Spring 2008 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
College Park Airport Annex Mary Kilbourne
Health of the Bay
February 12
College Park Airport Annex
Fred Fallon
Results from the Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas
March 11
College Park Airport Annex
David Smith
Horseshoe Crab - Shorebird Connection
April 8
College Park Airport Annex
Deanna Dawson
Tracking Nocturnal Migrants by Sound Recording
May 12
College Park Airport Annex Bob Mumford
Birding Ecuador
June 10
College Park Airport Annex Members’ Night

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.

Directions to the College Park Airport Annex

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

  PO Box 2598, Laurel, MD  20709-2598

last updated 4/27/08