Bimonthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
7:30 PM -- 9:30 PM
Virtual Zoom Platform from Pittsburgh, PA


Seventy-five computers were logged on to 3RBC's February 2022 meeting, with several of those shared by more than one person. In total, at least 87 individuals viewed the club's ninth virtual Zoom meeting, which featured experienced birder and naturalist Bridget Butler, who presented "Slow Birding: Reimagining Our Connection to Birds. "

3RBC President Sheree Daugherty called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. She and other club officers made the following announcements and reports.

    •   Sheree began by noting that the club is still in "pandemic mode" and will continue to meet via Zoom until is safe to gather together in person. She hoped the situation will improve soon, but, for safety's sake, virtual meetings will continue for the foreseeable future. She speculated that we might be able to meet in person in April or June. When we do meet in person, the meeting will be held in Phipps Conservatory's Botany Hall in Oakland. She noted that Tom Moeller will send out an email containing details of the next meeting. Alternatively, the club's website and FaceBook page will also have meeting information.

    •   Peregrine Editor Paul Hess highlighted the content of the upcoming March-April issue of The Peregrine.

      He announced that in her next President's Message, Sheree will review the book, Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, which discusses some manifestations of climate change and its impact on not only birds, but other species as well.

      The Peregrine front page will also contain information about Holly Merker's upcoming program, "Ornitherapy: For Your Mind, Body, and Soul."
      The issue will also contain a summary of the results of the recent Christmas Bird Count, presenting reports from the area's leaders and coordinators. Paul noted that the count revealed some very unusual patterns of distribution.

      Paul will also include a memorial page celebrating the life of longtime birder, Dennis Smeltzer from the Greensburg area.

      A recap of club outings, presented by Steve Thomas, will also be in the issue.

      Response to the new Peregrine feature, Notes About Our Birders, continues to be overwhelming; the upcoming issue will contain a number of these interesting tidbits.

      Tom Moeller's Observations column will educate us about Ring-billed Gulls. Paul noted that these locally common-but-fascinating birds go through several remarkable plumage phases during their first-through-third years, with each presenting its own identification challenges. Tom's article teaches gull watchers how to tell the difference.

      Frank Izaguirre and Tessa Rhinehart both have important contributions in the ABA magazine, Birding. Paul asked everyone to look at the club website, which details the outstanding offerings of each, and commented that 3RBC is lucky to count such professionals among its members.

    •   Outings Coordinator Steve Thomas announced that 14 outings are scheduled for the spring, as well as the club's annual picnic in June!

    • Wednesday, March 23 — Woodcock Walk
    • Saturday, March 26 — Yellow Creek
    • Sunday, March 27 — Pymatuning Area
    • Wednesday, March 30 — Woodcock Walk
    • Saturday, April 2 — Moraine State Park
    • Wednesday, April 13 — Woodcock Walk
    • Saturday, April 23 — Raccoon Creek State Park
    • Friday April 29 — Frick Park
    • Friday, April 29 — Sewickley Heights Park
    • Friday, May 6 — Sewickley Heights Park
    • Saturday, May 7 — Chatham's Eden Hall Campus
    • Saturday, May 14 — Deer Lakes Park
    • Sunday, May 15 — State Game Lands 95, Glade Dam Lake
    • Saturday, May 21 — Harrison Hills
    • Saturday, June 11, 2022 — 3RBC Annual Picnic at Harrison Hills Park
      Participants must follow CDC guidelines, including these: practice social distancing; do not share equipment; vaccines are recommended; wear a mask when appropriate. Each outing leader has set additional restrictions and requirements: most require pre-registration, and numbers of participants are limited to about 15. Finally, each leader may discontinue the outing at any time if conditions warrant such an action. Please see the full outing listing on the website for all restrictions and requirements that may apply! As always, check the club's Facebook page for details, directions, and possible last minute changes or cancellations.

      •   3RBC Vice President Mike Fialkovich was unable to connect with audio due to technical difficulties. He later submitted the following written report for the minutes instead: A Cackling Goose was at Dashields Dam 12/17; A Ross's Goose was found at Hampton Community Park 12/31 and remained in the area and at North Park to at least 1/15; Tundra Swans were flying over Oakmont and Frick Park 1/5 and 1/6 respectively; A Northern Pintail was in Findlay Township 1/2 though the month; Four White-winged Scoters were in Verona 1/29; A Rough-legged Hawk was found in Clinton 1/28; An immature Black-crowned Night-Heron was at Chapel Harbor 12/12; A group of up to 39 Killdeer gathered at South Park in late December; Three Great Black-backed Gulls were at The Point 1/29 and up to two Lesser Black-backed Gulls were there the end of January; An Iceland Gull was at the Point 1/27-29; A Black Vulture was in Fox Chapel 1/5-6 and one was photographed in Monroeville 1/18; Turkey Vultures have been reported regularly during the winter this year; Fresh remains of a Common Gallinule were found in Jefferson Hills 12/21; An American Crow with white in the wings was seen in Mt. Lebanon 12/21; A late Eastern Phoebe was in Indiana Township 12/19; Unusual for December, a Blue-headed Vireo was photographed in Oakmont 12/7; Also unusual for this time of year, Gray Catbirds were at Boyce Park, Riverview Park and Imperial in December; A Pine Siskin was at Frick Park 1/14; A female Dark-eyed Junco of the Cassiar subspecies was at a feeder in Indiana Township 1/24 through the month. This subspecies breeds in the Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta and is a hybrid between the Slate-colored and Oregon subspecies; Rare for winter, a Lincoln's Sparrow was in Pine Township 1/17; Unusual this winter are a number of reports of Fox Sparrow which typically does not winter here. Single birds were in Churchill 12/19 and 12/24, two were at North Park 12/31 to 1/12 and one was in Indiana Township 1/1; An out of season female Baltimore Oriole visited a feeder in Elizabeth Township 1/29 but has not been seen since; An Orange-crowned Warbler visited a feeder in Oakland 12/30-1/6; Way out of season, a Tennessee Warbler was photographed in Shadyside 12/28.

      •   Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania's Director of Operations and Pittsburgh Christmas Bird Count Compiler, Brian Shema, delivered a summary of this year's count. The count was held on New Year's Day, and the weather was miserable, with rain all day. Counters reported 72 species, which is the ten-year average; but, most likely because of the weather, counters did not take the field in their usual numbers, so, correspondingly, individual bird numbers were down, in some case considerably. Paradoxically, some counts were high: the count for the Common Raven was its highest ever, as was the Swamp Sparrow, with 7 or 8 reported (5 in one Fox Chapel location!). On the other hand, there were some very low counts, including Goldfinches and Juncos, which were at a 15-year low. Low numbers were, again, attributable to the rainy weather, not as many birders afield, and a large quantity of naturally occurring food, i.e., Goldenrod seed and the like, which kept some birds away from feeders where they are usually counted. In all some 16,200 birds were counted, many fewer than the 40,000-to-50,000 bird norm. This number was depressed especially by the inability to count Crows: due to foggy conditions; only 2,000 were reported, very far down from the typical 14,000-16,000 individuals.

      •   Next, Tom Moeller gave his treasurer's report. He reported that memberships now total 328; which translates to more than 400 individuals who enjoy birding. Tom reported that members will soon be able to pay through PayPal; this feature will be operational on the website soon. As always, we are very grateful for the continued support and generosity of our members.

      •   Webmaster Tom Moeller reminded members to check out the website for information about Frank Izaguirre and Tessa Rhinehart. Frank co-edited the current issue of Birding, has an excellent article, and serves as the magazine's book review editor. Also in the January issue, Tessa Rhinehart, known for her work in recording and categorizing bird songs, has an extraordinarily well researched and well reported article about a newly described South American bird species, the Inti Tanager. Tom also reported that, sadly, Bird Watcher's Digest closed in December and will no longer be publishing. After 43 years, everyone will sorely miss this mainstay birding publication. Finally, Tom reported that a bridge over a section of Frick Park has collapsed, something we all probably know about. As a result, some sections of the park near the collapsed bridged will be closed until further notice.

      •   Program Director Carol McCullough noted that the club's next meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at 7:00 PM and will feature Holly Merker, one of the most lively and experienced birders, educators, authors, and environmental leaders in Pennsylvania and across the US. Her upcoming program is titled "Ornitherapy: For Your Mind, Body, and Soul." Holly is lead author of the book Ornitherapy: For Your Body, Mind, and Soul (along with co-authors Richard Crossley and Sophie Crossley, Crossley Books, 2021) and is currently promoting the practice of ornitherapy and providing workshops and programs across the US.

    Carol next introduced the evening's speaker, Bridget Butler, aka "The Bird Diva," who presented, "Slow Birding: Reimagining Our Connection to Birds." She has been working in conservation and environmental education for more than 20 years, including activities for the National Audubon Society in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, and is an advocate of what she calls Slow Birding. Her work has been featured on numerous podcasts including the American Birding Podcast, Ray Brown's Talkin' Birds Podcast, and the South Africa podcast The Birding Life. Bridget lives in St. Albans, Vermont, near the Canadian border, with her husband and three young children.
    Bridget Butler
    Bridget Butler

    Bridget began by explaining Slow Birding, which offers a new perspective on how we watch birds. She explained that watching birds isn't really fast in the first place. The pace of a birder in the field is slow and methodical. Yet, traditional birding can be list-driven and competitive. The Slow Birding practice explores a fresh approach to observing birds focused on re-awakening and fine tuning your innate birding skills while at the same time creating a deeper connection to yourself and the place you live.

