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> 2012 Meetings / Programs
This page last updated
Friday, May 18, 2012
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OUR NEXT MEETING
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June 7th, 2012
Terry Master, "Riparian Songbirds: Canaries in an Aquatic Coal Mine"
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Riparian songbirds throughout the world have distinct adaptations and characteristics in common, though they have rarely been singled out as a discrete group of birds upon which to focus research efforts in the manner of forest interior species, for example. Two Pennsylvania species, the Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) and its more terrestrial counterpart, the Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax viresccens), are both common species in their preferred hemlock-dominated stream habitats. Each species, through its ecology and behavior, reflects human-induced impacts to this habitat at a various spatial scales ranging from the entire watershed to local stream reaches. Thus, each species serves as a bioindicator of riparian ecosystem health. This program will begin broadly by describing patterns of distribution, behavior and characteristics of riparian songbirds throughout the world and then concentrate specifically on our two local representatives of this bird assemblage and what they can tell us about their riparian habitat. |
FULL 2012 MEETINGS / PROGRAMS SCHEDULE
• All who have an interest in birds are invited to attend functions of the DVOC.
• Meetings are lively proceedings, with a featured speaker or a special forum as well as reports from the various committees, announcements, and general field notes.
• Club meetings are held on the first and third Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. beginning the third Thursday of September through the first Thursday in June. Unless otherwise arranged, all meetings are held at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA beginning at 7:30 pm. (Directions to the Academy) Less formal summer meetings are held the first Thursday in July, August, and September.
122nd Annual Members Meeting- Followed by Refreshments
Since the founding of our club in 1890, the first meeting of every year has been the “Members’ Meeting.” The meeting will feature the Annual Election of Officers and Council members, election of Fellows, reports by the Treasurer and by the Trustees, and other matters of interest.
Bert Filemyr will do a short presntation on the founding of the DVOC. The presentation is titled "From the Archives: February 3, 1890".
We will then adjourn for socializing over snacks and drinks, organized by Bonnie and Phil Witmer.
Click Here for pictures from this meeting
Click Here for a web version of the "From the Archives" presentation
Rob Bierregaard, “Juvenile and Adult Osprey Migration between North and South America: Routes, Timing, and Mortality”
Between 1998 and 2011 we deployed satellite platform telemetry transmitters on 42 juvenile Ospreys in Minnesota and in the eastern U.S. The movements of these juveniles on their first and subsequent migrations are compared to data from 57 adults tagged primarily before the current study. All but 5 juveniles initiated migration, and 33 of the remaining 37 young made it at least to the Caribbean or South America. First-year mortality of young tagged through 2010 was 71%. Mortality through 2 yrs for this cohort will be 79% (2 birds pending). Juvenile Ospreys either migrated directly from their natal areas, with or without exploratory excursions prior to migration, or after having dispersed from their natal territories to staging areas, where they settled for as long as two months. Most young started migration in early Sept.; two did not start south until Nov. Once settled on wintering areas, young often make looping exploratory excursions of hundreds of km, navigating back to favored spots from novel directions. Fall migration routes differed dramatically between adults and juveniles: 7 juveniles from southeastern New England crossed 1,800 - 2,400 km of open Atlantic Ocean, making landfall in the Bahamas or Cuba before moving south through the Caribbean. No adults made this long, overwater crossing. Most young reached the eastern end of Hispaniola before turning south. Most adults took a shorter route from central Hispaniola to South America. We believe the more conservative routes taken by adults are related to learning a different route on their return north, rather than selection on young taking more dangerous routes on their first migration.
Don Freiday, "How to Identify Birds like an Expert”
How do real experts in the field approach birding, compared to the way the rest of us dolts go about it? Do they have supernatural powers? Superior training? Greater focus? More luck? More experience? Longer life lists? The answers are sometimes, sometimes, always, rarely, always, and not necessarily. This is a companion program to Don Freiday's popular, "How to MISidentify Birds Like an Expert." Don, a Cape May birder/naturalist who shies away from the word expert in any context, shares observations of birds and birding spanning many years, many places, and many people, including some real experts.
Nate Rice, "Field Work in Vietnam”
In March and April, Nate Rice joined colleagues from the University of Kansas on a second collecting trip to Vietnam, to the montaneregions on the border area with China and Laos. The entire expedition was funded by the KUNHM (through a major grant from the Center for Disease Control) tosearch for emerging diseases (such as avian influenza) in wild bird populations. We collected nearly 100 species and over 500 specimens and were accompanied by a Herpetologist (Charles Linkem, KU graduate student) who also collected hundreds of specimens.
Ornithological Moment: "Snowy Owls: Age, Sex and Plumage" - Art McMorris
Presentation of the 2011 Bob Billings Big Year Award. Long-time DVOC member Bob Billings left the club funds in his will to endow an annual award for the club member who "recorded and identified the largest number of birds during each prior calendar year." 2011 was the inaugural year of the competition. The winner of the competition will be announced and the award check will be presented to the winner.
Frank Windfelder - The Fabulous Ipswich Sparrow
The Ipswich Sparrow is a fascinating little bird whose fragile existence depends upon the fate of a large sandbar in the North Atlantic. Join me on a magical mystery tour through its life history. Many great photos.
