Delaware Valley Ornithological Club
Time: 7:34pm (in BEES)
Call To Order:
President: George Armistead
VP: Linda Widdop; Secretary: Gregg Gorton
Minutes from last meeting approved as submitted.
Attendees:
Members present: 54; Guests: Geoff Veith, Ben & Elliott Dziedzic, Sheryl Johnson, Sara Busch, Ian Nauroth, Samantha Palhano, Liz Armistead, and Diane & Thomas Leonard
Reports from Council:
none
Committee Reports:
Membership Committee:
Bonnie Witmer
New Member: Brian Byrnes
Nominating Committee:
Art McMorris
Slate of nominees for Officer positions: George Armistead, President Linda Widdop, Vice President Gregg Gorton, Secretary
Nominees for Council positions: Anne Bekker & Brian Quindlen (since Holly Merker & Jason Weckstein are rotating off)
Other nominees: none offered
Bob Billings Big Year:
Art McMorris
Please sign up to participate in this year’s competition. If you don’t sign up, you can’t win! Closing date to sign up: March 31, 2019.
Cassinia:
Matt Halley
The next issue is being prepared, so consider submitting a manuscript for an article or perhaps writing an obituary. All submissions are welcome, and Matt is happy to help you. Contact him at: matthewhalley@gmail.com
Field Trips:
Linda Widdop
700 Cobbs Creek Pkwy – Philadelphia, PA 19143
–>Please contact Tony Croasdale if you want to lead a walk inside Philadelphia (for DVOC’s BirdPhilly initiative): Tony.croasdale@gmail.com
(Details for all walks/trips can be found at http://dvoc.org/activities/field-trips/ )
Programs:
Members’ Photography Night Dec. 20, 2018@7:30pm-9pm
Photos will be judged according to the following categories:
Birds (you may submit up to 5); Fauna (up to 3); Flora (up to 2); Scenery (up to 2); Birders (up to 2); DVOC area (up to 2)
Please submit photos by Dec. 14th for judging to: Linda Widdop at: linda@techimpact.org
Full details at: http://dvoc.org/activities/photo-contest/
Announcements:
Leigh Altadonna: There will be training sessions for those wishing to participate in doing Audubon Point Counts for nuthatches and bluebirds between Jan. 15 and Feb. 15, 2018. The sessions will take place at the Discovery Center and at the JJ Audubon Center at Mill Grove. Get involved! Contact Leigh for details: laltadonna@audubon.org
Navin Sasikumar: Philadelphia will be competing in the City Nature Challenge (CNC) over a four-day period, April 26-29, 2019. One hundred and thirty-one cities around the world will compete, using the iNaturalist app/website. Consider getting involved. If you are interested in contributing and helping Philly win, download iNaturalist app (or visit the website: citynaturechallenge.org) and start documenting the wildlife in your area. Go to this link for more information: https://cncphilly.org/ or contact Navin: navinsasikumar@gmail.com
Matt Halley: Tykee James, a DVOC member, and former area resident who is now working for the Audubon Society in the nation’s capitol, was back in town, and he and Matt met with State Representative Donna Bullock to go for a walk on the Boxers’ Trail in Fairmount Park to talk about conservation and other issues.
Phil Witmer: Went to Washington, DC, with other Pennsylvania Audubon Society members last week to lobby Pennsylvania legislators regarding The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is now in its 53rd year. However, its legislative mandate expired on September 30. 2018, so a concerted effort is needed to find a long-term solution for authorization and funding. It provides a mechanism whereby gas and oil royalties go to parks and conservation, and already in the last 2+ months, 186 million dollars in revenues have been lost. Go to www.lwcfcoalition.com for more information, and email Senators Toomey and Casey, as well as your Congressperson about this critical issue!
George Armistead: Remember that if you have anything you wish to share at our meetings, the Secretary will include that information in the minutes and Bert Filemyr can also post it in the Weekly Digest.
Local Notes:
Tony Croasdale: Reported a Baltimore Oriole (first year male) that showed up in a Pear Tree at his new house in Roxborough. He also reported that his parents in Palmyra, NJ, had six Evening Grosbeaks at their house.
Barbara Granger: She and her husband, Robert, had Evening Grosbeak and Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches together at their feeder.
Matt Halley: Dozens of Canvasbacks are at the Discovery Center (East Park Reservoir).
Rick Mellon: At Core Creek State Park near Langhorn, he found a Black-capped Chickadee, an Eastern Towhee, a Wood Duck, a Northern Raven, and a Northern Goshawk.
Holger Pflicke: Found an Evening Grosbeak at FDR Park in Philadelphia. He also had a Yellow-breasted Chat in the Wissahickon, and an Orange-crowned Warbler.
George Armistead: There were three Orange-crowned Warbler at Pennypack on the Delaware, and small flocks of that species were also reported by other people with whom he has spoken. This is unusual.
Harry Armistead: Saw an adult Red Fox beneath his feeder in East Mount Airy.
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Program Speaker:
“Gull Identification” Speaker: George Armistead
Our president gave a richly illustrated talk (mostly with his own photos) in which he exhorted members to get excited about identifying Laridae. He offered tips about how to begin to grapple with this family of birds that many birders find daunting. Humorous and informative exchanges with the audience made this evening truly delightful and also potentially very useful.
[Photos will be added here]Meeting Adjourned:
9:15pm
After Meeting at Cherry Street Tavern:
As per custom, some enthusiastic members enjoyed beverages and bird-chat….