    What is Slow Birding? Bridget explained that when she started working for Audubon centers in the Northeast, she found birders to be a hard group to break into, and they practiced a bit of gatekeeping around their knowledge, especially when it came to novice birders. Some traditional practices, like "chasing a bird," i.e., hurrying to see whatever new bird appears, and ego-driven competitive listing, and the pressure to use eBird at every instant seemed exclusionary to her. These issues made her analyze what she really needed out of birding, what she valued. She concluded that birding for her was about more than simply collecting data via eBird, or adding to a life list. She wanted to slow down when in the field and notice more, beyond simply identifying the bird, checking it off your list and moving on. This was the genesis of her notions about Slow Birding.

    Why should we practice Slow Birding? Bridget discovered that by slowing down and allowing herself to notice more, she developed a deeper skill set, and found that her connection with birds changed. When she shifted from what she called "hunter mode" and scientific observation to Slow Birding, birds became, to her, more than mere objects; she began to see them as individuals, neighbors, even kin, who bear a close relationship to the places they inhabit. Slow birding also encouraged her to develop a stronger sense of place, a deeper realization of the importance of locale and habitat and her connection to it. In a way, it is also a form of meditation, since the emphasis is shifted to awareness of time spent in the moment.

    Slow Birding uses what Bridget called Sit Spot Practice to anchor our experiences and observations of birds to a particular place over time. This entails sitting quietly in one place for at least twenty minutes, preferably more, which allows the birds and other creatures to get used to your presence, which in turn lets you go beyond mere noting what type of bird you are seeing, but also to see and appreciate natural behaviors and how they relate to you and to their environment.

    Since traditional birding outings do not encourage this approach, Bridget's research led her to some of the earliest practitioners of birding who were women. She especially noted the work and publications of Florence Merriam Bailey, Olive Thorne Miller and Mabel Osgood Wright. Bailey, especially, is credited with writing the first field guide to birds in North America. Her suggestion was to find a good place and sit there quietly for several hours and carefully watch what appears. In this manner one will get at the "home life" of birds. Bailey frequently travelled and birded with Olive Thorne Miller, another woman birding pioneer. Mabel Osgood Wright's book, The Friendship of Nature, also advocated this style of birding and nature studies. The three women were opposed to shooting birds in order to study them - commonly practiced by John James Audubon and most male birders.

    These women also focused on the study of what was right outside their windows. Bridget encouraged everyone to find a Sit Spot close by and convenient to get to: she reasoned that if we need to drive to a spot and hike in, it's not very likely that we will do it often. Once we have found a good Sit Spot, Bridget advised that we develop a "usual suspects" list, and get to know as much as possible about these birds. Once we do this, the seasonal migrants will stand out against this "usual suspects" background, making them easier to identify.

    Bridget noted that Slow Birding, shifts intent from a list-driven and competitive practice to a more contemplative approach and can significantly help build our skill set. She noted that some field guides — notably the Peterson Guides — are starting to shift the methodology used to study birds away from solely plumage, colors and field marks. She commented that the emphasis is beginning to change, and guides are starting to make a distinction between "looking" and "seeing." "Looking" is mostly superficial, training one's eyes on an object, where "seeing" involves considering many more factors, including interpretation of what a birder is "looking" at, taking into account much more than that which is necessary to mere identification.

    What is Balanced Brain Birding? When a birder begins to "see" birds, rather than to merely "look" at them, left-brain/right-brain concepts raised by Kevin Karlson and Dale Rosselet in their book Birding By Impression come into play. The left side of the brain deals with the analytical, and linear thinking, i.e., field marks, etc., while the brain's right side is non-linear and intuition based, and is essential to recognizing and assessing three-dimensional shapes and impressions. Spending time on a Sit Spot helps birders develop right-brain skills, which include processing impressions such as silhouette, posture, time-of-year, habitat, and the like.

    Bridget concluded by recommending that we all try mindful birding; not to seek this bird or that bird, but to be in the moment and allow the birds that we see to present themselves, and to slow down and find joy in the experience. To do so is to use birding as a path to holistic wellness.

    Sheree thanked Bridget for her excellent presentation, and noted that her presentation had garnered more than one hundred chat box comments, a record high for any 3RBC presentation! She wished everyone well, cautioned us to stay safe, and adjourned the meeting.

    — prepared by Frank Moone on 2-15-2022

Image Gallery

Mission of 3RBC

To gather in friendship, to enjoy the wonders of nature and to share our passion for birds!

© Photo Credits:
Sherron Lynch, Tom Moeller, Brian Shema, and Chuck Tague