Three Rivers Birding Club Southwestern Pennsylvania

Bimonthly Membership Meeting
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
7:30 PM -- 9:30 PM
Hybrid Meeting Originating from Beechwood Farms in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

45 members were in attendance in person at 3RBC's June membership meeting, held in the auditorium of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania's Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve. In addition to those attending in-person, 29 computers were logged on to the meeting via Zoom, with some shared by more than one person. In total, more than 74 individuals viewed the meeting, which featured Amanda Haney presenting her program "Birds of Trinidad and Tobago: Where Bird of Paradise Grows Wild."

President Mike Fialkovich called the meeting to order at approximately 7:30 p.m. He and other club officers, directors, and members made the following announcements and reports.

• Mike Fialkovich sadly reported on the recent passing of Fred McCullough, husband of board member Carol Ann McCullough, and commented on his sharp wit and knowledge of birds.


• The Peregrine Editor, Bob Mulvihill, gave a preview of the July/August issue of the newsletter, which features:
  
  
  • Articles by Pat McShea on local bat observations, Mike Fialkovich on his earliest interests in birds and his experience at this year's Presque Isle Birding Festival, Jack Solomon on his observations at the Biggest Week In American Birding in the Magee Marsh area, and a species spotlight of Green Heron by Tom Moeller.
  
  
  • We would love to have more member content to include in future articles in The Peregrine. If you have observations, photos, stories please email 3rbc.peregrine@gmail.com.
  
  
• Steve Thomas, our Outings Coordinator, presented future birding outings for the summer and fall. The full details of these walks can be found in the July/August issue of The Peregrine and on the 3RBC website.
  
  
  • Upcoming outings and events include:
    
    
    • Friday, August 21 AND Saturday, August 22 – Sewickley Heights Borough Park
    • Friday, August 28 – North Park
    • Saturday, September 5 – Harrison Hills Park
    • Friday, September 11 – Sewickley Heights Borough Park
    • Saturday, September 12 – Deer Lakes Park
    • Friday, September 18 – Hartwood Acres
    • Saturday, September 26 – 3RBC Annual Picnic at Boyce-Mayview Park
    • Saturday, October 3 – Linda's Farm
    
    
  • Director, Christine Best gave more information on the annual picnic on September 26. It will include the option to walk either at Wingfield Pines or at Boyce-Mayview Park at 9:00 AM and a bring-your-own picnic lunch at noon.
  
  
  • More details on outing locations and times, including guidelines to review before participating, can be found at: our Outings page.
  
  
• President Mike Fialkovich gave his overview of notable bird sightings since our last meeting:
  
  
  • A flock of thirty-six Semi-palmated Sandpipers at Sewickley Bridge, nesting Double-crested Cormorants at Emsworth Dam, a late Swainson's Thrush, late Dark-eyed Juncos, Worm-eating Warblers at Frick Park during migration and returning to their known breeding area at Harrison Hills Park, Golden-winged Warbler reports at Beechwood Farms, Wilkinsburg, Hartwood Acres, Deer Lakes Park, Castle Shannon, and Sewickley Heights Park, a late scaup species reported at North Park, a flock of thirty-one American Avocets flying past Sharpsburg Marina, a Black-bellied Plover at Janoski's Farm, two Semi-palmated Plovers at Oakmont, Willets reported at Peter's Creek and Duck Hollow, four Dunlin at Duck Hollow, a late Lesser Black-backed Gull at Aspinwall, a high count of seventeen Bonaparte's Gulls at Sharpsburg Marina, a high count of seven Forster's Terns at Dashield's Dam, a Caspian Tern at both Sharpsburg and Emsworth Dam, Great Egrets at Imperial, Indiana Township, and Etna, a second Allegheny County record of Snowy Egret at North Park, a Western Cattle Egret at Emsworth Dam, a flyby American Bittern in Jefferson Hills, Sandhill Cranes flying over Wingfield Pines, North Park, and Frick Park, a Virginia Rail with chicks observed at Wingfield Pines, a Sora at North Park, a Common Gallinule at Boyce-Mayview's PennDot Wetlands, Eastern Whip-poor-will calling at Thornburg Conservation Park and Riverview Park, Red-headed Woodpeckers have returned to Highland and North Park, Olive-sided Flycatcher, an Alder Flycatcher at Hartwood Acres, a Sedge Wren at Harrison Hills, late Pine Siskins in Glenshaw, a Harris's Sparrow at Southside Riverfront Park, only the second confirmed sighting in Allegheny County, a Clay-colored Sparrow at the Fred Rogers Statue on the Northside, another rare visitor to Pittsburgh, two Dickcissels at Hays Woods, a Rusty Blackbird at Wingfield Pines, a Brewster's Warbler at Sewickley Heights Borough Park, an Orange-crowned Warbler at State Game Lands 203, Mourning Warblers at Frick Park and Harrison Hills, Summer Tanagers at Duck Hollow, Frick Park, Homewood Cemetery, and Harrison Hills, and the Painted Bunting continued at Frick Park into April.
  
