Field Trip Leaders

Update (posted at 10:30 am on Sept. 20): The MOS Convention Committee will be updating the website with new information as it becomes available.

Thank you to our partners for helping us plan field trips and recruit field trip leaders!

Field trip leaders for the 2026 MOS Convention in Salisbury include:

If you are interested in being a field trip leader, please contact Jim Rapp at jim.rapp@mdbirds.org.

2026 Field Trip Leader Bios (new bios will be added as they are submitted)

Alex Garnand grew up in the mountains of Pennsylvania but has been drawn to the ocean from the start. She studied marine science and geology in college, focusing on coastal erosion issues along the Delmarva Peninsula. After completing her degrees and switching gears to environmental education, Alex spends her days teaching people of all ages about all kinds of coastal wildlife and local history. Living close to Chincoteague NWR, she started birding by identifying shorebirds, so lately she’s been working on her songbird ID and learning songs. Whether it’s a rarity, or something she sees every day, Alex gets excited about every bird she spots – and is happy to point it out to whoever is nearby too!

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Anthony Gonzon has lived his entire life in the great state of Delaware. Anthony has been participating in outdoor activities since his early days fishing and camping and has been regularly birding in Delaware for nearly two decades. Calling New Castle County home for more than 40 years, Anthony received his B.S. from the University of Delaware, double majoring in Wildlife Conservation and Entomology. Anthony began his career in wildlife as a piping plover monitor at Cape Henlopen State Park in 2004 and has been working for the Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife since 2007 in a number of roles including as the coordinator of the 2nd Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas, non-game bird biologist and currently as the coordinator of the Delaware Bayshore Initiative. Having traveled to a number of states for birding, Anthony’s true passion lies in pelagic trips, especially in the Mid-Atlantic region. Currently president of the Delmarva Ornithological Society, Anthony leads a number of trips for the club.  In addition, he is a member of the Delaware Birds Records Committee, compiler for the Middletown Christmas Bird Count and participates annually in the Delaware Bird-A-Thon along with teammate Chris Bennett and others.  Anthony lives in Middletown, Delaware with his wife Kim, daughter Kayla and son TJ.

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Bri Panos is the Coastal Avian Biologist for Audubon Mid-Atlantic. Growing up in South Florida, her love for nature and birds was able to flourish due to her proximity to the Everglades and the ocean, helping her solidify a desire to work with animals in some way. She completed her undergraduate at the University of Florida where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree studying Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Following her graduation, she traveled across the United States, taking seasonal field jobs studying various birds, like the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow and the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. She then went on to complete a Master of Science degree at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville, where she studied avian use of agricultural cover crops. She joined the Audubon Mid-Atlantic team in 2023 and has been working alongside her colleagues and partners to help protect and restore Maryland’s salt marshes. When she isn’t birding, she is spending time with her partner, Anthony, and their dog, Ollie, and cat, Milo.

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Cheryl Hogue has been birding since getting hooked in a college ornithology course. She leads field trips at MOS conferences and for the Montgomery Bird Club. With Mark England, Cheryl has developed and taught a training class in best practices for leading bird field trips.

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Chris Bennett was born and raised near Schenectady, New York (near the eastern end of the Mohawk River Valley in east central New York – it wasn’t Upstate New York to him!). He earned a BS degree in Zoology from the State University of New York at Oswego. His interest in birding was born on the icebound shores of Lake Ontario during his Junior year in College. Chris has worked as a naturalist and environmental educator in New York, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio and Delaware. He is currently the Environmental Stewardship Program Manager with Delaware State Parks. Chris birds most often the Delaware Bay shore region between Bombay Hook and Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuges. He has traveled a bit for birding in the eastern and western United States. His favorite birding areas outside of Delaware are the Adirondack Mountains of New York and South Florida. In addition to leading fieldtrips for the Delmarva Birding Weekends, Chris is a fieldtrip leader for the Delmarva Ornithological Society. He is a member of the Delaware Bird Records Committee, compiler of the Milford Christmas Bird Count and Regional Compiler for the Second Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas. Chris lives with his wife Karen near Milford, Delaware.

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Dave Wilson is the Maryland Development Manager for US Wind. He works closely with local stakeholders, businesses, and the community in the Ocean City area to make sure locals stay informed on the project. He is the former executive director of the Maryland Coastal Bays Program and a long-time resident of Worcester County and former business partner of Jim Rapp. Together they ran Delmarva Birding Weekends.

