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REFUGE/DDWS
Author-ornithologist Tina Morris will talk about her experiences repopulating the United States with bald eagles at the lecture on April 9.
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REFUGE/DDWS
“Return to the Sky: The Surprising Story of How One Woman and Seven Eaglets Helped Restore the Bald Eagle” by Tina Morris
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The 21st annual “Ding” Darling Winter Lecture Series will continue with author and conservationist Tina Morris on April 9 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at The Roost at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel.
Just as the bald eagle, our national symbol, faced extinction in the continental U.S. in 1976, Morris was beginning her graduate work at Cornell University. By luck and circumstance, she was selected to reintroduce the species into New York State in the hope that eagles could repopulate eastern North America. She will talk about her conservation work and book, “Return to the Sky: The Surprising Story of How One Woman and Seven Eaglets Helped Restore the Bald Eagle.”
Young and with no field experience, Morris faced the challenges of saving the iconic bird while striving for acceptance in the unfamiliar, male-dominated world of raptor biology. Playing mother to seven eagles forced her to transcend the isolation and tedium of field research to rescue an endangered species while in turn rescuing herself.
After completing her graduate work in ornithology and wildlife biology at Cornell in 1978 and working many years for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Nature Conservancy — focusing on endangered species and critical habitat conservation — Morris spent 23 years teaching English and biology. Since her retirement in 2020, she has devoted her time to writing, especially creative non-fiction with a science or nature focus.
A book signing will follow the lecture.
The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge co-hosts the series with the refuge and through financial support from sponsors.
The remaining series schedule is as follows:
– April 16: Sanibel author Charles Sobczak, “The Living Gulf Coast: A Nature Guide to Southwest Florida”*
*Book signing will follow
Seating is limited on a first-come basis. Attendees are welcome to bring their own lawn chairs. Most of the open-air seating is under cover, however the DDWS suggests sunscreen, bug spray and weather-appropriate attire.
For more information, visit dingdarlingsociety.org/lecture-series.
The refuge is at 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel.