ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz Prize Winner
Blake Mathys began birding at the age of 20. His interest in biology had previously focused entirely on mammals, but a trip with two friends to Killdeer Plains Wildlife Management Area in Ohio (pursuing a Northern Shrike) began his journey into the world of birds. In 2002 he completed a bachelor of science in biology, with a minor in field biology, at Ohio Northern University. After his undergraduate education, he worked as a field technician on Cape Sable Seaside Sparrows in Everglades National Park, as a hawk counter for HawkWatch International at the Chelan Ridge Raptor Migration Project in Washington State, and spent two months on the Farallon Islands studying Northern Elephant Seals for Point Reyes Bird Observatory.
Blake is presently a Ph.D. Candidate at Rutgers University in New Jersey. He studies rapid evolution of passerines introduced to islands, using a combination of museum and field data to determine whether any morphological changes have occurred in the time since new populations have been established. He conducts field work in Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Trinidad. Blake is hoping to finish his Ph.D. in May of 2009.