| NYSOA
2007 Annual Meeting
Hosted by the Buffalo Ornithological Society
by
Tim Baird
photos by Doug Beattie, David A. Gordon, Carena Pooth,
Betsy Potter, and Herb Thompson
The Buffalo Ornithological Society
hosted the 60th Annual Meeting of NYSOA over the October 5th-7th
weekend. About 150 participants came to Batavia, NY to enjoy
a very well organized and productive conference.
Field trips, the delegates meeting, and informative presentations
highlighted our Annual Meeting supplemented by good food and
an opportunity to reconnect with birding friends from diverse
areas of New York State.
Friday’s reception and meal were followed by a presentation
on owls and owl rehabilitation by volunteers from Messinger Woods
Wildlife Care and Education Center in Holland, NY. Live specimens
of the Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Eastern
Screech-Owl, and European subspecies of Barn Owl where included
in the program. We were given the opportunity to view the
owls up close following
the presentation.
|
Delegates'
Field Trip, Saturday at Sunrise
Batavia Waste Water Treatment Plant
photo by Carena Pooth
click photo to enlarge |
Marianne
Hites of the Messinger Woods Wildlife
Care & Education Center, with Great Horned Owl
photo by Carena Pooth
|
Saturday morning field trips occupied
many of the birders attending the meeting. The Batavia Waste Water Treatment facility
became a magnet for birders as well as birds. Trip highlights
included Cackling Goose, Eared Grebe, and Peregrine Falcon.
Delegates of NYSOA member clubs met for the business portion of
the conference to hear officer and committee reports. Two
resolutions were considered and adopted by the delegates. One
concerned a NYSOA position on the placement of wind generating
towers in New York State. A second resolution focused on
the DEC’s management for Spruce Grouse.
The delegates elected members of the Nominating and Auditing Committees
for 2008. The Nominating Committee will be chaired by Kathryn
Schneider and includes Bill Cook and Tom Sarro. Irving Cantor
will chair the Auditing Committee, serving with Peter Capainolo
and Isaac Grant. |
|
The 2007 Nominating Committee’s slate of officers and directors
was elected by unanimous vote. Bill Ostrander is the new
NYSOA President; Carena Pooth, the new Vice President; Tim Baird,
Brenda Best, and Bill Reeves will continue in their positions of
Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer, respectively.
Two Directors were elected to fill expiring terms. New
to the board is Bob Adamo, and Bob Mauceli will continue
with a second term. John Confer was elected to complete
the unexpired term of Carena Pooth.
Outgoing President Andy Mason presented Jeanne Skelly
with a President’s Award for all of her efforts as
secretary to NYSARC, including the overseeing of the conversion
and storage of all NYSARC records on digital media.
A well organized and stimulating papers session filled
Saturday afternoon. Topics were related to western
New York. David Junkin discussed the intricacies
of banding Northern Saw-whet Owls. Dr. Robert DeLeon
presented some of the data from 70 years representing about
20 million birds recorded during the Buffalo Ornithological
Society’s April, May and October Counts. Dr.
Mark Deutschlander informed the listeners of experiments
being conducted at Braddock Bay on migrant navigation. Terry
Yonker related experiences with radar imaging migrants
and bird movements along the Buffalo Waterfront. Dr.
Stephen W. Eaton brought insights into the life of his
father, Elon Howard Eaton. William Watson rounded
out the papers with a report of the dispersal of Great
Egrets following breeding on Motor Island.
The Saturday banquet
is always a climax to the Annual Meeting. Awards
presented this year included Certificates of Appreciation from
|
Dr. Robert DeLeon: BOS
April, May and October Counts: 70 Years, 20 Million Birds
and Still Counting
photo by David A. Gordon
|
NYSOA to people kindly
allowing birders access for observation of rare birds. John
and Muriel Stahl were recognized for accommodating observers
of a Western Tanager. Norman Klein hosted birders
and a Selasphorus sp. hummingbird.
|
|
Willie D'Anna (right) accepting the
Howard Eaton Memorial Award
(and immediately working on his new gull's ID)
photo by Doug Beattie
|
Len DeFrancisco was recognized by NYSOA
for his tireless efforts to effect the proper placement of wind
power generators that would impact migrants along the Ripley Hawk
Watch corridor in Chautauqua County. Yigal Gelb and
Nicole Delacretaz received the John J. Elliot Award for excellence
in writing an article for The Kingbird. The article, “Avian
Window Strike Mortality At An Urban Office Building” appeared
in the September 2006 issue (Vol. 56, #3).
The Lillian Stoner Award was presented to Theresa Rush, a recent
graduate of SUNY Cobleskill. Willie D’Anna received
the Eaton Birding Society’s Elon Howard Eaton Memorial Award
for contributions to New York State ornithology.
