Thursday, October 9, 2025
Speaker:
Bobby Harrison – “My search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker”
The struggle to prove the Ivory-billed Woodpecker still exists has obsessed believers and exasperated doubters for a century. Photographer Bobby Harrision has been working for decades to document the species once and for all before the government declares it extinct. He and Tim Gallagher, at the time the editor of Cornell Lab of Ornithlogy’s Living Bird magazine, were the last to see a bird that may have been an Ivory-billed during an expedition to the Big Woods of the Arkansas Delta in 2004. Harrison has captured video of what may have been an Ivory-billed since then, but the controversy continues—and he continues to search the swamps of eastern Arkansas to get a definitive image of the elusive bird.
Bobby Harrison is an award-winning nature photographer, speaker, writer and educator based in Huntsville, Alabama. Mr. Harrison holds a B.F.A. in Photography from Andrew’s University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and a M.S. in Media Technology from Alabama A&M University. He served as the Director of the Art Program at Oakwood University from 1992 until his retirement in 2022, holding the rank of Associate Professor. He is also a charter member of the North American Nature Photography Association and served on the Board of Directors from January 2001 to February 2004.
Mr. Harrison has published articles and photographs in various national and international magazines and calendars such as: Audubon, Living bird, Birder’s World, Wildbird, Nature’s Best, Bird Watchers Digest, Natural History, National and International Wildlife, American Photo, Birds and Blooms, Sinra, Outdoor Photographer, Outdoor and Travel Photographer, as well as other publications. Calendars include Birder’s World, Audubon, and Sanibel Island. He is currently a columnist for the magazine, Creation Illustrated.
His travels have taken him from the Pribilof Islands and the Alaska mainland to Venezuela, from the Arizona deserts to coastal Maine to photograph his favorite subject: birds. He has traveled widely throughout North America giving
presentations on birds and bird photography.
Mr. Harrison has published photographs and more than 100 articles in various national and international nature magazines. He is also one of the featured photographers in a thirteen-part television series entitled “Nature’s Best Photography”. His bird photography has garnered numerous awards including the 2021 Lucie Awards competition for wildlife photography, the 2018 Audubon Photography Awards top 100 images, and three awards in the widely acclaimed Nature’s Best International Photography Awards competition.
In 2005 Mr. Harrison was elected a Fellow of The Explores Club in New York City. On March 18, 2006 he, along with his colleague Tim Gallagher of Cornell University received The Explores Clubs Presidents Award for Conservation at their annual gala. This prestigious award is given for a significant contribution to science through exploration.
Look for the Zoom link in your email a few days prior to the meeting. The Zoom Room will open at 6:45 PM. Don’t wait until the last minute to sign on, you might be left out!
