Bimonthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
7:30 PM — 10:00 PM
Phipps Garden Center, Shady Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
Sixty-six individuals attended 3RBC's June meeting, which featured an entertaining presentation by Kathy Miller on her recent trip to Papua New Guinea, home to nearly 800 birds, including more than thirty Bird-of-Paradise species! She spent August 2017 in that exotic land in the southwestern Pacific with her older sister and frequent birding companion, Linda Arthur.
President Bob VanNewkirk called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm.
President VanNewkirk then turned the meeting over to Vice President Sheree Daugherty, who conducted the business portion of the meeting. She called for announcements.
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• Bob Mulvihill reminded everyone that the National Aviary's fundraiser, Night in the Tropics, will be held on July 21, 2018. Contact the Aviary at Night in the Tropics for details.
• The Peregrine editor Paul Hess previewed the upcoming issue of the club's newsletter. Bob VanNewkirk's President's Message is about his favorite birds. Sue Solomon writes about this year's adventures at Magee Marsh. Ken Kostka, a Purple Martin expert and founder of the colony at Harrison Hills Park, will tell how he saved lives of birds at that colony with scrambled eggs! An article about the Big Day at Fern Hollow Nature Reserve reveals that 3RBC's team, led by Bob VanNewkirk, came in first! Congratulations, Bob and all! The issue also will contain many new photos, and Tom Moeller's "Observations" column will explain more of the great varieties of birds' nests.
• Treasurer Tom Moeller gave the financial report. He disclosed that 64 members had opted to receive an online-only copy of The Peregrine, amounting to about 25% of the club's 287 members. He thanked those who had renewed their memberships, and looked forward to the speedy renewals of those still outstanding.
• Webmaster Tom Moeller explained that, in response to the interest generated by the first owl video, he has added a VIDEOS page to the website containing several new videos, including the Screech-Owl on Shady Avenue, plus clips on robins, Killdeer, and more. He asked members to contact him by e-mail with interesting short videos for consideration. Continuing efforts to enhance the value of the club's site, Tom also added a new section on bird photography to the site's LINKS page, and — even more! — a section on wildlife webcams, including links to more than just the Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon nest cams. He also reminded the audience that, as of last November, the web site has carried the audio recording of Noah Strycker's presentation. Finally, he encouraged everyone "to follow us on Facebook!"
• Steve Thomas, the club's Outings Coordinator, reported that the club has an outing scheduled for Saturday June 9, at Laurel Mountain, with leader Mike Fialkovich. Attendees will meet at 7:00 am at the Dairy Queen at Exit 91 Donegal of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. After the typically slow-birding of the summer months, many outings are scheduled for September and October, with outings every weekend. As always, check the 3RBC website for details.
• Sue Solomon sadly informed the group of the passing of our long-time member and friend Sarah Gerrish. She and her late husband Randi were original members of Three Rivers Birding Club in 2001. For many years Randi and Sarah were responsible for the distribution of The Peregrine. Sarah and her quiet, friendly manner will be sorely missed by all in the club.
• Mike Fialkovich presented the recent bird sightings report for Allegheny County. Since his last report, new bird sightings highlights include: Snow Goose at North Park; Northern Shoveler at Duck Hollow; Gadwall at Duck Hollow, Jefferson Borough and Wingfield Pines; Surf Scoters at Dashields Dam, Wood's Run, Sewickley and North Park; Ruddy Ducks at Duck Hollow and Dashields Dam, Wood's Run and Blawnox; Bufflehead at Duck Hollow, Dashields Dam, Chapel Harbor, Wood's Run and Sewickley; Horned Grebes at Duck Hollow, Chapel Harbor, Wood's Run and North Park; Bonaparte's Gull at Dashields Dam and Sewickley; Common Tern at Dashields Dam; Forster's Tern at Dashields Dam and Wood's Run; Caspian Terns at Jefferson Borough, Wood's Run and North Park; a late Long-tailed Duck at Dashields Dam; Common Merganser breeding at the Tarentum Bridge; Ruffed Grouse at Kennywood Park; Semipalmated Plover at Wingfield Pines; Greater Yellowlegs at Imperial and Wingfield Pines; Lesser Yellowlegs and Solitary Sandpiper at Wingfield Pines; Semipalmated Sandpipers at Imperial; Least Sandpipers at Wingfield Pines; Short-billed Dowitchers at Imperial; Wilson's Snipe at Imperial; Willet at Wingfield Pines; American Bittern recorded on a nocturnal flight recorder in Moon Township; Olive-sided Flycatcher at Frick Park and North Park; Alder Flycatcher at Wingfield Pines; Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at Beechwood Farms; Bank Swallows at Leetsdale, Wingfield Pines and Jefferson Borough; Pine Siskin at Sewickley Heights Park and Wexford; Purple Finches at the Lynch's feeders; Rusty Blackbirds near South Hills Village, Duck Hollow, Schenley Park and Wingfield Pines; Blue Grosbeak at Frick Park; Varied Bunting at a feeder in Elizabeth; 32 species of Warblers were recorded this spring, with hybrids including a suspected Black-throated Green/Cape May mix; Worm-eating Warbler at Frick Park, Harrison Hills and Deer Lakes; Golden-winged Warblers at Schenley Park and Frick Park; Mourning Warbler at Frick Park; Kentucky Warblers at Sewickley, Harrison Hills, Deer Lakes; Cerulean Warbler at Sewickley Heights Park, Frick Park and Harrison Hills Park. Observers will note that Tennessee, Cape May, and Bay-breasted Warblers have been much more common this year due to an outbreak of the Spruce Budworm in Canada: these birds are 'Spruce Budworm specialists,' in that they feed heavily on these insects; since there are more insects, there are more of these birds.
Vice President Daugherty announced August 1, 2018, as the club's next meeting date. Phil Chaon, a worldwide birding tour guide, will cover a wide-ranging topic with a talk entitled "Mealworms and Megas: Photography and the Changing Face of Birding in Southeast Asia."
Concluding the business portion of the meeting, Tom Moeller then introduced the evening's speaker, Kathy Miller, who entertained the crowd with photos and stories of her recent trip to Papua New Guinea, home to almost 800 bird species, including some spectacular ones! Sixteen different Birds-of-Paradise were among the 247 species of avifauna they recorded during their visit. Kathy has been an avid birder for 40 years. A native of Richmond, Virginia, she and her sister first began observing birds in the 1970s on their frequent trips to the Outer Banks. An internship and subsequent job in Galveston, Texas, exposed Kathy to the rich diversity of birds along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and ignited the interest in birds that still burns in her today.
Traveling with either her sister or her husband, Tom Brown, Kathy has birded on every continent but Antarctica, and in much of the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii. Recently retired, Kathy and Tom now often visit parks and refuges in their motorhome, "Archie the RV," while also seeing as much of the rest of the world as they can. They always return home to the North Hills of Allegheny County for the spring warbler migration and the sweet days of summer.
Following the presentations, President VanNewkirk adjourned the meeting .
— prepared by Frank Moone on 6-16-2018
