November 18, 2011

“Birding Oregon: Coastal , Mountain, and Dry Inland Habitats” with Bert Filemyr

Bert Filemyr is an active birder in the Delaware Valley and throughout North America. He has birded in 49 of the 50 states in the U.S. as well as in many of the Canadian provinces. Although he is retired from his teaching career, Bert has plenty to keep him busy. He continues to travel to locations around the United States and Canada enjoying unique birds and habitats. Bert is also the current treasurer and webmaster of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club and a member of the Nikon/DVOC World Series of Birding Team, the Lagerhead Shrikes. He recently co-authored "The Composite Prints of Audubon's Birds of America".

December 4, 2011 .... ANNUAL BANQUET "The Perils and Pitfalls of Birding" with Bill Thompson, BWD Editor, Dinner Speaker Bill Thompson, III is the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest, the magazine founded by his parents more than 30 years ago, in 1978. He is the author of numerous books about birds and nature, including, most recently Hummingbirds and Butterflies (with Connie Toops), Feeding and Identifying Birds, and The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America , all part of the Peterson Field Guide Series from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing. Bill has led birding trips all across North America and has spoken or performed at more than 100 birding and nature festivals worldwide. He has watched birds in more than 25 countries and on five continents. Bill's program is a humorous narrative about the many mistakes, accidents, and embarrassing situations he has experienced in his 30+ years as a bird watcher. He urges the audience to avoid these same perils and pitfalls and even offers tips for how to do so. This light-hearted talk pokes fun at how we bird watchers have our own language, dress code, and food preferences. It's guaranteed to generate laughs or Bill will clean the binoculars of everyone present.

Bill writes a web-log (blog) called “Bill of the Birds.” He also creates and hosts a podcast called “This Birding Life” which is available as a free download on the Bird Watcher’s Digest website and in the podcasts section of the iTunes store. The podcast receives more than 700,000 episode downloads per year.

In 2008 Bill was awarded a Service Citizen Award from the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service for his contributions in making the National Wildlife Refuge system more bird and birder-friendly. He was also awarded the Robert Ridgley Award in 2008 for Excellence in Ornithological Publications from the American Birding Association.

In 2009 he was nominated for a "Heart of Green" award by thedailygreen.com for his work in fighting Nature Deficit Disorder by helping introduce kids to bird watching.

Born in Pella, Iowa, Bill encountered his spark bird there at the age of 8, when a snowy owl flew into the Thompson family's front yard. His favorite bird is the red-headed woodpecker.

Make your reservations NOW.

January 20, 2012

“Habitat for Birds ” with Louise Zemaitis

Birding can become a lifelong pursuit. One can easily focus on the finer points of identification or the quest for life birds without seeing the big picture. In this presentation, Louise will talk about birds within their natural habitats, shared with other organisms. Learning more about the context within which we see birds will heighten one’s awareness of how birds live and improve birding skills.

Louise Zemaitis is an artist and naturalist living in Cape May, New Jersey where she is a popular field trip leader teaching birding workshops as an Associate Naturalist with New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory. Farther afield, she travels extensively leading for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours and at birding festivals where she is known for her enthusiasm for all natural history subjects. Louise and her husband, Michael O’Brien, have been guiding young birders at birding events and conferences for many years. In addition to leading, Louise is coordinator of the Monarch Monitoring Project in Cape May, compiler of the Cape May Christmas Bird Count, and member of the Cape May Artists' Cooperative. An honors graduate of Temple University's Tyler School of Art, she enjoys working as a freelance artist and her illustrations have been widely published. Her proudest accomplishment has been the raising of her two sons, Bradley, a biologist and artist, and Alec, a philosopher and musician.

February 17, 2012

“Australia-Bush Camping and Spotlighting: A Queensland Safari ” with Steve Kacir

Born and raised in Ohio, Steve Kacir became fascinated by the natural world at an early age. Whether exploring the Mentor Lagoons or reading countless books on wildlife, Steve’s early interests betrayed his passion for wildlife and ecology. At Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU), ornithologist Dr E.H. Burtt, Jr introduced Steve to the concept of birding. While at OWU, Steve acted as the field assistant for the ornithology labs and was an assistant curator for the OWU zoology museum. His undergraduate research explored European Starling bill color changes, avian microflora & microfauna and the relationship between anting and ant-secreted antibiotics. The birding addiction didn’t set in until Steve’s senior year, when a Merlin swept past him and landed in a small tree just outside of the OWU Zoology building. The realization that one could get so close to such a majestic and powerful bird was the spark that set off all future birding obsessions.

