This was a hybrid meeting, broadcast on Zoom.
Call to Order: President Barb Bassett
Call to Order: 7:30 PM
Attendees: 22 viewers.
In person: 11
The minutes from the last meeting were approved.
Committee Reports
Membership – Barb Bassett for Rebecca Reicherter
No new members have joined since our 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 |
| Jun 15 | 8:30 – 10:00 | Upper Dublin Bird Town – Robbins Park Environmental Education Center, Ambler, PA | Nilesh Shah |
| Jun 18 | 7:00 – 12:00 | Lakehurst Naval Air Station for Upland Sandpipers | Bob Horton |
| Jun 22 | 8:00 – 10:00 | Bird Walk at Discovery Center | Gregg Gorton |
Conservation – Perri Strawn
Perri Strawn provided an update on the Conservation Committee structure and priorities. Perri is the current Chair, with committee members including Anne Bekker, Billy Brown, Dan Efroymson, Rob Karchnyak and Judy Stepenaskie. The committee’s main focus is to engage in and support protecting bird habitat. Additional areas of interest include:
- Addressing the threat outdoor cats pose to birds.
- Developing a strategy for advocacy at the local, state and national level as appropriate to support legislation and policies that favor protection of birds and bird habitat.
The committee encourages DVOC members who learn of developments or issues in communities in the broader DVOC area that they believe would benefit from DVOC input or action to contact us at conservation@dvoc.org. Keeping track of all that is going on in our area that affects birds is a big job – the committee welcomes everyone’s help.
Cassinia – Holger Pflicke
No report.
Communications – Navin Sasikumar
No report.
Announcements
This was our last meeting for the current year. A few events are scheduled (some still to be confirmed) for the summer:
A game afternoon is being planned, tentatively scheduled for July 20th at the Discovery Center. Saturday, 1-4 pm. Check the newsletter for updates.
The DVOC picnic will be held at Barb’s Clarksboro, NJ home. (DATE TBD).
The Gloucester County Nature Club is hosting a Firefly Event on June 29, 8-10 pm.
For more info: https://gcnatureclub.org/events/south-jersey-firefly-festival-2024/
Local Notes
Barb Bassett mentioned 20+ Mississippi Kites, several Swallowtail Kites, a Common Swift, and a Lesser Nighthawk have been seen recently in Cape May. Several DVOC members also saw the Common Swift.
Bert Filemyr had seen Least Bittern, Dickcissel, and Grasshopper Sparrow in Delaware on a recent visit.
Art McMorris reported that Peregrine Falcons continue to do well in Pennsylvania. Linda Rowan noted that four Peregrines fledged from the PA/NJ Turnpike bridge.
Tori Sindlinger reported a late Blackburnian Warbler in her backyard the previous week.
Manny Dominguez reported that the Bird Atlas has 62 species confirmed, including Rose-Breasted Grosbeak which is new.
Programs: Navin Sasikumar
Check out the website for information about next year’s programs!
Our first meeting in the fall will be September 19.
Evening Program
The evening’s talk was given by Sophie Osborn, a wildlife biologist, conservationist, and author, most recently of Feather Trails—A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds, published by Chelsea Green Publishing (May 2024). She received her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.S. from the University of Montana. Sophie’s wildlife work has included the study and conservation of more than a dozen bird species in the United States, Central America, and South America.
Sophie’s talk focused on her involvement in conservation of and reintroduction efforts for the Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow (ʻAlalā), and California Condor. She discussed the specific challenges facing each of these birds in recent history, going into depth about the impact of disease, pesticides and other threats in each case. Sophie was personally involved in efforts to re-introduce each species into the wild (following programs to breed them in captivity), and also involved in tracking the relative success of each program.
Sophie captivated the audience with her enthusiasm and deep knowledge, and read several passages from her beautifully written book to bring to life her experience of working with these three bird species.
You can watch Sophie’s talk on the DVOC YouTube channel.
Adjournment
After the presentation and some questions, the meeting was adjourned at 9 PM.