George Hunt and Molly Warner, research scientists
George Hunt Bio: After obtaining a BS and a PhD from Harvard University, George Hunt taught a variety of subjects, from behavioral ecology to marine science, during 35 years in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of California Irvine. His research has spanned topics from the reproductive behavior of gulls to climate impacts on year-class strength of fish in the Bering Sea. He has worked on seabird ecology from the Bering Sea to Antarctica, around Svalbard, and in the North Water polynya off northwest Greenland. He now resides on San Juan Island.
Molly Warner Bio: Molly Warner had a career that was generally characterized by the study of behavior of organisms. Molly has an undergraduate degree in anthropology (cultures), a teaching credential (education), several years of behavioral observations of seabirds with George Hunt (animal behavior), and a doctorate in clinical psychology with an emphasis on clinical neuropsychology (the brain and behavior of individual people). She has worked in epilepsy programs for 30 years, first at Harborview Medical Center, then at Swedish Medical Center and, finally, at Seattle Children’s Hospital, from which she retired in 2023.
Synopsis of Love Birds: In 1972, biologists George Hunt and Molly Warner made an unprecedented discovery while studying seagulls on California’s Channel Islands. To their surprise, a great number of the nesting pairs they observe were all female. George and Molly’s research on “gay gulls” quickly triggered both outrage and jubilation in a nation grappling with the rise of the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Love Birds is about two ambitious young scientists, their love story, and a chance discovery that makes an indelible mark on science and LBGTQ history.
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