[DVOC] Weekly Digest - Number 08-17 - 4/20/08

Sun Apr 20 19:25:03 PDT 2008

The Delaware Valley Ornithological Club  (DVOC) Weekly Digest

Raising Money for the DVOC Conservation Fund - World Series of Birding
Donation/Pledge Form
Your annual dues (or in the case of life members, the interest from the life
membership dues payment) goes to club operating expenses. This includes
speaker fees, facility rental, insurance, publications, and other similar
expenses. None of this money goes to support DVOC conservation initiatives.
Money for conservation initiatives is raised at this time of the year in
conjunction with the New Jersey Audubon's World Series of Birding (May 10,
2008). Information on what raised money will be used for this year is
available at http://www.dvoc.org/Misc/Donating.htm. All money raised by the
Club stays with the Club and is spent by the Club on conservation
initiatives.
Now is the time to make a donation or to pledge an amount per species seen
by the team! 
Download the Pledge/Donation form at
http://www.dvoc.org/WSB/WSB2008/2008WSBPledge.pdf
Information on DVOC's team - the Nikon/DVOC Lagerhead Shrikes is available
at http://www.dvoc.org/WSB/WSB.htm

National Geographic On-line Article About The World Series of Birding.
The National Geographic Magazine covered the 2007 World Series of Birding.
The article has been posted on-line at
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/04/world-series-birding/mel-white-tex
t
Members of the DVOC team figure prominently in the story.

Planning for the Meeting of June 4
"Big Day/May Run Reports - this is a DVOC tradition - get your team
together, pick a date and location, and see how many birds you can find in a
24-hour period.
Please send your results to Frank Windfelder (fwindfelder AT yahoo.com)
and/or to Debbie Beer (debbeer AT hotmail.com).

Upcoming Meeting (Details and directions at  <http://www.dvoc.org/>
www.dvoc.org)
Thursday May 1, 7:30 pm, at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia PA
Program - Bill Fintel - "Antarctica and Seabirds of the Southern Oceans"
This program is a photographic journey covering Bill and Sally Fintel's
visit to Antarctica in January 2007. Their voyage involved major stopovers
in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. A few highlights include a colony
of about 200,000 King Penguins at St. Andrews Bay on South Georgia, a colony
of 100,000 Black-browed Albatross on Steeple Jason, in the Falklands, and
close, in flight photographs of Wandering Albatross with their 12 ft. wing
span.
Additionally,Bill will present many photographs of other seabirds, marine
mammals, massive glaciers, and spectacular icebergs, and he will cover some
of the history of this region, as well as tips for anyone wishing to visit.
Ornithological Study - Swamp Sparrows - A Mystery Unfolds - Sarah Warner

Upcoming Field Trips: (Details and directions at  <http://www.dvoc.org>
www.dvoc.org under "Field Trips")
Saturday April 26 - Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Rail Trip, DE
We'll be listening for night birds along Dutch Neck Rd from 3:30 am until
the birds stop calling. We'll spend the hours before sunrise listening for
calling Sora, Virginia Rail, King Rail, Marsh Wren and Sedge Wren at the
1000 Acre Marsh and Grier's Pond. Depending on our success, we may try some
additional night birding in the area. After the sun has risen, an optional
extension to the trip will involve birding our way south to Bombay Hook NWR
or hitting Salem County in NJ. Though not completely necessary, tall boots
may be good to have on hand. Please bring insect repellant, as Grier's Pond
is infested with Deer Ticks. Please make all efforts to contact Steve Kacir
if you plan on attending.
Leader: Steve Kacir
May 4 (Sunday) - Fort Washington State Park, Montgomery County, PA 
Fort Washington State Park (FWSP) is an excellent place for spring
migration. We have tallied up to twenty-eight species in prior spring
migration periods. For this trip we will meet at the Hawk Watch platform at
Militia Hill at 7:30 a.m. If you are interested in participating, please
contact Bill and Naomi at ndmurphy3 at hotmail.com.
Leaders: Bill and Naomi Murphy
May 9-11 (Friday-Sunday) - Birding Southern Delaware and into Maryland 
This weekend trip starts at Bombay Hook NWR on Friday morning and works
south to Trap Pond State Park where you can camp or you can motel nearby.
Saturday we bird Nanticoke WMA and areas around Seaford before returning to
Trap Pond. Sunday, we bird the Cypress Swamps in DE and MD, then head north
to the bayside areas. Interspersed throughout is a gourmet tour trying local
delicacies such as crab, scrapple and muskrat. Yummy. Let me know in advance
if you intend to come. Alternate contact (April 12-May 4): Bob Horton
Leader: Colin Campbell 

Event at the Academy of Natural Sciences
Kenn Kaufman is going to visit the Academy at 2:30 pm on Saturday May 10 in
honor of International Migratory Bird Day and will present an illustrated
lecture, on "Wings of the Imagination: Why We Need Birds. Afterwards, he
will sign copies of his new book, "Flights Against the Sunset".

Interesting Link
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409170333.htm - submitted by
Andy Urquhart

Recent Website Enhancements
Riverwinds Field Trip Report
Beth Hunter Personal Page (new member)
Delaware Valley RBA
Tinicum Field Trip Report
Minutes of the April 4, 2008 meeting

Items Available for Purchase at DVOC Meetings
DVOC car window stickers - $1 each
"Birders Conservation Handbook: 100 North American Birds at Risk" by Dr.
Jeff Wells - only $25 (limited supply)
"Song of the Blue Ocean" by Dr. Carl Safina - signed by author - A $17 value
now only $12 (limited supply)

____________________________________________________________________________
________________________
Report Your Sightings to the Delaware Valley RBA
The Delaware Valley RBA is posted on Thursday evenings at
<http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm>
http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm
It is also available at 215 240 7547
Report your sightings to  <mailto:rba at dvoc.com> rba at dvoc.com or 215 240 7547
The general guidelines of what to report are on the Delaware Valley Rare
Bird Alert Page -  <http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm>
http://www.dvoc.org/RBA/Current/Active/Index.htm

Merchandise Available!
Both DVOC merchandise and Nikon/DVOC Lagerhead Shrikes merchandise are
available at our on-line store. 
 <http://www.cafepress.com/nikondvoc> http://www.cafepress.com/nikondvoc
 <http://www.cafepress.com/dvoc> http://www.cafepress.com/dvoc

Information on the Club and Club activities are at  <http://www.dvoc.org>
www.dvoc.org

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