• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 08 / 09 / 2011

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Aug 08, 2011. Talia Perez is one of two interns to discuss bird conservation in her native Cuba at a talk Aug. 11 at the Project Puffin Visitor Center in Rockland.

Rockland — Project Puffin interns, Talia Perez of Havana, Cuba and Ivan Mota, of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic will present a special presentation about the birds and wildlife conservation of their native countries at Project Puffin Visitor Center on Thursday, Aug. 11 at 4 p.m. Project Puffin Visitor Center is located at 311 Main St. in Rockland.

Talía Pérez Martínez is the 2011 Herz International Seabird Fellow. The fellowship is offered annually to a seabird biologist from Latin America in memory of Josephine D. Herz, a dedicated bird enthusiast and conservationist. She is from Guanabo, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba where she received a bachelor's degree in biology in 2004 from Havana University.

She holds the position of Coordinator for Cuba’s National Waterbird Program. In this capacity she conducts basic research about waterbirds and monitors waterbird population status, specializing in studies of population dynamics of several sandpiper populations that winter in Cuban wetlands. Through her position, she manages a database of the waterbirds that frequent Cuba’s protected areas. She is responsible for the management and protection of 13 of Cuba’s most important waterbird conservation areas. She also works with environmental education themes in several of the local Cuban schools. For more about the Herz International Seabird Fellowship, visit: projectpuffin.org/Herz.html

Iván Mota is taking classes toward his biology degree student at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo in Santo Domingo, DR. An accomplished graphics artist and wildlife biologist, he has studied Bicknell’s Thrush, a migratory species that breeds in Maine and winters in the Dominican Republic.

Their presentation will focus on some of their countries unique wildlife resources, habitats and conservation challenges. Their program will be illustrated by spectacular photography. Anyone interested in travelling to these countries will benefit from this unique opportunity.

Perez and Mota were among the 15 Project Puffin interns that were working on Maine seabird islands managed by National Audubon Society this summer. Their work in Maine was in collaboration with the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. They have just returned from their 11-week internship to learn methods for seabird restoration which they can apply to rare and endangered birds in their native countries. Project Puffin Visitor Center is sponsored by the Seabird Restoration Program of the National Audubon Society in collaboration with the Maine Audubon Society.

Source: http://knox.villagesoup.com/place/story/431208