Chad Witko

Chad Witko is a Specialist in Avian Biology at the National Audubon Society, where he advances data stewardship, scientific communication, and ornithological review for the Migratory Bird Initiative, a key endeavor of Audubon’s innovative conservation efforts. With over twenty years of field experience and a lifelong passion for birds, Chad is a nationally recognized ornithologist and birder with expertise in bird ecology, species distributions, migration, and vagrancy. He also has experience in bird banding, nest searching, migration counts, bird-friendly forestry, and science communication.

Chad’s work at Audubon focuses primarily on migratory bird conservation. He fosters impactful partnerships across the hemisphere to expand access to critical migratory bird data and enhance collaborative conservation efforts. He was a principal architect of the Bird Migration Explorer, Audubon’s award-winning platform that tracks the hemispheric journeys of over 450 bird species.

Chad also provides expert guidance in avian biology and project leadership for various initiatives across Audubon. At the intersection of fieldwork and technical expertise, he supports the development of integrated avian databases and Audubon’s online Guide to North American Birds, ensuring scientific integrity and consistency across platforms. His work helps inform conservation research and drive practical, real-world applications on local, regional, and hemispheric scales. Chad is a recipient of Audubon’s Going the Extra Mile (GEM) award for his outstanding, exemplary, and extraordinary contributions to the organization’s work.

A respected leader in the birding community, Chad serves as a regional eBird reviewer and holds appointments on the Vermont Bird Records Committee and BirdNote’s Science Advisory Council. In these roles, he collaborates with scientists, conservationists, storytellers, and the public to advance shared goals in avian conservation.

Chad holds a B.S. in Environmental and Forest Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, an M.S. in Conservation Biology, and a Certificate in Applied Spatial Analysis for GIS from Antioch University New England, where he also founded the Antioch Bird Club. He lives in Vermont with his partner and daughter.

Outside of work, Chad is a bassist and avid gardener who finds joy in cultivating native plants and growing produce for the table. View his website here.