Cornell Botanic Gardens’ Elizabeth E. Rowley Lecture
Keeping Our Common Birds Common
Doug Tallamy, Ph.D., Professor of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware
Sunday, April 26, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. (EST)
Call Auditorium, Kennedy Hall or by Zoom 

Recent headlines about the decline of North American birds remind us that it is defaunation, the reduction in the populations of the common species that run our ecosystems, not extinction that is our conservation challenge.  Our common birds are declining because we have not shared our human-dominated spaces with them, but we can with a few simple changes to our landscapes. Tallamy will discuss the food and shelter birds require to nest successfully in our yards, and how to redesign residential landscape to meet these needs. Because most of the country is privately owned, it is the private landowner who will save our birds.

Registration: To attend the lecture by Zoom, pre-registration is required here. In person attendance does not require registration.

This lecture is part of a spring 2026 collaboration between Cornell Botanic Gardens, wildlife photographer Marie Read, and Mann Library.

Visit Mann Library to view Keeping Common Birds Common: Birds and Habitat at Cornell Botanic Gardens and Beyond, an exhibition featuring Read’s unforgettable photographic portraits of birds that reside in the biodiverse habitats maintained by Cornell Botanic Gardens.

 Additional programming includes

• Exhibit opening celebration, Thursday, April 16, Jason Boersma (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) will present the lecture "Finding Hope in the Search for Lost Birds," 4:00 p.m. in Mann Room 160 (hybrid event). A reception will follow at 5:00 p.m. in the Mann Library Gallery. 
   
• Birds and Blooms, monthly starting Friday, April 17, bird + habitat tours with Cornell Botanic Gardens and Cornell Lab of Ornithology; register at cornellbotanicgardens.org