Monticello Bird Club Meeting Minutes: 01 March 2020
Vice-president Dan Bieker stood in for Guy Babineau and opened the meeting by inviting membership chair Scott Connuck to report on current membership, which is now at 177. Scott welcomed visitors and new members. The meeting attendance was 35.
Dan also gave the field trip report for Susan Babineau. The First Saturday Bird Walk at Ivy Creek is March 7 with Jim Nix leading. There will be a trip to Richmond on March 14 to attend the Virginia Bird Atlas kickoff offered by the Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO). Author Kenn Kaufman is leading a bird walk at Ivy Creek on Sunday, March 22. Kenn is also speaking in the Charlottesville area as part of Virginia Festival of the Book, March 18, 19, and 22 at Ivy Creek Natural Area. His latest book is A Season of the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration. For more information, visit: https://www.vabook.org/participant/kenn-kaufman/
Peggy Cornett announced that Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, and his latest, Nature’s Best Hope: Creating a Vibrant Ecosystem, is speaking at Lane auditorium in the Albemarle County office building on March 12, at 7 PM. Tickets available through the Piedmont Master Gardeners at: https://piedmontmastergardeners.org/events/
Dan gave an update on the Hampton Road Bridge Tunnel project, which is displacing nesting sea birds. The public outcry has had a positive impact. The state has promised to help by moving birds, creating nesting sites on barges, and, long term, building another island. Dan urges members to keep up the pressure on elected officials and stay abreast of developments on the VSO website. See article in VSO newsletter: https://www.virginiabirds.org/news/hrbt-initiative/
Several recent bird sightings were shared. Jenny Gaden passed around a photograph of an unusual bird her fried spotted standing in the opening of a Wood Duck box in Lurray in hopes of identifying it. JoAnn Daley saw a banded Trumpeter Swan in Waynesboro through the VA Rare Bird Alert. She was able to photograph the wing tag and found out that the bird hatched in 2016 and was banded in Burlington, ON by the Canadian Wildlife Service. A member saw a Phoebe ten days ago. Amy reported a Peregrine Falcon seen during a recent field trip to her property, which was also banded. They also saw many Eastern Meadowlarks on the trip. Peggy Cornett watched a male Kestrel soaring along the slope of Montalto last week. Dan Nissan encountered a Woodcock near Charlottesville High School recently. Spring peepers have been out.
Minutes submitted by Peggy Cornett, secretary