Keith Bildstein - Movement Ecology of Scavenging Birds of Prey
Dr. Keith Bildstein, Director Conservation Science at Hawk Mountain, and eminent raptor researcher will introduce preliminary results of his work on the movement and feeding ecology of Striated Caracaras and Turkey Vultures on the Falkland Islands, where he has been studying these birds for the past six years. The two species, which represent different lineages of birds of prey, offer an intriguing comparison in life styles: Turkey Vultures are shy overall, whereas Striated Caracaras are both bold and pathologically curious. The caracara is also both Near Threatened globally and little studied. Keith also will be happy to update you on other things at ‘Hawk Mountain’.
Matthew Halley - "Multiple Male Feeders at Nests of the Veery – a new perspective on the nesting behavior of Wilson's enigmatic thrush"
Two hundred years after Wilson (1812) first described the Veery, Catharus fuscescens, remarkably little is known about its breeding ecology and behavior. Matthew Halley, a graduate student at Delaware State University, has used hidden video cameras to reveal that a breeding population of Veeries at White Clay Creek State Park, Delaware, exhibits an exceedingly rare mode of parental care in which multiple males attend single-female broods. Matthew will show rare video footage of Veery nesting activities while discussing the results of his research within the context of Catharus social evolution and behavioral ecology.
Kevin Loughlin - PERU: Birds of the Inca and Amazon
Best known for the iconic ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru is home to nearly 2000 species of birds! Amidst rubble from ancient Inca and pre-Inca structures we can find endemic Inca Wrens and Green-and-White Hummingbirds. Colorful tanagers flock in the canopy of the cloud forest and the endangered Spectacled Bear can still be found here... with luck. Following the rivers as they flow east out of the mountains we come to the Amazon Basin where, in Peru, the mighty Amazon River is formed. Oxbow lakes hidden deep in the forest offer glimpses of Giant Otters, as the unlikely Hoatzin growls and grumbles from the tree-lined shores. Macaws and parrots color the sky with reds, greens, yellows and blues as they flock to the clay licks. Join, Kevin Loughlin, owner of Wildside Nature Tours, for this color-filled photographic journey through the mountains, forests and rivers of Peru!
Ornithological Moment - Mike Fritz: 2011 Billings Big Year
Steve Kacir, "Bush Camping and Spotlighting: A Queensland Safari"
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.
Edwin Scholes, "The Birds-of-Paradise Project: Revealing an Avian Wonder of the World"
Photograph by Tim LamanFor the better part of a decade, ornithologist Ed Scholes and wildlife photographer Tim Laman have traveled over the entire New Guinea region to observe, study and document the 39 species of birds-of-paradise with photographs, video and audio recordings. Join Ed Scholes of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as he gives a sneak peek into the conclusion of this multi-year effort that will be the subject of a forthcoming book, museum exhibit and documentary film in late 2012.
Terry Master, "Riparian Songbirds: Canaries in an Aquatic Coal Mine"
Riparian songbirds throughout the world have distinct adaptations and characteristics in common, though they have rarely been singled out as a discrete group of birds upon which to focus research efforts in the manner of forest interior species, for example. Two Pennsylvania species, the Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) and its more terrestrial counterpart, the Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax viresccens), are both common species in their preferred hemlock-dominated stream habitats. Each species, through its ecology and behavior, reflects human-induced impacts to this habitat at a various spatial scales ranging from the entire watershed to local stream reaches. Thus, each species serves as a bioindicator of riparian ecosystem health. This program will begin broadly by describing patterns of distribution, behavior and characteristics of riparian songbirds throughout the world and then concentrate specifically on our two local representatives of this bird assemblage and what they can tell us about their riparian habitat.
Informal Summer Meeting - Location to be determined
Short Presentations Including:
"From the Archives: The Strange Case of DVOC Member Charles J. Pennock" - Bert Filemyr
Informal Summer Meeting - Location to be determined
Informal Summer Meeting - Location to be determined
Program - TBD
Sue Killeen, "Birding Cuba for Cuban Endemics"
Over 370 bird species have been recorded in Cuba, including 29 which are endemic to the island and 29 considered globally threatened. Due to its large land area and geographical position within the Caribbean, Cuba represents one of the most important countries for Neotropical migratory birds – both birds passing through on their way south (75 species) and those spending the winter on the island (86 species).
Some of the birding locations we visited included the Western Mountain ranges in Pinar del Rio best known for the tropical karstic forests and is home to the Cuban Tody and Cuban Trogon. The Zapata Peninsula on the southern shore of Cuba is a most important birding area that features everglades-like ecology and is home to the Bee Hummingbird and Zapata Wren. Our eastern most destination was the historical city of Camaguey and the Protected Area of Sierra del Chorrillo for the Cuban Palm Crow. Our last destination was the Northern Archipelagos of Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo known for their mangrove flats, low coastal scrub, and sandy shoreline and Cayo Paredon Grande (the northeastern-most key in the archipelago, which is one of Cuba’s most important migratory landfalls). It is here where you can find the Gundlach’s Hawk.
Join Sue to see the birds of Cuba and the diversity of the island from her trip with the DVOC in March/April 2012.
Additional programs will be posted as they are scheduled.
Academy location
Parking location 
Informal pre-meeting dinner location (
