This was a hybrid meeting, broadcast on Zoom. We had a speaker and a live audience in the BEES classroom and the meeting was broadcast on Zoom.
Call to Order: Vice-President Navin Sasikumar
Call to Order: 7:35 PM
Barb Bassett was away.
Attendees: In person – 17, On Zoom – 23
The minutes from the last meeting were not approved because I did not post them to website!
Committee Reports
Membership – Martin Dellwo for Rebecca Reicherter
Two new members have joined since the last meeting.
Field Trips – Linda Widdop
If you wish to lead a field trip, contact Linda: linda@techimpact.org
Upcoming field trips:
| DATE | TIME | TRIP | LEADER |
| Jan 25 | 8:30 – 11:00 | FDR Park | Rob Karchnyak |
| Jan 25 | 1:00 – 4:00 | Winter Birding and Board Games | Navin Sasikumar |
| Feb 9 | 8:30 –2:00 | Barnegat Inlet Bird Walk – Joint Trip with Liberty Bird Alliance | Linda Widdop and Leigh Altadonna |
| Feb 15 | 10:00 – 11:30 | Winter Gulls at Glen Foerd | Holger Pflicke |
| Mar 2 | 10:00 – 11:30 | Winter Gulls at Glen Foerd | Holger Pflicke |
| Apr 22 | 3:00 – 5:30 | Birding for Wellness: Forest Bathing with Birds | Holly Merker |
Conservation – Rob Karchnyak
Rob introduced a guest, Andy Switzer, who had written to the Conservation Committee to report the removal of a few Osprey nests along the lower Schuylkill River. These nests were located at the site of the former PES refinery which is currently being redeveloped. The committee would like to discuss the possibility of building nesting platforms with the redevelopment company.
Rob then went on to talk about the ongoing fight at FDR Park over the planned man made “picnic hill”. His outreach to Senator Nikil Saval, was unsuccessful, but he plans to attend more meetings to try to halt the destruction of further woodlands at the park.
Billings – Art McMorris
Go birding and more importantly send in your 2024 bird checklists. Number to beat is 247 as of today. Due by January 31st
Cassinia
No report.
Communications
No report.
Announcements
Bert Filemyr announced the death of past president Hart Rufe at the age of 93. Bert spoke about Hart’s history with the club, mentioning one of his major legacies in establishing the DVOC Interns Fund which supports student trainees in the ornithology department at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.
Art McMorris then stood to make some statements about Hart, relating a story about the Bob Billings Award, and how Hart and Jewel Rufe made a challenge grant to DVOC wherein they pledged to match donations to the Billings fund, dollar for dollar up to a generous limit, and how with that incentive, the club was able to raise enough money so that the award would go on for perpetuity.
Gregg Gorton also spoke about the sadness in losing Hart and how we lost one honorary member in Hart and gained one Matthew Halley, keeping the number at 13.
Navin announced the dates for the City Nature Challenge April 25-28.
Local Notes
Ethan Kang had a male “Cassiar”/cismontanus subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco in his yard in Delaware County.
Linda Rowan reported seeing a Peregrine Falcon perched on a power tower behind her house in Levittown, Bucks County.
Patrick McGill had a Short-eared Owl at PHL Airport by Fort Mifflin and mentioned that there are now 2 Painted Buntings at Bartram’s Garden, an adult male and a female-type. He also mentioned the Snowy Owl that has been seen at Independence Hall.
Debbie Beer also had Short-eared Owl at the PHL airport, but in Delaware county. She also had Northern Harrier and Eastern Meadowlarks at PHL airport off Hog Island Road. Debbie also mentioned seeing a Gray Catbird in SW Philadelphia, braving the 25-degree temperatures.
Manny Dominguez mentioned a Red-breasted Nuthatch that has been at the UPENN Biopond
Marty Dellwo had an adult Red-tailed Hawk at Rittenhouse Square, along with two White-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Tufted Titmouse, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, an American Kestrel, 2 Hermit Thrush, a female Downy Woodpecker, House Finch, and a couple of European Starling, all uncommon at Rittenhouse Park in winter.
Programs -Navin Sasikumar
Next meeting will be on Feb 6, the original speaker has canceled so he is working to get a talk done by the PA Game Commission. Details TBD.
Evening Program
Tanya Burnett gave a talk on “Crafting Your Own Bird Adventure”
The talk focused on how Tanya creates her own personalized trips on her quest to see 5,000 birds around the world.
Unhappy with some of the birding tours she had been on, Tanya wanted to do her own kind of traveling, tailoring her trips to her own specifications. Tanya had cultural interests beyond the birds that were rarely incorporated in birding-specific tours, she also had issues with group sizes and the mix of birding experiences on those tours. She also found that prices were very high.
Tanya knew she could do better on her own, and although some people thought she was crazy, she set out to craft her own bird adventure.
Booking private would give her more control over her trips, she could target birds she wants to see, plan more thoroughly, visit cultural sites, and curate a trip that is ideal for her. This allows for a more tailored trip, that is easily revised, instead of locked in. She explained her process in selecting local guides, location selection and timing, how she develops an itinerary and all the things she has learned in her time doing this.
After her presentation, Tanya fielded several questions from viewers on Zoom and those present at the Academy.
Adjournment
After the presentation and some questions, the meeting was adjourned at 9:13 PM.