Meetings & Programs

Wayne Laubsher
 

Going north in the winter for birdwatching?  Yes!  It's quality more so than quantity as this program highlights the various far northern specialty bird species that appear in Ontario and even the northeastern U.S. during certain winters.  Irruptive species of raptors and finches, wintering northern species of waterfowl and gulls, and the occasional western vagrants will be covered.  Where and when to find them and reasons why they show up so far south of their normal range will also be discussed.  The emphasis of the program will be on the areas of southern and eastern Ontario and also a few nearby areas in Quebec.

Wayne is the Clinton County compiler for the PA Birds publication and a member of the Lycoming Audubon Society board as well as the Northcentral PA Conservancy Technical Committee. He also coordinates the Audubon CBC centered in the Lock Haven area. He is a native of the Lock Haven area in Clinton County, residing in Swissdale. Some of Wayne’s recent work was as a bio aide for the PA Game Commission. Since 2019 he has been the Mosquito Disease Control Coordinator for Centre, Clinton, and Clearfield Counties conducting WNV surveillance. Wayne also bands owls and hummingbirds in his spare time.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Ross Gallardy

Ross Gallardy grew up in Pennsylvania but has travelled the world extensively searching for birds. He specializes in self-guided expeditions on a reasonable budget, and will share with us some of his most memorable birding experiences as well as his strategies for planning his expeditions. Traveling to far-flung corners of the globe with a backpack and strong determination, Ross has seen more than 7,600 of the world’s 10,625 bird species, including a new species he discovered in Tanzania in 2021.
 
Ross lives in Chester County with his wife and birding companion Melissa, and their new little baby birder born last fall.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Judy Stepanaskie

The story of the peregrine falcons nesting in the steeple of St. John the Baptist RC Church in the Manayunk Neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Judy has always loved nature and the outdoors and even spent a year as an intern at a nature center but didn’t start birding until she was in her 40’s. She was there on the Green Lane Bridge over the Schuylkill River in Manayunk when the two peregrines were first spotted in February 2011, and has been watching them ever since. She was nicknamed the ‘Peregrine Godmother’ in an article by Mike Weilbacher, formerly the Director of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.
 
Judy bought a camera to photograph the peregrines and is now an avid photographer as well as an avid birder. Her photos of the peregrines have been shown on WPHL 17 and in the Philadelphia Inquirer. They have also been published in Mike Weilbacher’s 2023 book: Wild Philly - Explore the Amazing Nature in & around Philadelphia, Timber Press, and Bernard S. Brown’s 2022 book: Exploring Philly Nature - A Guide for All Four Seasons, Temple University Press.
 
Judy received an undergraduate degree from West Chester State College and worked as a chemist. She later went on to earn a master’s degree in environmental science from Drexel University. She then went into the field of Occupational Health and Safety, working as an Industrial Hygienist until she retired in 2015.
 
Since retiring Judy has been active in bird conservation. She is the co-chair of the PA Audubon Council’s Renewable Energy Committee and was honored by the Wyncote Audubon Society in Dec. 2022 with the Edward Hicks Parry award for her work with this committee. She is a fellow of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club and has also been active with Bird Safe Philly.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Victoria Sindlinger

Longtime volunteer bander Victoria Sindlinger will share the process and importance of migratory songbird banding. We will learn about what questions bird banding can answer, as well as walk through the entire process from capture to data-gathering to release.
 
Victoria has enjoyed nature and in particular birds from a very young age. She is a devoted volunteer at Rushton Woods Preserve, where she has been participating in both songbird and saw-whet owl banding since 2015. In September of 2021, Victoria had the honor of joining the eBird review team in September 2021 for Philadelphia County. Of all her birding interests, she is particularly fervent about conservation, especially in regards to educating the public on how bird collisions with glass can be prevented. This passion led to the creation of “Hope in the Night,” which is an art installment honoring birds and their power to inspire change. Most recently, to extend her outreach efforts for conservation, Victoria has begun working toward a wildlife permit to own and handle raptors for educational purposes. Outside of all things birds, she also enjoys social dancing, travel, leather working, and opera.
 

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

John Mercer

John details his 2023 trip of February 15 to 22 to Thailand, describing his birding in Phetchaburi Township, and touching Kaeng Krachen National Park and the Coast.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Jeff Kenney & Angela Romanczuk

The massive undertaking to catalogue Pennsylvania’s breeding and non-breeding birds known as Pennsylvania Bird Atlas 3 (PBA3) is already underway. PBA3 will only be possible through the efforts of thousands of volunteers carefully logging their data through early 2029. Years of future conservation and land management decisions will be based upon the data collected in the next five years. This session with Chester County Atlas Co-Coordinators Jeff Kenney and Angela Romanczuk will detail how you can contribute and will provide answers to any questions you may have.

Jeff Kenney has lived in Chester County for most of his life. Having been introduced to birding as a child by his father Mike, Jeff’s passion for birds and nature was mostly dormant until being rekindled in 2020. Now an avid (and moderately obsessive) state and county lister, Jeff’s favorite place to bird in Chester County is the Crows Nest Preserve/State Game Lands 43 complex in Elverson. Jeff currently resides in Phoenixville with his two dogs, Vita and Grits, and is a founding board member of In Color Birding Club, as well as a Force of Nature volunteer with Natural Lands.

