State College Bird Club

October 22, 2014



The State College Bird Club met at Foxdale Village on October 22, 2014.  Approximately 30 members and guests attended, including two first time visitors. Diane Bierly presided.

Business
•    The minutes of the September 24th meeting were read.
•    Dorothy Bordner presented the Treasurer’s Report.
•    Ro Fuller announced that the next bird club meeting would be on November 19, and the speaker would be will be Lillie Langlois, a Penn State graduate student. She will give a program on Marcellus shale gas development and forest bird communities.
•    Field Trips – Joe Verica said that Bob Snyder was planning to lead a field trip for migrating waterfowl at BESP in the first couple weeks of November. Details would be forthcoming on the listserv.
•    Diane reminded members that club dues are due, and that payment could be given to membership chairperson, Megan Orient.
•    Diane Bierly read the checklist of species seen within 25 miles of Old Main since September 24th.

Presentation
The evening’s presentation was by Alyssia Church who gave a program entitled “A Big Day and a Bigger Week: The Good, the Bad, and the Birdy.” Alyssia has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Penn State and has worked at Cape May.  She described and presented photos of her big week of birding in May 2014 in northwest Ohio and Lee County, Florida.

The first half of Alyssia’s big week was spent at Magee Marsh during the Biggest Week in American Birding Festival in Oak Harbor, OH.  She saw many vireos and warblers, including a Prothonotary Warbler, during the festival. She also saw many shorebirds, including American Golden-Plovers and an Upland Sandpiper.

Alyssia recommended that anyone considering attending the next festival, which is scheduled for May 8-17, 2015, book their accommodations early.

The second half of Alyssia’s big week was spent at Sanibel Island and Lee County on the west coast of Florida.  She birded with a friend in an attempt to break the one day record of 86 species in Lee County set in February 2013. They started and ended their day of birding at Sanibel, and spent most of the daylight hours on the mainland. Some good birds found were Short-tailed Hawks, a Magnificent Frigatebird, and Snail Kites. They tied the record of 86 species with a White-eyed Vireo, broke it with a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and added an insurance 88th bird, a Chimney Swift.



Submitted by Ron Crandall, Secretary.