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Date
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Activity
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Speaker & Topic – Bird Walk
& Leader
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April 6: Noah Stryker
From Noah's own website:
"Called a “Travel Pioneer” by the BBC and “Birdman of Razzmatazz” by Newsweek,
Noah Strycker is a 36-year-old (dob 2/9/86) writer, photographer,
and bird man based near Eugene, Oregon.
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Noah Stryker In 2015, during a quest spanning 41 countries
and all seven continents, he set a world record by finding 6,042 species of birds
(more than half the birds on Earth) in one calendar year.
From Wikipedia:
"He has been Associate Editor of Birding magazine, the flagship publication
of the American Birding Association since 2006.
He graduated magna cum laude in 2008 from Oregon State University
with a degree in fisheries and wildlife and a minor in art, and summa cum laude
in 2021 from Stony Brook University with a degree in marine sciences."
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TOPIC: Chinstrap Penguins of Elephant Island
From Wikipedia:
"Noah’s master’s research at Stony Brook University focused on population abundance
and distribution of Adélie, Gentoo, and Chinstrap Penguins, to better understand the
dynamics of ecological change on the Antarctic Peninsula. He is the first author
on two peer-reviewed papers on chinstrap penguins: A Global Population Assessment
of the Chinstrap Penguin, published in Scientific Reports, and Fifty-Year Change
in Penguin Abundance on Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica:
Results of the 2019-20 Census published in Polar Biology."
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April 13; 8:30-12 Noon
WILLAMETTE CONFLUENCE TOUR:
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LEADER:BETSY
This tour was arranged through MccKenzie River Trust, as the land is now managed by them.
We drove to Pudding Pond near the far eastern end of the preserve and did some walking there
while being shown some of the restoration work that has been done to reconnect old gravel mining
ponds with the river and allow the river to "have its way" with those areas again.
We also did several stops on the return drive to allow 20 minute birding sessions at various places.
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PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED
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April 20:
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Steve Acker
Retired Plant Ecologist, US. Forest Service and OSU:
Biographical sketch:
I am currently employed as a Senior Faculty Research Assistant in the
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State University.
My duties include supervising seasonal biologists, managing the long-term database,
analyzing the data and reporting the results, participating in regional analyses of spotted
owl demography, consulting with Forest Service biologists, administering the budget, and
collecting data in the field whenever possible.
Past employment includes supervising field crews for the Rocky Mountain
Research Station in Flagstaff, Arizona and private consulting on a variety of issues. I
received a Ph.D. from Northern Arizona University in 1997 after completing my M.S. at
Utah State University in 1992 and B.S. at Oregon State University in 1986.
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TOPIC: Status and trends of northern spotted owls in the western Oregon Cascades.
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April 27; 9-12 Noon
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Bird Walk: Leader Priscilla & Steve
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DESTINATION: Skinner Butte
Skinner Butte, especially the top meadows, is an especially active area with Spring migrants, warblers,
vireos and songbirds all through April and into May.
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| May 4:
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Daniel Farrar
Researcher with Corps of Engineers, Environmental Stewardship Section;
BIO:
Researcher with Corps of Engineers, Environmental Stewardship Section; Eugene, Oregon, United States · Wildlife Biology Technician · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division. Sep 2022 - Present: 8 mos Willamette Valley Project
Strong research professional with a Bachelor of Science - BS focused on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Faculty Research Assistant;Portland State University; Apr 2009 - Sep 2022 13 yrs 6 mos; Florence, Oregon
Biologist; Self-Employed; Jun 2008 - Aug 2008 3 mos; Eugene, Oregon
Designed and operated MAPS mist-net banding station for Army Corps of Engineers at Fern Ridge Reservoir.
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TOPIC: Snowy plovers and shore birds
Results of several decades of studying the Oregon Coast Snowy Plover were summarized;
showing successful managagement as indicated by a substantial increase in the population of that target species.
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May 11; 9-12 Noon
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Bird Walk: Oregon Country Fair site
LEADER: DONNA
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DESTINATION: OCF site
Many bird species were active and singing; such as Warbliing Vireos, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Western Tanager,
Robins and several warbler species. Since tree leaves had opened up, it was very difficult to get clear looks
at many of the birds.
