Avianweb Ambassadors & Contributing Nature Photographers

Avianweb Ambassadors / Species Consultants / Contributors

Veterinarians / Medical Professionals … Species Consultants … Photographers

Veterinarians / Medical Staff:

Dr. Friedman is a steadfast proponent of changing behavior through facilitation rather than force. These tools of facilitation focus on animals’ extraordinary biological capacity to learn by interacting with their environment.  She teaches that by changing the environment for success, animals learn to behave successfully. 

Dr. Friedman currently teaches Living and Learning with Parrots: The Fundamental Principles of Behavior to online and workshop students several times a year and is the first author on two recently completed chapters on learning and behavior for two new avian veterinary texts (in press, G. Harrison’s Avian Veterinary Compendium and A. Luescher’s Manual Parrot Behavior).

She is a core member of the California Condor Recovery Team and takes every opportunity to work with companion animal caregivers, veterinarians, animal trainers and zookeepers to empower and enrich the lives of all learners. 

Foremost in this interdisciplinary effort is her passion for and commitment to working with companion parrots and their caregivers.

Dr. Rob Marshall is a bird veterinarian in Australia with more than 25 years experience in treating birds. He has kept birds since the age of eight.

He kindly shared his knowledge with AvianWeb / BeautyOfBirds visitors in the areas of avian health, bird training and species-specific information.

• Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D. – Psychology Professor and Applied Behaviorist
• Dr. Rob Marshall – The Avian Veterinarian
• – Practicing Veterinarian in Gilbert, Arizona
    Dr. Patt is not only a renowned vet, but has been keeping birds for many years.Dr. Patt has published in the areas of bird health and bird training / behavioral modification.Those of you who are lucky enough to live in Gilbert, Arizona not only have access to the best possible bird health care, but can also improve their knowledge of bird care by attending her free pet care classes held at the Alta Mesa Animal Hospital.Registration through Mesa Community College. Dr. Patt’s commitment to bird welfare is second to none. AvianWeb is proud to list her as one of its Avian Ambassadors.

Species Experts / Consultants:

• David Jones – Chairman of the International Turaco Society: http://www.turacos.org/ .
    Species Consultant: Mr. David Jones has been keeping and breeding Turacos in aviculture for 20 years and is committed to education and conservation efforts. He provided a lot of valuable information on turacos.
• Laurella Desborough – Consultant – Eclectuses and Vasa Parrots
    Species Consultant: Laurella has been breeding exotic birds for over 20 years, including amazons, greys, cockatoos, brownheaded parrots, hawkheads and mini-macaws.She is specializing in Eclectus parrots and Vasa Parrots and has offered to share her expertise with less experienced pet owners. Her Website is: http://www.eclectusbreeder.com/.She is the current Legislative Coordinator for the National Animal Interest Alliance Trust, www.naiatrust.org, and Past President of the American Federation of Aviculture – AFA, www.afabirds.org.
   
• Mandy and Paul – Singing Wings Aviary –
  Species Consultant for and Breeder of rosellas, ringneck parrots, parrotlets, grasskeets, plumheads, canaries and finches (including rare mutations), doves – Tel. 479-293-4994 – Offers outstanding photos and great info on their website. Explains in detail the different mutations. Enjoyed their sound and video files. Great resource. e-mail: [email protected] or singing_wings
• Ric Flowers – Rand B Aviary
    Shared many wonderful photos and valuable information with AvianWeb visitors. He breeds many exotic birds including Yellow Naped Amazons, Blue Fronted Amazons, Panama Amazons, Double Yellow Headed Amazons, Yellow Shouldered Amazons, Red-Lored Amazons, White Fronted Amazons, Tucuman Amazons, Black Headed Caiques, White Bellied Caiques, Bronze Winged Pionus, and African Greys.

Nature / Wildlife Photography and Birding Consultants:

He is a lifelong outdoorsman who enjoys hunting, fishing, kayaking and hiking. He was raised near Gauley Bridge in West Virginia, but now lives with his wife and son in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains outside of Lenoir, North Carolina. Ken is a veteran of the US Army Airborne Infantry, who spent several years as a whitewater raft guide on the New and Gauley Rivers in West Virginia before moving into the construction industry. He now works as an occupational safety and health consultant, specializing in technology infrastructure.

“My interest in bird photography started with an utter and complete inability to identify any of the birds I saw. I always found that by the time I’d dug out the bird book I wasn’t able to remember enough details for a positive identification, so I decided to start taking pictures of the birds instead of just looking at them – that way I could take my time figuring out what they were. I ended up enjoying the photos so much that photography became a new hobby for me. “

For Ken, the primary appeal behind photography is how well it ties in with his other hobbies. He’s outdoors as often as possible, and wherever he is and whatever he’s doing, his camera is his constant companion. His website: http://www.kenthomas.us/

Kristen Westlake has devoted her life to holding the beauty of nature with her photography and sharing it with others. Westlake feels that her life has benefited greatly from the time and attention she has given to observing nature.

Her beautiful photos are breathtaking indeed and can be purchased in a variety of formats via her website. Any nature lover will be mesmerized by her spectacular presentations of nature itself.

Credits include: Wisconsin Trails Magazine, Nanpa’s Expressions 2007 print Journal, At the Lake Magazine, Whisper in the Woods Magazine, Lake and Country Magazine, Spirit Magazine, Outdoor Wisconsin television interview, 6 Degrees television interview.

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• Ken Thomas contributed numerous beautiful photos to the Avianweb
• Kristen Westlake – FIne Art Photographer of Nature and Wildlife
• Ron Toel – The Nature Photographer, Birding Consultant and Tour Guide Ron knows everything there is to know about nature photography and birding, and – fortunately for us – he doesn’t mind sharing his expertise with AvianWeb visitors.A sampling of his credits include Nature Photographer Magazine, many state DNR magazines including covers, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Journal of Health and Healing, several calendars and many brochures.WORKSHOPS and SEMINARS. Ron does informative workshops and seminars as an educational goal. Workshops are a hands on lessons with individual instruction. He really enjoys doing nature slide shows for youth groups. They include a slide show with questions encouraged at any time.
• Wayne Nelson – Stock Photography and Workshops of The Natural World
  nelsonearthimages.com
    Wayne contributed many wonderful photos as well as interesting tidbits about the different bird species. He also gives workshops and leads birding tours globally. His website (linked above) is worth a visit for those of us who share our deep appreciation for nature and photography.He began doing commercial photography and weddings many years ago in Colorado. He moved on to sports editorial photography for several years with auto racing being his specialty. In the late 1980s he switched to his first love, nature photography. He currently has about 50 thousand images in stock including wildlife, landscapes, abstracts, flowers, insects and some historic architecture. A sampling of his credits include. Outdoor Photographer, Time Inc., Birder’s World, Wisconsin Trails Magazine (including entire portfolio section ), Ecology Magzine ( including cover collage ), Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Pace Communications, Exclusively Yours (cover), Dall Posters, Brown Publishing (books), Nature Photographer 1st Annual (including cover photo ), Omnus Greetings, Teldon Calendars ( including covers), At The Lake Magazine ( including cover ), Western National Parks Association Books, Wisconsin Natural Resources (including cover, Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic Books, Rigby Education ( book ), Hardcourt Brace Books, Creation Magazine, Wisconsin Trails Calendars, The Humane Society, The Wilderness Society, Historic Preservation Magazine ( photo feature ), Birds and Blooms, Defenders of Wildlife, AAA Living and many others. Early auto racing credits included Stock Car Racing Magazine ( including cover) Open Wheel Magazine ( including two page spread) and thousands of newspaper credits.