Green Drinks January

Join Headwaters for the first Green Drinks of 2026 at GVBC on Thursday 1/29/2026 from 6PM-8PM. We welcome ornithologist and PhD Candidate Emily Williams from Georgetown University in Washington DC.

Presentation topic: The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) may be the early bird that catches the worm, the first sign of spring, and the archetypal "backyard bird," but it turns out there's still a lot to learn from this common species. Despite being one of the most widely distributed songbirds on the North American continent, robins have remained an enigma when it comes to their migratory behavior. It turns out this “resident” or “short-distance migrant” is misunderstood and underestimated. To learn more about robin migration Georgetown University PhD student Emily Williams has embarked upon a multi-year, multi-region project to set the record straight about this overlooked bird. By using small, high-resolution satellite transmitters over six years, Emily and her colleagues have tracked multiple populations of American Robins throughout their breeding range to reveal a remarkable amount of variation in within- and between-year movements by robins.

Emily has been studying birds for over 15 years. She is a Florida native and grew up along the Space Coast. Before coming to Washington DC, Emily worked across the US and internationally on multiple bird research projects, including working for the National Park Service in Alaska, where she studied the behavior and migrations of birds in Denali National Park and Preserve. After her PhD, Emily hopes to continue devoting her career to the conservation of wildlife and wild places, and to connecting communities with science and nature.

You may also like the following events from Appalachian Headwaters:

• This Saturday, 3rd January, 09:00 am, Christmas Bird Count at Wood Thrush Park in Lewisburg
• Next Saturday, 10th January, 10:00 am, Birds of West Virginia in Lewisburg
• This month, 31st January, 10:00 am, Winter is for the Birds- Talk and Guided Walk with Ecologist Emily Williams in Lewisburg