Brown-headed Nuthatch by Doug Pratt

Chapel Hill Bird Club—Speakers for 2026–2027

The purpose of the Chapel Hill Bird Club is to provide engagement and educational opportunities for area birders of all experience levels. We offer interesting educational programs, local birding field trips, Christmas and spring bird counts, and connection to other members via a Facebook group. Members have access to like-minded people including experts who can answer your questions. Whether you watch birds in your yard or travel to the ends of the earth to chase rarities, our club offers something for you. We are a friendly group and welcome all to join us, especially new birders! Our members are mostly from the Research Triangle area of North Carolina: Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Pittsboro, and surrounding towns.

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• September 28, 2026

  Biel Macedo — Not All Sexual Monomorphisms Evolve Equally: Female & Male Ornamentation in Tyranni Passerines

  Female animals often have ornaments such as conspicuous coloration. However, the evolution of female ornamentation and its contribution to sexual dimorphism are understudied relative to male ornamentation. In this talk, I will show how our research at the Lipshutz Lab addresses this knowledge gap. We investigated the evolution of female and male plumage ornamentation in over 870 species of Tyranni (suboscine) passerines in relation to sociosexual selection, i.e., the differential reproductive success resulting from competition for mates and other socially limited resources (e.g., territories, nest sites). One of our main findings is that females and males show similarly high ornamentation (elaborate monomorphism) in accordance with strong and shared sociosexual selection pressures, for instance in territorial, non-migratory, monogamous species with biparental care, and species nesting in cavities. Our research provides a framework for testing how selective pressures shape both female and male traits, which is key to understanding the evolution of sex differences and similarities.

  Speaker Bio: Gabriel (Biel) Macedo is a postdoctoral associate at Duke University in the Lipshutz Lab studying the evolution and genomics of female ornamentation in birds, as well as the transcriptomics of song discrimination in song sparrows. Biel received his PhD in Evolution and Diversity from the Federal University of ABC in Brazil and was a Fulbright visiting researcher at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, studying the evolution of songs, coloration and behavior of females and males of Neotropical birds.

• October 26, 2026

  Leilton Luna—Birds in a changing world: using genetics to understand and protect bird diversity

  What can a bird's DNA tell us about its past, its future, and its chances of survival? In this talk, Leilton Luna will explore how modern genetic tools can help us understand bird evolution and conservation in a rapidly changing world. Using examples from his research on endangered and declining birds—from the critically endangered Araripe manakin to ruffed grouse and Amazonian birds—he will share how genetics can reveal hidden patterns of diversity, adaptation, inbreeding, and population decline. In this talk Leilton will offer a glimpse into how the latest advances in genetics are helping us better understand and protect the bird's diversity.

  Leilton Luna is a research scientist at Duke University and an incoming Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. His research combines ecology and genomics to understand how species adapt, diversify, and persist in a changing world. He has a particular interest in endangered species, with much of his work focused on birds. By combining observations of birds in the field with information hidden in their DNA, his work aims to better understand bird evolution and inform conservation efforts. Learn more about Leilton's work on his website: https://leiltonluna.com/

• November 23, 2026

  Roger Shaw—The Big Days-Year—a novel birding challenge

  Big Years and Big Days are among the most captivating stories in birding, pushing birders' skills and dedication to the limits. But they also demand tremendous sacrifices of time and energy, that not everyone can afford or maintain. What if a more accessible version of a Big Year existed, that demanded less commitment and time, while still delivering challenge and adventure? In 2023, Roger and a friend developed a fun and novel twist on the Big Year concept, sparking an exciting year of birding around the state.

  Roger Shaw is co-Vice-President of the Chapel Hill Bird Club. He began birding as a child in Raleigh, and this lifelong passion led to him pursing an academic career in the field, receiving a PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of Texas at Austin. While in graduate school, he was also a co-instructor for the university's Ornithology class, leading students on weekly local field trips, as well as long weekend trips to every corner of Texas. He now works as a data scientist in healthcare, but still regularly ventures outdoors across the state in search of birds, butterflies, orchids, and other kinds of adventures in nature.

• January 25, 2027

  Tessa Patton—How Light and Noise Pollution Impact Songbird Physiology, Diet, and Microbiomes

• February 22, 2027

  Danae Diaz—Heavy Metals and its effect on Bluebirds

• March 22, 2027

  Susan Campbell—Hummingbirds in North Carolina

• April 26, 2027

  David and Judy Smith Birding in TBD - Mexico, Peru, Argentina, or Vietnam

• May 24, 2027

  Matthew Moskwik—TBD on Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Archive of past meetings

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