Bird migration program Jan. 4

ROSEBURG, Ore. – The Umpqua Valley Audubon Society and Roseburg Public Library invite the community to a Facebook Live streaming event with science writer Rebecca Heisman at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4.

Heisman will discuss her debut book, “Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration,” which tells the scientific story of how we know what we know about bird migration.

“Flight Paths” traces the development of each technique used for tracking migratory birds, from the first attempts to mark individual birds to the cutting-edge technology that lets ornithologists trace where a bird has been based on unique DNA markers. Along the way, Heisman touches on the biggest technological breakthroughs of modern science and reveals the almost-forgotten stories of the scientists who harnessed these inventions in service of furthering our understanding of nature (and their personal obsession with birds).

Heisman, who lives in eastern Washington, has contributed to such publications as Audubon, Sierra, Hakai Magazine, bioGraphic, Living Bird (the magazine of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and Bird Conservation (the magazine of the American Bird Conservancy). She also has worked for the American Ornithological Society, the world’s largest professional organization for bird scientists.

A moderated Q&A session will follow the presentation. Questions may be submitted before the event to Library staff at library@cityofroseburg.org or 541-492-7051. Alternately, viewers who have a Facebook account may post questions during the event by commenting on the live stream.

To view the live stream, go to Facebook.com/RoseburgLibrary. A Facebook account is not required.