MONTHLY MEETINGS
KBC monthly meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month, September through June at 7:30 p.m. at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval, Cleveland Ohio. The meeting begins with a short membership meeting followed by a featured speaker. Meetings are free and all are welcome! For a complete list of meetings and speakers visit Monthly Programs.
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CLEVELAND
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JOIN KBC TODAY $20 Single Membership
$30 Couple Membership $10 Student Membership |
DONATEKBC is a 501(C)3 nonprofit member-based organization. All donations are fully tax-deductible.
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MEETING LOCATIONWe meet on the first Wednesday
of each month September to June at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History in a downstairs class room which is located at 1 Wade Oval University Circle Cleveland, Ohio Click HERE for driving directions. |
President’s letter
Surprise – you’re it! That’s how I felt this week when I raised my hand to help the KBC stay afloat – I didn’t have a specific role in mind, but knew I had to step up for something…and then someone asked me if I was willing to be President and I said yes!
To introduce myself to those who don’t know me, I’ve been a KBC member for about 25 years, a birder for longer than that, and I’m married to a former KBC President, Jim Heflich. I recently retired from a job that took all of my time (for those who wonder why I’ve been less visible the past few years) and am now exploring all kinds of things. I never aspired to be President, but I value the camaraderie I’ve developed with numerous KBC birders over the years – shared adventures, pearls of knowledge, and opportunities to just get out there & bird - and I didn’t want to see KBC fold.
So how did KBC get to the point of almost folding? The short answer: not enough people stepped up to take on the jobs to make the club run last May. Why? The answer obvious to many of us is the club doesn’t have enough active members, but the bigger question is why has membership dwindled in a club that’s been around for 79 years and was at one time so exclusive that it required prospective members have two club members recommend them? Why has membership dwindled when birding is America’s number one hobby and climate change is on everyone’s mind?
Back to the present: With no elected leadership there was no speaker for our October program. So, Mary Anne Romito and Fred Dinkelbach presented those members who attended the meeting with a set of options: fold, continue, or merge with another club. They asked us to vote, but they insisted we answer a series of seven questions first. From our responses it became clear that members want the club to continue on, want to continue to meet in our current location at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and want to see if we can find a way to reduce the cost of parking. Before we could vote two other options emerged: 1) start over with a new slate of officers and 2) delay a decision pending a consultant-led review of what we want our future to look like. Those assembled proposed hiring a consultant to help us revisit our mission, create a vision, and chart a path going forward. We approved creating a search committee to look into hiring a consultant and we proposed allocating up to $1000 from our $14,000 treasury for a consultant. (Per our bylaws, because this amount is over $500, this proposal requires notice to members and a vote at our next meetmeeting). The search committee, composed of Julie West, Linda Sekura, Irene Krise, and me.
When we meet next month, we’ll update everyone on the outcome of our search. In the meantime, we agreed to continue with interim leadership in the positions required in our bylaws.
Speaking of next month, we do have a speaker! David Lindo, a British birder and author, will be speaking to us at our November 5th meeting about Urban Birding. Urban Birding is the subject of David’s weeklong visit to Cleveland. He will be speaking at multiple venues and joining a number of bird walks set up by Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society. Click here to learn more. Hope to see many of us in attendance and, in light of our current state, think about bringing a friend!
In the meantime, I have my own set of questions to ask you.
1 - What are your best KBC memories?
2 - How has the KBC enriched your life?
3 - What would you like to see KBC doing in the future?
4 – What do you think would help KBC flourish?
I’ll answer first, but I want to hear from you too!
