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| Northern Rough Winged Swallow for no other reason than it is adorable |
I think this is going to be an exciting year for the bird club. It is winter and we already have some really cool events lined up. I don't really like sitting in the house during these really cold days but it does give me an excuse to send emails and texts asking people if they'd be interested in leading an adventure for the club. Some of the stuff we either have on the books or we are working on are the following-
January 27 Dan Berard is doing a presentation about the Pantanal. The Pantanal is the largest wetlands in the world. It is located in Brazil and is larger than England. Dan will be discussing his trip there, what he saw and what to expect. I'm looking forward to seeing his photos. This presentation will be in-person.
February- Library Book Sale Subcommittee The last two years the OSBC has donated binoculars and field guides to local children's outdoor organizations. We probably have pushed the limit on having our members donate field guides from their bookshelves. However, many of our members love to read and use libraries. Each spring and fall most libraries have book sales. I've been to many book sales where I bought old field guides. So in February as we get closer to spring, we will send an email to members asking them if they want to be on a Library Book Sale Subcommittee. To be on the subcommittee all you have to do is make it to one town library book sale or more and if you find any field guides buy them and set up a time with me to pick them up from you. You will be reimbursed the cost you paid ( please ask for a receipt when you buy a book)
February 24 Going on our theme of a Winter Travel Series Barbara Seith will be doing a presentation about her trip to South Africa. Barbara did a two week (roughly) birding tour across all of South Africa. She saw hundreds of birds, and of course, the African wildlife. Not only will she have fantastic photos but will discuss travel, lodging, and what the overall experience was like. This will be in-person. Free
March 16 The RI Cup! Last year we had our first annual Rhode Island Cup. This one day contest sees who can find the most bird species across the state. Teams consist of three members. Each bird has a point value. The common birds worth one point and the mega-rarities worth five points. Teams will meet at the end of the day to have their points tallied. The winner receives an actual cup for the year (think Lord Stanley's cup but the size of a pint glass.) There is an entrance fee. There is a discount for club members but all may enter.
April (date not set yet) Whale Watch We had such a great response last year when we planned a whale watch that we plan on having multiple outings this year. Unfortunately, we got weathered out last fall but hopefully the weather will be in our favor this time. We are scheduling an April trip specifically because I want to see Right Whales. They are in Cape Cod Bay in April. Another positive is the water will still be cold so we would have a very good chance of seeing wintering birds and migrant pelagic birds heading back north. The trip is out of Plymouth on Captain John Boats. They are great and give groups a large discount.
April Annual Meeting (date not set) This is the tenth year of the OSBC and we hope to celebrate it at our annual meeting. We will have refreshments for everyone to enjoy. At the annual meeting we vote on new board members and thank the ones stepping down for their service. We always have a speaker and I have never seen one that disappointed!
Oct24-Nov 3 and Nov 3-8 Panama Trip- The OSBC has teamed up with Sunrise Birding to offer these international trips. The trips are only open to OSBC members so you will be with people you know (or will know). The trips are lead by Dan Berard who knows Panama birds and knows many of you. This is an exciting opportunity to bird with fellow Rhode Islanders
Other things we are working on...
If things work out, we will have a Zoom presentation about one of the more popular birding spots in northern RI in mid-February. The talk will be by the property manager.
No date set but we will have a Duck Observation at Easton's Pond. The walk leader just needs to see what day her co-leader is available. I will know by Thursday.
I am hoping an old friend of the club that moved away does a Zoom presentation for us ( I only asked today and he is probably cross-country skiing right now)
I'm going to do an early migrant walk at Great Swamp at the end of March
We will be starting Birds and Beer again in April.
Hopefully in May we have a lot of walks but I already have two Chuck Will's Parties scheduled. For those that don't know, a Chuck Will's Widow is a Nightjar and one has shown up for the last ten years or so. We will hopefully hear it but if we do not we always hear Woodcocks, Whip-poor-wills, and usually an owl.
*** Dan Berard and I are working on a calendar for the year where we fill in days with walks. We will send these walks out to potential walk leaders. Hopefully, someone will pick them up and lead a walk on that date. Some are obvious such as Great Swamp in late March or April (see above) others may be places that could be birdy that you (or I) have never been. These are all hypothetical walks (except those listed above) we will be putting on the calendar. We really need walk leaders to contribute.
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| Wood Frog |
This blog- I plan on updating this blog more often. When there is a nature event going on I plan on reporting on it. For example, when vernal ponds are full of Wood Frogs I'll post about it. These may be short posts and not necessarily about birds but at least you will know when Nighthawks are migrating, shorebirds are filling up the mudflats, and snakes are on the move. Unlike a "Nature Almanac which tells you what to look for at the beginning of each month I'll report on what I saw that day.
I am really excited about this upcoming year. It is still the first month of the year and we have a lot on the schedule. You may have noticed either the date or location on most of the above walks and talks were not listed. The outings are for members only.
Our past president Tom always said he wanted the joining fee to be the best money spent all year. we hope to make that a reality for our members. The cost to join the bird club is $18. That is for the entire household. The savings on the cost of just one adult whale watch ticket is thirty dollars (multiply that by a family of four). On a club whale watch you'll have leaders and experienced members pointing out Shearwaters and Storm Petrels!
All of our bird walks are free to members. Members are encouraged to lead walks. The more member participation we have the more walks we can offer. If each household would volunteer their time and lead one walk a year we could offer over ten walks a month! ?Hope to see you at one of our events this year!!!
Lastly, I Googled the phrase "Going's-on" it turns out the plural is also "Going's on"
Who knew?