Three Rivers Birding Club
Bi-monthly Membership Meeting
Monday, September 19, 2005
6:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Phipps Garden Center, Shady Avenue

The 3RBC members and visitors began gathering at 6:30 PM and had an hour to chat about recent bird sightings and past and future travel plans. They also browsed at the two large tables filled with fruit, cakes, and cookies. Sherron Lynch found that Ted Floyd and Margaret Higbee are really expert birders; they were able to identify the six stylized warblers decorating her cake. Members had the opportunity to select free birding brochures and magazines to take home. Ted provided lots of copies of recent issues of Birding magazine. Seventy-three enthusiastic birders attended.

President Jack Solomon called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. Jack recognized five visitors or members attending their first meeting. President Solomon announced that Betty Guidish had provided him with information about a proposal in Congress to abolish the Endangered Species Act. Jack had more information for all who wanted to write letters to their legislators.

Vice-president and Outings Chairman Jim Valimont presided over the remainder of the business meeting. Paul Hess proudly announced the recent publication of Geoff Malosh's photos in North American Birds and Mike Fialkovich's photos in Birding magazine, both prestigious national publications. Bill Parker mentioned an upcoming Wissahickon Nature Club outing to the Wild Flower Reserve at Raccoon Creek State Park and invited all who planned to attend to let him know. Announcements were kept very brief because all were eagerly awaiting Ted's program.

Mike Fialkovich then chaired the bird sightings segment of the meeting and offered BBA materials to anyone who needs them. Recent sightings of Pennsylvania or Allegheny County rarities included Red Phalarope, Laughing Gull, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and American Golden Plover. Jack and Sue Solomon reported the results of outings to Frick Park on Sunday and Monday. Interactions of Cooper's Hawks were the highlights of Monday's walk. The large group of about 40 birders and 16 species of warblers and 57 total species were notable on Sunday's outing.

An assortment of door prizes was provided by the ASWP and by some club members. Several people rushed to sign up when they saw the prizes available. The winners this month were Ursula Kopp, Dan Yagusic, and Tommy Byrnes.

Mike Fialkovich introduced and warmly welcomed Ted Floyd, the editor of the ABA magazine Birding. In his youth Ted birded with several members of 3RBC and established himself as one of the best birders from the Pittsburgh region. After being in charge of the breeding bird atlas project in Nevada, he moved on to his present position in Boulder, Colorado.

Ted enthusiastically presented his topic, "The Future of Birding," with a tour de force of wit and birding knowledge. He asked the audience to imagine what the next four years of birding might bring. Will birding continue to slowly advance within the culture, will it go through a period of stagnation, or will it experience a revolution? The year 2009 will be the anniversaries of the publications of two immensely influential works of natural history, the 75th anniversary of Roger Tory Peterson's A Field Guide to the Birds and the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species. These two works are diametrically opposed in their interpretation of the natural world. Darwinıs view is fuzzy, transitory, and imprecise while Petersonıs is absolute and clearly defined.

The Peterson view has been dominant among birders. Most birders are content to identify a bird using a few characteristics, give the bird a specific name, and check it off their life lists, ignoring variations. David Sibley's field guides illustrate differences within species. Sibley does not provide scientific names for subspecies; he wants people to think about what they are seeing. He believes that subspecies are tools to understand variations within a species but that birders should consider variations in terms of regional populations.

Ted used Sibley's concept to examine six taxonomically diverse examples, unified in that they are not consistent with Peterson's categorizations of separate species. These included Greenish Warbler of Siberia, a Herring Gull/Kelp Gull hybrid named the Chandeleur Gull on Louisiana islands, Blue winged and Golden-winged Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco, Canada Goose, and Mountain and Black-capped Chickadees. Ted discussed the confusing patterns of gene flow in geographically diverse populations such as those of the junco. He also emphasized that hybridization can be so dynamic, as among Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers, that it is questionable whether the two should be considered as separate species. Birders tend to use a "Petersonian airbrush" to ignore variations. Ted urged birders to look at birds within a species as individuals and to see how age, molt, role within a flock, and interactions with the environment are parts of a "complex continuous function." To emphasize this new way of watching birds, he exclaimed, "Vive la revolution!"

Despite this new approach, Ted assured us that he still enjoys adding birds to his life list. He is a big fan of Peterson and believes that Peterson will be recognized as a giant in the field of thought far into the future.

A question and answer session followed. Ted reaffirmed that the concept of species is valid. He said DNA analysis is a valuable tool in determining species status, but should be used in conjunction with other methods of genetic analysis, morphological characters, and behavior to decide whether a population should be classified as a separate species. Bob Mulvihill praised the usefulness of digital photography for studying details on individual birds. Ted agreed that digital cameras can be democratic and populist tools to improve birding and to study individual birds. Ted affirmed that the Endangered Species Act protects subspecies as well as species.

Neil Nodelman announced that he is working on lining up a guest speaker to talk about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Jack ended the meeting by thanking the hospitality committee for doing an excellent job.

Submitted by Pat and Sherron Lynch
Co-secretaries of Three Rivers Birding Club
(with editorial assistance from Paul Hess)