Spring 2010 PGAS Program Schedule










PGAS monthly programs are held on the second Tuesday of each month, September through June, in partnership with the Patuxent Bird Club, the PG County chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society.  Except for the December holiday party at Watkins Regional Park and other special events, programs are held in College Park, MD at the College Park Airport Annex.  There are no programs scheduled in the summer months.  The formal program always begins at 7:30 pm, but doors open at 7:00 for informal conversation, refreshments, and exchange of birding news.  Each program opens with brief statements from leaders of both clubs about upcoming events, items of interest and other club business, followed by the featured speaker with a question-and-answer period afterwards.  Click on the location links below for directions and click on the program dates for more information about the presentations.  PGAS members are encouraged to attend monthly meetings and non-members are always welcome.

DATE
LOCATION
SPEAKER
TOPIC
January 12
College Park Airport Annex Doug Forsell
Wintering Waterfowl in Chesapeake Bay and Offshore Coastal Waters
February 9
College Park Airport Annex
Matt Perry
Bird Studies and Other Wildlife in Argentina
March 9
College Park Airport Annex
George Jett
The Big Picture
April 13
College Park Airport Annex Mike Bowen
Warbler ID Seminar with Slides and Sound
May 11
College Park Airport Annex Keith Underwood Environmentally Sound Storm Water Management
June 8
College Park Airport Annex
Members' Night

Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 7:30 pm
College Park Airport Annex, College Park, MD





Wintering Waterfowl in Chesapeake Bay and Offshore Coastal Waters


Doug Forsell

Doug Forsell, from the Chesapeake Bay Field Office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, will discuss the status and trends of wintering waterfowl of the Chesapeake Bay; other wintering waterbirds and their habitats in open waters of the Bay such as seaducks, loons, and gannets; the results of recent offshore coastal surveys from New Jersey to North Carolina; and the threats faced by offshore birds, including sand mining, bycatch in gillnets, and wind power development.

Doug has studied migratory birds for over 35 years, 33 of those with USFWS.  He spent ten years in Alaska primarily studying the at-sea distribution and abundance of marine birds and four years as the refuge manager of five remote tropical Pacific islands where he censused and studied breeding biology of 12 species of tropical seabirds and monitored wintering green sea turtles.  Since 1990, he has worked to implement the Waterfowl Management Plan of the Chesapeake Bay Program by interpreting waterfowl population trends, surveying waterbirds in offshore waters, assessing the mortality of waterbirds in anchored gillnets, modeling diving duck distributions, and identifying and mitigating threats to birds and their habitats.  Most recently, he has completed several years of aerial winter waterbird surveys from New Jersey through Virginia to determine the distribution of waterbirds to 14 miles offshore and is using the data to influence sand mining and wind power development.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010, 7:30 pm
College Park Airport Annex, College Park, MD

PROGRAM CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER - WE WILL TRY TO RESCHEDULE


Bird Studies and Other Wildlife in Argentina



Matt Perry


Large populations of ducks, a variety of species, and liberal hunting bag-limits make Argentina a popular destination for both North  American and European waterfowl hunters. Information on the biology, behavior, or management of ducks in Argentina is meager. Recent studies by researchers at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center utilizing satellite radio telemetry, are aimed at filling the existing information gap on four duck species common in the hunter’s bag: the rosy-billed pochard (Netta peposaca), white-faced whistling duck (Dendrocygna viduata), black-bellied whistling duck (D. autmnalis), and the fulvous whistling duck (D. bicolor). Research is conducted on a very large previously heavily-grazed ranch that is now totally managed for wildlife. Numerous wildlife species have benefited from the management and will be discussed in the presentation by Dr. Matthew Perry, who is the lead US researcher on this privately funded research project.

Directions to the College Park Airport Annex

Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 7:30 pm
College Park Airport Annex, College Park, MD


The Big Picture


George Jett


Many hotshot birders have set out to see 300 species of birds in Maryland in a single calendar year.  In 2008, George, believing that seeing 300 species in a year was highly overrated, set out to photograph 300 or more species of birds in Maryland.  In order to justify the carbon footprint this effort would leave, George undertook this challenge to raise money for the American Bird Conservancy's efforts to protect the Blue-billed Curassow, a critically endangered species in central Colombia.  George will relate his experiences in this quest - the trials, tribulations, successes, and failures- and share some of his excellent photographs, many of which are field guide quality.

George Jett is a retired chemical engineer who worked at the U.S. EPA for 30 years, retiring in 2003.  He now does volunteer conservation work such as helping to protect the Mattawoman watershed in Charles County, coordinating the Charles County effort during the MDDC Breeding Bird Atlas, and consulting and collecting data for the Audubon IBA efforts in Charles County.  George has been birding and photographing for nearly 40 years.  Recent publications include the Handbook of the Birds of the World, The Handbook of the Mammals of the World, The Shorebirds Guide by Michael O'Brien, and numerous others publications. His travels have taken him to many unique parts of this globe, plus nearly every nook and cranny of Maryland.  Many of his images can be found on his website: www.georgejett.net.

 Directions to the College Park Airport Annex

Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 7:30 pm
College Park Airport Annex, College Park, MD

Warbler ID Seminar with Slides and Sound

Mike Bowen

Check back in the spring for more info

Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 7:30 pm
College Park Airport Annex, College Park, MD

Environmentally Sound Storm Water Management

Keith Underwood

Check back in the spring for more info

Tuesday, June 8, 2010, 7:30 pm
College Park Airport Annex, College Park, MD


Members' Night


Check back in the spring for more info




Questions or comments?  Contact the PGAS Webmaster at:  info@pgaudubon.org

  PO Box 2598, Laurel, MD  20709-2598

last updated 1/31/10