Best Memories – seeing Nelson’s and LeConte’s Sparrows at Mentor Marsh, seeing Orchard Orioles at the Bluffs, and seeing Sandhill Cranes at Sandy Ridge; watching a young Jen Brumfeld draw an Avocet from memory and then gradually pursue her passion and become a beloved, passionate Metroparks naturalist; watching teen Ben Winger give a powerpoint presentation with videos about his travels and later learning that adult Ben Winger has his own endowed ornithology lab, the Winger Lab of Avian Evolution, at University of Michigan; watching Ted Gilliland grow from a boy birder found by Paula Lozano and Bob Finkelstein wandering around Rocky River Park to a Professor of Economics focusing on environmental economics at Mount Holyoke College – after his environmental activism in Rocky River that saved Elmwood Park; seeing former ace boy birders Ethan Kistler and Phil Chaon morph into bird guides in various parts of the world, and watching former boy birder Lukas Padegimas chart his course as he travels the world in a quest to embrace all aspects of life including birds of the South Pacific - where he currently works as chief legal counsel to the Supreme Court of Chuuk (Federated States of Micronesia).
How has KBC enriched my life? Through great birding with KBC members Jim Heflich, Paula Lozano and Bob Finkelstein, Jim McCarty, Jim McCormac, and Larry Rosche to name just a few. Through gaining an appreciation of the interconnectedness of the habitat we share with birds and other creatures and discovering how important native plants are to making this all work.
What would I like to see KBC do in the future? I’d like to see KBC reach out to share our love for birds with more birders – with those yearning like I once did to see more of the birds in the bird book, not just the ones at my birdfeeder, with those for whom a little guidance around birds can ignite a passion, with those who care about the future of the earth and its natural resources, and with those might not have an opportunity to learn about birds without us.
What do I think will help KBC flourish? I’d like to see us reach out to the public – through talks at libraries, through flyers promoting activities posted where people look for them (coffee shops, libraries), and through finding ways to inspire young people.
I want to hear from you – and from anyone you think might be interested in joining or rejoining us in our Kirtland Bird Club adventure! Please spread the word!
Again, please share these questions – and my email address:
1 - What are your best KBC memories?
2 - How has the KBC enriched your life?
3 - What would you like to see KBC doing in the future?
4 – What do you think will help KBC flourish?
See you at our Wednesday, November 6th meeting to hear David Lindo speak on Urban Birding at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History – in the Rare Book Room for this meeting only.
May the rest of October bring you many great birds!
Patty Kellner
PatriciaJKellner@gmail.com
PS - Thanks to all of you who stepped up this month: Christi Carlson as Vice President, Anna Kozlenko as newsletter editor, social media coordinator (with Jerry Wesley’s help), and webmaster, Mary Ann Romito as treasurer, Laura Peskin as recording secretary, Paula Lozano as field trip coordinator and Dana Bjorkland and Fred Dinkelbach as co-corresponding secretaries
To introduce myself to those who don’t know me, I’ve been a KBC member for about 25 years, a birder for longer than that, and I’m married to a former KBC President, Jim Heflich. I recently retired from a job that took all of my time (for those who wonder why I’ve been less visible the past few years) and am now exploring all kinds of things. I never aspired to be President, but I value the camaraderie I’ve developed with numerous KBC birders over the years – shared adventures, pearls of knowledge, and opportunities to just get out there & bird - and I didn’t want to see KBC fold.
So how did KBC get to the point of almost folding? The short answer: not enough people stepped up to take on the jobs to make the club run last May. Why? The answer obvious to many of us is the club doesn’t have enough active members, but the bigger question is why has membership dwindled in a club that’s been around for 79 years and was at one time so exclusive that it required prospective members have two club members recommend them? Why has membership dwindled when birding is America’s number one hobby and climate change is on everyone’s mind?
Back to the present: With no elected leadership there was no speaker for our October program. So, Mary Anne Romito and Fred Dinkelbach presented those members who attended the meeting with a set of options: fold, continue, or merge with another club. They asked us to vote, but they insisted we answer a series of seven questions first. From our responses it became clear that members want the club to continue on, want to continue to meet in our current location at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and want to see if we can find a way to reduce the cost of parking. Before we could vote two other options emerged: 1) start over with a new slate of officers and 2) delay a decision pending a consultant-led review of what we want our future to look like. Those assembled proposed hiring a consultant to help us revisit our mission, create a vision, and chart a path going forward. We approved creating a search committee to look into hiring a consultant and we proposed allocating up to $1000 from our $14,000 treasury for a consultant. (Per our bylaws, because this amount is over $500, this proposal requires notice to members and a vote at our next meetmeeting). The search committee, composed of Julie West, Linda Sekura, Irene Krise, and me.
