STATE COLLEGE BIRD CLUB

25 October 2006

The State College Bird Club met at Schlow Library on 25 October 2006.  Thirty-two members and guests attended; Jim Dunn presided. 

Business

Nan Butkovich read the September meeting minutes, which were approved.  Dorothy Bordner read the Treasurer’s report and checklist.  Attendees reported 112 species within a 25 mile radius of Old Main since 27 September 2006.  Species of note included Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird in Port Matilda, two Horned Grebes at Bald Eagle State Park, and Gray-cheeked Thrush flying over Park Forest.

A field trip to Bald Eagle State Park is scheduled for November.

A call was made for volunteers to help with the Christmas Bird Counts.  The State College count is scheduled for 17 December, and the Bald Eagle count will be held on 1 January.

The membership voted to renew the club membership in the Nature Conservancy.

Presentation

Frank Haas gave a entertaining presentation on “Adak: Gambling on Birds.”  Adak is in the middle of the Aleutian Islands and is an excellent place for seeing vagrant Asian species as well as numerous sub-species and races.  However, birding there is heavily dependent on the weather—good weather is needed to get there, and bad weather is required to bring in the vagrants.  His presentation included bird species as well as an overview of the island’s geography, flora, and birding hotspots.

Recorded by

Nan Butkovich, Secretary