State College Bird Club
14 December 2011
The State College Bird Club met at Foxdale Village on 14 December
2011. Thirty-nine members and guests attended; Nick Kerlin
presided.
Business
- Nick gave a further explanation of some points from the last Board meeting.
- Dorothy Bordner presented the Treasurer’s report and read the checklist.
- Species of note observed within 25 miles of the Penn State
campus since 16 Nov. 2011 included Snow Goose, White-winged Scoter,
Baird’s Sandpiper, Red-throated Loon, Northern Shrike, Varied Thrush,
American Pipit, Rusty Blackbird, and Red Crossbill.
- Greg Grove reminded everyone that their dues are due.
- Arrangements are being made for the 22 Feb. 70th anniversary dinner.
- By-laws updates are continuing.
- The Facebook page is up and getting about 50 hits/day.
- Robyn Grabowski posted a nice note to the listserv about the use
that they’re making of the raptor shelter that the Eagle Scouts built a
couple years ago and that was partially funded by the Bird Club.
- Nick Bolgiano made a motion that the club contribute $500/year to
the Tussey Mountain Hawkwatch. The vote by the membership was in
favor of doing so.
- The audit of the books was satisfactorily completed.
- Thanks to Bill Toombs for arranging for the cookies and punch for the meeting.
- Monthly bird surveys are being conducted of the former Rockview property.
Announcements - none
Upcoming events
- 25 Jan.: Nick Bolgiano will give a presentation on western birds
- Nick Kerlin was interviews by a local TV station regarding the hummingbird contest.
- Bird box installation at Tom Ridge Preserve was successfully accomplished.
- Dates for several Christmas Bird Counts have been announced:
- 17 Dec.: Lewistown
- 18 Dec.: Huntingdon
- 18 Dec.: State College
- 26 Dec.: Lake Rayestown
- 1 Jan.: Bald Eagle State Park
Presentation
Fran MacEachren gave a presentation on birding in Chile. She and
Alan did a cross-section of the country plus a pelagic trip in November
2009. Although the country is very narrow, it incorporates a wide
variety of habitats with a tremendous range in elevation. At
locations above timberline in the Andes Mountains, they saw the Andean
Condor, which has a 10’ wingspan and lives up to 50 years.
At a lower elevation around San Jose Volcano, they found Torrent Ducks
which are very powerful swimmers that nest in waterside caves along
very turbulent streams and rivers. Other birds in that area
included Yellow-rumped Siskins, Mountain Caracara, and Diademed
Sandpiper-plover. The latter is a key species that is considered
to be threatened. It lives in the alpine zone – about 4000-5000
meters in elevation.
They also visited La Campana National Park, which contains one of the
last expanses of native Chilean palms. Some bird species seen
there included the Moustached Turca, a secretive endemic species that
builds nests up to two meters into stream banks; the Giant Hummingbird,
which is 8-9” in length, and three species of Coots. At sea level
they visited the Cachagua Humboldt Penguin colony. Other birds
seen along the shore included Peruvian Booby, White-backed Stilt, and
Black Skimmer. Finally, their transect was completed with a
pelagic trip out into the Humboldt Current in the Pacific Ocean.
While experiencing 10’ swells in a small boat, the saw Pervuian Pelican
and Southern Royal Albatross.
Minutes taken by Nan Butkovich, Secretary