| For
more photos, see the Annual Meeting 2004
Report submitted by the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club delegates.
NYSOA
2004 Annual Meeting
Hosted By Cayuga Bird Club
The New York State Ornithological Association met in Ithaca, NY over
the weekend of 17-19 September. The Cayuga Bird Club provided a
fantastic birding experience for everyone who attended.
Maxwell
Wheat, Jr.
at the Friday night reception
|
We started with a reception
at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. The reception brought
old friends and new to this world-class ornithological institution. Art
and science are blended at the new Imogene Johnson Center for Birds
and Biodiversity that houses the Lab. of Ornithology. Great
food and guided tours of the Lab. set the stage for a wonderful
weekend. Paintings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes on display in
the reception area provide an atmosphere that inspires anyone interested
in birds. Karen Allaben-Confer’s pleasing and unique
style of bird painting was available there for view as well. The
Lab. brings
people from all over North America into the fold of bird science. We
glimpsed the cutting-edge technology and innovative thinking by
the exceptional staff during tours of the facility.
|
Hurricane Ivan made
for a wet Friday. Rain, along with a cool down on Saturday
and Sunday, did not deter birders from participation in field trips. Trips
included Sapsucker Woods, the Biodiversity Preserve of the Finger
Lakes Land Trust, the McIlroy Preserve, Cornell Plantations and
Mundy Wildflower Garden, Dryden Lake, Montezuma National Wildlife
Refuge, Cayuga Lake, and the Johnson Art Museum and Kroch Library
at Cornell.
Exhibits included a wide variety of exceptional paintings, sketches,
sculptures, photographs, literature, and information related
to birds. Many of the exhibitors
made contributions to the raffle at Saturday’s banquet. A new NYSOA
informational brochure was available at the NYSOA display. Excellent photographs
of birds taken by Lillian Stoner Award recipient Jay McGowan graced this brochure
as well as the Annual Meeting’s informational leaflet.
The Delegates’ Meeting
brought representatives from NYSOA’s member clubs together for updates
from the officers and various committee members as to the activities occurring
throughout 2004. President Kevin McGowan’s Annual Report highlights
included noting that we are officially the New York State Ornithological
Association, Inc. as the name change is now registered with the State.
|
The
Hummingbird Display at the Johnson Center (Sapsucker Woods)
|
Sapsucker
Woods
the Johnson Center at right |
The Nominating Committee’s slate of Officers
and Directors for 2005 was accepted unanimously by the delegates. The
officers are: Kevin McGowan, President; Andy Mason, Vice
President; Bill Reeves, Treasurer; Brenda Best, Recording Secretary;
and Tim Baird, Corresponding Secretary. Three Directors were elected
to two year terms: Gail Kirch, Carena Pooth, and Bob Spahn.
It was announced at the Delegates’ Meeting that Manny Levine
has stepped down as editor of The Kingbird. The delegates
were introduced to Dr. Shaibal Mitra who has assumed the job as The
Kingbird editor.
The Nominating and Auditing Committees were elected for 2005. Bill
Ostrander will chair the Nominating Committee with Bill Lee and
Tim Baird as members. Irving Cantor, Peter Capainolo and
Emanuel Levine will serve as the Auditing Committee. |
President McGowan announced that the Alan Devoe Bird Club made a donation
of $317 to NYSOA from money raised during their 2003 Birdathon.
Delegates discussed the voting structure of NYSOA in light of the reality
that individual members have no direct voting rights. The discussion
included the topic of membership in general and how to increase our numbers. An
Ad Hoc Committee was appointed by President McGowan to investigate these
issues. The Ad Hoc Committee is chaired by Bob Mauceli and includes
Bob Budliger, Andy Mason, and Kathryn Schneider.
A variety of topics was presented at the papers
session concluding with the traditional reading of his poetry by Maxwell
Corydon Wheat, Jr.
The Saturday banquet included the presentation of awards. Jay
McGowan received the Lillian Stoner Award given to assist a student with
finances for attending the Annual Meeting. Jay was nominated by
the Cayuga Bird Club in recognition for his many contributions to birding. Manny
Levine and Irving Cantor were awarded Gordon Meade Awards for outstanding
service to NYSOA. Don Windsor, who received this award in 2003,
was presented his plaque as he was unable to attend last year’s
meeting. The Eaton Birding Society awarded the Elon Howard Eaton
Memorial Award
to
Ann Terninko for her work on Red-tailed Hawks in New York State. The
John J. Elliott Award, recognizing an exceptional contribution to The
Kingbird, was presented to Kathryn Schneider for her article: “The
Status and Ecology of The Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) in New York
State”, which appeared in the December 2003 issue.
John W. Fitzpatrick,
Louis Agassiz Fuertes Director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
was the keynote
speaker at the banquet. His talk—”Birds Can Save the World:
Revolutionary Opportunities for Citizen Science in the 21st Century” brought
into focus the importance of citizen involvement and education toward assuring
a viable natural environment for generations to come.
NYSOA thanks Cayuga Bird Club for all their efforts in making our Annual
Meeting a great success.
Published
in New York Birders, October 2004
For
more photos, see the Annual Meeting 2004
Report submitted by the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club delegates.
|
)
