ANNUAL MEETING to be followed by refreshments. Election of officers and new Council members and Fellows, Treasurer’s Report, Endowment Trustees Report, Christmas Count Reports, Refreshments
Ornithological Study - Paleo-ornithological Study - Steve Kacir
Pictures from this Meeting
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Program - Jeffrey Hall - "Birds on the Rocks (Seabirds in the Canadian Maritimes)"
Visit breeding colonies of murres, gannets, and other seabirds off the coast of the Canadian Maritimes, along with other creatures that share the marine habitat of the North Atlantic.
Featured is the Machias Seal Island colony of that most appealing of seabirds, the Atlantic Puffin.
Ornithological Study - Black-capped vs. Carolina Chickadee: How
Can You Really Tell? - Frank Windfelder
Minutes of this meeting

Program - Nathan Gregory, a graduate student at Princeton University. - "Impacts of Controlled Fires and Traditional Livestock Grazing on Bird Communities in Kenya"
When many people think of East Africa, they think of savannas - open, rolling grasslands with scattered trees and abundant wildlife. What they may not realize is that savannas are the products of a long history of human influence in the form of controlled fire and livestock grazing using bomas, temporary thorn-scrub corrals.
Nathan has been investigating how the two components of traditional pastoralism, fire and grazing using bomas, affect bird abundance,diversity, and community composition. Pastoralism as a way of life is declining, and this could have important consequences for conservation.
Ornithological Study - Sexing Bald Eagles - Debbie Beer
Minutes of this Meeting

Program - Mary Gustafson - "TexMex Birds"
Come learn about the birding opportunities just across the border in northern Mexico, a short drive from Texas. How many hours away are great birds like Worthen's Sparrow, Ornate Hawk-Eagle and Military Macaw? There are seven Tamaulipan Brushlands endemic birds and two endemic Chihuahuan Desert birds, only three of which are regular in Texas.
Ornithological Study - Presentation of the 2007 DVOC Conservation Award
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Program - Keith L. Bildstein Ph. D., Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science Acopian Center for Conservation Science, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
"American Kestrel, Studies at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and Elsewhere"
The presentation will detail Hawk Mountain's American Kestrel research and conservation efforts since the 1950s and will offer information on the species' decline as well as thoughts on why this is occurring.
Ornithological Study - North American Lesser Black-backed Gull Research
Project - Sally Conyne (Click Here for the speaker's notes)
Minutes of this meeting

Program - Jeff Gordon - " iBird: Digital Technology vs. Natural History"
Many people think that one of the most valuable things about birdwatching is that it offers a chance to "unwire," to escape from things man-made into a more natural, authentic state. How does this notion fare in the days of ipods, laptops, and camera phones? What are the challenges and opportunities we all face as unprecedented power to collect and share information combines with increasing usage demands on decreasing natural areas?

While Jeff doesn't pretend to have all the answers to these questions, he does have a good deal of experience with birds, birders, and digital doodads. Join him for a conversation about the state of our art.
Ornithological Study - The New Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas - Anthony Gonzon
Minutes of this Meeting

Program - David Errol Pattemore, "On the brink: Conservation of Endemic New Zealand Birds"
New Zealand has been long separated from other land masses and the bird fauna evolved in the absence of ground-dwelling mammals. Since the arrival of humans and associated mammal pests around 1000 years ago, 42% of endemic bird species have become extinct and a further 26 species are currently listed as 'Nationally Critical'. New Zealand's birds are largely unique and exhibit several common curious features such as extreme longevity, flightlessness and gigantism. The conservation of New Zealand's unique birds has involved dramatic and innovative techniques to bring populations back from the very brink of extinction. In this talk David will introduce you to some of New Zealand's weird and wonderful birds (including detail on the kakapo recovery program), describe the continued threats to their existence and detail the steps that are being taken to ensure that someday, even you may get a chance to see them.
Ornithological Study - New North American Birds - Expert Predictions and Actuality - Colin Campbell
Minutes of this meeting

Program - Don Jones and Yoav Chudnoff - “Bigtime Birding in Bulgaria”

Bulgaria has to be one of the best kept secrets in birding. It's a beautiful country which is simply loaded with great birds. Come and share some wonderful birding memories from our June, 2007 trip.

