Staerkel Planetarium to Present Birdwatching Lecture

Bird photography returns to the William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College later this week.

Bird photography returns to the William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College later this week.

Avid local birder Jeffrey Bryant presents a James Kaler Science Lecture titled "Birds of Spring " on Friday, February 23, at 7 p.m. Tickets for Kaler Lectures are $2 or are free for the Friends of the Staerkel Planetarium.

Bryant frequently travels around Champaign County and beyond to observe and photograph birds. His selection of images will be displayed through the planetarium's Digistar projection system. His wife, planetarium producer Waylena McCully, will display the photos as a gallery across the dome and offer flyover views of the regions where each photo was taken. The theme, “Birds of Spring,” highlights how the plumage of many bird species changes between the seasons.

Bryant earned a BS and MS in Physics at Ball State University. He works for Wolfram Research and posts about visualizations of astronomical phenomena using the Wolfram Language.

Please visit parkland.edu/planetarium for the show schedule or call 217/351-2568 for information about booking the dome.