Gabriele Drozdowski has worked with wildlife full-time since 1991, when a badly injured brown pelican was brought to her home during a severe El Nino weather event that caused thousands of seabirds to perish due to a food shortage.  Over the years Ms. Drozdowski has cared for over 3,000 injured, orphaned, oiled, and displaced seabirds and raptors.  In 1999,
working with Santa Barbara Audubon Society, she acquired Federal and State Permits to acquire formerly injured, non-releasable birds for educational purpose.

Since then, she has presented over a thousand live bird programs to over 25,000 community member, with an emphasis on reaching children in lower income areas of Santa Barbara.

A former professional family entertainer, Ms. Drozdowski combines live birds, science and storytelling, drawing on her decades of experience working with wild birds.

(Photo by Adam Lewis)