Rich Kostecke

Joined: Nov 13, 2014 Last Active: Mar 28, 2024 iNaturalist

Hi,

I am a professional conservation biologist/ecologist/ornithologist currently working for Hill Country Conservancy in central Texas. Over my career, I have the opportunity to travel the state working on a variety of conservation-related activities (conservation planning, endangered species, land management, land protection, research & monitoring) in some amazing and diverse places. Projects are helping to to conserve a resilient & connected network of lands in Texas (an adaptation to climate change), pine forest system health in the Davis Mountains, post-delisting monitoring of Black-capped Vireos, among others. I am currently an Associate Editor for ornithology for the journal American Midland Naturalist, and I serve as a peer-reviewer for a variety of scientific publications or assessments. I am also active in citizen science (I run a Breeding Bird Survey [BBS] route in McCulloch Co., co-lead/participate in several Christmas Bird Counts [CBCs] across the state, and am the eBird reviewer for Terrell and Williamson counties, TX) and outreach (e.g., I present to a variety of groups/organiztions and guide at the Davis Mountains Hummingbird Celebration and Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, as well as on request for various conservation NGOs). My home base is Austin, TX. I am an avid photographer and traveller (foreign and domestic). My primary interest has always been birds, but I quickly got interested in both butterflies and dragonflies. I have always been opportunistically interested in amphibians, mammals, and reptiles, as well as plants (I am a native plant gardener). Recently, particularly after the purchase of a macro lens and influence from friends (like ecarpe), I have gotten interested in moths.

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