Our Next Three Rivers Meeting
Inspecting Chimney Swift Tower
BRIAN SHEMA SHOWS US
THE INS AND OUTS OF
CHIMNEY SWIFT TOWERS
ON OCTOBER 7
Brian Shema, Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania's Operations Director, will present his program "Who would've thunk it? Chimneys are a scarce resource for birds." at our final hybrid meeting of the year on October 7, 2026 at ASWP's Beechwood Farms auditorium. He has been working in Chimney Swift conservation for nearly two decades. In fact, Brian is responsible for the largest conservation program in the country and has recently completed research to guide the future of like-minded conservation strategies. Discover why Chimney Swifts are declining, and what is being done right here in Pittsburgh to lead an international effort for Chimney Swifts.
Brian last presented to the club membership on February 5, 2020, just before the pandemic closed everything down. He recounted the many eco-tours he led in his talk "Birds from Eco-tours to North, Central, and South America." Read the minutes for that meeting at Feb 5, 2020 Minutes. Sadly, this was the last time we would ever meet at the Phipps Garden Center.
Brian has been with ASWP since 2000, serving as a naturalist, Property Manager, Conservation Director, and now, Operations Director. His role in Chimney Swift conservation has afforded opportunities to visit various portions of the country, to visit the birthplace of swift towers in National, Iowa, to evaluate grassroots efforts of Audubon chapters and councils, to serve as keynote speaker and panelist at conferences, and to consult with state, federal, and international agencies on conservation strategies. Brian has recently completed a project funded through National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and US Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate ASWP's collection of Chimney Swift Towers to inform practitioners of best practices.
Our October meeting will be our Annual Meeting. The Agenda for this meeting will include the election of new members of the Board of Directors and any other business that requires membership approval. Your attendance and vote will be appreciated.
This will be a hybrid meeting starting "live" in Beechwood Farms at 6:30 PM (ET) and a Zoom presentation starting at 7:00 PM (ET) giving you time to log on. The Annual Meeting will begin at 7:30 PM, and Brian's program will start around 8:00 PM. Details on how to join the Zoom event, including passcodes and other instructions, will be supplied a few days before the meeting.
FUTURE PROGRAMS:
- December 2, 2026 - ANNUAL SLIDE-SLAM with our talented photographers
Last Updated on 8/5/2026
Items of Interest
VIEW THE JULY/AUGUST 2026 EDITION OF OUR NEWSLETTER -- THE PEREGRINE
Items of Interest
VIEW THE JULY/AUGUST 2026 EDITION OF OUR NEWSLETTER -- THE PEREGRINE
The July/August 2026 edition of The Peregrine (in full color) is avaiable here: July/August 2026.
See also Tom Moeller's photo gallery to accompany his "Observations" column:
Green Herons.
For those who would like to submit articles, photos, sightings, book reviews, anecdotes, etc. about birds or birding to
The Peregrine, please send them to this email address: 3rbc.peregrine@gmail.com.
THE WRITTEN MINUTES AND THE VIDEO OF OUR JUNE 3, 2026 MEETING FEATURING AMANDA HANEY ARE AVAILABLE!
Read the Meeting Minutes for our June 3, 2026 hybrid membership meeting featuring Amanda Haney with her presentation "Birds of Trinidad and Tobago: Where Bird of Paradise Grows Wild" here: June Meeting Minutes.
You can see the video of the June 3 meeting here: June Zoom Meeting.
OUR FALL OUTINGS WILL INCLUDE WALKS IN LATE AUGUST, OUR ANNUAL PICNIC IN SEPTEMBER, PLUS MORE IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER!
The first two August Outings in Sewickley Heights Borough Park are intended for beginning/inexperienced birders and will be limited to six people each. Our third August outing is for everyone as we visit the nesting Red-headed Woodpeckers in North Park. The last is a trip to Hilltop Park in Collier Township.
In September there are five Outings scheduled: Harrison Hills, Sewickley Heights Borough Park, Deer Lakes County Park, Hartwood Acres, and Frick Park.
As the month's highlight, Three Rivers Birding Club will celebrate our 25th Anniversary at our Annual Picnic with walks at Boyce-Mayview Park and Wingfield Pines (your choice) and a picnic lunch at the Boyce-Mayview Pavilion between the two parks.
The two Outings in October go to Linda's Farm and Gilfillan Park in Upper St. Clair, and the three in November go to Yellow Creek State Park, Peters Lake, and an evening trek to the Midway/Bulger Panhandle Trail.
For detailed descriptions, go to our Outings Page.
NOMINATIONS FOR NEW BOARD of DIRECTOR MEMBERS ARE OPEN!
Nominations for new members of the Three Rivers Birding Club's Board of Directors are being accepted by our Nominating Committee. A person can be nominated by another member or by one's self. Those who qualify as potential board members (Directors) must be a member in good standing, at least 18 years old, and have been a club member for at least one year. Upon recommendation of the committee, the nominees will be voted on at the Annual Meeting in October.
