Three Rivers Birding Club
Bi-monthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
7:00 — 10:00PM
Phipps Garden Center, Shady Avenue
A social gathering was held for thirty minutes before the meeting began; refreshments were available. Members also had the opportunity to see a photo display of club activities and to select free birding brochures and magazines to take home. About 50 people were in attendance.
President Jack Solomon called the meeting to order and recognized one new member. Jack reported that the Steering Committee has authorized him to send a letter of intent to the Corps of Engineers to ask them to improve shorebird habitat at Shenango River Lake. The letter does not make any legal commitments for the club. Jack is working on the letter and looking for funding sources.
Vice President Jim Valimont chaired the meeting and called for committee reports. Editor Paul Hess asked members, especially those who have not written for The Peregrine before, to contribute to the next Getting Started feature. Each writer should describe a birding book other than a field guide he or she would recommend to beginning birders.
Fred and Carol McCullough reported on their progress with the North American Migration Count and IBAs. Carol listed some areas of Allegheny County which still need coverage for the migration count. She would like to have as many people involved as possible; contact Carol for more information or to volunteer. Fred stated that the 3RBC has adopted the Raccoon Creek IBA and that Chuck Tague will coordinate the point counts. Fred gave more details about what is involved and indicated that he has the names of at least 15 volunteers. Anyone can supply additional information concerning significant birds in the Raccoon Creek IBA by entering data into . The 3RBC may also become involved in the Butler County Buffalo Creek and Washington County Buffalo Creek IBAs once they've been organized. At this time Larry Helgerman asked people to come to the Washington County area near Taylorstown to help locate nesting herons. Jim encouraged especially those members living south of Pittsburgh to become involved.
In other reports, Mabel Matteson thanked members who brought refreshments and encouraged others to do so at future meetings. Treasurer Bob Machesney enthusiastically stated that we have 229 members and 210 of them have paid their current dues. The account contains $3,200; most of the money is spent on the newsletter, meetings, and the website. He projects a balance of $2,100 by the end of the fiscal year. Bob was also very pleased with the increased participation in club outings.
Mike Fialkovich, in the absence of Wendy Jo Shemansky, listed future programs for club meetings. Jerry McWilliams will speak about "Birds of the United States" on Monday, July 7; the program on Monday, September 8 will be Steve Hoffman's "Hawk ID" in time for fall migration; a members' slide slam is planned for Monday, November 3.
Mike provided news of recent bird sightings. He reported that Dark-eyed Juncos are leaving the area, and two Red-necked Grebes remain in Tarentum. Kate St. John gave an update on the Peregrine Falcons at the Gulf Building and on Pitt's Cathedral of Learning. The female is incubating four eggs at Pitt, but a territorial dispute has disrupted the nesting on the Gulf Building. The original male at the Gulf Building was killed, but the original female and a new male are currently on site.
Jack reported on Sue Solomon's warbler sightings at Frick Park. The Black-throated Green Warbler seen on April 9 is possibly the second earliest record in the area. Black-and-white, Yellow-rumped, and Hooded Warblers have also been seen at Frick. Jack and Sue will be leading outings at Frick Park on Thursday mornings during spring migration. Several other members contributed their observations.
Jim recommended checking The Peregrine to find details about the many future outings.
The evenings program consisted of a members slide slam in which eight participants showed some of their best nature slides. Jack concentrated on conservation issues at Nine Mile Run. Scott Kinzey used a 400 mm lens to get great shots of Common Night Hawks and gulls. Mike brought back memories of the 3RBC's trip to Bombay Hook and Cape May and showed the destruction caused by the ice storm at Allegheny Front. Don Gibbon's slides demonstrated the beauty of Lower Klamath NWR in California. Tom Pawlesh took us to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada to enjoy fantastic views of polar bears. Jim Wallace provided a potpourri of Southeast Asia and Morocco and also gave some photographic advice. Pat and Sherron Lynch showed Wild Turkey behavior in their backyard and colorful birds from a recent trip to Florida.
Submitted by Pat and Sherron Lynch
Co-secretaries of Three Rivers Birding Club
