Three Rivers Birding Club
Bi-monthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Phipps Garden Center, Shady Avenue
After our customary social gathering complete with a multitude of goodies, the meeting was called to order by President Jack Solomon.
Since Jim Valimont was unable to attend, Jack reviewed the upcoming field trips. Sue Solomon handled recent bird sightings for Mike Fialkovich who was also unable to attend. She reported on the Iceland Gull recently located at Duck Hollow. Red-headed Woodpecker, Peregrine Falcon, and Merlin sightings were discussed by members of the audience.
The results of the Buffalo Creek IBA-80 CBC of 12/26/04 were discussed by Larry Helgerman. Short-eared Owl, Rough-legged Hawk, and Eastern Pheobe were among the many notable observations. The number of White-crowned Sparrows(145) and of
Northern Mockingbirds (92) was impressive.
Prizes for the raffle were won by Rich Yurko, Tony Schryer, and Walt Shaffer.
Walt reported that a slide presentation and discussion of peeps will be conducted on 2/1/05 by Walt and Dana Shaffer at the monthly meeting of the Todd Bird Club.
Jack recognized several members of the audience who were subjects of his articles in the Peregrine. These included Bernie the Birdwatching Busdriver, Ross Gallardy, and Kenneth Parks. Bob Mulvihill then introduced Ken to the audience and acknowledged his numerous contributions to ornothology in general and our birding community in particular.
The Treasurer's Report from Bob Machesney revealed a balance of $4500.
Carol McCullough discussed the Backyard Bird Count which will occur on 2/18-21.
Sam Sinderson seemed the perfect person to introduce our speaker, Paul Hess. He reflected on his relationship with Paul over the past 30 years, some of their many bird treks including 4 or 5 pelagics, and on Paul's numerous
contributions to the birding community. Paul began his presentation entitled "An Ocean of Seabirds" with a quiz. For correct answers to questions such as "Who can name the 3 puffin species in North America?", audience members received a copy of Birding Magazine. The presentation on "mysterious and mystical seabirds" incorporated 40 slides from Brian
Patteson and from the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia. Some subjects discussed included: the typical pelagic trip, the typical pelagic boat, where to find seabirds, seabird reproduction,
behavior, and distribution, and animals other than seabirds commonly seen on pelagic trips. Some specific seabirds discussed and demonstrated in slides included: Wilson's, Leach's and White-faced Storm-Petrel, Black-browed Albatross, Greater, Audubon's, and Cory's Shearwater, Black-capped and Herald
Petrel, Magnificent Frigatebird, Sooty and Bridled Tern, South Polar Skua, Parasitic, Pomarine, and Long-tailed Jaeger, Northern Fulmar, Black-legged Kittiwake, Red Phalarope, Dovekie, and Atlantic Puffin. Other
unusal birds seen by Paul on pelagic trips were Blackpoll and Black-throated Blue Warbler. From his description of the soft velvet plumage of the Herald Petrel, through the foul smelling secretions of the Northern Fulmar, to the intricate jumping behavior of the White-faced Storm-Petrel, Paul kept his audience glued to the screen. Thanks, Paul, for very enjoyable presentation.
And a special thanks to Ken Parks for honoring us with his presence.
Submitted by:
Walt and Dana Shaffer