Wilson sits on the Maryland Sea Grant External Advisory Board and was recently appointed to the Critical Areas Commission by Governor Moore. Fluent in Spanish, he is the Vice President of Focus Conservation Fund based in South America and was both the Breeding Bird and Amphibian & Reptile Atlas coordinator for Worcester County as well as the former president of the board of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership. He is an avid fisherman, ultimate frisbee player, and former Legion baseball pitcher. Dave holds a BS from Penn State University and an MA from Boston College. He lives just outside of Berlin with his wife who is a professor in the Geography Department at Salisbury University.

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David Curson has worked as Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon in Maryland (now Audubon Mid-Atlantic) since 2004, covering many aspects of bird conservation in the state. These include leading efforts to protect, manage and monitor bird habitats across Maryland’s network of Important Bird Areas. Dave leads Audubon’s coastal program in Maryland, partnering with a wide variety of organizations to implement projects to prevent the loss of saltmarshes to climate-driven sea level rise and to safeguard endangered beach-nesting seabirds. To this end, Dave co-chairs the Delmarva Restoration and Conservation Network (DRCN)’s Restoration & Resiliency Operating Committee and is the project leader of the Marshes for Tomorrow initiative. Dave also teaches a graduate course in Ecology at Johns Hopkins University’s Environmental Science and Policy program. Dave completed his graduate studies in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his research focused on the ecology and behavior of the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird. He currently represents Audubon on the Management Board of the Atlantic Coast Joint Venture and the Management Committee of Maryland’s Dredged Material Management Program.

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Ellen Lawler is the former Vice-President of the Tri-County Bird Club. She joined the club in the late 1980’s shortly after moving to Salisbury, MD. Ellen retired from Salisbury University’s Biology Department in 2015; among the courses she taught at SU were Ornithology and Biology of the Vertebrates. Ellen actively participated the second and third MD Breeding Bird Atlases, leads field trips for the club and gives presentations on Delmarva’s birds to the club and other local organizations. Her enjoyment of birds extends to drawing and painting them. Her favorite summer yard bird is the sweet Gray Catbird!

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Ginny Walker was introduced to birdwatching in elementary school through a local 4-H club in rural Vermont and has been an enthusiastic birder ever since. She is the current Vice-President of the MOS Tri-County Bird Club, where she organizes club activities including speakers and field trips, participates in bird counts, volunteers for the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership’s Farmland Raptor Program, and leads field trips. She also teaches a series of beginner backyard bird ID classes in her local community. She feels very fortunate to have retired to the Eastern Shore where backyard birds include Herons, Egrets, and Bald Eagles!

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Helen Belencan & Gary Smith have been birding together in over 30 countries and for over 30 years on Chincoteague Island. They have seen nearly 70% of the nearly 400 species reported in eBird for Accomack County, Virginia. Helen’s spark bird was a prothonotary warbler seen along the Little Miami River in Ohio in the early 80’s, while Gary gave up his childhood BB gun for binoculars way back in the 60’s. Formerly residents of Frederick, MD, they began leading field trips for the Frederick Bird Club in 2021 and continue to do so. They also lead field trips for Birding Eastern Shore and enjoy helping visitors see beyond the ponies on Chincoteague Island and at the CNWR!

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Jared Parks, a native of the lesser-known northern Eastern Shore, is the Director Land Programs for the Lower Shore Land Trust where he works with landowners to preserve their properties from development. Previously, Parks spent 11 years doing similar work with the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. Jared has been birding nearly his entire life and participates annually in multiple bird counts. He has also competed with his brother and 3 other birders in Cape May’s World Series of Birding, winning the Cape Isle Cup twice. Parks began his more formal ornithological training by banding birds at the Damsite Bird Banding Laboratory in Kent County MD as a youngster and has banded birds and worked as a field technician and crew leader on bird population projects in MD, MO, WI, CO, and WA. Though it is not widely known by anyone, Jared actually enjoys many pastimes other than birding; including watching David Attenborough documentaries, reading books about birds, and fishing (fish are really just birds that have a talent for breathing under water and have scales instead of feathers). He lives with his partner, Tara, (who is still with him despite receiving binoculars as an engagement gift instead of a ring) just north of the great city of Salisbury.

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Jeremy Castle volunteers as Sanctuary Chair for the Maryland Ornithological Society, where he helps manage and conserve a network of bird sanctuaries across Maryland. A passionate birder, conservationist, and wildlife photographer, Jeremy enjoys sharing the connections between birds, their habitats, and the importance of land stewardship. He especially enjoys helping birders of all experience levels discover Maryland’s diverse birdlife while encouraging careful observation and an appreciation for the natural world. Jeremy also volunteers as a photographer for the National Parks Service. Jeremy’s work can be found on Instagram @jcastledc.

