York County Audubon invites the community to a special program at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 17th at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm.

The closest relative of the black-capped chickadee—Maine’s state bird—is the Carolina chickadee. The geographic ranges of these sister species overlap just a little, along an east-west line extending from New Jersey to Kansas. In the narrow zone of overlap, the two species hybridize frequently.

Bob Curry, his students from Villanova University, and various collaborators have studied chickadee hybridization at multiple Pennsylvania sites for more than a quarter century. Dr. Curry will discuss highlights of this work, including methods and findings. The research program has combined intensive field study of chickadee breeding biology and investigation of behavioral interactions in the nonbreeding seasons. Because the two species are so similar, the research has also relied heavily on genetic analysis.

A point of emphasis throughout has been the northward movement of the hybrid zone: Carolina chickadees have advanced rapidly at the expense of black-caps, while interbreeding along the way. Although Carolina chickadees will not join us in Maine in the immediate future, the presentation will provide general information about chickadee biology along with food for thought about some underappreciated consequences of climate warming.

Bob Curry has been studying chickadees for decades, and one of his particular focus areas has been the relationship between Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees, and their evolving territories.  He became a professor at Villanova University in 1991, and now serves as a Professor Emeritus.  One further note: he has recently migrated to Maine himself, and we’re delighted to welcome him to our birding community.

This program will be presented at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17th, at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm. The entrance to the parking area is off Skinner Mill Road in Wells.  Please note that while we normally host our programs in the Mather Auditorium, that room may be under construction on that date.  If it is, the program will be moved to the Gallery in the Coastal Ecology Center, directly behind the barn.  Please check our website before then for the latest update.

The program will be free and open to all ages, and no registration is required for attending the program in person. It will also be live-streamed via Zoom.  To view it via Zoom, you’ll need to register in advance.  To do so, please go to this event on our website, www.yorkcountyaudubon.org, and click on the registration link in the post for this event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. We hope you can join us for this entertaining and inspiring presentation, either in person, or, if not, via Zoom!