  
• Director, Sheree Daugherty, previewed the August meeting's speaker, Frank Izaguirre, who will be giving a talk on "The Inner Workings of Editorship at Birding Magazine."

Sheree next introduced speaker Amanda Haney, a life-long resident of Pittsburgh and 3RBC member since its founding year in 2002. Amanda has been a regular presenter at the 3RBC annual Slide Slam and is a former Special Education Teacher in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Her presentation was titled "Birds of Trinidad and Tobago: Where Bird of Paradise Grows Wild," and included photos, observations, and stories from her multiple trips to Trinidad and Tobago.

Amanda stayed at Asa Wright Nature Centre in the mountains of northern Trinidad and Cuffie River Nature Retreat in the mountains of northern Tobago. She explained that, although Trinidad and Tobago do not have the diversity of species of Central American countries, there are other reasons to visit these islands, including the colorful bird species you can only see on the islands and parts of Venezuela and the photo opportunities at its lodges.

Caroni National Park was Amanda's first stop, a protected mangrove swamp in Trinidad. There are a series of artificial canals that you can travel through to access the mangrove swamp. Travelling in the off-season in October, the temperatures were very high and consistently in the 90s. Many of the birds Amanda observed were panting and hiding in the shade. Despite this, Amanda saw twelve of the fifteen hummingbirds that are observable during this time of the year. White Ibis, Gray Kingbird, Tropical Kingbird, and Great Kiskadee were some of the species in the park. Taking an evening boat ride, the highlight of the trip was observing large flocks of Scarlet Ibis returning to Trinidad in the evenings after spending a day feeding in nearby Venezuela. Grooved-billed and Smooth-billed Anis, Pied Tyrant, and Southern Lapwing were observed in other areas of Trinidad.

Amanda stayed three nights in Asa Wright Nature Centre, which has recently undergone renovations. She explained that you can see thirty species before breakfast on the veranda of the lodge. Previously a cocoa plantation, Asa Wright was converted into a birding destination. Golden-headed Manakins, known for their mating dance, were seen at the lodge. Bananaquits and Green Honeycreepers were common at the lodge's fruit feeders. Orange-winged Parrot, Violaceous Trogon, Violaceous Euphonia, Silver-beaked Tanager, Palm Tanager, and Purple Honeycreeper were other highlights of the property. Amanda explained that she picked Asa Wright as a destination, because the fruit feeders, hummingbird feeders, and veranda of the lodge allow for many photo opportunities without having to hike trails. Brown Violetear Hummingbird, Copper-rumped Hummingbird, Long-billed Starthroat, White-breasted Emerald, along with a multitude of other hummingbird species, could be observed at the lodge's seven hummingbird feeders. Two Green Hermits, the largest hummingbird in Trinidad, were observed fighting over torched ginger flowers. Amanda observed one Crested Oropendola doing its mating ritual of hanging upside down on a branch.

Travelling to Tobago by boat, not many birds were seen on the ride, but Magnificent Frigatebirds were plentiful. On the roads to Cuffie Retreat cattle were tied close to the road to manage grass. Cattle Egrets were there, associated with the cattle. Cuffie River Nature Reserve was similar to Asa Wright in having feeders for photography, but it had twenty-one hummingbird feeders! The manager of the retreat said she made three liters of nectar a day to fill them. White-tailed Sabrewing hummingbird was common here, although it is a near-threatened species, that can only be found in the mountains of Tobago and parts of Venezuela. Blue-gray Tanager, Bananaquit, and Crimson-crested Woodpecker were observed at the fruit and hummingbird feeders at the reserve, along with large fruit bats. Male White-necked Jacobins were observed chasing each other in a spiral pattern above the hummingbird feeders.

Southern Beardless Tyrannulet, Streaked Flycatcher, and Pale-vented Pigeon were observed at the lodge at Cuffie Retreat. Rufous-breasted Hermit was a large hummingbird species that Amanda observed chasing other species of hummingbirds away from the hummingbird feeders. Hermits are known for their large, curved bills. From their balcony, Amanda and her husband were able to hear the White-tailed Nightjars at night, and a guide spotlighted one that landed on a hummingbird feeder shepherd's hook. Blue-crowned Motmot was a highlight of Amanda's Tobago travels, a bird she calls "the king of the forest," with its beautiful colors and long, racket-shaped tail feathers. Overall, Amanda observed almost ninety species in her off-season trip to Trinidad and Tobago.

After questions, President Fialkovich thanked Amanda for her presentation and adjourned the meeting.

— prepared by Dan Mendenhall on July 14, 2026