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Jim Brighton is a native of Maryland’s Eastern Shore who has spent the past 29 years working at Bachelor Point Boatyard in Oxford, continuing his family’s tradition of working on the water. Outside the boatyard, he is co-founder and president of the Maryland Biodiversity Project, a nonprofit dedicated to documenting and conserving the state’s rich biodiversity. He also works as a contractor for the University of Maryland’s UMCES Horn Point Laboratory, conducting rare plant surveys. As president of the Maryland Biodiversity Project, Jim manages field research projects and works to engage Marylanders in community science and nature education. Jim’s contributions to conservation have earned him recognition as the University of Maryland’s Chesapeake Champion (2017) and Maryland Conservationist of the Year (2019).

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Jim Green grew up near Reading PA and shortly after college found his way to Gaithersburg MD. In the early 1980’s he began birding seriously but primarily on his own. In 1995, Jim joined the Montgomery Bird Club. He was the Montgomery County coordinator for the MD second breeding bird atlas (2002-2006). He immediately became interested in the behavior of birds and enjoyed documenting breeding evidence. When this atlas was complete, Jim became a county lister and enjoyed birding and exploring throughout the state. 4.5 years ago, Jim and his wife moved to the Eastern Shore of MD. They now call Cambridge their home. Jim was very active in BBA3 and was able to bird and atlas in many counties. He had blocks in Montgomery and Washington Counties initially and after moving, atlased many blocks in Dorchester and Somerset. He also ventured to Allegheny and Garrett counties to block bust. Jim is enjoying the marshes of the Eastern Shore and considers himself lucky to live within 20 minutes of Blackwater NWR.

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Jim Rapp has been organizing birding events since 1995 through Delmarva Birding Weekends. Since 2017, he has helped organize birding events in Baltimore through Baltimore Birding Weekends. He is the Director of the Hazel Outdoor Discovery Center in Eden, MD. Jim is the current MOS Convention chair and field trip organizer. Jim’s first experience birding was in 1990, when he took Ellen Lawler’s Ornithology class at Salisbury University (scroll up for Ellen’s bio). On a field trip with Ellen’s class at Pemberton Park, he also saw his spark bird: a beautiful Scarlet Tanager! Jim loves to connect people to the wild birds and wild areas of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic.

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Jo Cox grew up in the UK, and although she was not a twitcher back then, both parents encouraged her love of the outdoors. A chance to become a visiting scientist at NIH brought her to Maryland in 1988 where the brightly colored local birds were soon noticed. She has been a member of MOS for ~25 years and is a Chapter Director for Montgomery County. In retirement, she been able to devote time to atlasing, bird counts as well as leading field trips. She enjoys many outdoor activities with her husband, often hearing and spotting birds from a kayak, bike, or cross-country skis.

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Kai Dickson is a 16-year-old birder from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and serves as President of the Carolina Young Birders Club. Since discovering birding in 2024, he has become an active young birder leader, helping introduce others to the hobby through field trips, youth programs, and birding events. Kai is passionate about sharing his enthusiasm for birds, conservation, and the outdoors, and looks forward to exploring the area’s birdlife with participants throughout the festival.

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Karlyn McPartland, D.V.M.: In December 2019 Karlyn’s daughter introduced her to this amazing new app – Merlin! This opened the world of birding for her and kick started her new passion.  Since then she has spent a great deal of her spare time prowling all over Maryland joining as many birding field trips as she could fit in, learning so much from so many Maryland birders willing to share their expertise! 

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A long-time birder for 39+ years, Kevin Graff began birding at nine when his family took him to the zoo. He leads many trips for the MOS. Kevin maintains field trip records that he submits to MDOsprey and eBird. Because of his hearing impairment, Kevin cannot bird aurally, but he makes up for that by his keen eyesight. Kevin likes leading walks because he can help people in their birding efforts, and he enjoys pointing out other creatures like butterflies, dragonflies, and amphibians. In his free time, he’s a veteran volunteer firefighter for over 29 years.

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Kim Abplanalp is the Bird Habitat Coordinator for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. They are one of 28 National Estuary Programs (NEP), that works toward the restoration and protection of “estuaries of National significance.” The Maryland Coastal Bay’s estuary consists of the five coastal bays of Maryland, from the Delaware line to the Virginia state line.  Originally from DE, Kim studied the behavior of horseshoe crabs for seven years in Lewes, DE.  It was her time in Cape Henlopen State Park and Fowlers Beach, DE, where she witnessed many a phenomenon, working every high tide night and day around the clock that she became more committed to the understanding and the preservation of birds. Currently her work with Maryland Coastal Bays Program (MCBP) includes restoration of nesting islands in the coastal bays and monitoring the successful Tern Raft Island, a joint project with DNR’s Wildlife Heritage Service and  Audubon Mid-Atlantic, of an artificial floating island in Chincoteague Bay for State-listed Endangered Common Terns.  Her work also includes efforts for our other two State-listed Endangered species, the Black Skimmer and Royal Tern, as well as monitoring and management of the waterbirds in the coastal bays.  

