Program: The Courage of Birds: And the Often Surprising Ways They Survive Winter

Tuesday, February 17, 2026   7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Fleischmann Auditorium,
Santa Barbara Museum Of Natural History
2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara, CA
MAP

$5 general admission. Tickets available here and at the door the evening of the event, if still available.

Pete Dunne, recipient of the American Birding Association’s Roger Tory Peterson Award for lifetime achievement in promoting the cause of birds, will describe the various adaptations of North American birds that allow them to survive winter’s hardships. Despite the seasonal life-sapping cold, birds have evolved strategies that meet winter’s challenges head on, driven by the imperative to make it to spring and pass down their genes to the next generation. Dunne will discuss unique migration patterns and survival strategies of individual species as well as address the impact of changing climatic conditions on avian longevity.

Pete Dunne is an author and founder of the World Series of Birding, former Director of Natural History Information for the New Jersey Audubon Society, and former director of the Cape May Bird Observatory. An experienced tour leader, he is well-known for his columns and contributions to publications such as American Birds and Birding. He is also the author of more than twenty books, including Birds of Prey, Gulls Simplified, The Art of Pishing, The Wind Masters, and, most recently, The Shorebirds of North America.

Courtesy of Chaucer’s Bookstore, books by Pete Dunne will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Image credit: David Allen Sibley

This Program is Presented by:

Logo SBAS & SBMNH

Santa Barbara Audubon Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization