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> October 20, 2005 Minutes
Minutes of the DVOC
October 20, 2005
DVOC made a sighting of the very rare European vagrant Adrian Binns, who gaveled in the meeting at 7:35. 59 members and 11 guests attended, filling the Commons Room. The minutes for October 6 were approved as read.
Committee Reports
Membership: Connie Goldman announced 4 new candidates for membership; Gabe Johnson,
Howard Einspahr, Bradford Whitman, and Alexander Grinwade. If we keep this up,
we may have to declare the club full!
Larus: Adrian Binns gave details about the expanded version of Larus On-line, and asked people to forego the limited paper copy if they had Internet access. If you need something to take into the john with you, get a laptop and wireless connection.
Cassinia: No report.
E-mail List: No report.
Web Site: No report.
Field Trips: Frank Windfelder reported on the October 15 field trip to Tuckerton. Highlights included Nelson's and Salt-marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows, Seaside Sparrow, 2 Avocets, American Bittern, and Caspian Tern. A tour through Brigantine NWR turned up American Golden-Plover, Common Gallinule, Lapland Longspur, and both White and Brown Pelican.
Upcoming field trips announced were:
• Frank Windfelder: The Bake Oven Knob will be either 11/5 or 11/6, depending
upon the weather conditions.
• JoAnne Raine: Pennypack Watershed trip on Sat, 10/22.
• Adrian Binns: Saw-whet Owls Banding on 11/12.
Programs: Chris Walters announced the following upcoming programs:
• 11/03: Same Fried will present "Eastern Australia Birding".
• 11/17: The annual annual banquet with Michael Male and Judy Feith.
• 12/01: Scott Barnes will present "Birding Sandy Hook"
• 12/15: Member slide night.
Announcements
• Adrian Binns: The Clean Air Council is having a roundtable discussion
with Larry Niles and Eric Stiles called "Trials and Tribulations of the
Red Knot" at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Details are on DVOC's web
site.
• Adrian Binns: Read a thank you letter for the club's help on their "All
Things Birds" event. Linda Rowan gave details of the event.
• Adrian Binns: Discussed an interesting article in Discovery magazine
where scientists cracked the code of the Black-capped Chickadees calls. The
number of dee-dee-dee notes is used to denote the level of danger from a detected
predator.
• Paul Guris: The Dec. 3 pelagic trip out of Belmar, NJ is already over
half filled, and the other December trips are filling also.
Local Notes
• Augie Sexauer: A Golden Eagle was already seen at Bake Oven Knob.
• Rick Mellon: Notting Forest had multiple flocks of Red-breasted Nuthatch.
• Chris Walters: A Bald Eagle pair in the Poconos is now known to winter
on the northern end of the Delaware River, along with many other eagles.
• Doris McGovern: There was a huge fallout in Cape May this weekend. She
reported 1000+ Savanah Sparrows and numbers of Palm Warblers. In a single net,
Johnny Miller caught 165 birds including 95 Swamp Sparrows. Paul Lehman had
reported that Yellow-rumped Warblers on 10/18 were impossible to estimate accurately,
with estimates between 200,00 and 1,000,000.
• George Armistead: Reported a huge fallout occurred this past weekend
in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, including approximately 4,000 Palm and
2,500 Yellow-rumped Warblers.
• Colin Campbell: Ft. Dupont State Park in DE had an influx of White-throated
Sparrows (60+), a juv. White-crowned, Junco, Purple Finch, and 4 Blue-headed
Vireos.
• Adrian Binns: Dog Park along the Schuylkill River had several hundred
White-throated Sparrows and numbers of Sapsuckers.
• Vince McManowicz: Island Beach also had a large fallout, including numbers
of warblers, kinglets, etc.
• JoAnne Raine: Similar migrant movement also seen in the Pennypack.
• Erica Brendell: Carpenter's Woods had White-throated Sparrows, Hermit
Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Winter Wren.
• Naomi Murphy: Ft. Washington State Park had several Lincoln's Sparrow,
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sapsuckers, Winter Wrens, Blue-headed Vireo, and Purple
Finch.
• Bill Murphy: A Black-tailed Gull has been in Vermont for about 2 weeks.
Ornithological Studies
Matt Sharp presented "ID of Western Hummingbirds", a timely presentation
since autumn is normally when vagrant hummingbirds show up in our area.
Program
George Armistead presented "Birding Southern Argentina - The Pampas, Patagonia,
& Tierra del Fuego", providing an excellent overview of what can be
found in this region.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul A. Guris, Secretary