PVBC Meeting Minutes: November 6, 2024
Club President, Myrlene Staten, opened the meeting promptly at 7:00 p.m. with 23 people in attendance.
President’s Introductory Comments
Myrlene reported the great success of the Piedmont Virginia Bird Club/Wild Birds Unlimited fundraiser. The Club received $1,600.00 from the fundraiser and gained at least one new Club member. Also, the fundraiser at Wild Birds Unlimited provided an informal organic opportunity for local birders and Club members to socialize and catch up.
After the report about the fundraiser, Myrlene’s invited members to report interesting recent bird sightings: Common Gallinule at Olympia Ponds and Ash-Throated Flycatcher at Keswick. Folks also commented on the numerous Red-Headed Woodpeckers seen in the area this Fall.
Upcoming Field Trips and Events
An update was provided regarding upcoming field trips at the following locations:
Saturday, November 9th, at 8:00 a.m., Bellair Farm (joint field trip with Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO))
Saturday, November 16th, at 8:00 a.m., Panorama Natural Burial
Featured Presentation
Joanna Vondrasek introduced our speakers, Jenny Gaden and Stauffer Miller, who presented about the history of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count and in particular, about the 100-year history of the Charlottesville/Albemarle Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Information obtained from the CBC provides helpful data to inform research and conservation efforts. In 1924 Norval Barger and Clifford Dawson conducted the first CBC in our area. Jenny Gaden has coordinated the local CBC since 2007. Thank you, Jenny, for your tireless service! And thanks to both Stauffer and Jenny for an interesting and informative presentation. Read notes from this presentation here.
This year the local Christmas Bird Count will be conducted on Sunday, December 15th, with the rain date being the following Sunday, December 22nd.
Adjourn – next meeting December 4, 2024, at 7:00 p.m., at the Ivy Creek Natural Area Education Building. Members are asked to come a few minutes early and to bring cookies to share. Members also are invited to bring their “lightly used” bird-related items for an informal gift exchange after the meeting. At 7:00 p.m., our speaker will be Andrew Rapp, presenting about Virginia Shore Birds.
