Meet Our 2026 Speakers
The Headlands Birding Festival features a diverse lineup of birding experts, naturalists, and conservation leaders who share their knowledge and passion for the natural world. Our speakers cover topics such as bird identification, migration, conservation issues, and habitat preservation—offering valuable insights for birders of all levels.
keynote speaker
Peter Kaestner
The First to 10,000 Birds
Friday, September 18 • 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Separate ticket required
Peter Kaestner is an American retired diplomat and amateur ornithologist who most recently served as the chief of the Consular Section at the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt, Germany.
With a life list of more than 10,002 birds, Kaestner, in April 2023, weeks before turning 70, beat the world record of bird species seen in the wild. In February 2024, with his sighting of an orange-tufted spiderhunter on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, Kaestner became the first person to see 10,000 bird species anywhere in the world.
Festival Speakers
David Kriska
Ph.D Restoration Ecologist
David joined the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in 2003, working for the Natural Areas Division, where he specializes in rare plant and animal surveys, community ecology, and habitat restoration. The Natural Areas mission is to protect the region’s rarest species and habitats. Today, the Museum stewards 66 scientific Natural Areas spread across 12,500 acres. Each Natural Area contains unique habitats, such as old-growth forests, marshes, bogs, swamps, and fens. These special places represent the last remaining refuges in our bioregion, as many are globally rare, and together protect 275 different kinds of endangered, threatened, or rare plant and animal species.
Jamie Cunningham
Birding Tour Guide
Jamie Cunningham leads birding and photography tours for Sabrewing Nature Tours, guides photography tours on five continents, and greatly enjoys helping others connect with wildlife through birding and photography. Jamie’s passion for birds and wildlife led her from casual birding to an award-winning career in bird photography. Her images have appeared in numerous publications and have been featured in a solo gallery exhibit. Jamie is the Education Director at Black Swamp Bird Observatory, is the statewide coordinator for Black Swamp Bird Observatory’s Ohio Young Birders Club, serves as speaker coordinator for The Biggest Week in American Birding, and organizes the festival’s accessible field trips.
Cole DiFabio
Birding Tour Guide
With over 15 years of birding experience in Ohio, I am well-versed in field identification by sight and sound. I enjoy seeing as many species as possible while out birding, but also spending time studying the birds as well. When guiding or birding with others, it is my goal to get everyone great looks at even better birds! Good birding!
Killian Sullivan
Young Ohio Birder
Killian is a 14-year-old birder from Columbus, Ohio. His birding passion began with a Steller’s Jay in Lake Tahoe, and his love for birds continues to grow each day. Birding complements his love for travel, adventure, and rock climbing. His favorite destinations are southeast Arizona, New Jersey’s Cape May, Ohio’s North Coast, and any pelagic. At home, he loves observing one of his favorite birds – the Carolina Wren. Killian was recently recognized as Young Birder of the Year by the American Birding Association and has observed over 730 species in the United States.
Mike Watson
Conservation Biologist
Mike Watson is the Conservation Biologist at the Holden Arboretum. His work focuses primarily on conservation issues related to wildlife populations and communities, though he works closely with other staff on a variety of other conservation projects. Mike oversees several long-term wildlife monitoring projects, including breeding bird surveys and acoustic bat surveys, and coordinates Holden’s cavity nesting bird conservation program, which typically produces close to 1000 fledglings per year.
Connor Fox
Birding Tour Guide
Connor Fox is the founder of FoxC Birding, a Southwest Ohio–based guiding service focused on helping birders of all levels sharpen their skills in the field. A passionate and dedicated birder of over 20 years, Connor completed an ambitious goal of observing over 600 species across just six trips in the lower 48 during 2024. When not birding, Connor manages a Wild Birds Unlimited in West Chester and Springboro, Ohio. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, cat, and backyard birds.
Garry S Gerrone
Naturalist
Gary S. Gerrone is a Naturalist, Writer, Musician, Bird Caller, Father of Twins, and a Relator of Things. He served as the award-winning Naturalist Supervisor for most of his 30+ year career with the Lorain County Metro Parks, then added five years as the Recreation Director for the City of Avon Lake, two years as the Marketing Manager for Cabala’s Avon store, and six years as the Manager of Geneva and Headlands Beach State Parks. Gary’s writing resume includes over 500 published pieces, including his long-running nature column and the authoring of the book Lorain County Metro Parks: The First Fifty Years. Gary is a highly regarded birder and well-known for his bird calls, as well as his historical musical presentations. 2025 found Gary entering the strange world of retirement. Still busy, however, he now focuses on birding, writing, presenting, and trying to figure out how to secretly turn his granddaughter into a birder.
Doug Overacker
Birder and eBird Reviewer
I got my first bird field guide in 1970 but really didn’t start birding seriously until 1975 when I joined the Clark County Audubon Society. After a couple of years, I was leading some of the bird walks. I am still leading bird walks in the Clark County area. I have also led bird walks for the local park district and taught bird ID classes for them a couple of times. I have birded around the country and in a few other countries. I became an eBird reviewer in 2017 when the need for more eBird reviewers became necessary because so many more checklists were being submitted. I am still the eBird reviewer for five counties, including Clark County and some neighboring counties.