Topic: The Canary Islands,

Presenter: Jaan Lepson

Virtual Meeting Format via Zoom (see details below)

According to Jaan Lepson, are the Hawai’i of Europe. This group of rugged, volcanic islands lies off the coast of Western Sahara, but is a part of Spain. The islands have a mix of European and African avifauna, with a number of endemic species and subspecies, as well as some wonderful succulent plants. Jaan will take us from the lava fields of Lanzarote and the arid scrublands of Fuerteventura, to Tenerife with its snow-covered peak of El Teide (the highest point in Spain) and the lush laurel forests of La Palma. 

Jaan Lepson is a long-time member of the Ohlone Audubon Society, and has given several programs in the past; such as: the birds of Hawai’i, the Mariana Islands, and South Africa, etc. Jaan grew up in Hawai’i, where he started birding in his teens. It all began with the Hawai’i Audubon Society’s book on Hawaiian birds, which had a cover photo of an ‘I’iwi. He was entranced – and hooked. Later, Jaan delved into natural history, and has a particular interest in the biology of oceanic islands, especially birds of course. Jaan received his B.A. in biology at Princeton University in New Jersey, where he marveled at the Spring migration and spent a summer at Manú National Park in Perú, where he was awed by the riches of the neotropics. He then returned home to earn a Ph.D. in zoology at the University of Hawai’i, studying the role of color in the life history of the Hawai’i ‘Akepa, an endangered Hawaiian honeycreeper found in the high rainforests of Hawai’i Island. He spent five years living in a tent camp at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on Mauna Kea for his field work, four years of which he was by himself with just the birds for company – it was magical! After graduation, he moved to California and had a major change in course, pivoting to laboratory astrophysics, and he is now an Associate Research Physicist at U.C. Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory. Jaan and his husband, Peter, have made a number of trips over the years for bird watching, cacti, and other succulents in Pacific, Caribbean, and Atlantic islands, as well as South America and Southern Africa.

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