The Geology of Volusia County

Event Description

Michael Brothers will speak at our October Monthly Meeting. If you have never had the opportunity to spend some time with Michael in the field, this will be your opportunity to become familiar with this birding legend.

Say the word geology and most folks conjure up visions of the Grand Canyon or the Rocky Mountains. But geology is the stuff under the lawns and pavement right here. It supports and defines the habitats that attract birds. Understanding the topography of Volusia County is important to understanding how the birds view this area. From the beaches to the ridges and beyond, Michael will draw a map of the natural Florida ecosystems right in our backyard. It's a unique and special insight that he will be sharing at our next meeting.

Michael has been studying Florida birds for the last 50 years and has been leading pelagic trips off the coast of Florida and Georgia for the last 18 years. He regularly studies the the birds every winter in South Daytona at the afternoon "Gull Fly-in" and graciously answers questions about the spectacle.  Mr. Brothers is the retired Director of the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet, Florida, where he has worked since 2004. He is the former director of museums in Florida and Georgia and has worked as a professional interpretive naturalist for over 40 years.

Mr. Brothers’s pelagic trips extend to the Gulf Stream and out 100 miles to the 3,000 foot deep canyons beyond the Gulf Stream. He has extensive natural resource and natural science interpretive experience, with specializations in the bird life and flora of Central Florida, and he has lead birding tours throughout Florida, the Okefenokee Swamp, the Galapagos Islands, Kenya, Machu Picchu and the Amazon. Mr. Brothers’s research specialty is in the coastal and oceanic birds of Florida. He is currently a member of the Florida Ornithological Society Records Committee, which evaluates reports of birds recorded in the wild in Florida and is responsible for updating the scientific record of Florida’s avifauna. He is also the Florida editor for the journal North American Birds.

This meeting will be a virtual meeting conducted over Zoom. Click on the link to connect. See you there!

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86255167667?pwd=vj3Zioxjqri3cVRLQRUclbQIKXSutJ.1