When we meet next month, we’ll update everyone on the outcome of our search. In the meantime, we agreed to continue with interim leadership in the positions required in our bylaws.
Speaking of next month, we do have a speaker! David Lindo, a British birder and author, will be speaking to us at our November 5th meeting about Urban Birding. Urban Birding is the subject of David’s weeklong visit to Cleveland. He will be speaking at multiple venues and joining a number of bird walks set up by Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society. Click here to learn more. Hope to see many of us in attendance and, in light of our current state, think about bringing a friend!
In the meantime, I have my own set of questions to ask you.
1 - What are your best KBC memories?
2 - How has the KBC enriched your life?
3 - What would you like to see KBC doing in the future?
4 – What do you think would help KBC flourish?
I’ll answer first, but I want to hear from you too!
Best Memories – seeing Nelson’s and LeConte’s Sparrows at Mentor Marsh, seeing Orchard Orioles at the Bluffs, and seeing Sandhill Cranes at Sandy Ridge; watching a young Jen Brumfeld draw an Avocet from memory and then gradually pursue her passion and become a beloved, passionate Metroparks naturalist; watching teen Ben Winger give a powerpoint presentation with videos about his travels and later learning that adult Ben Winger has his own endowed ornithology lab, the Winger Lab of Avian Evolution, at University of Michigan; watching Ted Gilliland grow from a boy birder found by Paula Lozano and Bob Finkelstein wandering around Rocky River Park to a Professor of Economics focusing on environmental economics at Mount Holyoke College – after his environmental activism in Rocky River that saved Elmwood Park; seeing former ace boy birders Ethan Kistler and Phil Chaon morph into bird guides in various parts of the world, and watching former boy birder Lukas Padegimas chart his course as he travels the world in a quest to embrace all aspects of life including birds of the South Pacific - where he currently works as chief legal counsel to the Supreme Court of Chuuk (Federated States of Micronesia).
How has KBC enriched my life? Through great birding with KBC members Jim Heflich, Paula Lozano and Bob Finkelstein, Jim McCarty, Jim McCormac, and Larry Rosche to name just a few. Through gaining an appreciation of the interconnectedness of the habitat we share with birds and other creatures and discovering how important native plants are to making this all work.
What would I like to see KBC do in the future? I’d like to see KBC reach out to share our love for birds with more birders – with those yearning like I once did to see more of the birds in the bird book, not just the ones at my birdfeeder, with those for whom a little guidance around birds can ignite a passion, with those who care about the future of the earth and its natural resources, and with those might not have an opportunity to learn about birds without us.
What do I think will help KBC flourish? I’d like to see us reach out to the public – through talks at libraries, through flyers promoting activities posted where people look for them (coffee shops, libraries), and through finding ways to inspire young people.
I want to hear from you – and from anyone you think might be interested in joining or rejoining us in our Kirtland Bird Club adventure! Please spread the word!
Again, please share these questions – and my email address:
1 - What are your best KBC memories?
2 - How has the KBC enriched your life?
3 - What would you like to see KBC doing in the future?
4 – What do you think will help KBC flourish?
See you at our Wednesday, November 6th meeting to hear David Lindo speak on Urban Birding at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History – in the Rare Book Room for this meeting only.
May the rest of October bring you many great birds!
Patty Kellner
PatriciaJKellner@gmail.com
PS - Thanks to all of you who stepped up this month: Christi Carlson as Vice President, Anna Kozlenko as newsletter editor, social media coordinator (with Jerry Wesley’s help), and webmaster, Mary Ann Romito as treasurer, Laura Peskin as recording secretary, Paula Lozano as field trip coordinator and Dana Bjorkland and Fred Dinkelbach as co-corresponding secretaries