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May 18:
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Kit Larsen
BIO
In 2004 I retired from work in software development and support at the
UO. I bought a digital camera and went after the birds. My daughter was
graduating from college and my wife was retired. I found friends who
were retired, avid birders, and good travelers, and together we took more
than a dozen birding trips to Latin and South America, Jamaica, and
to Australia. I wanted more from each of these countries and sometimes
added a two-week extension with my wife so we could explore the cities
and museums. I been active with Lane County Audubon and the McKenzie
River Trust with whom I volunteer, leading tours and watching after the
swallows.
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TOPIC: “swallows and
swallow boxes that I maintain on Green Island, an element of the
McKenzie River Trust (MRT). I maintain a project of 88 boxes that give
homes to Tree Swallows and Western Bluebirds. Last year I introduced an
artistic element into the project with artistically painted bird boxes,
most of them painted by Dennis Arendt. We now have about 26 painted
boxes and will be adding another dozen this spring. I would like to talk
about this project, touching on the conservation efforts of MRT, the
natural history of the swallows, and the art and artists represented on
the boxes.”
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May 25; 9-12 Noon
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Bird Walk:
LEADER:KIT LARSEN
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DESTINATION: Trip to GREEN ISLAND to follow-up on Kit's presentation from
the week earlier.
Tour of Kit Larsen's & Dennis Arendt's painted Swallow Boxes on Green Island
The McKenzie River Trust manages this island. If you wish to go with us on this trip please
send your name to Priscilla at: priscilla@blog.priscillanhk.com
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June 1
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(June 1); Sue Anderson
Sue Anderson has loved butterflies ever since she was "knee high to a grasshopper."
Fascinated by all sorts of insects and spiders, she focused on butterflies
because "They're beautifully colored and they don't bite!"
She has led 4th of July Butterfly Counts (similar to Christmas bird counts)
for more than 32 years in the Ochoco and Metolius areas of Central Oregon
and is now learning her Willamette Valley species. She has taught Adult Ed classes
and led numerous butterfly walks for the Deschutes Land Trust.
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TOPIC: Butterflies : Flowers That Fly.
Sue's presentation will touch on the butterflies most common to our local area,
the mystery of metamorphosis, the Monarch migration phenomena, identification resources,
and stories from her fieldwork. Nearly all the slides will be from her own photo collection.
I'll cover butterfly biology, the difference between butterflies and moths, links to plants including habitat requirements,
available field guides including where to find butterflies in Lane County,
and the North American Butterfly Association annual counts.
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S U M M E R
B I R D I N G
IS C O M I N G!!
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BOGS does not have speakers/presentations during the Summer.
In fact there was not even any Summer Birding until Jody began a Summer program (around 2015?).
Your crew of volunteer Bird Walk Leaders (Priscilla, Betsy, Janet and Donna)
will continue providing Bird Walks through the Summer. (Probably two per month or more
and possibly not all of them on 2nd / 4th Thursdays).
Summer walks begin at 8am and go until 11am.
We haven't made detailed plans yet. Some destinations may be announced by email ahead of time.
Other times we may meet at the parking lot near the Skinner Buttle children's playground
at 8am and decide where to go and arrange to carpool for those wishing to do so.
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Priscilla will kick off the Summer Birding with a trip to the Arboretum at Mt. Pisgah around mid-June,
when Orioles and Tanagers are feeding young in their nests. Sometimes we've had amazing
views of the chicks reaching up for food with their mouths agape.
The best week for this varies from year to year so we will do some advance scouting
to choose the best week to go.
Other places we go to pretty much only in Summer are Hileman County Park, Elijah Bristow State Park,
and the well-shaded Riverbend trails behind the hospital on very hot days.
This year we might also go down to Cottage Grove to walk the trails around their ponds -
(similar to Delta Ponds but not as developed). If we get a cool enough day we might visit
and walk the trails at Wild Iris Ridge, with its numerous Madrone trees and great views towards Fern Ridge.
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