Dr. Anna Lello-Smith – February 2027

7:00 pm, Tuesday, February 9, 2027
Linder Theater, American Museum of Natural History
Enter via the West 77th Street Entrance, between Central Park West and Columbus Ave., New York City
Free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

AMNH security requires registration for after-hours programs. Click here to register for in-person attendance. Please register at least a day before the event.

You can also attend online via Zoom.
Click here to register for the Zoom webinar.

From Central America to Central Park: Restoring the Forests That Bring Our Birds Home

Each spring, New York’s parks fill with the color and song of migratory birds returning from the tropics. But many of the birds we welcome back—from Broad-winged Hawks to Wood Thrushes to warblers—depend for much of the year on forests thousands of miles away. Drawing on new research using eBird, Anna Lello-Smith will follow the connection from Central Park to Central America and explore just how important Mesoamerica’s Five Great Forests are for migratory birds that breed in New York and beyond. These forests are essential to dozens of migratory species, as well as for carbon, water, iconic wildlife like jaguars, and local communities. Yet they are under intense pressure from deforestation, illegal cattle ranching, and fire. Through examples from Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras, Anna Lello-Smith will share how the Wildlife Conservation Society and partners are working to protect and restore these vital forests, and to keep the extraordinary phenomenon of bird migration alive.

Anna Lello-Smith is the Avian Conservation Coordinator for WCS’s Mesoamerica and Western Caribbean program, WCS Bronx, and is based in Seattle, where she leads collaborative projects that combine bird conservation, ecological monitoring, and applied science in support of habitat protection and restoration. Much of her work focuses on how birds can help us understand whether conservation and restoration efforts are truly working. She joined WCS in 2023 after completing her PhD in avian ecology at Cornell University and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Her path to WCS began in the Selva Maya of Guatemala, where her doctoral fieldwork brought her into collaboration with WCS Guatemala on studies of tropical birds and forest restoration. Originally from western Massachusetts, she now enjoys hiking in Washington’s mountains and forests, cooking with friends, and taking her otherwise indoor cat Luna outside on a leash for bird-friendly walks.

For more information, see the webpage From Central America to Central Park.