Refuge to host celebrity birder Richard Crossley

As an internationally acclaimed birder, photographer and prolific award-winning author of “The Crossley ID Guide series,” Richard Crossley is qualified to speak about “The Power of Birding.” That is the topic of his free lecture on Jan. 25 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel.
Born in Yorkshire, England, Crossley lived in Japan and birded worldwide before settling down in his current home in Cape May, New Jersey. Sometimes called “crazy” — his badge of honor — “wildly passionate” and “driven,” his focus is youth birding and connecting people to a fuller appreciation and understanding of nature and its benefits to well-being.
Crossley also co-founded the global birding initiatives Pledge to Fledge, Race4Birds and the Cape May Young Birders Club. He served on the board of directors at the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and has contributed to most major birding publications. Crossley also frequently talks on radio shows.
The remaining schedule for the “Ding” Darling Lecture Series is as follows:
– Feb. 1: Author James Currie, “When Eagles Roar: The Amazing Journey of an African Wildlife Adventurer”*
– March 7: Author/environmentalist Diane Wilson, “One Woman’s Fight to Save Our Waters from Microplastic Pollution”
– March 14: Author/Sanibel islander Charles Sobczak, “Surviving the Storms — Hurricanes, Humans, and Wildlife”*
– March 21: Recycling expert Stephanie Kissinger, “Talking Trash: Post-Hurricane Clean-Up and Recycling”
*Book signing to follow
Seating for the lectures is limited on a first-come basis. Early arrivals can check in after 9 a.m. or noon to obtain a wristband, then explore the Visitor & Education Center or Wildlife Drive and trails before the lecture starts. Saved seats must be filled 15 minutes before the lecture time or risk being reassigned.
The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge co-hosts the lectures with the refuge and through financial support from sponsors the Gresham family, Mark and Kathy Helge, and Hightower Advisors/Thomas and Swartz Wealth Management.
For more information, visit dingdarlingsociety.org/articles/lecture-series.
The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge is at 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel.