Bowerbird is pleased to present a morning birdwalk at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum led by Debbie Beer, interspersed with two performances by violinists, Cleek Schrey and Carlos Santiago.

Please take note of the weather and dress accordingly with appropriate footwear.
Meet at the pavilion near the parking lot, there are toilets and a water fountain nearby.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Debbie Beer has been an avid birder for more than 20 years. She’s traveled to multiple countries and continents for birding, including Africa, India, Brazil and beyond. John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia – a short drive from home in Delaware County, PA – is Debbie’s favorite local patch, where she directs the annual “Big Sit” event and leads monthly bird walks. Debbie is fortunate to blend professional and personal interests while working for Natural Lands as Director of Volunteers. In that capacity she manages robust volunteer bird survey, nestbox monitoring, and land stewardship programs on Natural Lands properties. Debbie participates in the annual Christmas Bird Count, Philadelphia Mid-Winter Bird Census and other conservation initiatives. She is an avid eBirder, fellow of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC) and president of the Birding Club of Delaware County (BCDC). Debbie is passionate about sharing nature with others, supporting conservation, and advocating access to green space in a diverse, urban community.

Cleek Schrey is a fiddler, improviser, and composer from Virginia. He plays traditional music from Appalachia and Ireland and makes experimental work using composition, film, and field recordings. His work is preoccupied with the physical phenomena of vibrating strings and the histories and aesthetics of recording technologies. He collaborates with experimental composers such as David Behrman and Alvin Lucier and the downtown improviser Shelley Hirsch. Solo appearances include the Big Ears Festival (Knoxville), SuperSense Festival of the Ecstatic (AUS), and the Kilkenny Arts Festival (IE). He is a 2021-2022 Jerome Foundation Artist in Residence at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn.

Carlos Santiago was born and raised in Philadelphia and was educated at The Hartt School of Music and Temple University. Approaching music from multiple standpoints, Carlos has relished performing in a wide variety of musical settings and styles such as the multi – disciplinary Bismuth String Quartet, the complex mathematical compositions of the rock band Normal Love, soloing with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, playing Tango, Salsa, and Afro-Caribbean jazz with Sonic Liberation Front, or Roma jazz with BeauDjango. Past teachers include John Blake, Diane Monroe, Yusef Lateef, Adolf Sandole, Louis Lanza, and Nicholas Mann. Sharing the unity of all of these types of music is the driving force behind his passion for sonic exploration.

Organized in collaboration with World Askew