We would like to introduce you to a volunteer who has played a major role in the development of our newest video series, Interesting Birds of Pope Farm Conservancy.

Her name is Rona Neri, and she has put in a tremendous amount of work writing the scripts and providing some of the photos for the bird videos. Her photographs are really quite stunning. She is, after all, an award-winning nature photographer!

Rona has been coming to Pope Farm Conservancy to take photographs of the wildlife for quite some time. “I really love to go out there in the spring and summer,” she says. “There are so many birds, and it’s not hard to find them. The bluebirds are super active, which is always fun.”

This video project has been a good fit for Rona because of her passion for conservation, education, and of course, photography. “I’m always trying to expand my skill level and my knowledge of wildlife and further any kind of conservation cause.” Rona likes to visit different state natural areas where there’s lots of good wildlife activity. Pope Farm’s combination of prairies, valleys, hills, and the oak savanna provides a great habitat for them. “It’s a beautiful place for wildlife,” she remarks. “They feel safe there, and there’s lots for them to eat.”

One of her favorite memories of Pope Farm was when she was hiking, and a little fawn come out of the crop fields. “[It] watched me for a while then came quite close,” she recalls. “I live for those little interactions with wildlife where you can make eye contact and they tolerate you. And you can capture an image like that. It’s my favorite thing in the world.”

She once spent three hours waiting for the perfect shot of an Indigo Bunting on a sunflower. She had to work for it, but she said it’s one of her favorite images that she’s ever taken. Rona started out as a nature enthusiast and got increasingly interested in nature photography over the past 10 years or so. “Any day that I’m hiking with my camera counts as a good day, whether or not I get the shot I’m searching for.” She now owns her own business, Rona’s Photography, where she sells prints of her photographs as well as an assortment of greetings cards. As her business expanded over the years, she was able to travel to South Africa for a couple of weeks to take photos of animals on safari. “It was incredible for me!” she said. She even won a National Wildlife Federation photography award and received national recognition for one of her photographs.

Starting in May, you can see her work on display at Gallery 800 UBD in Madison. Her solo exhibit will run May 6 – September 23, 2022, and include images from her Africa safari trip, as well as lots of Wisconsin imagery. Her favorite Indigo Bunting shot from Pope Farm will be among them.

Be sure to visit her website: www.ronasphotography.com

Thank you, Rona, for your sharing your beautiful photography with the Friends and for your contributions to our educational videos. We are so grateful for your volunteer efforts!