NYSOA is a 100% volunteer organization. The people who work for NYSOA do it because they are passionately committed to protecting birds and their habitats, and because they enjoy working with others who share their passion. With deep gratitude, NYSOA recognizes all who have generously given, or who currently give, of their time and talents to help NYSOA carry out its important mission. In January 2016, we added this section to the website in order to give our readers an opportunity to get to know some of our volunteers.
Greg Lawrence has been a birder since he was seven or eight years old and was one of the charter members of NYSOA's New York State Young Birders Club when it began in 2008. Today Greg is an ecologist and conservationist and has already served as a director and Vice President of NYSOA. Read on to learn more about Greg, including how got his parents to appreciate the joys of wastewater treatment plants!
How long have you been a NYSOA member?
I have been a NYSOA member since 2008, when I joined before the Annual Meeting hosted by my "home" bird club in Rochester. This was also around the start of the NYSOA sponsored New York State Young Birders Club, which I helped start as a charter member.
What positions have you held in the organization (and for how long)?
I was a director for a couple years under the tremendous leadership of Joan Collins and Kathy Schneider and now have been Vice President of the organization for the last year and a half working with President Shirley Shaw. Way back when, I was also the third president of the New York State Young Birders Club in 2011. Now, I've been involved in the research committee for a while as one of NYSOA's representatives on the Third New York State Breeding Bird Atlas steering committee, serving on the outreach sub-committee and I am currently the chair of the methods sub-committee.
What is it about NYSOA that keeps you involved?
NYSOA's commitment to fostering a love of birds, birding, and nature brought me in as a kid and young birder initially, and it is wonderful to see that commitment still going strong as the New York State Young Birders Club continues to thrive. Now, I am happy to continue to be involved in the organization due to the camaraderie among birders in the state, as well as the organization's commitment to science and conservation. It is truly a wonderful group of birders and the annual meetings are the best representations of that, as the organization is such a perfect vector for bringing birders together across such a large, diverse state.
How long have you been birding and did you have a particular experience that hooked you on birding?
I have been birding since 2005, when I was about 7 or 8 years old. Long time NYSOA member and past board member, Kevin Griffith, got me hooked when he invited me to band birds across the street from where I grew up. Kevin is a long time family friend and I was fortunate to grow up near one of the biggest migrant traps in Rochester, Firehouse Woods and Lakeview Community Church Trail. Kevin showed me so many of the birds I never knew existed, like Brown Creepers, Black-throated Blue Warblers, Cedar Waxwings, and more. I got to release many of these after he banded and collected data on them. I was hooked after that and became an active birder not long after. He was such a wonderful mentor and teacher and I wouldn't be a birder without him. His patience and teaching, along with his passion for birding and birds is infectious, and a model for all of us who are mentors to other new birders in the community.
What is your favorite place to go birding in NYS?
I am so strongly biased, but Braddock Bay is my favorite place. I have birded it since a kid and it is still my patch today. From winter waterfowl scenes, incredible spring hawk flights at the hawkwatch, morning flight in migration at the east spit, to the incredible migrating owls at Owl Woods, there is no better spot. Aside from Braddock Bay, I really enjoy looking for marsh birds in the beautiful wetlands on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario by Lakeview WMA, as well as trudging through the bogs in the Adirondacks looking for boreal specialties.
Favorite species?
I've long said I never had a favorite species, but since I began my career doing wetland work, I've completely changed my mind. Black Terns are my favorite species as their graceful flight and sleek silver and black plumage is just incredible to see. Savannah Sparrows are a close second, but I have to go with Black Terns. Conservation efforts will hopefully keep this bird in New York for generations to come, though they've been declining for a long time.
Is anyone else in your family a birder as a result of your interest?
My parents have always loved nature and the outdoors, but really got into birding because of me. They were so wonderful and supportive (who doesn't want to drive into a wastewater treatment plant to look at birds?) when I first became a birder as a kid and now send me constant bird reports from wherever they may be. They've even found their own rarities now, including Whimbrel, Little Gull, Purple Sandpipers, among others!
What do you do for a living?
I am now a research scientist at SUNY Brockport, working on the Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Monitoring Program, an EPA program designed to monitor birds, anurans, fish, water quality, and invertebrates in Great Lakes coastal wetlands. I've now turned my passion for birds and birding into a career as an ecologist and conservationist. My passion for birds and wildlife drives me to continue to push for a better world for future generations.
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