Locally-based Ornithologist Dr. Taza Schaming was appointed as a Research Associate in 2023, and has been assisting Dr. Jeremy Kirchman, NYSM Curator of Birds and Mammals, in our specimen preparation lab, turning salvaged birds into research specimens. Taza is a Wildlife Ecologist at Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, where she leads the Nutcracker Ecosystem Project (http://www.thenutcrackerecosystemproject.com).
Her exciting research, which aims to understand and conserve the unique mutualism between Whitebark Pine trees and the Clark’s Nutcrackers that nest in their branches and disperse their seeds, was featured in beautiful article in the current issue of Audubon Magazine! You can see our intrepid colleague in action at this link: https://www.audubon.org/news/stands-whitebark-pine-disappear-could-clark....
We’re grateful to Taza for sharing her expertise with our staff and the students we mentor in our labs, and for her help in growing the NYSM Ornithology Collection.