Graduating from Ohio Wesleyan with a B.A. in Zoology, Steve studied Diamondback Terrapin population genetics at Ohio University, before relocating to the Midatlantic region. While living in Pennsylvania, Steve met Nikolas Haass and joined the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC); both of these events were pivotal in his development as a birder, naturalist and wildlife enthusiast. Today, Steve works at the University of Pennsylvania, using studying the pathology of human autoimmune disorders. He leads field trips for the DVOC, often focusing on photography and nightbirding. Steve oversaw the development of the Delaware Valley Rare Bird Alert, compiling a weekly summary of birding news in the Delaware Valley. Steve volunteers with the Delaware Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), and also volunteered with the Pennsylvania BBA and performed bird censuses for the Lower Merion Conservancy. Steve has presented talks to local bird clubs on topics including paleornithology, poisonous birds and flightless birds.

In 2008, Steve undertook a big year in Montgomery County, PA during which he saw a record 194 bird species in the county. In 2010, Steve completed a lifelong goal of traveling to Australia to study its wildlife and explore its ecosystems. Steve’s enthusiasm for birds is complimented by his lifelong fascination with paleontology. The relationship between birds and their ancestral archosaurs provides the context for Steve’s exploration of ornithology. His ornithological interests include taxonomy, biogeography, evolution, morphology, invasive species biology and behavior.

During October of 2010, Steve Kacir joined friends Nikolas Haass and Raja Stephenson on an exploration of Cape York and tropical Queensland. Dominating the northeastern section of Australia, Queensland is Australia’s “Sunshine State” and a hotspot of biodiversity with 175 species of freshwater fish, 442 species of reptiles, 120 frog species, 226 mammal species and 615 species of native birds. Steve will share photos and experiences from this trip, exploring the Cairns area, the Atherton Tablelands, Daintree National Park, the Artemis Station/Musgrave Station Area, Lakefield National Park and Cape York.

Highlights from this Queensland Safari included such birds as Southern Cassowary, Red Goshawk, Beach Stone-curlew, Golden-shouldered Parrot, Platypus, Bennett’s Tree-kangaroo, Spotted Cuscus, Gould’s Monitor Lizard, Coastal Taipan, Amethystine Python, Mudskipper and Spotted Archer Fish. Join Steve to learn more about bush camping and spotlighting, road trains and roadhouses and the incredible beauty and diversity of northeastern Australia’s wildlife.

Mighty Etty

March 16, 2012

"Belize " with Kevin Loughlin

Belize is one of the most environmentally conscious countries in the Americas. Thanks in part to its small population, over 60% of its 8867 sq. miles have been protected. This protection has allowed the birds and wildlife to continue to flourish in this small Central American country, roughly the size of New Hampshire. Over 600 bird species have been recorded within the Belize borders and along its 172-mile barrier reef!

Belize is the last Central American stronghold of the majestic Jabiru, which nests in the savannas and wetlands of the north. Regional endemics such as Yucatan Jay, Yucatan Flycatcher and Yellow-lored Parrot may also be found in these rich savannas. The rare Orange-breasted Falcon and Stygian Owl can be found in the Maya Mountains alongside many of “our” familiar northern migrants. The broad-leaf rainforest holds more target species, including many forest raptors and the rare and local Keel-billed Motmot.

Nature photographer Kevin Loughlin has been leading tours to this beautiful gem since 1993. Join him on this colorful and informative photographic journey of Belize!

April 20, 2012

“Hawk Migration ” with Laurie Goodrich

Laurie J. Goodrich is the Senior Monitoring Biologist at the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, PA. Her work includes supervising Hawk Mountain’s raptor migration counts and database management, acting as liaison with North American raptor migration sites, and the Veracruz (Mexico) River of Raptors program, research on raptor migration behavior and ecology, and research on the effects of forest fragmentation on nesting birds.

Laurie received her Ph.D. in Ecology in 2010 on the stopover behavior and ecology of autumn-migrating raptors and a M.S. in Ecology from Rutgers University in 1982 on Least Terns. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Raptor Research Foundation, the board of the Hawk Migration Association of North America, and the Pennsylvania Ornithological Technical Committee, and the Berks Conservancy natural resource committee.

May 18, 2012 – ANNUAL MEMBERS MEETING and Election of Officers

Program T. B. A.