Contact any Nominating Committee member via email:
Dave Brooke, (chair) - davbrooke@gmail.com
Kraig Cawley - cawley.kraig@gmail.com
Jim Valimont - valimont49@comcast.net
APPLYING FOR MEMBERSHIP IN 3RBC HAS GOTTEN EASIER!
Now you can apply for 3RBC membership by simply filling out an Autofill document and emailing it back to us. If you are a student, that's all you have to do. If you are paying dues, you can send them in through your PayPal account. Or, you can send in a check to our Treasurer.
Check out this easier method of applying for membership by clicking the "Join the Club" tab at the top of the page.
Longer Articles Highlighted in THE PEREGRINE
Longer articles and a photo gallery that members contributed to The Peregine have been assembled in this compilation. We hope you enjoy them again:
Oscar Miller's recent article "Blue Grosbeaks in Southwestern Pennsylvania," referred to in the September/October 2024 edition of The Peregrine, has moved from this Main page to its own page: Blue Grosbeaks.
Frank Izaguirre wrote an article for the January 2021 edition of Birding magazine. With permission of the magazine and its editor Ted Floyd, we can present a PDF of the article at this link: Celebrating the Stumpbreaker of Squirrel Hill.
Tom Moeller had a two-part article in subsequent editions issues of The Peregrine during 2020 on Cedar Waxwings. Here are the two parts as one: Here's the Background on a Backyard Beauty.
Frank Izaguirre's adventure in exploring snowy Canada for winter birds in February 2020 was also a two-part article in two editions of The Peregrine. Again, the two parts appear here as one: Frigid Canada's Birds Warmed a Pair of Birders.
The stunning gallery of birds and scenery from Northwest Argentina, which is an adjunct to Claire Staples' article "A Very High Adventure: Birding to 15,000 Feet in Argentina's Andes" [The Peregrine Vol. 18, No. 2, March/April 2019], can still be enjoyed: Northwest Argentina.
David Yeany II and his friends took a side trip from Magee Marsh one rainy day in 2018 to find a Kirtland's Warbler in his narrative Saving the Best for Last: A Kirtland's Warbler Adventure.
Other Important Items
THE BYLAWS FOR THREE RIVERS BIRDING CLUB ARE WORTH READING
As you know by now, the Three Rivers Birding Club has formed into a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation governed by a nine-member Board of Directors. Our organization has an official set of Bylaws, which spell out many details of the make-up of the "new" club, including the responsibilities of the Board of Directors, choosing of officers and their terms and duties, financial reporting to the IRS, standing committees, an annual election meeting, voting procedures, and so on. The members can read these Bylaws by following the link found at the top of each page of this website: Three Rivers Bylaws
THE CLUB'S HISTORY CONTINUED IN 2025 WITH GREAT SPEAKERS, A VARIETY OF OUTINGS, AND IMPORTANT HIGHLIGHTS
2025 was marked by our very first Annual Meeting, wherein we elected our 2026-27 Board of Directors and expanded their numbers from nine to eleven members to better serve the club. We had our usual winter, spring, and fall outings guided by volunteer leaders, and our membership meetings with notable speakers continued as hybrid in-person/Zoom formats {except in the two winter months}. Steve Thomas was able to compile the six meetings we had, including the names of all eleven of our Directors, the full set of birding outings, and other events in our complete 2025 calendar. See the year's history as a PDF here: 2025 Events.
All our past annual histories are documented as PDFs here: 3RBC History
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK!
Be sure to visit our club's Facebook page for up-to-date news on happenings with the club, member photos, or links to other birding articles and sites.
WE'RE ON INSTAGRAM TOO!
Our social media presence has expanded. Thanks to member, Malcolm Kurtz, we now have a site on Instagram. You can check for developments on our website 3rbc.org, upload photos, or comment on bird sightings, photos, or outings. Check out our Instagram site here: https://www.instagram.com/3rbcpgh/.
PSO's "PENNSYLVANIA BIRDS" MAGAZINE: SEE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING
The Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO) publishes previews of the current issue of Pennsylvania Birds online, which consist of the cover, table of contents, and a featured article. Now anyone who does not subscribe or perhaps does not even know about PSO can actually see a little bit of what they've been missing, and hopefully be encouraged to join PSO! Click on the following link for an example of an article from the latest edition of Pennsylvania Birds: sample article.
Pennsylvania Birds is an all-volunteer effort, created and maintained by a group of Pennsylvania's most dedicated birders, but it is not an exclusive club. Anyone may contribute, whether a member of PSO or not, any original work related to birds or birding in Pennsylvania. If you have photos, article ideas, letters to the editor... as long as it is original work and related to birds or birding in Pennsylvania.
Consider joining PSO if you haven't already. They especially encourage the "beginners" out there, those of you who are just starting to discover the wonderful hobby of birding. In addition to being relatively inexpensive, membership buys you a year's subscription to Pennsylvania Birds and The Pileated, the PSO newsletter.
Find the Home page of the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology here: PSO.
