Three Rivers Birding Club
Bi-monthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
6:30 PM - 9:45 PM
Phipps Garden Center, Shady Avenue
On a dark, cold, and rainy night, 74 intrepid 3RBC members and visitors began gathering at 6:30 PM for socializing, networking, checking out the new array of door prizes, snacking, and selecting free birding literature to take home.
President Jack Solomon called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM and took care of a few brief items of business. He suggested that anyone who knows Bill Judd should sign a get-well card and include a short message to cheer him. Jack recognized and thanked members who brought snacks to share with the group; contributors included Sherron Lynch, Renee Slis, Tim Manka, Becky Byerly, Mabel Matteson, Sarah Gerrish, and Jack Solomon.
At a recent Steering Committee meeting, it was decided that dues would need to be raised to cover increasing costs of newsletter production and mailing and higher speakers' fees. A cushion that was built up early in the club's existence is being depleted. Treasurer Bob Machesney will probably implement the dues increase at the end of March 2007.
Jack reminded everyone that the meeting and newsletter months will shift starting in January 2007. The odd numbered months (Jan-Mar-May-Jul-Sep-Nov) will be newsletter months. To avoid holiday and spring migration conflicts, meetings will be held in the even numbered months (Feb-Apr-Jun-Aug-Oct-Dec). Editor Paul Hess agreed that a brief newsletter will be sent in December 2006 to fill in the gap caused by this shift and to keep members informed about the Christmas Bird Count and other timely items.
Vice-President Jim Valimont chaired the remainder of the meeting. He began by thanking Dianne and Bob Machesney for providing the hot and delicious feast at the fifth anniversary outing of 3RBC at Moraine State Park on October 22.
Carol McCullough announced the beginning of the Ralph Bell Bird Club, named in honor of 91-year-old birder-extraordinaire Ralph Bell. An organizing dinner will be held in Waynesburg, Greene County, on November 18. To attend the $20 buffet dinner, contact Marjorie Howard, the organizer of the event, or Carol or Jack. Check our website now for details and in the future for outings of this new club.
Outings Director Steve Thomas reminded the audience that the next three weekends will offer outings to Yellow Creek, Independence Marsh, and Moraine State Park. Check the newsletter or www.3rbc.org for more information.
Co-secretaries Pat and Sherron Lynch conducted the drawing for five door prizes after recognizing five members of the audience attending their first 3RBC meeting. One couple is just getting used to seeing Juncos for the first time since they are from the UK. When Pam Ferkett Mulvihill was slow to respond to winning a door prize under her new married name, Jim and the audience offered congratulations to Bob and Pam on their recent wedding.
Bird Reports Editor Mike Fialkovich mentioned some exciting bird sightings. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird is very rare this late in the season. A Marsh Wren, Eastern Meadowlark, and Great Egret were found in Fox Chapel. There were two separate sightings of Common Ravens. Bob Machesney found a Snow Goose in North Park, and several people saw it. Dave Wilton heard Tundra Swans flying over. Vesper, White-crowned, Fox, and White-throated Sparrows have been seen recently. Ryan Tomazin reported a Black-chinned Hummingbird was sighted in West Virginia. Bob Mulvihill stated that 890 birds of 43 species were banded at Powdermill Nature Reserve on October 6, a record for the total number of birds.
Program Director Neil Nodelman said that Julie Zickefoose, artist and writer, will speak at the February 7 meeting, and Connie Toops, nature photographer, will discuss Australian birds at the April 4 meeting.
Bob Mulvihill, Field Ornithology Projects Coordinator at Powdermill Nature Reserve, proudly introduced the guest speaker. Adrienne Leppold was a volunteer and then did data entry at Powdermill before succeeding Bob as Bander-in-Charge. He praised her for having the intelligence and skill to do the job, but more than that, Adrienne has the heart to do the job.
Adrienne's fascinating stories and computer slide show entitled "Alyeska--The Great Land" told about three summers she spent conducting research in Alaska for the Fish and Wildlife Service. Her first week involved an intensive program which included safety and firearm training. The audience marveled at Adrienne's descriptions of the living conditions of the researchers--no running water, mail and food flown in every two weeks, electric fence to keep out bears, and laundry and bathing in the lakes.
Working on a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) project at Mother Goose Lake involved banding birds and nest searching. The most common species was Wilson's Warbler, about 6000 of them; the most exceptional bird was a Brambling. The audience enjoyed Adrienne's tale of a male bear doing everything in its power to catch the attention of an apparently disinterested female bear. She also doesn't recommend smelling the Chocolate Lily.
The second summer was spent at Puale Bay, also on the Alaska Peninsula, researching the impact of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on seabirds, mostly murres and cormorants. This passive research was difficult. Fog along the coast and high winds on the cliffs made accurate counting of the birds challenging. Impressive photos showed Adrienne and other researchers high on the cliffs attached by safety harnesses. A short but dramatic video showed a 300 foot plunge and glide as a murre chick successfully left its cliff-side home for the first time.
Adrienne spent her third summer thirty miles south of the Arctic Circle at Yukon Flats NWR. She participated in research concerning an enormous decline in the population of White-winged Scoters. The team utilized mist nests set up over the water to capture the hens. Birds were tagged with nasal disks and some were fitted with radio antennae. The researchers established a record by finding 20 scoter nests. In trying to describe nest locations for future researchers, the only consistency they determined was that the average distance from water was 180 meters.
The question and answer session which followed this humorous and enlightening presentation showed that the audience has great concern for protecting the animals and their environment.
Submitted by Pat and Sherron Lynch
Co-secretaries of Three Rivers Birding Club
