Join The Sussex Bird Club to hear Tiffany Kersten talk about her Big Year. Tiffany didn't set out to do a big year, but after a series of unanticipated and serendipitous events, she suddenly found herself amidst one. As a sexual assault survivor, she spent 2021 traveling to all corners of the Lower 48 States, tallying birds and gifting personal safety alarms to women she met along the way. Her goal was to see 700 species, and to raise awareness of women's safety in the outdoors. She ended up surpassing her goal and setting a new Lower 48 Big Year record of 726. In her presentation, Tiffany will lead us through the fear, empowerment, struggles, and healing that all played vital roles in the personal growth she experienced on this wild adventure. More information about Tiffany’s year can be found here.

Tiffany Kersten is a Wisconsin native, turned Texan by way of New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. She holds a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Northland College, and has spent over a decade as an environmental educator, teaching raptor identification and migration with the Cape May Bird Observatory, monitoring shorebirds on Cape Cod, banding Honeycreepers in Hawaii, and finally landing in South Texas where she first worked at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, then Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center, and managed the McAllen Nature Center, before completing a Lower 48 States Big Year in 2021, and founding her own bird guiding company, Nature Ninja Birding Tours. She guides primarily in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas but can occasionally be found guiding elsewhere!

NOTE: Tiffany will be presenting via Zoom. You can view the broadcast live at the library or virtually via Zoom.

The Sussex Bird Club's primary objective is to promote the knowledge and enjoyment of wild birds through guided field trips and monthly meetings about various aspects of birding. Meetings are open to all and beginning birders are always welcome.

NOTE: this session is available to attend in-person or through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER and indicate which you prefer.

If you have need assistance with registration or getting your Zoom invitation, please email us.

Basic written instructions for using Zoom may be found here and a brief video tutorial may be found here. Closed captioning is available for all our sessions. Information on enabling closed captioning in Zoom may be found here.