Barbara PankratzBirding GuideFrom a young age, birds were always a part of Barbara’s life, from hummingbirds to owls to cedar waxwings that frequented her family home in the Hill Country town of Comfort. While in high school, her mentor introduced her to birding and she was hooked when she saw her first male painted bunting. But it wasn’t until 2000 when she visited the RGV during migration that she began looking at birds through new eyes. Barbara began participating in CBCs and later, after she retired from teaching in 2017, she became a Texas Master Naturalist and began participating in and leading bird surveys at local parks and ranches. Barbara graduated from Texas A&M and has combined her love of history, wildflowers, and birds into her overall birding experience. She enjoys identification challenges and studies of local birds. Barbara considers herself a lifelong learner and enjoys the science and education aspect of birding and nature. She was a founding member of the Uno Club – the goal being “one bird in every Texas county.” She has recorded birds in all 254 Texas counties. |
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Delaney KempfBirding BuddyDelaney Kempf is a birder from San Antonio, Texas. She spent four years on the Education Board of Mitchell Lake Audubon Center and specializes in all things birds. In her free time, she enjoys photography and hiking throughout the Texas Hill Country. In 2015, Delaney set out to do a Texas Photography Big Year and she has since gone out and birded Arizona, Colorado, and New York with some of the brightest minds in ornithology. Come learn about the foundations of birdwatching and how you can be a birder without ever leaving your neighborhood! |
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Liz TidwellProgram CoordinatorLiz is a Wildlife Program Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Originally from Pennsylvania, she has a B.S. from the University of Wyoming and an M.S. from Sul Ross State University, where she studied Montezuma quail in New Mexico. As a Program Specialist, she develops programs to help small acreage landowners manage the resources on their property. While Liz greatly enjoys birds, she also harbors a deep love for javelina, aka “potatoes”, and will squeal like a little girl whenever she sees one! |
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Rainey BinghamProgram CoordinatorRainey is the Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent for Real County, TX. She develops programs for agricultural producers, 4-H youth, and other members of the community. Rainey grew up in South Texas, and went on to earn her undergraduate degree in Agricultural Science from Texas A&M University, followed by a master’s degree in Agriculture at Angelo State University. Through her educational career, Rainey has worked for AgriLife Extension since 2018, and was an active member of 4-H in both Uvalde and Medina County. She and her family have a ranch in southern Atascosa County where they raise cattle. Rainey began her Birding with Extension adventure at Birding the Border 2023. By joining the team, she hopes to learn more about birds as well as eco- and agritourism operations, so she can better support her county. |
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Dani MillerCommunications & Event CoordinatorDani currently provides support to the Birding with Extension team through management of event communications, marketing efforts, and logistics. She previously studied conservation social science as a graduate student at Texas State University and worked as a wildlife biologist at the Stiles Farm Foundation for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. She has a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and a minor in Tourism Management from Texas A&M University, and first became interested in birding while working there as an undergraduate assistant for Dr. John Tomeček on his bobwhite quail PhD research in the Rolling Plains. She joined the Birding with Extension team for Birding the Border 2021 and has since assisted with multiple in-person and virtual programs, including Rio Diablo Birding Youth Camp and the Warbler Week seminar series. When not looking for birds and other wildlife while out in the field, Dani can be found cooling off in the nearest river or lake. |