World-renown Crossley riffs on waterfowl at ‘Ding’ Darling lecture
While working on “The Crossley ID Guide: Waterfowl,” Richard Crossley decided he needed to drive to the Arctic Ocean in northern Alaska from his home in Cape May, New Jersey.
In his thick Yorkshire accent, with a sense of humor and a disdain for political correctness, he will talk about his 16,000-mile adventure on Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. during two free programs, part of the 2019 lecture series at J.N. “Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
Crossley is an internationally acclaimed birder, photographer and award-winning author of “The Crossley ID Guide” series. The Yorkshireman also lived in Japan and travelled the world before settling down in Cape May.
“After one of my frequent midlife crises at the turn of the millennium, I decided it was time to spend less time obsessively birding and to focus on paying back,” he said. “Sometimes called ‘crazy’ – my badge of honor – wildly passionate, and driven, I have made concerted forays into youth birding, television, books, and other areas where I feel there is a need for American birding and conservation to improve.”
Crossley’s latest, “Waterfowl,” continues to push boundaries and encourage all outdoor conservation groups to see each other as one. He also co-founded the global birding initiative Pledge to Fledge, Race4Birds and The Cape May Young Birders Club. He served on the board of directors at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and he has contributed to most major birding publications, frequently speaks on radio and is a sought-after public speaker.
For his “Ding” Darling lectures, the author will show about 100 of his own images and chat about the incredible places he has traveled and the inspiring people he met who changed his thoughts.
The author will sign copies of his books, available in the Refuge Nature Store, following the two lectures. Profits from the store’s sales directly benefit refuge wildlife, education and research.
HighTower/Thomas & Swartz Wealth Management sponsors the 11-lecture series with support from the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge. The free lectures are held on Fridays through April 12, except Feb. 8. The remaining schedule is listed below; some include book signings:
n Feb. 15: Author Paul Bannick, “Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls”*
n Feb. 22: Author Anurag Agrawal, “Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution”*
n March 1: Author Warner Shedd, “Owls Aren’t Wise and Bats Aren’t Blind: A Naturalist Debunks Our Favorite Fallacies about Wildlife”*
n March 8: Yve Morrell, “The Big Year: A First for Women”
n March 15: Jeremy Conrad, “Sea Level Rise: Globally & Locally”
n March 22: Dusty “Wildman” Crum, Robbie and Geoff Roepstorff, and Mike Kirkland, “Pythons: The Hunters, the Science”
n March 29: Marine scientist Lauren Blickley, “Drastic Plastic – Turning the Tide on Plastic Pollution”
n April 5: Ornithologist Dr. Jerry Lorenz, “Flamingos & Spoonbills: Pink Canaries in a Coal Mine”
n April 12: Author Denege Patterson, “Five Islands Never Flooded: A Tour of the Islands of Pine Island Sound, Florida”*
*book signing to follow
Seating for the lectures is limited and available on a first-come basis. Early arrivals can save one seat and one extra one with personal items, then may explore the Visitor & Education Center or Indigo Trail before the lecture starts. Saved seats must be filled 15 minutes before lecture time.
For more information, call 239-472-1100 ext. 241 or visit dingdarlingsociety.org/articles/lecture-and-film-series. The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge is at 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel.