Next 3RBC Membership Meeting
the heat waves of a brush fire.
Photo by Robert Gosford
DISCOVER "FIREHAWKS":
THEY WILL ASTONISH YOU
IN OUR JUNE 2 PROGRAM
We've had many marvelous programs during 3RBC's two decades, but our meeting on Wednesday, June 2, will rank high among them. We'll learn about "Firehawks" in Australia – raptors that have learned to use torches of fire to obtain their food.
Pennsylvania's own Mark Bonta, a birder, geographer, conservationist, and wildlife tour leader will tell us the amazing story. It takes place in Australia's tropical north, where Black Kites, Whistling Kites, and Brown Falcons have long known that Australia's typical grassland wildfires send small rodent prey scattering and easy to catch.
Now what can these raptors do in an amazing example of evolutionary education? They snatch burning sticks from the typical fires, carry them away, and drop the sticks onto other dry grasslands to create more wildfires – and, thus, more easy meals.
Mark is known worldwide for his pioneering research of this phenomenon and many other studies. For a look at his immense variety of topics see markbonta.academia.edu. The Research page includes a link to his important scientific paper about the Firehawks. His roots are on a mountaintop in central Pennsylvania, and he has traversed more than 40 countries on six continents and has been involved in conservation efforts in the Philippines, Australia, Honduras, Mexico, and the U.S. He also leads nature tours to many areas around the world.
As usual, this will be a Zoom meeting online starting at 7:00 PM ET, giving you access time to log on. The business meeting will begin at 7:30 PM, and Mark's presentation will start at 8:00 PM. Details on how to join the event, including Zoom passcodes and other instructions, will be supplied a few days before the meeting.
Future Programs:
- August 4, 2021 —: Luke DeGroote will present "Allegheny Bird Conservation Alliance: Making Pittsburgh a More Livable City for Birds"
What's New? (5/3/2021)
THE MARCH/APRIL 2021 EDITION OF THE PEREGRINE IS NOW AVAILABLE!
The March/April 2021 issue of The Peregrine is online.
Also, see additional photos for Tom Moeller's 'Observations' column on Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (PDF).
MEETING MINUTES AND THE ZOOM VIDEO OF OUR APRIL 2021 MEETING ARE AVAILABLE
The written minutes of our fifth Zoom meeting from April 7, 2021, featuring Carlos Sanchez with "Birding in Spain," are available on our "Meeting Minutes" page. The video of that meeting is also online on our "Past Zoom Meetings" page.
Find the written version of the minutes here: April 7, 2021 Minutes, and the video is found at Past Zoom Meetings.
BIRDING MAGAZINE BIDS FAREWELL TO PAUL HESS
After writing 320 articles for the "Frontiers in Ornithology" column (formerly "News and Notes") in Birding magazine, Paul Hess, the Editor of The Peregrine, is moving on to other projects. With special permission from the ABA, we can present Paul's final column for that magazine titled "Behavioral Evolution in Birding." Also, we can present a tribute to Paul's contribution not just to the magazine but to birding in general through the eyes of four of Paul's 'students,' who have learned much from Paul's knowledge and friendly manner.
Read Paul's final column here: Behavioral Evolution in Birding.
Find the tribute to Paul Hess here: Birding Bids Farewell to Paul Hess.
2020 CLUB ACTIVITIES WERE SHARPLY CURTAILED BY THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK
HOWEVER, BIRD OBSERVATIONS IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY SURPASSED 2019!
Steve Thomas has compiled a summary of the club's 2020 limited activities. Hopefully, 2021 with the vaccines will be better! Check out what we were able to accomplish.
Allegheny County bird observations were not curtailed during the year. Mike Fialkovich has compiled the 2020 Birds Reported in Allegheny County summary.
VISIT OUR NEW PAGE FOR PAST ZOOM MEETINGS
We now have a website page for the Zoom membership meetings we have recorded. If you missed a meeting or would like to see one again, past meetings are available at the “Past Zoom Meetings” link in the left-hand menu of each page. We hope you find this feature of our website useful.
READ FRANK IZAGUIRRE'S ARTICLE FROM BIRDING MAGAZINE ON PILEATED WOODPECKERS IN FRICK PARK
With permission from the author, Frank Izaguirre, and the Editor of Birding magazine, Ted Floyd, we are presenting Frank's article "Celebrating the Stumpbreaker of Squirrel Hill" from the January 2021 issue of Birding, which is dedicated to the 2021 ABA Bird of the Year, the Pileated Woodpecker. Enjoy! Click on the link to read Frank's article: Stumpbreaker. (PDF)
READ FRANK IZAGUIRRE'S ENTIRE REPORT FROM FRIGID CANADA
Frank Izaguirre's report "Frigid Canada's Birds Warmed a Pair of Birders" was presented in two parts in The Peregrine – the July/August 2020 edition and the September/October 2020 edition. Now you can read the entire report on one page in this website. Follow the link: Frigid Canada.
PSO's PA BREEDING BIRD BLITZ for CONSERVATION (B4C) - June 18-21, 2021
The Breeding Bird Blitz for Conservation has identified two flagship birds whose populations are declining in Pennsylvania: the Northern Harrier and the Wood Thrush. Both species are listed as Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan. The Northern Harrier is state-listed as "threatened" since its numbers are declining so rapidly.
According to the Breeding Bird Survey, almost half of the Wood Thrushes have disappeared over the last 50 years. Pennsylvania is particularly critical to Wood Thrush survival since 8.5% of the global population is found in our forests.
Although Northern Harriers have a wide range in North America, their dependency on extensive, open, grassy fields and scrub-wetlands makes them scarce breeders in Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, reclaimed strip mines provide the highest amount of suitable habitat.
Read in-depth about this project in this release from the PSO Birding Blitz, and find more details at this website: PA Breeding Bird Blitz
BIRDS CAN DANCE! - Another Delightful Diversion for Birders
More diversions for a cold winter: From the maker of "Bird Song Opera," (below) Volker Pannes of www.shakeup.de, a new video "Birds Can Dance!" shows various birds cavorting to the Strauss waltz “The Blue Danube.” Watch and maybe you can dance along too.
View this delightful video on our "Videos" page.
BIRD SONG OPERA - A Delightful Diversion for Birders
As an escape from the stress of COVID-19, we wanted to present some 'light opera' performed by birds from around the world titled Bird Song Opera. This is an original video conceived and created by Volker Pannes of www.shakeup.de, a German website. Volker based this 'opera' on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute, which he rearranged and edited for this video.
Take some time to enjoy this video and see how many of the birds in it you can identify. There is a helpful list at the end of all the performers.
View this delightful video on our "Videos" page.
MORE DIVERSIONS AS WE WAIT FOR BETTER DAYS
In addition to the “Bird Song Opera,” we have many videos to enjoy on our “Videos” page. Click “Videos” on the Side Menu to see many interesting bird videos.
Also, on our “Links” page there are 15 ‘Live Wildlife WebCams’ to choose from to entertain you. Most are bird webcams, but there are also wildlife (deer, foxes, elk, squirrels, etc.) cams. Three of the links lead to a variety of webcams to increase your viewing choices. Again, click “Links” in the Side Menu and look under ‘Live Wildlife WebCams.’
Hopefully, you are getting out to enjoy the spring migration (with proper social distancing), but you can also enjoy Nature virtually with our video and webcam selections.
THE VIDEO PAGE HAS MORE NEW TAPES!!
Our "VIDEOS" page has several more videos by members, incluing Virginia Rails in Harrison Hills Park, a Baltimore Oriole enjoying an orange, a Red-tailed Hawk nestling expelling a pellet, and a new video of an American Avocet in Pittsburgh.
Click on "Videos" in the Side Menu to find these interesting videos by members!
SEE THE PAGE CREATED FOR LOWELL BURKET'S DISCOVERY OF THE THREE SPECIES, TWO GENERA WARBLER!
If you're wondering where photos of the "Burket's Warbler" have gone, you'll have to look on the new webpage created for all the information on that exciting new bird. There are photos, background information, links to articles and interviews, and more. Be sure to read about the new honor received by Dave Toews, the researcher who deciphered the three-species warbler's DNA.
Click on "'Burket's Warbler' News" on the side menu to see this new page.
Items to Note!
ABA CODE OF ETHICS
The American Birding Association's Principles of Birding Ethics now has its own page (ABA Code of Ethics) on this website. All birders are reminded to follow these guidelines while birding for the protection of the birds, respect for the environment, and enjoyment of other birders.
THE AMERICAN BIRD ASSOCIATION'S ABA LIVE! CONTINUES ITS DISCUSSIONS OF BIRDS
The American Birding Association continues its What's This Bird? Live! series on ABA Live! about every two weeks. The earlier programs on the site are replaced by newer ones. Go to ABA Live! to view the latest (March 26, 2021) and other recent programs.
The ABA Live! Virtual Bird Club programs are now archived at the link below. They include these: "Exploring Attu" by Christian Hagenlocher from June 30 2020, "A Story of Perseverance; The Brown Pelicans of Coastal Louisiana" by Juita Martinez from June 17, 2020, as well as "How to 'See' Birdsong; Sound Spectrograms 101" by Ted Floyd, editor of Birding magazine on July 22, 2020.
You can find any that you may have missed in the Virtual Bird Club archive on YouTube here: Virtual Bird Club Archive.
PENNSYLVANIA BIRDS -- See what you've been missing!
The Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO) publishes sample article from the current issue of Pennsylvania Birds online. Anyone who does not subscribe or perhaps does not even know about PSO can now actually see a little bit of what they've been missing, and hopefully be encouraged to join PSO!
Follow us on FACEBOOK!
Be sure to visit our club's Facebook page for up-to-date news on happenings with the club, member photos, or links to other birding sites.
Longer Articles are Still Available
Read Kathleen Siebert's article on her journey to Ecuador Take the "Sun Route" to Enjoy Ecuador's Avian Wealth, and Geoff Malosh's tale of chasing the sun's eclipse A Different Kind of Chase: Not for Birds This Time.
Don't forget David Yeany II's wonderful report by about his adventure pursuing a Kirtland's Warbler in Michigan with friends on a "slow" day at Magee Marsh in May 2018: Kirtland's Warbler.
Plus, enjoy the stunning gallery of birds and scenery from Northwest Argentina, which is an adjunct to Claire Staples' article "A Very High Adventure: Birding to 15,000 Feet in Argentina's Andes" [The Peregrine Vol. 18, No. 2, March/April 2019], can still be enjoyed: Northwest Argentina.
The Peregrine "Online-only" Option Remains Available to Members
Our members may choose NOT to receive a paper copy of our newsletter The Peregrine, in order to reduce clutter, save trees, or protect the environment. If you only want to view our newsletter online, please email Tom Moeller at thosjmoel@gmail.com and ask him to put you on the "online only" list to NO LONGER receive paper copies of The Peregrine.
Our membership rates remain the same with this change. It is your preference whether or not to receive the paper copy of the newsletter.
The List of Birding Checklists
We offer many checklists on our Outings page. There are now nine (9) lists you can download and use as you explore these birding hotspots. Check them out!
