Bimonthly Membership Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
6:30 PM -- 9:45 PM
Phipps Garden Center, Shady Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
Eighty-five members and visitors attended the meeting that fell on an evening that did not interfere with the major league baseball playoff schedule.
President Jim Valimont opened the meeting at 7:30. Jim emphasized that the December 4 meeting will be in a different locale, Botany Hall near
Phipps Conservatory. Refreshments are allowed in the lobby and members are encouraged to bring a treat. Jim recognized two newcomers and noticed
that there were other new, but shy, faces in the audience.
Vice President Bob VanNewkirk began the business meeting, and several officers and members made announcements. Editor Paul Hess urged people to check last month's newsletter on the club's website to view the great color photos that did not show well in the printed copies of The Peregrine. Paul also said that Frank Izaguirre has an excellent article in the next newsletter. Program Director Sheree Daugherty said that the December meeting would be a "slideless" Slide Slam. Contact her if you wish to participate. Bob Mulvihill announced that 1,700 copies of the 3,000-book edition of the Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania have already been sold. He had some available at the meeting and they will also be for sale at the December 11 meeting. The cost is $55.08, including tax. Outings Director Steve Thomas announced outings at Pymatuning on October 6, Yellow Creek on November 2, and Moraine on November 17; the annual picnic will be held on October 27 at Moraine. Sue Solomon enlisted the aid of several young birders to conduct the door prize drawing.
Bird Reports Editor Mike Fialkovich listed many recent bird sightings including Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Common Merganser, Red-shouldered Hawk, Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, a high count of 155 Common Nighthawks, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Philadelphia Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Louisiana Waterthrush, Mourning Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Northern Parula, Prairie Warbler, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Great Egret, American Golden-Plover, Baird's Sandpiper, Forster's Tern, Sora, Red-headed Woodpecker, Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Common Raven, Fish Crow, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Summer Tanager. Sparrow sightings included Vesper, Grasshopper, Savannah, Henslow's, Lincoln's, and White-throated. Audience members added Palm Warbler, Bald Eagle, Common Raven, Winter Wren, and the huge Rubber Duck at the Point.
Members of the audience contributed a variety of notes and updates. Bob Mulvihill has already banded a Rufous Hummingbird on September 28 in Somerset County; Bob reminded people to keep their hummingbird feeders up through November. Paul stated that Donna Foyle's photos of a white hummingbird would be in the next The Peregrine. Donna mentioned that more development near Imperial could ruin additional habitat. The concern about fracking in the county parks was raised, and brochures were made available to interested members. Large numbers of Chimney Swifts were observed near a school. A local birder, Ken Behrens, has co-authored a new Peterson guide about seawatching. The proposed tire burning plant near Pymatuning has received final approval. An introduced bill in the state legislature would allow politicians rather than scientists to make rulings concerning endangered species, but Bob Mulvihill added that the Ornithological Technical Committee provides input on these decisions.
Sheree introduced Cris Hamilton, a 3RBC member, as our evening speaker. Sheree stated that on a birding tour in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Cris worked harder and longer than anyone else as she carried and used her equipment during the heat of the day, and then worked half of the night reviewing her photography. Sheree concluded that Cris has an artist's eye and "her work is just beautiful."
Cris's program was entitled "Photo Tour by Cris Hamilton: Pacific Northwest and British Columbia; Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas; Costa Rica." Cris retired from teaching in 2007. She learned a great amount from www.fredmiranda.com, a photography advice website, early as a photographer. Chris has also met and learned from several well-known nature photographers. She travels with friends, with organized photography junkets, and with birding tours.
Shooting 1100-1300 photos in 4-5 hours a day, working with about $10,000 worth of top-of-the-line Canon digital photography equipment, knowing how to edit photos with sophisticated computer programs, being able to get the perfect in-your-face shots, applying her artist's eyes, using the camera's video mode and rapid-fire mode of 12 photos per second, and just plain talent, practice, hard work, and a sense of humor led to the beautiful program that kept the delighted audience oohing, aahing, and laughing.
Cris began her Pacific Northwest in Seabeck, Washington, which is noted for its accessibility to many Bald Eagles. Bonnie Block, a well-known Washington photographer, accompanied her. Muck boots were essential as they slogged across oyster beds to achieve their best shots. Besides the eagles, Cris was able to get photographs of a nice variety of duck and waders. Crowd favorites included a video of a Ruddy Duck bobbing its head and two Mute Swans forming a heart with their necks.
At Columbia NWR in Othello, WA, a Western Kingbird had a well-camouflaged nest with four babies. Landscape shots at Lac Le Jeune, BC, were impressive, but the most memorable shot might have been the one of Cris in a rented one-man kayak where her expensive photo equipment was awfully close to the deep water. The pictures of the adult Common Loon were very crisp, and when the baby loon climbed on the adult's back, the audience loved it. The highlights at Kingston, WA, were Burrowing Owls in a cute video of a juvenile and a comical, stop-action shot of a preening bird that Cris said was her favorite. Snowy Owls in warm light were photographed at Boundary Bay, BC.
An ASWP birding tour to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas gave Cris the opportunity to photograph many of the birds that make a trip to that region exciting. A posing Aplomado Falcon, a White-tailed Kite eating a vole, a White-collared Seedeater that required at least eight hours to locate, and the colorful boots and socks of the participating birders trying to avoid chigger bites were some of the memorable and humorous photos.
A photo trip to Costa Rica is bound to produce spectacular, tropical birding memories, and there is no better way to bring these home than with the aid of an expert photographer. From the ubiquitous Clay-colored Thrush (Clay-colored Robin), to the unpronounceable Collared Aracari, to the bejeweled Spangle-cheeked Tanager and the muted Blue-gray Tanager, to the energetic Fiery-throated Hummingbird, and, of course, to the most sought-after Resplendent Quetzal, Cris wrapped up her program with an amazing array of avian art.
Chris presented five lucky recipients each with one of her photos. She also stayed around to talk and answer questions.
Pat and Sherron Lynch,
Co-Secretaries of the Three Rivers Birding Club