Angela Romanczuk has lived in multiple Pennsylvania counties, but has spent most of her adult life in Montgomery and Chester counties. While Angela has always loved being outdoors, it wasn’t until 2020 that she was introduced to birding. She now enjoys exploring under-birded areas all over Pennsylvania and is forever on the lookout for the American Woodcock. Angela’s favorite local places to bird are Crow’s Nest Preserve in Chester County, Congo Road Open Space in Montgomery County and her backyard. She is a founding board member of In Color Birding Club and a Force of Nature volunteer with Natural Lands.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Rob Fergus

Description:TBD

Bio:TBD

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Speaker: Sheila Martin

Jump on board with WCBC member Sheila Martin as we pictorially explore untamed Patagonia - where some of the world’s most stunning landscapes are filled with wildlife to the max!

Moment by moment, the experience of hiking the walkways around Iguazu Falls is simply nature at its finest.  And, for Sheila, when Plush-crested Jay & Chestnut-eared Aracari appeared in the parking lot, she knew it would be days of incomparable sighting thrills, including up to two dozen dizzying endemics to follow, just in that pre-tour locale!

Atlantic coastal Argentina in November offers exceptional close-up wildlife observation, straight down to the straits of Tierra del Fuego - with Red Knots ready to migrate, and Austral Negrito & “Loica” ever-present. Farther inland, we find the best puma viewing on the planet!  It was southern-hemisphere springtime ’22 - and all the breeding birds were showing off their best. While in Chile, the quaint atmosphere, friendly locals and Patagonia Sierra-finch, Tufted Tit-tyrant plus Magellanic Woodpecker further enriched her experience.

Relive with Sheila her outrageously memorable jaunt through a stark & jaw-dropping part of the globe, full of scenery, wild mammals, and birds, birds, BIRDS!

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Jeff Buler

Dr. Buler will share highlights of recent and ongoing research by his lab and colleagues in the field of aeroecology: the study of the ecology of flying animals aloft. He will talk about how he uses radar and telemetry technologies to make new discoveries into 1) how the Mid-West corn belt is a man-made migration barrier for forest birds, 2) the aquatic nature of Purple Martins in our region, and 3) the reintroduction of Northern Bobwhites into Pennsylvania.

Jeff Buler is a Professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. His broad research interests include avian ecology, landscape ecology, remote-sensing, and conservation biology. Dr. Buler established the Aeroecology Program at the University of Delaware in 2011. He is an international leader in the development of novel methods and software for using weather surveillance radars to study the broad-scale distribution, movement, and habitat use patterns of birds, insects, and bats.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Vinobha Karthik Panner Selvam

Birding in India offers both overwhelming and exhilarating experiences, with a higher density of birds and people per square mile compared to the US. Imagine traveling alongside an Indian immigrant and avid birder, reconnecting with his deep-rooted love for nature as he rediscovers the avian treasures closer to home in the tropical forests he almost forgot.
 
Vinobha Pannerselvam is a Data Consultant by profession and recently found birding as his life’s passion and purpose. He travels regularly to India and spends time enjoying South Indian birds during his travel. He served in a few conservation boards locally and he currently serves as President of Bucks County Birders & is a board member of Warrington Environmental Advisory Council (EAC).

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Coordinated by Luc Jacobs. Here is the info for photos:

1.  1. Maximum 50 photos per participating member (depending on the number of people that want to show pictures, I may need to make a selection and pair the numbers down a bit.  I think the absolute maximum number of photos should not exceed 300.  E.g. if 7 people send 50 photos each, I will take out 7 photos per submission to bring it down to 301).
2. 2. The photos need to be in JPEG format
3. 3. Each file name should include the name of the bird.  If you want to also show on the slides the location where the photos were taken, please include the name of the location also in the file name, or include a Word document with the cross reference of location to the file name.  I will then make sure that the location is shown on the slides..
4. 4. The photos should preferably be sent to Luc Jacobs via websites such as DROPBOX or WETRANSFER.  These services are free if you don't exceed 2 Gb for the 50 photos combined
5. 5. Luc's email address is jacobsluc52@yahoo.com
6. 6. Please make sure to get your photos to Luc by May 15th at the very latest.  Earlier submissions are encouraged
7. 7. If you want to give the photos to Luc on a memory stick or a CD, get in touch with him via phone (cell: 484-706-1999) or via email to discuss day, time and location to hand over the memory stick or the CD, or you can mail it to his home address at 511 Annadale Drive, Berwyn, PA 19312

NOTE: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.

Faridah Dahlan & Ingred Rochon

Did you know that molecular and microscopic identification of feathers plays a key role in aviation safety? The Smithsonian’s Feather Identification Lab processes over 11,000 wildlife strike cases each year to determine which species of birds are involved in collisions with aircraft – the first step to implementing preventative measures to keep both birds and people safe. Learn how the lab identifies both whole feathers and fragmentary bird remains (aka “snarge”) using the Smithsonian’s collection of 600,000 bird specimens, as well as the resources of the museum’s Laboratories of Analytical Biology.

Presenter Faridah Dahlan is a molecular specialist who has worked for the Feather Lab since 2008. Ingrid Rochon began working at the Smithsonian in 2016 as a museum technician, joining the Feather Lab in 2023 as an apprentice microscopist under Dr. Carla Dove.

Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.