Three Rivers Birding Club
Bi-monthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
6:30 - 9:30 PM
Phipps Garden Center, Shady Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
Seventy-eight members and visitors enjoyed swapping birding tales, munching from a large assortment of treats, and selecting free birding materials prior to the meeting. President Jim Valimont called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM.
Jim urged people to turn off their cell phones and pagers. He reminded the group that the next club meeting, held on December 3, will be at Botany Hall next to Phipps Conservatory. Neil Nodelman, our former program director, is moving to Arkansas. Ian and Margaret Haigh will serve as program co-directors. Jim recognized one person attending her first 3RBC meeting.
Vice President Bob VanNewkirk handled the business agenda. Jack Solomon asked people to contact him if they are interested in doing survey work on Sycamore Island during the breeding season and/or for the Christmas Bird Count. Sycamore Island is in the Allegheny River near Sandy Creek
Tim Manka had visited Iowa and Nebraska recently. Tim asked if anyone knew why numbers of visiting Snow Geese had dropped precipitously at the national wildlife refuge located in both states.
Don Gibbon reminded the audience of the upcoming lecture by Dudley Edmondson, an outstanding nature photographer, at 7 PM, October 8, at the Carnegie Lecture Hall. Dudley, an African-American, will talk about how to involve more minorities in outdoor activities. A panel discussion will follow Dudley's lecture. Don, himself, has been trying to get more minorities involved in outdoor activities and organizations in the Pittsburgh region. Don requested that several 3RBC members help at the lecture by ushering, etc. If you can help, contact the Allegheny Sierra Club at www.alleghenysc.org. For additional details concerning the lecture, see the September-October, 2008, issue of The Peregrine.
Neil stated that our next speaker will be Larry Barth, the renowned, prize-winning woodcarver of birds, on December 3.
Bird Reports Editor Mike Fialkovich summarized the recent local bird sightings, which included: 28 warbler species; Philadelphia Vireos; Black-crowned Night-Heron; an Osprey that stayed for a month on the Allegheny; Stilt Sandpiper; Forster Terns; Brewster and Lawrence's Warblers; 2 Orange-crowned Warblers; Connecticut Warbler; a long-staying Green-winged Teal in Harmar Township; Summer Tanagers; and a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck at Pymatuning.
Dave Wilton commented that birders often can find migrating Connecticut Warblers very close to where they were first reported. He added that he had seen an adult and a juvenile remaining in close contact with one another. Bob Mulvihill stated that a migrating Connecticut Warbler will stay in an area and can double its body weight as it eats. Sherron Lynch advised birders to carefully check little brown birds, as she recently found a Clay-colored Sparrow.
Mabel Matteson thanked everyone for bringing goodies. Mabel announced that we will not be able to have food at our next meeting, which will be in Botany Hall on December 3. She also encouraged people to bring treats for future meetings.
Mike introduced Bill Thompson, III, editor of Bird Watcher's Digest, as our evening speaker. Bill has been birding since he was a child, and received the American Birding Association's Robert Ridgway Award for excellence in field ornithology literature this year. Bill is also a founding member of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Bill's wife, author and artist Julie Zickefoose, has spoken twice to 3RBC.
Bill's highly entertaining talk, "The Perils and Pitfalls of Birding," consisted mainly of funny stories about things that happened to him or to his friends while birding. One hilarious story concerned his supposed ability to identify a bird by the taste of the bird dropping on his shirt. Another story told how birding can lead one to unfamiliar places, including sensitive areas guarded by zealous security forces; one such encounter was scary for Bill but became comical in the retelling. Bill's father played a practical joke with his very special and expensive binoculars; you'll want Bill to tell you that story, too. We don't want to list all of his funny stories here; it might lessen their impact on future audience members.
Bill did praise British birders for their abilities and for not overdoing pishing. He then conducted us in a group pish. He acknowledged the iPod as being a great birding tool and urged people to use it in moderation. Often the bird will quickly respond to the call and perhaps appear next to the caller's foot. Bill then listed a liturgy of physical ailments for birders ranging from warbler neck to snakebites. Our speaker ended his talk by leading us in singing "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowbirds." We firmly believe that Bill established a record for the most and loudest laughing of a 3RBC audience during a presentation.
Jack Solomon conducted the door prize drawing with his usual wit and aplomb.
Bill generously stayed after the meeting, dispensing free copies of Bird Watcher's Digest, selling and autographing books, and talking with members of the audience.
Submitted by Pat and Sherron Lynch
Co-secretaries of Three Rivers Birding Club
