By PVBC Secretary Tracey Hopper
Club President, Myrlene Staten, opened the meeting promptly at 7:00 p.m., on Zoom with 30 people in attendance.
President’s Introductory Comments – Welcome and Announcements
Myrlene welcomed all and asked for members to share bird sightings with the group. Members talked about the irruption of American Tree Sparrows locally and Callan Bentley shared about the Merlin being seen regularly at the PVCC campus.
Jennifer Gaden reported about the 2024 Christmas Bird Count which occurred on December 15, 2024. There were 58 participants and 19 parties, identifying a total of 79 species. Considering the poor weather and birding conditions on December 15 th , this was quite a good showing. Membership Update
Membership Chair Scott Connuck reported 191 active members as compared to 183 active members at this time last year.
Upcoming Field Trips and Events
Field Trip Chair Alex Brubaker reported having many field trips “in the works” with no firm dates or details available to report yet. The one scheduled PVBC Field Trip is the First Saturday Bird Walk at Ivy Creek Natural Area, on Saturday, March 1 st , at 7:30 a.m. Meet in the main parking lot at 1780 Earlysville
Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903. *Note from PVBC Communications Chair Cory Swift: There is a field trip to Rockfish Valley Trail in Nelson County scheduled for Feb. 22. More details on the events page.
Another field trip of interest that is not Club-sponsored is the Virginia Beach Pelagic Trip, occurring on Saturday, Feb. 22 (weather date of Feb. 23). Lifelong Charlottesville birder Andrew Rapp has teamed up with Rudee Tours in Virginia Beach to host this pelagic birding trip. Andrew, who presented to the Club about pelagic seabirds in December, will be leading the trip to spot whales, sharks, turtles and various birds including puffins, dovekies, fulmars, shearwaters and many others.
A few things to know:
- The cost per-person is $220.
- The trip lasts 12 hours, from 5 AM – 5 PM.
- Registration is required by emailing Andrew at [email protected] before Feb. 15.
- Please direct all questions to Andrew.
Featured Presentation
Programs Chair Joanna Vondrasek introduced our speaker, Jennifer Scott, Ph.D., who presented on The Reality of Climate Change. Dr. Scott discussed grassroot efforts at cultivating climate resilience in the greater Charlottesville Area. Dr. Scott is a founding member of Cultivating Resilient Communities (CRC), with the mission of empowering community members to identify steps toward creating more climate-resilient environments.
Adjourn – the next Club meeting in on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at 7:00 p.m., via Zoom.
**The recording of Dr. Scott’s presentation can be found in club updates.
