Of Art, Science, and eBird - Johanna Beam, January 27, 2026

Описание: What do art, science, and eBird sightings all have in common? Johanna Beam will dive into her personal journey from teen naturalist to research scientist and everything in between. Johanna will talk about different ways scientists and illustrators use eBird data in their work, including how eBird data has shed light on species’ ranges and evolutionary history with Yellow-breasted Chat and Chihuahuan Meadowlark. Her story combines molecular genetics, field observations from her own field work and from sources such as eBird, and art to understand and explore bird evolution.

Dr. Johanna Beam is a postdoctoral research fellow at Colorado State and Texas Tech universities. She studies evolutionary genomics in birds and is also a scientific illustrator. As a high school student near Boulder, CO, Johanna got interested in a meadowlark that didn't look or sound quite right. This led her to study meadowlark genetics as an undergraduate at the University of Colorado Boulder, and to make a remarkable contribution to our knowledge of this family of birds. She continued her studies of bird evolution at Penn State University, where she received her PhD, and with the Bird Genoscape project at Colorado State and Texas Tech. She has a long history with Boulder Audubon, as a participant in the chapter's teen naturalist program and Audubon's teen bird camp at Hog Island, Maine, illustrating the good things that can happen when we bring youth together for enriching experiences in nature.