Brian “Fox” Ellis

Join Illinois’ most pre-eminent bird man as he recalls the history of the Illinois Audubon Society. Hear stories that illuminate how bird watching grew from a hobby to a scientific discipline. Bird watching has created a cadre of citizen scientists, encouraging the next generation of conservationists, and protected habitat for future generations. Storyteller and author Brian “Fox” Ellis portrays Robert Ridgway, telling the story of his journey across the western wilderness in 1868, when he was still a teenager, his life-long work at the Smithsonian Institution, and his friends who founded the Chicago Academy of Science. Ridgway was a student of Spencer Baird, who travelled with John James Audubon, who knew Charles Darwin. Ridgway’s research transformed ornithology, evolution and systematics.