Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival

2010 Festival Keynote Speaker & Special Guest Artist

Peter Harrison is this year's featured Festival Keynote speaker. Widely considered to be the world's foremost authority on seabirds, Peter Harrison has written and illustrated over a dozen books, of which Seabirds: An Identification Guide, is considered the bible of seabird identification. Peter is only one of a handful of authors to both write and illustrate bird books. Peter has led scientific research expeditions throughout the world, from the Arctic to the Antarctic and across the islands of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. One such expedition resulted in a 22-page profile article in the New Yorker magazine and highlighted the plight of the Short-tailed Albatross, once thought to be extinct and now one of the rarest of all surviving bird species. Co-founder of Eco and Zegrahm Expeditions based in Seattle, Peter still leads expeditions to all seven continents. He is also an ardent conservationist. His latest project is to help raise the US $2.5 million needed to eradicate rats from Henderson Island, an uninhabited makatea in the South Pacific and home to four endemic bird species. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the world of natural history and his dedication to conservation projects, Peter was recently honored with the title Member of the British Empire by her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

Patty Lekanoff-Gregory is this year's Special Guest Artist for the Festival. She is an Aleut Alaskan born and raised in Unalaska. Patty had the honor of learning the revived art form of making Aleut Bentwood hats and visors. This was a lost art and the hats and visors were only found in museums. Studying under the late Andrew Gronholdt, Patty has helped to revive the art and today she travels the state teaching.