Jack Smith
Outstanding Speaker Series
March 23, 2024
Carlisle Reservation
3:00pm-5:00pm
Jen Brumfield
“The Presence (and Presents) of Birds — a lifetime of chasing wings”
JB eagerly combines her passions for extreme birding, field studies, outdoor education and detailed scientific illustration into a truly “wild” career. Her illustrations have appeared widely in birding journals and magazines, and she has written and illustrated six field guides in The Fascinated Naturalist Guides series.
Her over-the-top enthusiasm and passion for studying the natural world is rivaled only by her knack for portraying it through her artwork and interpreting it to others through natural history education programs as a Naturalist for 18 years with Cleveland Metroparks. Just this year JB said farewell to the education world in trade for the next step in her career - the Natural Resources department - working in the field doing land management.
Jen Brumfield
ABA Lifetime Achievement Award
(source ABA Lifetime Award Recipients, 2021)
Jen Brumfield has been captivated by birds since they were young—to hear them tell it, since they were “in utero.” As you might expect, by now they have racked up such plaudits as “gull guru” and “birding prodigy, with encyclopedic knowledge and impervious enthusiasm,” as described in Belt magazine in Jan. 2015.
Birding benefits immensely from the efforts of people like Brumfield, who have a broad knowledge of birds, a thirst for field adventures, and a bucketload of great birding stories, but are also dedicated to exploring their local patch and sharing the love for their patch’s birds with one and all.
Brumfield isn’t just any bird guru: They are Cleveland’s bird guru. They know which patch of grass in Wendy Park, a tiny migrant trap near Lake Erie, a Grasshopper Sparrow is going to turn up in. JB used their particular local knowledge to blow the Cuyahoga County Big Year record out of the water. They also have introduced many local schoolkids to birding. JB’s dedication and commitment to outdoor education reaches thousands of students across the Cleveland area.
Brumfield works as a naturalist at Cleveland Metroparks and is an artist and a tour leader. JB’s expertise includes dragonflies, damselflies, and butterflies as well as birds. Their relationship with the ABA dates back to 1998, when they were chosen as Young Birder of the Year, which was followed by service as a Camp Colorado counselor, magazine cover artist, and speaker at ABA events. JB’s art graces the covers of the Nov./Dec. 2006, Jan. 2010, and July/Aug. 2014 issues of Birding magazine, and they were interviewed on the ABA podcast twice, in Apr. 2018 and Sept. 2021. Everyone at the ABA thanks JB for their phenomenal leadership and passion.
About the Jack Smith
Outstanding Speaker Series
Black River Audubon Society was founded in 1958 through the influence of Jack Smith. The annual event honors him and his contribution to Black River Audubon Society. Each year a nationally-recognized speaker will highlight the event. The board will also share the work of its members over the last year. A social hour with refreshments will follow the program. This program is free to the public.
Previous Outstanding Speakers
April 27, 2013 – Al Batt, Stories by Al Batt, Naturally (birding humor)
April 5, 2014 – Jim McCormac, Wild Ohio
March 21, 2015 – Joy Kiser, America’s Other Audubon: Genevieve Estelle Jones
April 11, 2015 – Dave Horn, A Forty Year Survey of Birds in Northwestern Hocking, County, Ohio
April 9, 2016 – Paul J. Baicich, The Dozen Most Important You Can Do for Bird Conservation
April 1, 2017 – Brian Fox, Adventures with Audubon
April 25, 2017 – Dr. Bernie Master, Special Event in collaboration with Fireland Audubon,
November 18, 2017 – Sharon “Birdchick” Stiteler, Today’s Office (entertaining birding tales)
November 10, 2018 – Julie Zickefoose, Baby Birds, Combined Outstanding Speaker with BRAS 60th Anniversary Celebration
2020- Event Cancelled
2021- Event Cancelled
April 23, 2022 – Jamie Cunningham, The Secret Life of Warblers & Jim McCormac, Conservation Photography: Connecting the Masses with Nature
March 25, 2023 — Scott Weidensaul, A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds
Tickets
Tickets will be available on March 1, 2024
There is no cost for members, but due to limited seating, you must get a ticket.
The cost for non-members is $10.
Don’t delay, this event will “sell” out!
About Jen
Currently residing in Cleveland, Ohio she spreads the joy of urban and local patch birding, and runs thrilling boat trips on the open waters of Lake Erie seeking rarities left and right. A veteran of big days and big years, JB has participated in the World Series of Birding, the Great Texas Birding Classic, the Montezuma Muckrace, and four excruciatingly intense and record-setting big years in her home county. JB is a rarity-finding machine and is forever obsessed with gulls, jaegers and lake-watching. Admiration and respect for birds runs deep through her blood.
She is honored and humbled to take a stand for bird conservation and education with her every last breath.