** NOTE: Due to technical issues, we start while Gil's presentation is in progress. **
ABOUT OUR TOPIC: Native plants are essential to our avian species. They provide shelter, nesting material, and what the birds eat!
ABOUT OUR GUEST SPEAKER: Gil Eckrich was born in Germany and came to Texas in 1964. Upon graduation from college in 1970, he entered the U.S. Army as an officer in the Infantry. Twenty years later, and with assignments around the globe, he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in Central Texas. After that, Gil taught state and federal government courses for Central Texas College until retiring from that position in August 2009. Until his most recent retirement in March of 2013, Gil had also been a wildlife biologist in Fort Hood’s Natural Resources Management Branch for 22 years. In that position he became knowledgeable about Central Texas native plants, their beauty, and their necessity for wildlife. Since his retirement, Gil has been traveling extensively in the US, Germany, Ecuador, Scotland, Alaska, Costa Rica, and most recently on his third trip to Colombia – always in search of a good photo of an elusive “lifer” bird species.