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Kim Check is the Director of Young Birder Programs for the American Birding Association, where she leads national initiatives that inspire, connect, and support the next generation of birders. A lifelong birder and nonprofit leader, Kim brings 25 years of experience developing youth education programs and building partnerships that connect birding with conservation, STEM, community, and career pathways. Before joining the ABA, she led bird walks for the U.S. National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, conducted bird research for The Nature Conservancy, and developed birding camps for Audubon. She is excited to help bring birders of all ages together at the MOS Convention.

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Kurt Schwarz has been a serious birder since 1994. He is a past President of the Howard County Bird Club, and was Conservation Chair for MOS 2008-2021. He is now Conservation Chair Emeritus. He leads 3-4 field trips per year for the Howard Chapter. He has birded on five continents and logged 1736 species. HIs Maryland list stands at 406 species. 

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Marcia Balestri was reborn in 1992 when her uncle from California came to visit her new home in the woods in Frederick, MD.  He revealed a knowledge developed since his childhood pointing out heretofore unseen and unheard denizens of the forest and fields flitting about in pursuit of prey and companionship. Until this revelation she hadn’t really existed in any dedicated form, having drifted aimlessly as a Federal government contractor supporting technical efforts in Energy and Environmental sciences relying on her academic background in Chemistry and Geology.

She spent hours and hours poring through literature and field guides trying to learn the language of birds and birders. It was a long arduous endeavor and after several years she started to feel as if she was becoming a journeyman birder. She served as President of the Frederick County Bird Club. She continued to grow in her avocation, eventually traveling all seven continents and oceans and visiting over 90 countries to compile her world list.  She graduated to the President of the Maryland Ornithological Society for a term and served several times on the Maryland State Records Committee. She delights in leading field trips, so please come share her enthusiasm for the beauty and whimsy that are birds.

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María-Elena Montero was raised in Takoma Park, Maryland, where she first fell in love with the outdoors. An avid birder, María-Elena is an advocate for equity and accessibility in public spaces. She serves as the President of DC Bird Alliance where her infectious energy is infused in the creative events she plans to advocate for birds. María-Elena also serves on the board of Rodney’s Raptors, an organization working to build wellness through nature. María-Elena is a graduate of The University of Maryland at College Park and Howard University. You’ll find her teaching a yoga class, hiking, writing, or of course, birding … always looking up. Follow her on IG @thatbirdisme.

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Mark Scallion hails from New England but has lived of the shore longer than anywhere else.  He is the Executive Director at Pickering Creek Audubon Center and has held that position for over twenty years.  Significant changes to the Center’s habitats have occurred during his leadership for the benefits of birds and wildlife. He is a past president of the Talbot Bird Club.

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Mary Huebner is the Past-President of the Tri-County Bird Club, and a resident of Salisbury, MD. She is the past-President of the Allegany and Garrett Counties Bird Club. She is a retired librarian. She has been birdwatching since the mid-1980’s, starting in the Salisbury Bird Club, before moving out to western Maryland. Now back on the Eastern Shore, Mary enjoys living near the ocean, the rivers, and the beautiful marshes that make this place so special!

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Mary Lou Clark is a retired math teacher who came back to birding after a lapse of 20 years while raising her son. A past president of the Howard County Bird Club she now is the program chair of the club. She spends time listing but gets distracted by working on the Breeding Bird Atlas during the summer.

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Roberta Laynor retired in 2021 from a 35-year career in historic preservation to the Eastern Shore. She volunteers at her favorite happy place, Assateague Island, to fulfill a lifelong dream of helping rescued animals. Roberta cares for Assateague State Park’s ambassador animals, educates visitors in the park’s Nature Center, and serves on the board of the Friends of Assateague State Park (FOASP). Her historic preservation background comes in handy when talking about the remarkable history of Assateague. She proudly relinquishes control of her 100% wooded property to the birds, box turtles, deer, squirrels, voles, rabbits, snakes, and mycorrhizal network. Fairly new to birding, Roberta is adding to her Eastern Shore creature knowledge by attending as many Delmarva Birding trips as possible.

