State College Bird Club

23 April 2008

The State College Bird Club met at Foxdale Village on 23 April 2008.  Twenty-eight members and guests attended; Deb Grove presided.

Business

Nan Butkovich read the March meeting minutes, which were approved.  Dorothy Bordner read the treasurer's report and checklist.  Attendees reported 141 species within a 25-mile radius of Old Main since 27 March. 

Upcoming events and Announcements

• 28 May:  Potluck at Donna Kempf’s home.
• 26 April:  Field trip to Lower Trail.
• A series of short field trips are being planned.  Watch the website and listserv for more details.
• 2-3 May: Shaver’s Creek Birding Cup
• 4 May: International Migratory Bird Day at Scotia Barrens
• 18-19 May: Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology annual meeting
• Plant sale at Rhonemeade
• A PSU course doing field work in the Peruvian Amazon region is looking for volunteers to accompany the students

Presentation

Katie Ombalski was the featured speaker and discussed the Nittany Valley Conservation Action Plan.  The goal is to establish priorities, develop assessment measures, allocate resources, and develop strategies for eliminating or reducing threats to priority conservation landscapes in order to preserve biodiversity.  The Nittany Valley is important for its underlying limestone and outcrops of the rare gravelly Gatesburg Formation.  It hosts 22 globally rare plants, invertebrates, and vertebrate animals.  Some of the environments of concern include:

• Barrens plant communities
• Limestone cliffs and glades
• Limestone springs, streams, and wetlands
• Mountain saddles, watergaps, and freestone streams
• Ridge tops and slopes
• Subterranean ecosystems
• Valley bottom mesic forests
• Vernal pools

It is hoped that by 2015 the most important ecosystems will be protected, especially the Barrens.

Recorded by

Nan Butkovich, Secretary