Saturday’s banquet ended with the keynote speaker: Dr.
Hector Galbraith. Dr. Galbraith gave a very lively yet disturbing
account of the impact global climate change is |
having
and is anticipated to have on living things in general and birds
in particular. Dr. Galbraith’s message made it clear
that the earth is committed to warming for the foreseeable future.
It is reasonable to accept the fact that life style change is
inevitable if we are to mitigate the full impact of the Earth’s
warming.
Willie D’Anna rounded out the Annual Meeting activities
by leading several attendees on a birding trip to Goat Island
at Niagara Falls on Sunday. A very low ceiling brought a good
mix of passerines into the trees on this small island separating
the American and Canadian Falls. The observers found nine
species of wood warblers and a good mix of other birds.
Published
in New York Birders, October 2007 |
Keynote speaker Dr. Kenneth Galbraith
photo by David A. Gordon
|
More photos taken during
the NYSOA 2007 Annual Meeting - Click
on thumbnails to enlarge.
Buffalo
Ornithological Society
display
photo by Herb Thompson |
Sue Adair
and her Wildlife Art
photo by Herb Thompson |
Messinger
Woods Barn Owl
photo by David A. Gordon |
Barn Owl,
European subspecies
(Messinger Woods bird)
photo by Carena Pooth |
Northern
Saw-whet Owl
(Messinger Woods bird)
photo by Herb Thompson |
Eastern
Screech-Owl
(Messinger Woods bird)
photo by Carena Pooth |
Great
Horned Owl
(Messinger Woods bird)
photo by Carena Pooth |
Delegates'
Field Trip
Batavia Waste Water
Treatment Plant at Sunrise
photo by Carena Pooth |
Trip
Leader Bill Watson
observing 4 Eared Grebes at
Batavia Waste Water
Treatment Plant
photo by Carena Pooth |
Field
Trip:
Cinnamon Marsh
at Tonawanda WMA
photo by Betsy Potter |
Field
Trip:
Ringneck Marsh
at Iroquois NWR
photo by Betsy Potter |
Moderator
Michael Morgante
and Dr. David Junkin (right)
Banding of Northern Saw-whet Owls, photo by David A. Gordon |
Dr. Mark
Deutschlander
Orientation and Navigation
Mechanisms in Migratory Birds
photo by David A. Gordon |
Terry
Yonker
Bird Migration and Structure
Interaction Along the Buffalo Waterfront
photo by David A Gordon |
Dr. Steven
Eaton
Birding With Elon Eaton
photo by David A. Gordon |
Bill
Watson
Post-Breeding Dispersal and
Migration of Great Egrets
from Motor Island
photo by David A. Gordon |
Brenda
Best and
Dorothy Crumb
photo by Carena Pooth |
Kim Corwin and
Kevin McGowan
Editors of the new Atlas
photo by David A. Gordon |
Outgoing
President
Andy Mason (left) and
Incoming President
Bill Ostrander
photo by David A. Gordon |
Doug
Beattie (left)
Master of Ceremonies
at the Saturday reception
photo
by David A. Gordon |
|
)
 "Buffalo Ornithological Society display, photo by Herb Thompson")
 "Sue Adair and her Wildlife Art, photo by Herb Thompson")
 "Messinger Woods Barn Owl, photo by David A. Gordon")
 "Messinger Woods Barn Owl, photo by Carena Pooth")
 "Northern Saw-whet Owl, photo by Herb Thompson")
 "Eastern Screech-Owl, photo by Carena Pooth")
 "Great Horned Owl, photo by Carena Pooth")
 "Delegates Field Trip, Batavia Wastewater Treatment Plant, photo by Carena Pooth")
 "Bill Watson observing 4 Eared Grebes at the Batavia Wastewater Treatment Plant, photo by Carena Pooth")
 "Cinnamon Marsh at Tonawanda, photo by Betsy Potter")
 "Ringneck Marsh, Iroquois NWR, photo by Betsy Potter")
 "Michael Morgante and Dr. David Junkin, photo by David A. Gordon")
 "Dr. Mark Deutschlander, photo by David A. Gordon")
 "Terry Yonker, photo by David A. Gordon")
 "Dr. Steven Eaton, photo by David A. Gordon")
 "Bill Watson, photo by David A. Gordon")
 "Brenda Best and Dorothy Crumb, photo by Carena Pooth")
 "Kim Corwin and Kevin McGowan, photo by David A. Gordon")
 "Andy Mason and Bill Ostrander, photo by David A. Gordon")
 "Doug Beattie at Saturday reception, photo by David A. Gordon")
