RDRN Members Meeting/Coffee Time – 7:30 p.m.

Speaker: Elly Knight – 8:00 p.m.

Topic: Birds of the Unknown – Ecology & Conservation of Nightjars in Canada

Thanks to their nocturnal and cryptic nature, Nightjars (Family Caprimulgidae)  have slipped through the ornithological cracks and are arguably the most poorly studied birds in North America.  Now, two of the three species in Canada are listed as threatened and the third has been assessed as data deficient.  Come learn more about the ecology of Nightjars in Canada, current Nightjar research and what’s being done to conserve them!  Learn how to identify each of our three species and where to find them.  We’ll go over the new Canadian Nightjar Survey Protocol and how Citizen Scientists can help collect valuable baseline data for this understudied group of birds.

Elly Knight is a PhD Student at the University of Alberta, Program Manager for the WildResearch Nightjar Survey and a Professional Biologist with the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists.  Elly’s research focuses on understanding the biology and conservation of Nightjar species and developing methods to reveal the secrets of these understudied birds.