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Welcome to the Outdoor Nature Club – Ornithology Group
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Monthly Meeting April 2, 2012 |
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Written by Marcy Brown
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Tuesday, 27 March 2012 17:47 |
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Monthly Meeting Monday, April 2nd Bayland Community Center 6400 Bissonnet, Houston LEARNING CORNER -
6:30 p.m.
PAM SMOLEN & Chimney Swifts GENERAL MEETING – 7:00 p.m. PROGRAM:
SCOTT WATSON of Tropical Birding - “Birding South Africa - Cape to Kruger: The Birds and Big Game of South Africa” In some ways South Africa is typical of Africa. Boasting the classic scenes of vast parks sprinkled with big game, including the “Big Five” (Leopard, Lion, elephant, buffalo, and rhino). However, in other ways it is atypical: it holds more endemics than any other African country and is home to many of the regional specialties found here. Many of these are concentrated in the west of the country around the scenically spectacular Western Cape District. Birds can be seen in the shadow of Table Mountain, and the striking blooms of protea flowers make for dramatic backdrops to the birding. In the east of the country the landscape turns to the picture postcard images of Africa, here Kruger National Park boasts good diversity and density of large mammals. The camps in the park come loaded with confiding, photogenic birds; like shimmering iridescent starlings to bold and boisterous hornbills. In just three weeks nearly five hundred bird species and over fifty mammal species might be seen. Coupling this with spectacular landscapes, vibrant blooms, and a good infrastructure, make this a popular choice for first time visitors to the African continent. Tropical Birding tour guide Scott Watson will highlight the very best of South Africa, from his experiences crisscrossing the country while leading tours there. Scott was studying Environmental Biology at university when his semesters away in China, New Zealand and Arizona, got him hooked both on traveling and world birding. Long stints volunteering at Tandayapa Bird Lodge in Ecuador, and Guapi Assu Bird Lodge in Brazil followed, after which Scott joined Tropical Birding in 2010. Since then he has moved to Capetown, South Africa, and wasted no time in traveling extensively around South Africa, and also across the continent, where he has led tours from South Africa to Ethiopia to Madagascar. Originally from Ontario, Canada, Scott now resides in Capetown, in the rare times when he is not away on tour elsewhere! |
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Written by Marcy Brown
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Sunday, 04 March 2012 12:09 |
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PROGRAM: “The Smith Point Hawk Watch: 15 Years of Monitoring & Outreach” by Susan A. Heath, Ph.D.
Avian Conservation Biologist, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory Since 1997, the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory and HawkWatch International have coordinated a hawk watch at Smith Point to count the many raptors that pass by the point each day from August 15th to November 15th. Thus the 2011 season marked the 15th year for the Watch. Susan Heath will talk to us about this spectacular annual event. At GCBO Susan manages several projects including the Smith Point Hawk Watch and an American Oystercatcher Stewardship Program. She also manages GCBO’s Site Partner Network, a group of 70 sites, including all U.S. and Mexican states around the Gulf of Mexico, which work together to preserve habitat for migratory birds. LEARNING CORNER: Nina Rach and Marcy Brown will introduce a new project for the OG. We have often heard of the spectacular birding trips of our members, but when it comes time to plan a trip ourselves we can be at a loss as to whom to ask for advice. Our new Trip Information Notebook (for lack of a better title right now) will allow OG members to list useful information about their trips, which will be available to other OG members. So we invite you to COME WITH STORIES AND INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RECENT (AND NOT SO RECENT) TRIPS! |
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Written by Marcy Brown
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Thursday, 29 December 2011 21:05 |
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- January Meeting -
PLEASE NOTE: Due to holiday schedules, our January meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 9 instead of the usual first Monday of the month.
Our learning corner will begin at 6:30 with Lisa Jeane Reznicek, who is working with Texas A&M on a study of Perceptions of Bird Watching Impacts. We will even be able to help her along with her research with a quick survey.
We also look forward to our featured program with Winnie Burkett, who will speak on Colonial Nesting Birds of Galveston Bay Area. Where do they nest? Why are they there? What do they eat? Where are they in the winter? What can we do to keep Galveston Bay full of birds? Winnie will answer these questions and many more, as she presents her program on Galveston Bay's Waterbirds. She will happily answer your questions about water birds so make sure to bring them.
I hope to see you all there!
Marcy Brown
OG Chair |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 December 2011 21:15 )
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FEBRUARY 6 EVENING PROGRAM |
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Written by Marcy Brown
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Saturday, 28 January 2012 04:41 |
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FEBRUARY 6 EVENING PROGRAM Learning Corner 6:30 – General Meeting 7:00 BIRDS OF THE NECHES RIVER BASIN by
GINA DONAVAN Gina Donovan, executive director of Houston Audubon, is best known for her conservation work on the Neches River. This is a critical bottomland hardwood habitat vital to migratory songbirds and waterfowl. She has canoed nearly 400 miles of the Neches River. Her knowledge and love of riparian habitats has lead her to serve on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Rivers Conservation Advisory Board, she was the Communications Director for the Texas Conservation Alliance, and is a co-founder of the East Texas Forest and Wildlife Coalition. Gina is the lead author of the Neches River User Guide, a project of the Texas Conservation Alliance, published by (Texas A&M University Press, 2009). |
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Written by Marcy Brown
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Friday, 02 December 2011 08:50 |
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December Meeting Books and Birds Departing from the usual for the December 5 meeting, instead of a learning corner we will have a holiday special! Come at 6:30 for social gathering with light refreshments and a silent auction of birding and nature books, tapes and CD’s. Included are new and gently used field guides (ok, some not so gently used!). Then, our featured program will not just talk about birds, but we will also get to meet them up close and personal! Mary Anne Weber will introduce us to Houston Audubon’s education ambassadors. Houston Audubon educates over 25,000 every year with the message of bird conservation! Mary Anne Weber has been the Education Director for Houston Audubon for the past 12 years. Mary Anne also runs and directs the activities at the Houston Audubon Sims Bayou Urban Nature Center, located in southeast Houston. She has worked with birds since 1983. Her “bird” journey began with repainting an aviary for rehabilitated Great Horned Owls at a center in New Jersey in 1983 and from then on she was hooked! “I am excited to bring the world of birds to the OG meeting in December. Soar into the world of birds and explore why we find them so fascinating. My live bird friends will be on hand for all to meet and enjoy!” |
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