Los Angeles: Birdwatching with Star Trek stars

My sister-in-law Mary Loquvam is organizing a fantastically geeky fundraiser for the Los Angeles Audubon Society on May 9 involving bird watching and, er, Star Trek. To celebrate LA Audubon's 100th anniversary, the group is hosting a week-long "Bird A Thon" where you can sign up on a team to visit hot birding spots in the area with an experienced birder. The teams will compete to see who can spot the most species. Mary is pals with John Billingsley of Star Trek: Enterprise and he kindly gathered some of his Trek friends to form the Bald(ing) Eagles of Star Trek Team. For a $150 donation to Audubon, 30 people will spend the afternoon birding with Billingsley, Armin Shimerman (ST: Deep Space Nine), Robert Picardo (ST: Voyager), and Ethan Phillips (ST: Voyager), eating a catered lunch, and then celebrating at the LA Audubon's Centennial bash. The deadline to reserve a spot is May 1. (The bird above is a Solitary Sandpiper.)

Bald(ing) Eagles of Star Trek, Special Birdathon 2010 Team Invitation

• [mgfarrelly]

  Oh goodness, this sounds like a SNL sketch.

  Trekkie: Mr. Picardo
  Picardo: I think I see a spotted-
  Trekkie: Mr. PICARDO!
  (Bird flies off)
  Picardo: What! What is it?
  Trekkie: In episode 124, when The Doctor-
  Picardo: Please tell me someone brought a gun?

• [dbarak]

  Apparently long-term exposure to dilithium crystals leads to hair loss. Pity…

• [Morrigan]

  Dammit. 3,000 miles too far.

  *pouts with Talia*

• [Chris R]

  Wow…a great outing…and a minimal donation to a great cause for 30 people to spend time birding. Sorry we missed the opportunity.

  http://www.outdoornatureresource.com/birding_optics.html

• [doggo]

  Why do those guys all look so similar…?

  • [Anonymous]

    It’s a problem with the Replicators, sorry.

  • [tubgull]

    All white guys look the same.

• [Anonymous]

  For what it’s worth, the bird is a Short-billed Dowitcher rather than a Solitary Sandpiper.

• [License Farm]

  By rights Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks and, dare I think it, Shatner ought to be part of this “balding eagles of Trek” club.

• [semiotix]

  This is awesome on its face, but it’s somehow perversely more awesome that it’s all supporting characters from the less popular spinoffs.

  “Hey, kids! Would you like to go on a jungle safari with Captain Picard and Mr. Spock?!”
  “YAAAAAAY!”
  “Well then have I got exciting yet relatively disappointing news for you!”

• [Gloria]

  Oh, man, Robert Picardo. He co-hosted a symphony concert of Star Trek music with John de Lancie here in Toronto and he is a fantastically entertaining man.

• [Talia]

  Neat idea. Wrong coast (for me) though.

  *pout*

• [IWood]

  To me, Armin Shimerman will always be the principal who gets eaten by the giant mayoral snake demon.

• [David Pescovitz]

  Corrected the bird image. Thanks all!

• [Brainspore]

  Klingon Bird of Prey? Check…
  Romulan Warbird? Check…

• [wanderingfalcon]

  I am pretty sure that’s a dowitcher and not a solitary sandpiper…
  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Long-billed_Dowitcher/id

  • [Anonymous]

    Probably a short-billed dowitcher, not a long-billed (the markings on the flanks, below the wings). But most of the time it’s truly hard to tell.