State College Bird Club
November 20, 2013
The State College Bird Club met at Foxdale Village on November 20,
2013. Approximately 40 members and guests attended, including
four first-time visitors. In Diane Bierly’s absence, Joe Verica
presided.
Business
• The minutes of the October 23 meeting were read.
• Dorothy Bordner presented the Treasurer’s Report.
• Ro Fuller said the next meeting would be on
December 11, and that the program would be presented by Katie Ombalski.
• Membership chairperson Megan Orient reported that
the club had 59 paid memberships, which was an increase of one from
last year.
• Joe Verica called attention to a new edition of the
Sibley Field Guide for North America, which will be coming out in
March, 2014.
• Greg Grove read the checklist of species seen
within 25 miles of Old Main since October 23rd. Some notable species
were a Rufous Hummingbird in Lemont and an Anhinga seen at the Stone
Mountain Hawkwatch.
Announcements
• The dates for some of the local Christmas Bird
Counts were announced. Those mentioned included State College and
Huntingdon County on 12/15; Lewistown on 12/21; and BESP on 12/29. The
date for the Raystown CBC has not yet been set.
Presentation
The evening’s program was by Mark and Ruth Henry, entitled "Africa -
Birds, Beasts and Banana Beer." Mark and Ruth described their 3-week
trip to Tanzania in January 2013. They saw Mount Kilimanjaro and
visited the Serengeti, and saw a large variety of birds and mammals. A
particularly interesting site was the Ngorongoro Crater, which was home
to many birds and animals. In addition, they visited schools in the
area, and distributed dresses that Ruth had made to the students, as
part of the Little Dresses Program.
Mark said the people were very warm and friendly, and he liked everything about Tanzania except the banana beer!
Submitted by Ron Crandall, Secretary.