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> May 17, 2012 Minutes
Minutes of the DVOC
May 17, 2012
President Art McMorris called the meeting to order at 7:31
PM. Twenty members and five guests were present.
The minutes of the 3 May 2012 meeting were approved as submitted.
Committees:
Conservation:
Chairperson Phil Witmer encouraged all DVOC members to make pledges in support
of the DVOC Loons World Series of Birding Team and the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
American Kestrel Program to be funded through those pledges. The funds will
be used to support the reprinting of the American Kestrel nest box and conservation
color brochure, which will help landowners participate in the Hawk Mountain
Sanctuary American Kestrel Conservation Program. A pledge form can be downloaded
from the DVOC website:
http://www.dvoc.org/WSB/WSB.htm
Phil Witmer noted that a NOAA report declared that this last twelve-month period was the warmest on record. A “Mother Jones” article on this topic is available online: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/05/heat-records-shattered-us-past-12-months
Phil Witmer mentioned that companies involved with wind power have voluntarily adopted sighting guidelines developed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Audubon Society favors the use of voluntary guidelines. The wind industry has a desire to keep these guidelines voluntary and are supporting and complying with them. Phil noted that the American Bird Conservancy promotes a more hard-line stance with mandatory sighting guidelines.
Membership:
Chairperson Anita Guris reported that she is seeking volunteers to help man
the DVOC table at the Academy of Natural Sciences Bird Weekend, which takes
place from June 9-10. Volunteers would man the table between 9:00AM and 5:00PM.
Please contact Anita Guris if you can help.
Field Trips:
Chairperson Win Shafer conducted the trip reports and trip announcements:
Trip Reports:
May 6 – John Heinz NWR at Tinicum, Southwest Philadelphia, PA led by Frank
Windfelder. Win Shafer and Sam Perloff mentioned that they heard a Cerulean
Warbler on this trip and that there were many migrants at the refuge that day.
Trip Announcements:
May 19 – Ridley Creek State Park, PA. Leader is Art McMorris. This trip
meets at the Ridley Creek bridge on Gradyville Rd (near Newtown Square, PA)
at 6:30AM and will run about half a day long, focusing on migrants and breeders
such as Kentucky Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Swainson’s Thrush, Yellow-throated
Vireo and Acadian Flycatcher.
May 20 – SW New Jersey. Leader is Tony Croasdale. This trip meets at 7:30AM
at the Wawa on CR 670/Mauricetown-Crossway Rd near the intersection of route
47 and 347. The trip will search for migrants and rarities discovered by various
World Series of Birding Teams the week before, including shorebirds at Heislerville
WMA and breeding warblers.
June 2 – Wharton State Forest for Nighthawks. Leader is Steve Kacir. This
trip focuses on seeing and hearing the breeding displays of Common Nighthawk
and listening for Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will’s-widow at the forest.
Please contact Steve Kacir if you are interested in attending, as the trip will
be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
June 8-10 – Weekend at Camp Susquehannock in Northeastern PA. Leader is
Win Shafer. Staying at the cabins of Camp Susquehannock, this trip will focus
on northern breeding birds.
June 12 – Lakehurst Naval Air Station for Upland Sandpipers. Leader is
Bob Horton. This trip will focus on grassland species breeding on the Naval
Air Station property including Upland Sandpipers, Grasshopper Sparrows, Field
Sparrow, Horned Lark and Eastern Meadowlark.
Ornithological Moments:
No report.
Programs:
Vice President Phil Witmer announced the upcoming programs.
On June 7, Terry Master will present “Riparian Songbirds:
Canaries in an Aquatic Coal Mine.”
Due to the Independence Day holiday (July 4th), the July 5 informal meeting
of the DVOC will be moved to July 12. On that date, Bert Filemyr will present
“From the Archives: The Strange Case of DVOC Member Charles J. Pennock”
as part of the informal summer meeting.
Phil stated that he is still looking for speakers for the club’s informal
summer meetings. Programs can be short or long and deal with any variety of
topics. Contact Phil if you can present a program at a summer meeting.
On Sep 6, a small group of DVOC members will present short 5-10 minute discussions of the pros and cons of some apps and/or technology for use in birding.
On Oct 4, Sue Killeen will present “Birding Cuba for Cuban Endemics.”
On Oct 18, Derek Lovitch will present “How to be a Better Birder.”
On Nov 1, Bob Curry will update the club on his chickadee research.
Phil revealed that he has a speaker for the DVOC Banquet, but would be keeping the identity of the speaker a secret for the time being.
Announcements:
Art McMorris announced that The Academy of Natural Sciences is presenting a
bird-themed weekend event that the Academy has dubbed Bird Fest. Bird Fest takes
place on June 9-10 as part of the Academy’s bicentennial celebration.
DVOC will have a table at the event, and those interested in manning the table
should contact Anita Guris. More information about the bird weekend can be found
online:
http://www.ansp.org/Visit/Events/Details/?eid=1414&iid=4280
Art McMorris announced that the Pennsylvania Game Commission
and Wildlife for Everyone Endowment Foundation are offering a limited number
of scholarships to cover the Wildlife Diversity Forum registration fee, meals
during the conference and one night of lodging. The Wildlife Diversity Forum
takes place in State College, PA on June 28-29. More information about the PGC
Wildlife Diversity Forum and the scholarship program is available online: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1131495&mode=2
Local Notes:
Jack Creighton reported that John Heinz NWR at Tinicum had 22 species of warblers,
with the highlight being a Wilson’s Warbler that he and Frank Windfelder
observed. There was a warbler in every tree according to Jack.
