Discovering and conserving Bryan's Shearwater

Golden Gate Audubon presents Peter Pyle.

Bryan's Shearwater (Puffinus bryani) was identified for the first time in 2011 by Peter Pyle and two colleagues, based on DNA analysis of a specimen collected in 1963 on Midway Atoll. That specimen had initially been misidentified as a Little Shearwater. Peter will recount discovery of the new species, which was named after his grandfather, a long-time curator at Honolulu's Bishop Museum. He will share information on these birds, their habitat requirements, and attempts to locate them with remote audio-recording devices designed by U.C. Santa Cruz researchers. Bryan's Shearwaters appear to be extremely rare and in need of targeted conservation actions to increase their population size.

Peter Pyle is an ornithologist and marine biologist who works for the Institute for Bird Populations in Point Reyes Station. He has authored over 120 scientific papers and is well known among bird banders for his Identification Guides summarizing molt, ageing and sexing information for birds in the hand.

Location: First Unitarian Universalist Church & Center
1187 Franklin Street (at Geary), San Francisco