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Russ Kovach is a resident of Howard County, Maryland and is an Earth Science and Biology teacher at Hammond High School in Columbia. He’s been birding since he was a high school student in 1988. Russ is a former president of the Harford County Bird Club and guides many birding trips in the mid-Atlantic region for the Maryland Ornithological Society and Delmarva Birding Weekends. When not birding Russ enjoys photography, canoeing, and coaching softball, in addition to giving presentations to local organizations about birds and climate change.

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Sarah Kulis is a member of the Baltimore Bird Club and the MOS EDI committee. She has her degree in Wildlife Biology with focuses on Ornithology. Sarah has worked all over the country studying birds but her knowledge is not limited. She frequently gets side tracked by plants, insects, mammals, and herps. Sarah is very excited to bring her knowledge and experience to help some MOS field trips be accessible for all. 

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Steve McInnis leads & organizes field trips for the Sussex Bird Club (Delaware) and is the current vice-president. He is a former a board member of the Carolina Bird Club and organized two of their South Carolina weekend meetings (2016 & 2018). He has a world life list of 6,216 species. Steve retired from Westinghouse Electric Co. as a mechanical engineer and lives with his wife in Lewes, DE.

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Steve Sarro has a long history with birds. Steve has worked in numerous positions at accredited zoos including The Salisbury Zoo, The Maryland Zoo and the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. Having recently retired from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Steve relocated to the Eastern Shore and enjoys volunteering at Blackwater Wildlife Refuge and as well as assisting TriState Bird Rescue with capture and transport of ill and injured birds within our region. Steve enjoys participating in birding adventures on the Delmarva Peninsula and looks forward to meeting many new birders!

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Steve Sheffield is a field biologist and ecologist, and serves as Professor of Biology at Bowie State University in Bowie, MD.  His taxonomic expertise is in birds, mammals, and herps in particular. Steve has participated in various bird counts (CBCs, migratory bird counts, BBSs, BioBlitzes, etc.) for many years.  Regarding birds, he is especially interested in raptors, particularly owls.

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Sue Muller was raised in upstate New York. She had a passion for birds from a very young age, receiving her first pair of binoculars and the “Golden Guide to Birds” at the age of seven. She was troubled as a youngster not being able to see a Bald Eagle or Eastern Bluebird (NY state bird), she wanted to save the planet. This yearning steered her career path into Wildlife Management, receiving a BS in Wildlife Management from West Virginia University. Her career was spent working in Natural Resources in the Maryland piedmont, retiring on Earth Day of 2021 after a 40-year career. Her favorite accomplishments include serving as a County Coordinator for MARA (Maryland Amphibian Reptile Atlas), PARS (Pennsylvania Amphibian Reptile Survey) and the Maryland/DC Breeding Bird Atlas(3). She currently is a contributing editor for the Maryland Biodiversity Project.

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Tyme Anusonti-Inthra is a freshman at the Science and Mathematics Academy at Aberdeen High School and has been an active member of the Harford Bird Club for 10 years and the Youth Maryland Ornithological Society for 8 years. As a four-time winner in the youth elementary and carbon-free divisions at the World Series of Birding, he has demonstrated a sustained commitment to ornithology and conservation. In addition to birding, Tyme is an accomplished musician who plays violin and piano and has represented his county in the Maryland All-State Junior Orchestra. He enjoys fishing and mountain biking, serves as a family-friendly trip leader for the Harford Bird Club alongside his sister, Nara, and is the editor of the club’s newsletter, Wrenderings. He is also an educational speaker who presents at schools, libraries, and community venues throughout his county.

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Dr. Wayne Bell is Senior Associate and former Director of the Center for Environment and Society (CES) at Washington College. His birding includes education and outreach activities through CES, the Youth program of the Maryland Ornithological Society (YMOS), the Pickering Creek Audubon Center (Easton, MD), and the Chesapeake Forum continuing education program.

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Wayne Klockner is the executive director of the American Birding Association (ABA), the non-profit organization that provides leadership to birders by increasing their knowledge, skills, and enjoyment of birding. ABA is the only organization in North America that specifically caters to recreational birders. Prior to joining the ABA, Wayne enjoyed a 38-year career with The Nature Conservancy managing conservation programs in Maryland, Delaware, New York, Indonesia, and Massachusetts. Before his time with TNC, Wayne worked as a field biologist for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources surveying natural areas and assessing the impacts of development on coastal wetlands. Wayne, a resident of Ocean City, MD, has been a lifelong birder; the Dark-eyed Junco was his spark bird back in New Jersey, his home state.