State College Bird Club
December 10, 2014
The State College Bird Club met at Foxdale Village on December 10,
2014. Approximately 35 members and guests attended, including two
first-time visitors. Diane Bierly presided.
Business
• The minutes of the November 19 meeting were read.
• Dorothy Bordner presented the Treasurer’s Report. The checking account balance was $1601.34.
• Ro Fuller said the next meeting would be January
28, and that the program would be by Bob Snyder who will give a program
on the Birds of South Africa.
• Diane Bierly said she was hoping to lead an owling outing sometime in January.
• Greg Grove gave an update on the status of the
proposed construction of wind farms on Jacks and Stone Mountain. He
noted that ordinances had been passed in a number of the townships that
helped discourage construction plans. Also, landowners have been
released from their leases on one of the projects. While the status of
the leases for the other project isn’t known, both projects now appear
to be inactive. Greg cautioned, however, that the projects could be
reactivated at some point in the future. Many thanks to Greg, the
Friends of Jacks Mountain, and the SOAR group for all their efforts in
defending the cause of birds and other wildlife.
• Greg Grove read the checklist of species seen within 25 miles of Old Main since November 19th.
Presentation
The evening’s program was presented by Don Bryant, who gave a program
called “So many Raptors, … So Little Time.” Don presented his fantastic
photos while describing the trip he took to Spain from March 3 to March
16, 2014. His tour was arranged through Sergio Seipke’s tour company
from Argentina. His tour started in Madrid, and he visited a number
wildlife areas and National Parks throughout Spain.
Don saw about 8000 raptors total. A particularly good spot for raptors
was the small port city of Tarifa. Tarifa is only 8-10 miles of open
water from the coast of Morocco, which makes it a prime migration
flyway. Some of the rare birds Don saw were the Spanish Imperial Eagle,
Long-legged Buzzard, Bonelli’s Eagle, and Northern Bald-faced Ibis. He
also saw two raptor species that are among the largest birds on earth:
the Eurasian Griffon Vulture and the Cinereous Vulture.
Don was interested in seeing and photographing mammals. His target
species was the Iberian Lynx. He missed seeing the lynx but did hear
one. He was, however, able to see and photograph a number of other
interesting animals.
Submitted by Ron Crandall, Secretary.