3RBC
Membership Meeting
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Go Birding "Down Under"
One of Pennsylvania's sharpest young birders will take us to Australia at our meeting on Wednesday, October 7. Ross Gallardy of Canonsburg made a whirlwind 33-day road trip around the continent, and he'll tell us about Australia's birds and habitats, and describe the differences between birding here and "down under."
The meeting will be held at the Phipps Garden Center, 1059 Shady Avenue in Shadyside. Doors will open at 6:30 PM for socializing, the business meeting begins at 7:30, and the program starts at 8.
Ross is 20 years old and a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in finance. In his sophomore year he attended Bond University on Australia's "Gold Coast" and spent a lot of his free time exploring the birdlife Australia has to offer.
Our club sponsored Ross's participation in the Youth Division of the World Series of Birding in New Jersey on May 14, 2005. His team won first place in the division, finding 212 species within the state in 24 hours. In fact, in a field of 98 adult and youth teams, his team tied for third place overall. Among those that trailed Ross's was the team from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
Those who read the Pabirds listserv sometimes see Ross's exciting Washington County bird reports. For example, on May 8, 2009, partly with Andy Berchin and partly alone, he found 24 species of warblers including 2 Mourning Warblers.
If you're bringing anything to eat or drink to one of our meetings, please note that Phipps Garden Center, the location of our membership meetings, now prohibits the use of most plastic and paper plates, napkins, water bottles, cups, and utensils (knives, forks and spoons) etc. They are "going green." They said they are requiring that only "eco-friendly paper products" be used at the facility. "The use of water bottles, paper and plastics is not permitted." The materials they list are fully biodegradable. For the time being, if you bring anything, please put it in a reusable container/serving plate, that you can take home.
The Garden Center is at 1059 Shady Avenue behind the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts at Fifth and Shady Avenues. Parking is 25 cents an hour in a metered lot, and more parking is available on Shady Avenue. In addition, Beechwood Boulevard, a block east of Shady, has free parking and is a short walk through Mellon Park to the Garden Center. Detailed directions are on the Phipps website: http://www.phipps.conservatory.org/directions.htm.
