 |
| 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. |
Tuesday, January 8,
2008, 7:30 pm
College Park Airport Annex, College Park, MD |
|
"Health of the Bay"
Mary Kilbourne
Chesapeake Bay Foundation |
All of us living in
Maryland are concerned about the health of our
beloved and unique body of water, the Chesapeake Bay. Most of us are
aware that the Bay has been suffering terribly, from pollution,
over-harvesting, and loss of shoreline to development; we may also know
that regional governments have imposed some regulations to alleviate
the problems. How successful have they been?
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) has been at the forefront in
monitoring the Bay, informing the public, and proposing remedies. Mary
Kilbourne, formerly of Jug Bay Park and a current volunteer at the CBF,
will give us an update on the state of the Bay, its critical aquatic
vegetation and marine life, and current predictions for its future.
|
|
|
Tuesday,
February 12, 2008, 7:30 pm
College Park Airport Annex, College Park, MD
 |
"Results from the Maryland Breeding Bird
Atlas -
20 Years of Change"
Fred Fallon,
PG County Coordinator |
|
PROGRAM CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
|
|
|
Tuesday, March 11,
2008, 7:30
pm
College Park Airport Annex, College Park, MD
 |
"The
Horseshoe Crab - Shorebird Connection"
David Smith
Aquatic Ecolgy Lab, USGS |
 |
|
The primitive organisms we call Horseshoe “Crabs” come ashore every
spring to lay eggs in the sand, and millions of migrant shorebirds
fatten up on the eggs at areas of high concentration, mainly Delaware
Bay, in an age-old ritual many of us have seen on field trips. In
recent years an explosive increase in the horseshoe crab harvest has
corresponded with a drastic decline in shorebirds, especially Red
Knots. Now a moratorium on crab harvest has halted the decline in
horseshoe crabs, but the Red Knots have not recovered. The interaction
between horseshoe crabs and shorebirds is more complex than first
appears.
Dr. David Smith of the U.S. Geological Survey's Aquatic Ecology Lab is
an expert on the life-cycle of the horseshoe crab and has worked on
strategies to improve both their numbers and the populations of the
birds that depend on them. He will explore their ecology, harvest
history, and the human dimensions involved. |
|
Tuesday, April 8,
2008, 7:30
pm
College Park
Airport Annex, College Park, MD
|
"Tracking
Nocturnal Migrants by Sound Recording"
Deanna Dawson
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center |
|
Recording the flight
calls of migrating birds as they pass overhead at night is an exciting
new technique for monitoring migration. Deanna Dawson uses sensitive
but inexpensive microphones and recorders at 30 un-manned sites along
mountain ridges in Appalachian Virginia, West Virginia, and western
Maryland to pick up these vocalizations and store them on memory
drives. Then these recordings are analyzed to reveal patterns of
migration, which in turn can tell us what pathways are in need of
protection from, for instance, communication towers and wind turbines.
Deanna is a veteran field ornithologist at PWRC, known for her
innovative studies of birds in relation to their habitats. She will
demonstrate the equipment, data, analysis, and results of her acoustic
monitoring program.
|
|
|
Tuesday, May 12,
2008, 7:30
pm
College Park
Airport Annex, College Park, MD
 |
"Exquisite
Ecuador: A Taste of the Andes"
Bob Mumford |
 |
|
|
Maryland photographer Bob
Mumford will present images from three recent visits to this
South American birder's hotspot. These trips included time in the wet
season and
the dry season, although in the mountains, it can rain any day of the
year and
often does!
With over 1,600 species of birds spotted there, Ecuador has become one
of the
most coveted travel locations in the world for naturalists. We will
see images of more than 20 of Ecuador's 125 glittering hummingbird
species,
many glorious tanagers, big-billed toucans and toucanets, colorful
trogons,
the elusive giant antpitta and the amazing torrent duck.
Birds in Ecuador, as elsewhere, are often separated by elevation, with
sometimes just 1000 feet
determining which species can be seen. Elevations covered
in the ten major locations of this show range from 4000 humid
rainforest to the windswept and very chilly slopes of Volcan Antisana
at over
14,000 feet.
Mr. Mumford will be bringing copies of his book, "Spring Comes to
Washington," for sale.
|
|
|
PO Box 2598, Laurel, MD 20709-2598