Avery, Michael L., 2018

Michael L. Avery was born July 17, 1947 in Annapolis, MD. He attended Johns Hopkins University, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering in 1969. He subsequently worked for 2 years for Western Electric Company in Baltimore, but decided he didn’t want to be an engineer so went back to school to become a wildlife biologist. In 1972, Mike was accepted as a graduate student at NDSU in Fargo. Mike’s graduate work included field work documenting flight behavior and mortality of nocturnal migrants at a Coast Guard communication tower in southeastern North Dakota.

After graduating with a MS in Zoology in 1974, Mike joined the Peace Corps, serving in Malaysia (1975-1977) to investigate the impacts of birds to rice crops. That was also when he met his wife, Joy. In 1978, he joined the National Power Plant Team in Ann Arbor, MI, as a wildlife biologist. This group was part of the USFWS Office of Biological Services.

Mike’s previous field experiences in North Dakota and in the Peace Corps convinced him to seek a research position, which required a PhD. So he resigned from the FWS and went back to school in 1980, this time at the University of California-Davis. His PhD research concerned parent-offspring interactions in house finches. In the summers Mike worked for the DWRC’s Dixon, CA, field station quantifying blackbird damage in sunflower fields. After receiving his degree in 1983, he worked part-time 2 years for the National Park Service conducting seasonal bird community surveys at Pinnacles National Monument in central California.

Mike was hired by DWRC as the Project Leader for the Gainesville, FL, field station in January 1987. He is recognized nationally and internationally for his work and expertise in a number of wildlife management areas including avian collisions with manmade structures (towers, powerlines, etc.); avian damage to grain and fruit crops; repellents and chemical deterrents; avian contraception methods; vulture management and roost dispersal; monk parakeet population management; and research on invasive species, including Burmese pythons, spiny-tailed iguanas, and common mynas. Mike retired from the NWRC on December 23, 2017.