September

Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
at 7:30 p.m.
Antonio Salvadori will present

Birding In Madagascar 

Our friend Antonio returns with an illustrated talk that will cover his recent trip to this fascinating island with a group of birding friends. In his talk Antonio will discuss, not only the many island endemic species of birds, but also the many interesting lemurs, geckos, chameleons - including the world's smallest one - and interesting insects. He will also discuss the recent political problems on the island, the way of life of the people and some of the difficulties and problems one might encounter when organizing a birding trip to this fascinating country.

About Antonio...
Antonio, or Toni as most people know him, was born in Italy but raised in Ireland where his passion for birds began.  He went to Canada in 1963 and was introduced to bird banding which he enjoyed so much he has since banded over 100,000 birds on many continents.  In the late ‘60s, Antonio independently developed the four letter bird banding identification code while working at Long Point and Manomet bird observatories in Ontario. This code is now widely accepted.  

Non-members are welcome!

KBC September Field Trip
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Headlands Beach State Park
8:00 a.m.

Jerry Talkington will lead us in search of fall migrants.

Directions: I-90 East to US-20 East to SR-44 (Heisley Road) north to the park entrance. Meet at the north end of the fishermen’s parking lot.

October

Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
at 7:30 p.m.
Jim McCormac will present 

The Wonderful World of Warblers 

Few groups of songbirds, or any other group of birds for that matter, generate the excitement that warblers do. Springtime brings warbler fever to birders, and reports of expeditions frequently include special mention of warblers and how many species were tallied. 

It’s no mystery why these brightly colored sprites stimulate such passion. Warblers are like feathered jewels, the males resplendent in rainbow hues in the spring. Some are rare, and finding a Connecticut Warbler, for instance, is akin to discovering buried treasure. But warblers are excellent environmental barometers and long-distance migrants that bind many states and countries together. 

Jim will explore the big picture of warblers: what they are, the habitats they occupy in summer and winter, their interesting and diverse songs, and most importantly, the conservation issues peculiar
to warblers.

About Jim . . .
Jim works for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, specializing in birds, education, and wildlife diversity issues. Prior to that, he was a botanist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Natural Areas. He is president of the Ohio Ornithological Society, and served for seven years as secretary of the Ohio Bird Records Committee. Jim is author of Birds of Ohio (Lone Pine 2004); Wild Ohio: The Best of Our Natural Heritage (Kent State University Press 2009); and The Great Lakes Nature Guide (Lone Pine 2009). He is the 2009 recipient of the Ludlow Griscom award, given annually by the American Birding Association to individuals who have made significant regional contributions to ornithology.

Non-members are welcome!
 

October Field Trip
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Shaker Lakes Nature Center
Julie West's big Sit
8:30 a.m.
Our leader is Laura Gooch

Target species: Late fall migrants.
Laura will lead us for a walk around the lake and then we will join Julie West’s Annual Big Sit.
Directions: The Nature Center is located at 2600 S. Park Blvd. North of Shaker Blvd and West of Lee Road.

November

Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
at 7:30 p.m.

Ian Ausprey will present 

Work at the Terrestrial Wildlife
Ecology Lab at The Ohio State University 

Ian, the first recipient of KBC’s Ohio Avian Project Initiative grant, will describe the exciting work at the Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab at The Ohio State University. The Lab’s goal is to provide the citizens of Ohio with expert information on the ecology and management of Ohio's wildlife resources. Over the past decade a number of research projects have examined how human-induced habitat modification  influences the ecology of landbirds during their annual life cycle. This talk will discuss 1) How urbanization and timber harvesting influence the demography and habitat associations of birds during the breeding and post-fledging periods,  2) How migratory birds use forest fragments in city parks and along the southern Lake Erie shore, and 3) How wintering migratory landbirds use shade coffee plantations in Venezuela.

About Ian . . .
Ian grew up in Downeast Maine and received his undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from Middlebury College (VT). After having thoroughly enjoyed spending his formative years in bucolic New England he spent several years traveling North America as a freelance field ornithologist. His experiences included studying shorebirds on the North Slope of Alaska with the Wildlife Conservation Society, tracking endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers with the USGS, and monitoring migratory birds in Oregon, California, and Costa Rica with the Klamath Bird Observatory. Ian is a certified Trainer with the North American Banding Council and has evaluated bird banding biologists in the United States and Latin America.  He is now pursing a Masters degree in Wildlife Ecology at The Ohio State University and recently received a grant from the Kirtland Bird Club's Ohio Avian Project Initiative in support of his research regarding the effects of urbanization on fledgling songbirds.

Non-members are welcome!
 

We will visit locations along the shoreline with John Pogacnik. Our target birds are Cave Swallows and Jaegers and who knows what surprises we will find!

Directions: Take Rte 2 to Rte 20 and follow Rte 20 to Perry Park Road.  On Perry Park Road turn left and follow the road north right into the park.  

December

Cleveland Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Contact Coordinator, Jerry Talkington at
jerry073352 "AT"att.net
(Please replace the "AT" with @)
if you wish to participate on a team.