Birdwatching: Santa Barbara and Beyond with Robert Zeman

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Join Adventurers’ Club member Robert Zeman for an evening exploring the world of birdwatching, from the varied habitats of Santa Barbara to some of the world’s premier birding destinations. Robert begins by sharing how he became a birdwatcher in Santa Barbara, where he discovered a thriving birding community. He’ll explain what makes the region so exceptional, with its diverse habitats ranging from fields and riparian areas to hills and pelagic waters, and the extraordinary avian species found there.

Robert’s journey also expands to birding adventures across the United States, including southeastern Arizona, the Rio Grande Valley, and Hawaii, before continuing to Kenya, Tanzania, the Peruvian Amazon, Uganda, and Russia’s Far East. Through photographs and personal stories, he will showcase the distinctive birdlife of each region while sharing encounters with species ranging from hornbills, toucans, macaws, and the Andean Cock-of-the Rock to the Shoebill, Grey Crowned Crane, and Saddle-billed Story. He also explore the traditions of birdwatching, including the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, Big Day and Big Month competitions, and the legendary Big Year, demonstrating how birdwatching can become a lifetime of travel and adventure.

Robert F. Zeman is a Certified Public Accountant, U.S. Navy veteran, and a lifelong adventurer who has been a member of the Adventurers Club for 50 years (#878). He served as a junior officer of the deck aboard the USS Yorktown (CVS-10) on the first day of U.S. combat operations in Vietnam. His travels have since taken him scuba diving in Southern California, Mexico, and Tahiti; backpacking the Sierra Nevada and the American Southwest; canoeing in northern Minnesota; exploring caves in Mexico; and birdwatching across the Peruvian Amazon, East Africa, Belize, Panama, and Russia’s Far East (where he saw a Siberian Tiger).

This program was organized by Reymundo Perez #1219.