Photo by Earl Harrison

Ornithological Study - Changes in Spring Arrival Dates for Three Bird Species in Lower Merion from 1997-2007 - Patty Thompson
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Program - Bill Fintel - "Antarctica and Seabirds of the Southern Oceans"
This program is a photographic journey covering Bill and Sally Fintel’s visit to Antarctica in January 2007. Their voyage involved major stopovers in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. A few highlights include a colony of about 200,000 King Penguins at St. Andrews Bay on South Georgia, a colony of 100,000 Black-browed Albatross on Steeple Jason, in the Falklands, and close, in flight photographs of Wandering Albatross with their 12 ft. wing span.

Additionally,Bill will present many photographs of other seabirds, marine mammals, massive glaciers, and spectacular icebergs, and he will cover some of the history of this region, as well as tips for anyone wishing to visit.

Ornithological Study - Swamp Sparrows - A Mystery Unfolds - Sarah Warner
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Program - Debi Shearwater- "Penguins of the World"
Debi writes:
"I shot this image of expedition staff member, Kees Camphuijsen of Holland on one of our landings in South Georgia. He was so busy shooting images of King Penguins in front of him, that he did not notice this penguin that had approached his camera! This King Penguin was, literally, inches from his camera lens!"

"Kees then turned around and shot a pic of me, taking pics of the KINGS!"

DVOC World Series team report
Minutes of this meeting

Program - Frank Windfelder -“My Philly Big Year in 2007”
Frank writes:"
Late in 2006, I decided to do a Philadelphia Big Year in 2007. Boy, I didn’t know what I was getting into. Birding practically every day in the city earned me 233 species, eight above Johnny Miller’s 1966 record. Along the way, I saw great birds and met a lot of wonderful people."

World Series/May Run reports (no Ornithological Study)
"Big Day/May Run Reports - this is a DVOC tradition - get your team together, pick a date and location, and see how many birds you can find in a 24-hour period.
Please send your results to Frank Windfelder and/or to Debbie Beer.
Minutes of this meeting
2008 Big Day Report (*.xls file)

Held at the Palmyra Cove Nature Park, Palmyra NJ (beside the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge)
There will be an informal 6:00 pm dinner gathering at the Penn Queen Diner, 7349 N. Crescent Blvd., Pennsauken, NJ 08110-1517
Short presentations including....
A Raptor ID Puzzle - Bert Filemyr
Southeast Arizona - Rob Hynson (Click Here for a pdf (8mb) of the presentation)
Behind the Curtain of the DVOC Website - Bert Filemyr

Held at the Palmyra Cove Nature Park, Palmyra NJ (beside the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge)
There will be an informal 6:00 pm dinner gathering at the Penn Queen Diner, 7349 N. Crescent Blvd., Pennsauken, NJ 08110-1517
Short presentations including....
Elizabeth Rosenthal, the author of "Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson", speaking about her book, plus books for sale and signing. http://www.petersonbird.com/
Vincent Nichnadowicz, "Banding Penguins in Patagonia"
Hidden Places of Palmyra - Frank Windfelder

Held at the Silver Lake Nature Center, 1306 Bath Rd., Bristol, PA

From I-95 go to exit 40 (Bristol Rt. 413). At the end of the ramp, turn left. At second light turn right onto ford rd. At the T-intersection, turn right onto Bath Rd. At the first light, Bath rd. turns to the right and the Nature Center is 1/4 mile on left.

From PA turnpike go to the last or first exit in PA Exit 358 and take Rt. 13 south to the second traffic light and turn right onto Bath Rd. The Building is 3/4 miles on the right.

From Rt. 13 travelling to the north, go to the second light past Rt. 413. You cannot make a left, but must use the jug handle around the Golden Eagle Diner which will put you on Bath Rd. going in the correct direction. The Building is 3/4 miles on the right.

Short presentations are invited.
If interested, contact Frank Windfelder

Program - Lillian Armstrong, "New Jersey Birding and Wildlife Trail Guides Project"
A peek inside the creation of New Jersey's Birding and Wildlife Trails.
After nearly 20 years on Wall Street, the last 14 of which were on San Francisco's version of it -- Montgomery Street, primarily in financial communications, Lillian Armstrong was ready for a change. Her passion for birds and the environment was nurtured through her volunteer efforts at the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, and semi-annual trips to Cape May to visit her birder-parents. It was through sheer luck and serendipity that the fledgling NJ Birding and Wildlife Trails program had a brand new position open just as she resigned and turned over the reins of the practice she had built to one of her colleagues. She started with NJAS August 1, 2004, and the last four years have flown by.
Ornithological Study - Art McMorris - "Recent AOU Checklist Changes."
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Program - Dr. Howard B. Eskin - “The Challenges of Bird Photography”
A Photo Essay as follows: 1) Birds Who Love Water, 2)Birds Who Love The Shore, Sand and Mud, 3)Birds Who Love Eating Fish, Crabs And Creepy, Crawly Things, 4)Raptors And Other Birds Who Just Love To Eat, 5)Birds With An Attitude, 6)Strays, Exotics and Rarer Regulars, 7)Alaskan Birds And Other Critters, and finally, 8)Technical Stuff.

