Grosse Pointe Audubon

Winter Newsletter 2012

2012-01-24T09:04:00.000-08:00

The winter newsletter is finally here!

Winter 2012 Newsletter

Winter 2012 Schedule

2012-01-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

Jan. 23 -- “Maine: Puffins, Plants, and Whales” Join Nancy Tar for a visit to Maine where she will show you the Atlantic Puffin Reclamation Project started by Steven Kress 35 years ago. Along the way we’ll see Acadia National Park, pelagic birds, plants, lobsters, and finback whales.
Feb. 27 -- “Turkey Vultures: Gorgeous in a Different Way” Dorothy McLeer will tell us how these masters of the migratory winds often go unappreciated for their vital job as part of nature’s clean-up crew. Learn some of their surprising “tricks of the trade” and about their unique adaptations as the ghoulish gourmand of the bird world..
March 19 -- Grosse Pointe Audubon President Bill Rapai has written a book on the Kirtland’s warbler, “The Kirtland’s Warbler: The Story of a Bird’s Fight Against Extinction and the People Who Saved It.” Join him for a celebration of the book’s March release and hear his presentation based on the book.

Fall 2011 Grosse Pointe Audubon Newsletter

2011-09-12T19:09:00.001-07:00

Here it is, in all its glory!

Fall 2011 Newsletter

Fall 2011 Meeting Schedule

2011-09-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

Here's Grosse Pointe Audubon's meeting schedule for fall:

Sept. 19—Michigan green leader Dr. John Hartig will give a presentation on his new book, Burning Rivers: Revival of Four Urban-Industrial Rivers that Caught on Fire. The book explores how four rivers in the Great Lakes basin caught on fire because of oil pollution. Today, however, each of these rivers is experiencing substantial environmental improvement and some surprising ecological revival. Burning Rivers was written to help teach the lessons of the past, celebrate progress, and help people understand the urgent need to address remaining environmental challenges.
Oct. 17—“The World in your Backyard” Rick Lieder will conduct a spectacular travelogue tour of the worlds above and below us, featuring insects and birds. From the rhythmic push and pull of delicate wings, to the amazing variety of small creatures around us, beside us, beneath us, busy in their small, secret world.
Nov. 21—Renowned birder and hummingbird expert Allen Chartier will present a program on his bird banding at Metro Beach Metropark. More information to come soon.

Social hour at 7 p.m., meeting at 7:30. All meetings are held in the annex behind Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church, 17150 Maumee, between St. Clair and Neff, in Grosse Pointe. All meetings are free and all are welcome. Bring a friend!

The Big Year is coming!

2011-09-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

The film version of the book "The Big Year' is set for release Oct. 14. Here's the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEWTEZNifo0&feature=youtu.be

Grosse Pointe Audubon hopes to have a private showing of the movie in mid to late October. Stay tuned!

What makes a good birder great?

2011-06-01T04:25:00.000-07:00

Thoughts from Ted Eubanks that are worth sharing:

http://blog.aba.org/2011/05/the-good-birder.html

Grosse Pointe Audubon Spring 2011 Newsletter

2011-04-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

Spring 2011 Newsletter

April meeting

2011-04-07T04:42:00.000-07:00

Spring On The Yukon Delta: A Waterbird Paradise. Each spring millions of waterfowl and shorebirds return to Alaska's Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge to nest and raise their young. Join birder and photographer David Stimac as he recounts the two months he spent with researchers at a remote camp at a Black Brant colony at the edge of the Bering Sea. From Willow Ptarmigan on a wintery landscape to a green tundra landscape filled with nesting waterbirds, Dave will share his experiences through his images made during the short subarctic spring.

April 18, in the Annex behind Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church, 17150 Maumee (between St. Clair and Neff) in Grosse Pointe. Social hour starts at 7, and the meeting will start at 8.

Breakfast with Pete Dunne

2010-09-27T06:09:00.000-07:00

Spending time in the field with Pete Dunne, the director of the Cape May Bird Observatory in Cape May, N.J., makes a good birder realize just how inadequate he or she is.

Rosann Kovalcik, owner of the Grosse Pointe Woods Wild Birds Unlimited Store, and Bill Rapai, president of Grosse Pointe Audubon, recently ate breakfast and spent time in the field with Dunne at the Kalamazoo Nature Center on Saturday, Sept. 11, and were wowed by his identification skills. Standing in a field near the nature center’s bird banding station, Dunne was able to identify a black-and-white warbler in flight, while the only thing all the other birders could see was a black silhouette against a leaden gray sky.

