‘All my life has been about exploring’: Ornithologist Gerardo Marrón talks birds, Baja and bringing kids into science

Crickets chirp in the night as Gerardo Marrón calls to an elf owl on a Baja California Sur mountainside in late October.

Marrón and a group of scientists from Mexico and the San Diego Natural History Museum are on an expedition in the Sierra de las Cacachilas, southeast of La Paz, to study the area’s biodiversity. Tonight they’re hoping to glimpse the world’s smallest owl species, about 5 inches tall.

By 8 p.m., the heat of the day has finally eased. A gentle breeze crosses the trail. And Marrón’s bird calls — first pre-recorded ones, then ones he does himself — are like a haunting message repeating in the otherwise quiet night.

Marrón is an ornithologist from La Paz and a research coordinator for Pronatura Noroeste, a Mexican environmental organization that works closely with the Natural History Museum. At 39, he’s worked in the field for nearly two decades, his research largely focused on Baja Sur and its more than 400 bird species.

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