11/06/13 bdb local

Bird migrations across the seasons, with a focus on their wonders and risks, will be the subject of the next Science Café, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at Gella's Diner, 117 E. 11th.

"Changing Seasons -- Migration Marvels and Migration Risks" is sponsored by Fort Hays State University's Science and Mathematics Education Institute, directed by Dr. Paul Adams, SMEI director and FHSU's Anschutz Professor of Education and a professor of physics.

The café will inform the audience on the complexities of certain birds' migration patterns, the "wonders of long-distance travel by tiny creatures," according to café host Dr. Greg Farley, a professor of biological sciences. "Kansas is a good place to witness the annual event." He will also bring the greatest risk in contemporary avian migration: a housecat. The Smithsonian Institute estimates that between 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds are killed by cats per year.

Instead of one professor delivering a long speech, the format of the event allows lively discussion in an open forum. Admission for the Science Café is free. The café will be in the back room at Gella's.