e
Leslie Holzmann
Leslie Holzmann has been taking photographs since she was given her first Brownie camera at age five. Her favorite subjects include landscapes, botanicals, and all forms of wildlife—especially birds and her three young granddaughters.
She combines her background in education and biology with her passion for photography, hoping to share with others her joy and delight in creation.
You can check out her photos at blog.Mountain-Plover.com.
Debbie Barnes-Shankster
Debbie Barnes-Shankster has been birding and photographing birds for well over a decade. She teaches raptor identification classes around the Pikes Peak region, including at the Colorado State Raptor Monitors and at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, where she volunteers. She is a popular field trip leader for our local Audubon chapter, the Aiken Audubon Society. In addition, Debbie is the author of a photographic field guide, The Birds of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, which supplements her popular birding class there.
Heidi Eaton
Heidi Eaton has loved to draw since she was a child, and in college fell in love with watercolor painting after taking a course in the medium. Her favorite subjects have always been animals, and in the years after college, Heidi started doing scratchboard art, which is especially great for the fur and feathers of the animals she loves. Heidi retired last year from zoo keeping at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where she was a great ape keeper for 26 years. She and her husband, Eric, moved to Leavenworth, KS to be close to Heidi’s parents. Heidi will have a table at Birds & Brews with some of her artwork and prints for sale.
Mile High Bug Club
The Mile High Bug Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of Colorado insects, arachnids, and other arthropods. They aim to develop awareness and encourage interest in Colorado arthropods; and support the protection of these creatures and their environments.
Tena and Fred Engelman
Tena and Fred Engelman have observed, photographed, and studied hummingbirds for more than 20 years. As volunteer citizen-scientists, they accomplish an inventory and monitoring survey of hummingbird populations for Rocky Mountain National Park. They enjoy describing the results of their studies and presenting information about the hummingbird family. Both Tena and Fred have current federal and state bird banding permits.
Dr. Brian D.Linkhart
Dr. Brian Linkhart has been studying Flammulated Owls since he was a graduate student.
The Flammulated Owl is as small as a fist and reticent enough to disappear into the shadows of western forests. Considered the country’s leading expert on Flammulated Owls, Brian has been studying the demography and habitat requirements of this small raptor on the Manitou Experimental Forest since 1981. His aim is the development of conservation plans for forest ecosystems containing this and other sensitive species. With this extended period of study, Brian has been able to uncover some fascinating secrets about this species.
Dr Linkhart has been a Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Ecology at Colorado College since 2001, where he teaches field courses in Ornithology, Ecology, and Field Biology.
Mark Izold
Mark Izold has taught at Pikes Peak Community College for the past 17 years. Previously he taught at the Maricopa Community Colleges of the Phoenix, Arizona region and at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He specializes in micropaleontology and holds a BS and MS in the Geological Sciences.
Wild Things
The Wild Things Outreach Program is a volunteer group of dedicated students from the Zookeeping Technology program at Pikes Peak Community College. Wild Things allows students to gain extra hands-on experiences with a variety of educational animals while practicing their interpretive, public speaking skills. The students accepted into the Wild Things Program have completed the program’s prerequisite courses and are well prepared to provide any group with a fun, educational and interactive experience!pace
Diana Miller: The Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center
Diana’s fascination and passion for birds of prey started the day she met Buddy, the Great Horned Owl. That was August of 1985 when she arrived at the Greenway & Nature Center of Pueblo Nature (now the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center) to do an internship in environmental education. In 1987 she took the position of Administrative Assistant with the GNCP. She became the Raptor Center Director in July, 1989. For more than 30 years she has dedicated her career to the pursuit of quality rehabilitation care of wildlife, especially birds of prey. Diana also puts equal energy into educating the public about our native raptors and wildlife in general.
Jeremy Agnew
Jeremy Agnew, an author of several books, has been a volunteer with Colorado Parks and Wildlife almost 30 years. During that time, he has gained a wealth of knowledge about Colorado’s 900+ vertebrate species. As an instructor for the former Watchable Wildlife program, he has doe numerous presentations on wildlife and other topics at state parks throughout southeastern Colorado.
Pat Cooper
Twelve years ago, Pat Cooper retired from a career in banking and joined the Colorado Parks and Wildlife volunteer organization at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Her interest in plants began when she participated in a native plant class that was offered at the park. After receiving her Colorado Native Plant Master accreditation, Pat has since taken various continuing education classes about native plants. In addition, to leading many wildflower hikes at the park, Pat is an active member of the Colorado Native Plant Society Chapter of Southeastern Colorado. Her other interests/endeavors include birding, raptor monitoring, hiking and serving on the Board of The Friends of Cheyenne Mountain State Park.
David Rudin
David Rudin grew up exploring the hills and valleys of the northern Appalachian Mountains right outside his backdoor in southwest Pennsylvania. He was catching salamanders and crayfish in the creek, fishing for bullhead catfish at Blackburn’s Pond, and disappearing into the canopied forest every chance he got. He has been a teacher for over 20 years, both as a public school elementary teacher and an environmental educator. David has been leading guided birding hikes in the Pikes Peak region for over ten years and has birded across the United States and in Mexico and Central America. Exploring the natural world and sharing it with people is his passion!
Jessica Miller
Jessica is the Interpretive Program Coordinator for Fountain Creek Nature Center. She hosts a variety of environmental education field trips and public programs including Jr. Bird Club and the Fountain Creek Adult Birding Club. Her birding obsession took off while working as a naturalist along the South Carolina coast where she led birding tours by pontoon, kayak, bicycle, and foot. She feels extremely lucky to now work in El Paso County’s #3 birding hotpot, Fountain Creek Regional Park, and loves exploring the Pikes Peak region’s multitude of birding spots on her weekends.
Diana Beatty
Diana Beatty is an educator at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs School District 11 with degrees in physics and education. She currently serves as secretary on the board of the Colorado Field Ornithologists (CFO) and has led field trips for both CFO and Aiken Audubon of Colorado Springs.
Colin Woolley
Colin is with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. It was while doing bird surveys in the wild lands of California in 2004 that Colin realized he could turn an interest in birds into career. He completed a B.A. in conservation biology at Prescott College in 2006, then worked a myriad of field jobs throughout the Americas before returning to school.
Colin moved to Colorado in 2013 and completed a M.S. in Biology at CU Denver studying Mountain Plovers. He has worked with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies since 2018, coordinating the bird-banding program and working outside in the field as much as possible.
Irene Shonle
Irene Shonle is the Horticulturist for CSU Extension in El Paso County. She works extensively with native plants, and speaks regularly in classes and workshops around the state.
Mel Goff
Mel Goff has been birding the Front Range since 2003 when he attended beginning birder classes offered at Fountain Creek Nature Center. Along with his wife, Jeanne, he has birded every county in Colorado, every state in the United States and 30 different countries. Mel was an early adopter of eBird entering his first checklist in 2005. He has worked with the Pikes Peak Birding & Nature Festival since its inception and is active in local birding groups.
Scott Somershoe
Scott is originally from near Philadelphia, PA and attended college at Millersville University. After college, he moved to Statesboro, GA where he got his Master’s in Biology at Georgia Southern University. He lived and worked in the southeast for 17 years before moving to Colorado in 2015. He works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as land bird coordinator the the Mountain-Prairie Region.
He supports conservation and research on declining birds like Sprague’s Pipit, Thick-billed and Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Baird’s Sparrow, and Pinyon Jay. He and his wife have a daughter in 4th grade and 5 year old twin boys. He periodically takes out his guitar and plays songs until the kids complain, which doesn’t take too long.
Pikes Peak Birding & Nature Festival 