<strong>Michael Hurben</strong> is uniquely qualified to guide the curious through the exotic habitat where physics and birding intersect. He earned his PhD in physics from Colorado State University in 1996 and has accumulated a life list exceeding 5,000 bird species – despite being legally blind. His career has included award-winning teaching at the college level and decades of cutting-edge, nanoscale engineering in the high-tech magnetic recording industry. He and his wife Claire live in Minnesota.