Ornithological Study - Debbie Beer - "Refuges by the Numbers"
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Program - Bob Fergus - "Urban Bird Ecology and Conservation".

Drawing upon his graduate research and experience working with Audubon chapters across the country, Rob Fergus will talk about how birds adapt to various urban landscapes, and how people can make these areas better for birds.
Ornithological Study - "Giving Up the Heavens: Ten Flightless Birds" - Steve Kacir
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Program - Adrian Binns - "Watching East Africa's Unique Wildlife"
From the savannahs of Kenya to Uganda’s rainforest, from the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania to the lakes in the Rift Valley, the abundant display of wildlife in East Africa is unparalleled. With such a large concentration of both mammals and avian species it is not surprising that a number of different inter-actions and relationships can be found between them. We will explore some of these unique relationships and take a look at some of the 14 (of 16 African) endemic avian families that East Africa hosts.

Minutes of this meeting

Program - Clay and Pat Sutton, "Birds and Birding at Cape May (a Bird Walk Through Time)," program and book signing by Clay and Pat Sutton

The husband and wife team of Clay and Pat Sutton are long-time naturalists whose names are synonymous with Cape May, New Jersey, a place that has been aptly called the migration capitol of North America. Pat Sutton was for 21 years the Program Director at the New Jersey Audubon Society’s Cape May Bird Observatory. Prior to that, she was the Park Naturalist at Cape May Point State Park. Pat is a founding board member of the North American Butterfly Association.

Clay is a life-long resident of Cape May, where he has worked as an Environmental Program Administrator, Vice-President of an environmental consulting firm specializing in threatened and endangered species, and for the past decade as a self-employed naturalist and field biologist. He is a long-time instructor for the American Birding Association’s Institute for Field Ornithology. Today, Clay and Pat are free-lance writers, naturalists, lecturers, and tour leaders.

Pat’s consuming interests include owls, butterflies, and wildlife gardening and wildscapes. Clay is captivated by migration in all its forms.

Clay and Pat have had papers published in a number of journals and proceedings, and have contributed numerous popular articles to virtually all of the popular birding magazines. Clay is a co-author, with Pete Dunne and David Sibley, of the instant classic Hawks in Flight (Houghton Mifflin, 1988), and Clay and Pat together have co-authored How to Spot an Owl, How to Spot Hawks and Eagles, and How to Spot Butterflies, all published by Houghton Mifflin.

Their landmark book, Birds and Birding at Cape May, was published in 2006 by Stackpole Books, the in-depth result of their efforts over many years documenting and protecting the migration and the hometown that they so love. Their program will share the history of birds and birding at Cape May, including DVOC and Philadelphia's major roles.
2008 Banquet Report

Program - Scott Weidensaul, “Of a Feather”
From the moment Europeans arrived in North America, they were awestruck by a continent awash with birds - great flocks of wild pigeons, woodlands alive with brilliantly colored songbirds. Join naturalist and author Scott Weidensaul as he traces the unpredictable history of bird study in America, from frontier ornithologists (one of whom barely escaped pursuing Apaches with a precious hawk egg hidden in his mouth) to society matrons who organized the first effective conservation movement; from luminaries like Alexander Wilson (a convicted blackmailer) and Audubon (an accomplished liar) to modern geniuses like Roger Tory Peterson.
Ornithological Study
Minutes of this meeting

Program - Annual DVOC Slide Contest
There has been an overwhelming response to the DVOC Slide Contest. We have accumulated a stunning array of photographs. Come and see the slides, and relive the experience with the photographers.
Prizes will be awarded in four categories: Birds, Natural History (non-avian fauna and flora), Scenery, and Birders.
The cameraderie should be great. Don't miss this one!
Winners of the contest (3.7 mb pdf file)
Minutes of this meeting