Paul Guris reported on his recent visit to High Point State Park in NJ and the
Delaware Water Gap from the weekend before last. Paul noted that there had been
a good warbler fallout during his time there including around 50 Chestnut-sided
Warblers. Breeders in the area included Canada Warbler on territory and the
local Blackburnian Warblers. The past weekend, Paul noted over 50 Yellow-rumped
Warblers in the Unami Valley along with 24 Blackpoll Warblers. No thrushes were
present at the time, but White-eyed Vireo and Acadian Flycatchers were on territory.
Win Shafer reported on a trip to Magee Marsh in Ohio. Win, Chris Walters and
Erica Brendel visited Magee Marsh for International Migratory Bird Day and enjoyed
close encounters with various warblers along the boardwalk. They were able to
see a female Kirtland’s Warbler that stayed in the area for a few days.
Other sightings from Magee Marsh included Blackburnian Warbler, Prothonotary
Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Mourning Warbler and Cape May Warbler. Afterwards
they visited the Oak Openings near Toledo where they saw Lark Sparrow, Red-headed
Woodpecker and Scarlet Tanager. On the way back to SE PA, they stopped at the
Clarion County grasslands to see Grasshopper Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Henslow’s
Sparrow and Northern Harrier.
Mike O’Brien reported that two to three dozen Cedar Waxwings were at 53rd
and Chestnut St in Philadelphia. Two Ovenbirds were killed after striking the
windows at the Holy Family Home. Art McMorris and other DVOC members mentioned
that such birds were of interest to the Academy of Natural Sciences for their
collections.
Rodney Platt reported a Bobolink from Great Swamp NWR in NJ.
Erica Brendel reported on the Eastern Screech-owls in Carpenter Woods, noting
that the male red phase screech-owl was at the same perch every morning, but
that the location of the nest site was not discovered this year. The male was
seen with a fledgling on Friday night. Marty Dellwo added that he had seen two
Eastern Screech-owls on the eastern side of the woods one and a half months
ago.
Marty Dellwo reported that he took part in the Pennsylvania Migration Count
(PAMC) on Saturday and noted that the Philadelphia section listed 120 species
for the count. Marty saw 16 species of warbler including Kentucky Warbler singing
on a possible territory. The Delaware River Trail behind the Walmart in South
Central Philadelphia yielded Bobolink, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Rose-breasted
Grosbeak, Bay-breasted Warbler and Nashville Warbler. John Heinz NWR at Tinicum
had a Wilson’s Warbler and a Canada Warbler a couple weeks ago.
Some discussion on the Delaware River Trail broke out during Marty’s report.
Marty noted that the Delaware River Trail could be accessed from the Walmart
or the Sheet Metal Workers’ Hall and that the trail ran near the site
of the possibly defunct Sugarhouse Casino. Secretary Steve Kacir created a Google
Map of this area, including a few landmarks: http://goo.gl/maps/6Hty
Sam Perloff reported on the Montgomery County section of the PAMC, which also
listed around 120 species of birds for the count. Sam noted that the Fort Washington
State Park territory had 21 species of warbler including Cerulean, Nashville
and Tennessee. Sam reported hearing a Virginia Rail from an unspecified location
in the county during the PAMC.
Mike Fritz reported that Ridley Creek State Park had 22 species of warbler including
3 Tennessee Warblers, a male Blackburnian Warbler and Hooded Warbler; though
no Kentucky Warbler was found there. In addition, the park had two hen Wood
Ducks with ducklings and a female Scarlet Tanager that was catching wasps, beating
them to remove the stinger and then eating them.
Anita Guris mentioned that the former members of the Nikon/DVOC Lagerhead Shrikes
World Series of Birding Team are enjoying being out birding and looking for
birds instead of racing around scouting and trying to figure out where they’re
going to get Black Rail for the competition.
World Series of Birding Report:
President Art McMorris announced that a detailed account of the new DVOC Loons
World Series of Birding Team was initially on the schedule for the meeting,
but that George Armistead was unable to attend the meeting as planned. Art mentioned
that the new DVOC Loons Team consists of Captain Bill Reaume, George Armistead,
Scott Fraser and Todd Fellenbaum. Despite a very low amount of scouting, the
DVOC Loons were able to find 192 species of birds and achieve fourth place in
the competition.
Art McMorris then introduced Nathaniel Sharp, a member of the Upper Main Line
YMCA B.B.Kingfishers World Series of Birding Team, which earned first place
in the World Series of Birding youth division with a total of 173 species of
birds. Nathaniel mentioned the team’s misses including Common Raven, Eurasian
Collared-dove, White-winged Dove and both cuckoos. Nathaniel also noted some
avian highlights from the competition: 28 species of warbler, Virginia Rail,
Clapper Rails and close encounters with Least Terns and Piping Plovers at the
meadows (The Nature Conservancy’s Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge). Nathaniel
concluded by recounting the ultimate highlight for the competition: having enough
time to stop for a brownie sundae before crossing the finish line.
Main Program:
Vice President Phil Witmer introduced tonight’s speaker, Dr. Edwin Scholes
III who presented a mind-blowing multimedia talk entitled, “The Birds-of-Paradise
Project: Revealing an Avian Wonder of the World.”
After the talk, Dr. Scholes entertained questions from the audience for twenty-eight
minutes.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 10:02 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephen E.T. Kacir, Secretary