Landscapes for publication and advertising world wide. A quarter of a million of his photographic prints have been sold through Galleries, Gift Shops and to collectors across the globe.

Jim majored in photography in the late sixties and after a short stint as a commercial photographer in San Francisco where he photographed Janice Joplin, The Jefferson Airplane, and Richie Havens among others, he married and moved to Lake Tahoe. Surrounded by nature in the high Sierra’s he focused his talents on the photography and preservation of wild lives and wild lands.

Because of his “low impact” philosophy, Jim was chosen by the National Wildlife Service to document the nesting of the American White Pelican on Pyramid Lake, NV. It was the first time that anyone had been allowed to place a blind at the nesting site and stay overnight on Anaho Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is closed to the public. From this unique experience, Jim created an educational audio-visual presentation called “Pelicans of Pyramid” which has been enjoyed by numerous groups, including the Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy, and visitors to the Stillwater/Fallon National Wildlife Refuge. For Jim, respect for wildlife takes precedence over “getting the shot.” His philosophy is rewarded by a unique intimacy with his subjects. Dedicated to the proper and ethical behavior toward nature, Jim champions his “low impact field techniques” through his In The Rhythm™ Tours and Workshops that emphasize the well being of the subject while getting ‘into’ natural rhythms.

John Alexander

John is the Executive Director of the Klamath Bird Observatory and has been working to integrate bird conservation and land management in the Klamath-Siskiyou Region since 1992. He recently received two prestigious national awards in recognition of his efforts. Before incorporating the Klamath Bird Observatory, John worked as a biologist for the Forest Service and as a Research Associate with Southern Oregon University, where he earned his M.S. degree. John was the co-author of the California Partners In Flight Coniferous Forest Bird Conservation Plan and has written a number of scientific manuscripts. He helps to coordinate the Klamath Demographic Monitoring Network, one of the densest networks of bird monitoring stations in the world.

John Goodell

John is a wildlife biologist with over 20 years’ experience conducting wildlife research and monitoring efforts throughout the western U.S. He has coordinated numerous songbird and raptor monitoring efforts in diverse habitat types with additional expertise implementing large-scale riparian and sage-steppe habitat restoration projects targeting species of greatest conservation need. John has several years’ experience in conservation planning; addressing the impacts of proposed and existing developments on priority wildlife species and designing preferred alternatives. As a Master Bander, he has supervised long-term raptor and passerine banding stations in several western states. John is also a Master Falconer with over 15 years experience training and hunting with birds of prey. He is currently Curator of Natural History at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon.

Jonne Goeller

With over 60 fine art exhibits in the Northwest during the past 32 years, Jonne has a wealth of ideas to share. Her work has received awards from Eastman Kodak, Photographer’s Forum Magazine, the Corvallis Art Center and the Klamath Art Gallery. She has received Best of Show Awards from the Oregon State Fair and the National Stereoscopic Association. Her work is currently being shown in Klamath Falls at the Klamath Art Gallery, Wyatt’s American Eatery at Running Y Resort, the Klamath Art Gallery, and at MC’s on Main Restaurant. The Crater Lake mural in downtown Klamath Falls was based on her photo “Out of the Mist.”

Jonne has a Master’s degree in Art Education from the University of Oregon with an emphasis on photographic education and spent 32 years teaching photography in Oregon high schools. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Photozone Gallery and PAO Gallery in Eugene, Oregon. She is currently on the board of directors for the Klamath Art Gallery.

Karl Wenner

Karl has lived in the Klamath Basin since 1989. He is an orthopedic surgeon by profession but has an MS degree in Wildlife Biology, serves on the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and was instrumental in creating and currently serves on the board of the Klamath Watershed Partnership. He has led the Beginning Birding field trip for the past two years and enjoys sharing his passion for birdwatching with novices of all ages.

Kevin Spencer

Kevin has been a teacher for the past 23 years. He is currently a fifth grade teacher at Tulelake Elementary School. He graduated with a B.A. degree in Forestry from Humboldt State University in 1979.
Kevin has been interested in nature since an early age and focused on birds for the past 35 years. He was a contributing author to Birds of Oregon: A General Reference, and an editor of the South Central Fieldnotes for Oregon Birds. For the last 23 years, he has been a compiler for the Klamath Falls Christmas Bird Count and a field trip leader for the Klamath Basin Audubon Society. Since the mid-1990s, Kevin has been involved with the Klamath Bird Observatory as a Point Count Surveyor, conducted USFWS Breeding Bird Surveys in Klamath and Lake Cos., and has been the compiler for Klamath County’s part in North American Migration Counts. His best “Big Day” in Klamath County was 171 species last spring, and has seen or heard over 315 species in the Klamath Basin.

Kevin is considered one of the best birders in the Klamath Basin. He has been involved with the Bald Eagle Conference and the Winter Wings Festival since 1992.

Marshal Moser

Marshal is a consultant and manager/biologist at Lonesome Duck Ranch on the Williamson River, 25 miles north of Klamath Falls. He also leads tours in the Klamath Basin, specializing in Crater Lake National Park. Having traveled and studied natural history on 5 continents, he began naturalizing and birding in Oregon in the 1970s and liked southeast Oregon so much he moved to the area in 2006. A Certified Wildlife Biologist, he was the founding Executive Director of the Ohio Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, college biology instructor, and has owned his own environmental consulting company, EcoServices, since 1978. He works with terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, wetland and water issues, endangered and invasive species, fishing, birding, grazing, native plants and landscaping.

Ralph Opp

Ralph is an active wildlife biologist, retired from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife after over 30 years of service. Most of that time was spent in the Klamath Falls area as a district biologist with the responsibility for all the critters and their habitat in much of Klamath County. Game species were the bread and butter work but the plight and seasonal changes of bald eagles in the Basin grabbed Ralph’s interest beginning in the early 1970s. He was instrumental in starting statewide surveys of wintering bald eagles, helping to locate the Bear Valley night roost and and ultimately describing its use, size and value to eagles and then working to get it protected by the USFWS as critical habitat. Ralph played a very major role in creating the Klamath Basin Bald Eagle Conference that has become the Winter Wings Festival. He is still actively working with several conservation groups, most created back in the late 1980s and early 1990s here in the Klamath Basin, and was a founding member of all.