Experience

Summary of Selected Work Experience

  • Provided technical guidance to landowners and land managers on habitat management that benefits birds and other wildlife.
  • Led a team of avian ecologists to create Texas’s first (2005) and second (2012) Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) list of birds for the State Wildlife Action Plan.
  • Reviewed and commented on bird-related proposals and draft policy documents including several U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Species Status Assessments, numerous draft articles for Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, draft papers for peer-reviewed journals, and dozens of habitat proposals submitted each year for Great Texas Birding Classic tournament funding.
  • Responded to development and mitigation proposals impacting birds.
  • Managed several research contracts on birds exceeding $1 million including for the Golden-cheeked Warbler, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Black-capped Vireo, Black Rail, Red-crowned Parrot, and Bachman’s Sparrow.
  • Through the state’s permits program, reviewed over 100 wildlife permit requests on a variety of avian projects.

Selected short videos

Videos by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

Resume

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Birdscapes Wildlife Consulting, LLC, Nacogdoches, Texas
Owner and Senior Biologist, May 2022-present
Advises public and private landowners and land managers with all facets of birds and bird habitat, emphasizing the protection of native species and the plant communities on which they depend.  Provides inventory and monitoring of the birdlife on various properties.

Owl Shack owl houses, Nacogdoches, Texas
Small business owner (begun in Travis County, TX), December 2002-present 
Builds wooden bird houses specifically for small owls that eat rodents, roaches, and other pests.  Sold and shipped thousands of these to customers in 26 states.  Developed detailed instructions that help customers insure best placement of bird house on their property and info on the basic needs of owls.  Please visit:  owlshack.com.

Birdwatching Guide Service, April 1990-present
Taught 30 weeklong birdwatching courses from 1992-1996 for Elderhostel groups comprised of classroom lectures and outdoor field trips focused on bird identification.  Leads personalized nature tours to various destinations including on the Texas Coast, the Pineywoods, and the Texas Hill Country.  Participants include various Audubon chapters and organized groups of birders on field trips of one to five days.

National Public Radio’s (NPR) Red River Radio station, Shreveport, Louisiana
Radio producer and host of monthly radio show Bird Calls, June 2013-present 
Produces and hosts a live radio show about birds and the natural world.  Red River Radio has the second largest coverage area of any NPR station in the country and serves East Texas, much of Louisiana, and parts of 2 other states.  Listeners from 11 states have called-in and asked their questions live on-the-air.  Numerous invited guests have appeared on the show to discuss their expertise with birds and conservation.  Please visit:  https://www.redriverradio.org/show/bird-calls

Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Biology, Spring semester 2012-present
Closely mentored several undergraduate and graduate students in wildlife including sitting on graduate committees for students completing a thesis on birds for a Master’s degree.  Several of these students are now employed as professional biologists or have pursued a PhD in wildlife.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin and Nacogdoches, Texas 
Natural Resource Scientist: State Ornithologist, April 1999-March 2022 (retired)
Directed the Department’s strategy addressing the conservation of nongame, threatened, and endangered species of birds through research, monitoring, planning, multi-partner collaboration, and outreach.  Specialized in the birds of Texas and neighboring states including habitat associations, distribution, natural history, and conservation opportunities.  

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, Texas
Conservation Scientist: State Coordinator, Texas Partners in Flight, March 1997-April 1999
Administered and directed the Texas Partners in Flight Program by developing conservation plans to help reverse the decline of the avifauna of Texas.  Supervised 4 full-time employees and 5 volunteers working on various bird projects in the department’s Nongame and Urban Program (now Wildlife Diversity Program).

Espey, Huston and Associates, Inc., Engineering and Environmental Consultants, Austin, Texas 
Staff Ecologist, November 1996-March 1997
Conducted ecological field data collection, data analysis, and report preparation for projects involving the oil/gas/pipeline and electric utility industries in Texas and Louisiana.  Characterized existing conditions and any potential impacts to proposed areas including wetlands and threatened and endangered species.

USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Nacogdoches, Texas 
Biological Sciences Technician, February 1992-November 1996
Conducted and assisted with numerous field research studies specializing in avian habitat preferences, avian community ecology, primary and secondary cavity-nesting birds, migratory songbirds, and the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker.  Authored and co-authored several papers in peer-reviewed journals.

EDUCATION

Master of Science 1994 
Department of Biology, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas 

Bachelor of Science 1990 
Department of Biology, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas

TECHNICAL SKILLS
  • Can identify most North American birds by sight and sound 
  • Experienced instructor in bird identification courses (beginner, intermediate, and expert courses)
  • Expert in the field methods for the study of terrestrial vertebrates especially birds
  • Extensive experience with vertebrate and plant sampling methods
  • Working knowledge of the literature on wildlife especially birds and plant communities
  • Skilled in identifying bird vocalizations recorded by day and by night on automated recording units
  • Conducted numerous bird surveys including: 3 official Breeding Bird Survey routes annually for the USGS for 30 years, annual bird surveys for the Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area for 16 years, annual bird surveys for the Little Sandy National Wildlife Refuge for 14 years, and rapid assessment of some of former Temple-Inland’s 1.1 million acres in Texas
  • Experience with Spanish from months of nature travel to 9 countries in Latin America