Birder/Photographer to Speak at Aviary

The National Aviary is hosting a free lecture this evening at 7:30 by birder and photographer Richard Crossley, whose new “Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds” is said to be the first real-life approach to identification.

Richard Crossley hails from Yorkshire, England but says he got his green card to live in the U.S. because by his mid-twenties, he was already an internationally recognized bird expert. Photography came later for him—he says modern technology like digital photography and Photo Shop make his lifelike scenes possible.

Crossley says if you’ve learned all the birds that come to your feeder, you can attract different birds by adding moving water and plants they will visit. He suggests going on the internet to find out where the best habitats are for seeing birds that may be new to you.

Crossley says while some bird populations have been adversely affected by human activity, others, like hawks, are increasing in number.