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> May 17, 2007 Minutes
Minutes of the DVOC
May 17, 2007
President Chris Walters called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. In attendance were 36 members and 2 guests.
Field Trips: Co-chairman Bob Horton ran this part of the meeting.
Chuck Hetzel reported on the Friday to Sunday, May 11th to 13th trip to Southern Delaware and Maryland, led by Colin Campbell. A total of 154 species were seen.
Details of the following trips are listed at www.dvoc.org :
Saturday, May 19th – Ridley Creek State Park, PA, led by Art McMorris
Sunday, May 20th – Carpenter’s Woods, Philadelphia, led by Erica Brendel
Sunday, May 20th – West Laurel Hill and Westminster Cemeteries and the PECO property, led by Greg Gorton
Saturday, May 26th – Port Richmond & Bridesburg, Philadelphia, led by Kate Somerville
Upcoming Programs:
Program Chairman Paul Guris mentioned that the Thursday, June 7th meeting will deal with the May Run/Big Day reports. There is a blank spreadsheet on the website with which participants can submit reports. Paul added that the July and August meetings will likely be at Palmyra. The place and date of the informal meeting in September have yet to be decided.
Announcements:
The Zeiss Youth Birding Award for Division B (Grades 6-8) went to the U-Terns, sponsored by the Upper Main Line YMCA. The team consisting of Captain Cody Pitz, Ben Bussman, Robert Galland, Christina Heston, and Danielle Smith found 174 species. Paul Guris mentioned that the Zeiss Youth Birding Award for Division C (Grades 9-12) went to the Space Coast Blue Oystercatcher Cult, sponsored by Nikon. Adults Debbie Beer and Win Shafer graciously drove the vehicle.
Eric Stiles, our main speaker, provided copies of the recently published “Birding & Wildlife Trails: Meadowlands and More”. New Jersey Audubon is currently working on a similar effort for the Skylands region of New Jersey. You can nominate your favorite wildlife viewing site in that area. Go to www.njwildlifetrails.org for details.
Local Notes:
Recently, Rick Mellon found a White-crowned Sparrow in a Montgomery County mitigation area. Last year, he had flushed a Lark Sparrow in the same location.
This morning, Chuck Hetzel observed two Yellow-breasted Chats and a Blue Grosbeak in the Spring Lane area, which adjoins the Schuylkill Center in Philadelphia.
On Sunday, May 13th, Frank Windfelder saw a female Mourning Warbler in the Eastwick area adjacent to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum.
Judy Stepanoski recently observed 400 Chimney Swifts at the Jenks School in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.
JoAnn Raine reported a Red-headed Woodpecker on May 5th at the Pennypack Environmental Trust in Montgomery County, PA. Bobolinks are currently there, and it is hoped that they will stay to nest.
Ornithological Studies: Bert Filemyr gave an excellent PowerPoint
Presentation on the efforts of the Nikon / DVOC Lagerhead Shrikes, which identified
227 species during the New Jersey World Series of Birding on May 12th. This
is the second highest total for our team in the 24 years of the event. We tied
Bushnell / Connecticut Audubon for second place. First place was Swarovski /
Cornell The Sapsuckers with 230 species.
Full results are available at http://www.njaudubon.org/WSB/PDF/07Results.pdf
. Bert reminded us that the main purpose of the event is to raise money for
conservation.
It is not too late to pledge money to our Conservation
Fund via the World Series of Birding. Support our team and contribute to the
Conservation Fund by contributing NOW! The pledge form is available at
http://www.dvoc.org/WSB/WSB2007/2007WSBPledge.pdf
Program: Eric Stiles’ program was entitled, "Shorebird Conservation
on the Delaware Bay: Glass Half Full or Broken?" He spoke primarily about
the plight of the Red Knot. Recent surveys in the Delaware Bay have estimated
the population at about 17,000, which is down from a former total of 100,000.
He has an optimistic view that the recent two-year moratorium on Horseshoe Crab
harvesting in New Jersey and Delaware will help to save the subspecies from
extinction.
Respectfully submitted,
Frank Windfelder, Secretary