March 2017:
I have updated my Publications page to include a few new papers that have come out these last few months. These include some side projects (prevalence of equine encephalitis in Maine songbirds & fuel deposition rates in migrating songbirds) and a paper from my dissertation.
I have also recently been elected to the council of the Wilson Ornithological Society. I look forward to continue to serve the society over the next three years.
I will be teaching Field Ornithology on Appledore Island this June. The course is run through the Shoals Marine Lab. You can see more information at the following link. https://www.shoalsmarinelaboratory.org/course/field-ornithology
May 2016:
I have accepted a position as a post-doctoral fellow in the Biology Department at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. While at Canisius I will continue to advance my teaching and research skills by developing upper-level undergraduate courses and mentoring research students.
January 2016:
New publication on a quick tangential study that made use of all the birds I genetically sexed for my dissertation project. Since I already had all these data on sex of Northern Waterthrushes and Swainson's Thrushes I did some analyses of whether sex could be determined based on their body size measures. It turns out that for some individuals of both species, the answer is yes. Check out the paper to see details. PDF
December 2015:
New publication on some collaborative work on Blackpoll Warbler migration is out. And available online.
See also a bit of press we are receiving from The Auk: Ornithological Advances, National Audubon Society, and Bird Watching Daily.
September 2015:
New pub is available online. This one is the first (of many?) from my dissertation work. Check it out here.
March 2015:
The USM Migratory Bird Research Group (MBRG) has begun their spring migration banding in Cameron Parish Louisiana. See pictures below of the crew setting up the site.
 MBRG Graduate students Will Lewis, TJ Zenzal, and Kristen Covino (left to right).  All the gear we brought down with us.  The Gator was very helpful for carrying everything.   The whole gang after we finished setting up. Left to right, Shawn, Will, Kristen, TJ, Lauren, Keegan, and Sam.  Keegan banding one of our first birds, a Northern Cardinal. | Setting up the nets.      Doing a little trimming for the high nets.  High net all set up (but closed).  |
I attended the annual meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union and Cooper Ornithological Society in Estes Park, Colorado from 22-28 September. While there I presented a talk on some of my dissertation work. The talk was well received and the official Twitter feed for American Ornithology even Tweeted about the presentation.
You can check out my blog posts about this work here.