Gail McNab & Betty Petersen next guests on BirdCallsRadio

Gail Eleanor McNab, an ABA Birders’ Exchange international intern who describes herself as an “Outgoing, friendly, hardworking, Creole woman,” and Betty Petersen, Director of the ABA Birders’ Exchange program, will be the next guests on BirdCallsRadio coming up from 1 to 2 p.m. this Sunday November 4th, on “Worldwide Listen Live“.

Betty Petersen has worked in

collaborative efforts with Bill Getty of Mass Audubon Society, Joppa Flats for the past 8 years to help make the ABA Birders’ Exchange/Massachusetts Audubon Society International Intern Program the success that is today. In a statement, Petersen is thrilled beyond words and is delighted to have Gail McNab, the first international young women as this years international ambassador from Belize in the program.  The goal of the program is to develop natural history and conservation ambassadors, and support ecotourism and conservation in the interns’ home countries.

Gail’s passion for nature and birds—a passion which has led her to become this year’s international ambassador for conservation and education under the ABA Birders’ Exchange/Massachusetts Audubon Society International Intern Program in September 2012.  Gail enjoyed her seven-days-a-week courses that involve long hours of study, field trips, speaking to local students and the public, earning a certificate in bird ecology.

McNab was born in Belize City on the Caribbean coast of Central America with her six siblings (five brothers). She spent most of her summers in the outdoors playing sports and going on expeditions with her brothers.

“Growing up in Belize City had it ups and downs just as any other place in the world but what was really difficult was the fact that the only area where we had to play and where there were a little biodiversity was at the edge of the City, which was also the end of the cemetery,” she wrote. “However, just beyond the cemetery were miles of trees and as a child a small area at the end of the cemetery was where all our expeditions in the forest took place.”

She majored in chemistry and biology at high school and, after sitting in on an environmental class in college, made that the focus of her studies. She changed colleges and studied natural resource management for four years at the University of Belize. Her interest in birds started during an Introduction to Mist Netting and Bird Banding course. She was one of seven student in the class.

After her bird course Gail was a member of the Bird group in her Introduction to Rapid Ecological Assessment class. The goal of the project was to rapidly assess the species richness of bird in the Five-Blues Lake National Park where the group carried out a point count in the part of the park being assessed. We stood at each point for a total of ten minutes and noted the species of bird either by sighting or calls. A year and a half later she also took part in a project for her Forest Ecology class in the Chiquibul Forest Nature Reserve.

Be sure to tune in for this fascinating show tomorrow, Sunday Nov 4th. Worldwide Listen Live“. Thanks for your support of BirdCallsRadio.

Due to Hurricane Sandy and severe power outages in this area, we were unable to post this until now.