THIS WILL BE AN IN-PERSON EVENT!
Attendance will be limited to 50 members on a first come, first served basis by reservation only. (Please understand - you must be fully vaccinated and boosted to attend and must wear a mask when indoors.) Registration information will be in an email to the membership shortly.
This is also an experimental Zoom hybrid meeting.
This means that the SDHS will do our best to Zoom the full in-person meeting at the Water Conservation Garden with those not in attendance. Zoom Link will be in an email. However, bear with us please, due to the nature of the speaker's live animal presentation, that may not be possible in this case. A recording of the meeting will also be attempted and, fingers crossed, 🤞 🤞 one or both experiments will be successful and the meeting will appear on our YouTube channel the following weekend for your watching pleasure.
Meeting date: February 14, 2022
Meeting time: 6pm - 7:30pm
Meeting place: The Water Conservation Garden
Meeting Room by the Gift Shop
12122 Cuyamaca College Drive West El Cajon, California 92019
February Speaker, Bob Gordon, M.D., Master Falconer, With His Partner, Huxley, Presents 'Raptors - Natural Predators in Your Garden'
As gardeners, we are constantly interacting with the wildlife who share space with us, whether intentionally or without realizing how our actions are impacting these other inhabitants.
Although we are generally tuned in to such things as the necessities of habitat preservation, the benefits of integrated pest management and organic gardening, and though we may gladly go to extremes to balance nature’s needs with our gardening goals, there is much for us to learn about our co-habitants and the critical consequences we may unknowingly cause for them.
Our guest speaker for February, Dr. Bob Gordon, will help us expand our knowledge base into the natural history of local raptors – the birds of prey whom we welcome to our landscape as partners in controlling the gophers, mice, rats and other rodents who assume our gardens are being maintained for their sole pleasure.
A Master Falconer, Bob gives regular monthly presentations on birds of prey, falconry, and human/wildlife interactions at the S.D. Natural History Museum and the Mission Trails Regional Park’s Visitor Center, accompanied by his winged partner, Huxley, a Harris’s Hawk, perched on his fist to make sure he gets things correct.
Bob has had an active interest in the natural world as long as he can remember. With his foundation anchored in science, he has explored multiple aspects of the animal world and the inhabitants’ various interactions. He has authored many scientific articles including “The Use of Canines in the Detection of Human Cancer.”
For the last two decades he has been on the Humane Society’s Project Wildlife raptor rehabilitation team, augmenting his scholarly research with practical insight learned on the job.
He loves sharing his knowledge and love of the nature with the public. Join us for an enjoyable and entertaining (and yes, informative) evening as he and Huxley share a different perspective regarding human/wildlife interaction.