CNPA 2025 Convention

Ron has worked with wildlife for over 40 years. He is the host of HITN’s national wildlife documentary program, Mundo Salvaje con Ron Magill. As Zoo Miami’s “Goodwill Ambassador," he has made frequent television appearances on many programs including, National Geographic Explorer, the Discovery Networks, the Today Show, Good Morning America, The Late Show, CBS This Morning, Dateline, and CNN as well as on Spanish networks Univision and Telemundo. In addition, he has written and produced many wildlife articles and award-winning photographs that have appeared in publications and galleries around the world. He has traveled extensively throughout Africa, Asia and Tropical America while developing and directing conservation projects and Emmy-Award winning documentaries focusing on the wildlife of those regions.

Other than Zoo Miami and the Zoo Miami Foundation, Ron has worked with several children’s charities with a special dedication to the Make-a-Wish Foundation where he helps to grant wishes for children facing life-threatening diseases. In addition, he is a regular speaker at schools and civic organizations throughout South Florida in hopes of inspiring our youth to follow their dreams while showing them the importance of protecting our world’s wildlife for generations to come.

Ron’s proudest professional accomplishment is the establishment of the “Ron Magill Conservation Endowment” at the Zoo Miami Foundation. This endowment is the largest of its kind at the zoo and provides tens of thousands of dollars annually to wildlife conservation by providing annual scholarships as well as supporting field conservation projects designed to protect wildlife in the wild areas where it is naturally found.

I am originally from New Hampshire and came to North Carolina to earn my Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at East Carolina University. I graduated in 2012 and interned at the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores for that summer as an educator. Afterwards, I came to Sylvan Heights as a volunteer at the Avian Breeding Center in October 2012. I then became a full time employee as a keeper and Aviculturist. My main responsibilities included daily care of the birds, maintaining the aviaries, setting up and tracking waterfowl nest sites, and raising the birds to adulthood. At the same time, I also interacted with the public and helped give school programs as an educator. I worked at the Avian Breeding Center for 10 years, and am now full time as an assistant educator, where I continue to educate students of all ages about birds and NC ecology. I also train education birds, including a Black Vulture. All together, I have been at Sylvan Heights for about 11 years as of right now. 

Topic: Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck, NC is home to over 250 species of birds, with more than 2000 individuals. The park specializes in the waterfowl family (ducks, geese, and swans), but also is home to cranes, parrots, pheasants, flamingoes, and many more. The park has been around since 2006 and is a non-profit owned and operated by Mike and Ali Lubbock. The two of them have more than 60 years experience with birds. The mission of Sylvan Heights is conservation of endangered waterfowl, and educating the general public on the wonderful world of birds. There are species here that no other facility in the US have. To aid in conservation, Sylvan Heights breeds the birds that live there, to keep the species going to the best of our abilities as a last line of defense from extinction. The Avian Breeding Center (which has been around longer than the public side of the park) is where most of the breeding occurs. This presentation will go into a bit of what Sylvan Heights does, especially at the Breeding Center.