September

Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
at 7:30 p.m.

Using Radar To Illuminate Bird Migration
Presented by Dr. Sarah Mabey

Birds have been showing up on radar scopes since
World War II, often baffling early operators. But Dr.
Sarah Mabey and her fellow scientists are using the
technology to study bird migration. Weather surveillance radar has great potential as a conservation tool because it can help us see long-term patterns and understand the big picture of dynamics of bird migration, and protect this phenomenon on a continental scale. Mabey has worked with the NASA Polarimetric Radar or NPOL, which can peer into the atmosphere with roughly 2,000 times more precision than standard Doppler radar. In addition, NPOL calculates objects as they move in both vertical as well as horizontal space. It may one day be possible to calculate whether the radar is seeing a goose or a sparrow. Researchers are using radar to pinpoint the landscape critical to bird migration.

Sarah Mabey, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Hiram University. She received her at B.A. at Bryn Mawr College, her M.S. at University of Maryland, College Park and her Ph.D.at University of Southern Mississippi.

No Field trips scheduled
We are looking for a Field Trip Coordinator
Call Glen at 330-656-2086
 

October

Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
at 7:30 p.m.

The Comeback Birds:
Fall Birding in Northwest Ohio
Presented by Jen Brumfield

It doesn't stop after spring! Northwest Ohio is a
jackpot for fall shore birding, hawk watching and
warbler watching. From Golden Eagle to Hudsonian
Godwit, Connecticut Warbler to Yellow Rail, autumn
is Round 2 in the mega-migration hotspot on the
Lake Erie shoreline. Jen Brumfield will give us the
ins and outs of where to go and what to see during
this "other migration."

Jen is a Naturalist/Artist for Cleveland Metroparks,
bird illustrator, author of several natural history
field guides, birding tour guide for Tropical Birding
and rep with Nikon’s Birding Optics Prostaff team.
She runs dozens of weekend specialized birding
tours and field trips throughout Northeast Ohio
each year, through Local Patch Birding Tours.
Her illustration work, specifically featuring birds,
can be found in a number of publications, including
the ABA’s Birding magazine (cover artwork, January
2010 issue), and numerous KBC publications including the new CD covering more than 100 years of the Cleveland Bird Calendar and our Birds of the
Cleveland Region book. Since 2005, she’s written
and illustrated six field guides to the flora and fauna
of Cleveland Metroparks, designed and illustrated a
child’s coloring book, and provided countless illustrations and logos for Cleveland Metroparks events and publications.

November

Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
at 7:30 p.m.

Birds, Flora and Fauna of Southern Florida
Presented by David Dvorak

Dave will share beautiful photos and his always entertaining observations of wildlife and plants from
his trip to Southern Florida. Migrant and resident
birds make this a fascinating area.

David is a naturalist, writer, and photographer. He
has authored research articles on tall grass prairies,
and has contributed to many birding periodicals. As
a young boy, David was an advocate for the natural
world, writing his congressman to save the Colorado
River, and continues to fight for the protection
of endangered ecosystems. He is currently a naturalist for the Cleveland Metroparks at the Rocky
River Nature Center, the Vice President of the Ohio
Prairie Association, and leads tours for the Institute
of the Great Outdoors and on his own.

December

Cleveland Christmas Bird Count
December TBD, 2011
Contact Coordinator, Jerry Talkington at
jerry073352 "AT"att.net
(Please replace the "AT" with @)
if you wish to participate on a team.