Dunne has taken bird identification to a new level by considering a bird’s shape and flight pattern in addition to its plumage. He was able to identify the black-and-white warbler by its shape and length of wings relative to its body size. Dunne says many birders still rely on 19th century identification skills that rely on plumage alone. He urges all birders to improve their skills by learning birds’ flight patterns and shapes. He adds that The Sibley Guide to Birds is the first field guide to include accurate information on shape and flight pattern, aspects that had been ignored in previous identification guides that relied upon plumage alone.

Still, Dunne is modest about his skills. He readily admits he has much to learn and, yes, has been known to make a bad call on bird identification.

Dunne visited the Kalamazoo Nature Center as part if its 50th Anniversary Celebration. He gave a speech at a fund-raising dinner and spent time in the field with birders the following morning. During an in-hand examination of birds that had just been banded, the birders got a sense of Dunne’s dry humor when he referred to a blackpoll warbler “vermin.” That’s because at Cape May, Dunne can see hundreds if not thousands in fall migration when a storm blows the migrating birds into shore off the Atlantic Ocean.

Dunne, who is also an author, signed books and posed for photos with participants. Dunne also writes the “Birder At Large” column in Birder’s World magazine.

Fall 2010 Newsletter

2010-09-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

Here's the fall 2010 newsletter:

Fall 2010 Newsletter

Fall 2010 Programs

2010-09-08T06:47:00.001-07:00

Here's the schedule of Grosse Pointe Audubon programs for the fall:

Sept. 20 –“The Uncommon Loon”
Presented by Jeff Lange
Jeff Lange filmed and produced a movie that follows a northern Michigan loon family through a nesting season. Jeff will visit us all the way from Petoskey to narrate the film and answer questions afterward.

Oct. 18 – “Galloping through the Galapagos and Mainland Ecuador”
Grosse Pointe Audubon’s own Mike and Judy Florian will share their adventures on their trip to the amazing Galapagos Islands and Ecuador. Highlights will include their boat trip to the Galapagos Islands, as well as birding on mainland Ecuador. Mike will share his many photographs of the birds and other wildlife observed on this wonderful trip.

Nov. 15 – “Birds, Mammals, People and Places of Southern Africa”
Presented by Barb Baldinger
Travel with us to Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. Some of the places we'll visit are the waterholes of Etosha National Park, the Caprivi Strip, the Okavango Delta, Victoria Falls, Liwonde National Park and we'll see a colony of African Penguins near Cape Town, South Africa. Bring a friend and join us on this birding safari.

Worth your time

2010-09-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

An article from the Smithsonian Institution that is worth your time:

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/science_article/default.cfm?id=50 .

GP Audubon makes recycling pay!

2010-06-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

Grosse Pointe Audubon recently received a check for more than $200 from a California firm that takes the ink cartridges and old cell phones that we have sent them.

Keep collecting those HP and Epson ink cartridges, and bring them to our first meeting of the fall, Sept. 20. Or you can drop your stuff off at Wild Birds Unlimited in Grosse Pointe Woods.

Woods wins second-straight Birding Challenge

2010-06-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

In a record-setting day, the Grosse Pointe Woods team of Rosann Kovalcik and Martin Blagdurn braved the rain to win their second straight Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge by a wide margin on Saturday, May 22.

Kovalcik and Blagdurn recorded 67 species of birds for a total of 89 points. The second place team, Mike and Judy Florian of Grosse Pointe Park, recorded 44 species for a total of 70 points. The Grosse Pointe Farms team of Mark O’Keefe recorded 42 species for 45 points, while the Grosse Pointe City team of Bill Rapai recorded 32 species for 34 points. A team receives one point for each species of bird it sees, plus one additional point for each species of bird that it records exclusively. Each team receives five points for seeing the annual “bonus bird,” which this year was the Yellow Warbler.

The competition is sponsored by Grosse Pointe Audubon, and the rules are simple. Teams have between 5 a.m. and noon to record as many bird species as possible within the boundaries of their respective cities. The teams gather at a predetermined spot at noon sharp, and a team is docked one species for each minute they are late. The challenge was started in 2005 as a fun competition among members. The winning team has possession of the Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge trophy for a year.

The Woods team not only stomped the competition this year, they bettered their 2009 total by 24 points. The team found many of their birds in the city’s Lake Front Park, where they sighted three species of tern (Caspian, Common and Forster’s) and five species of swallow (Rough-winged, Bank, Cliff, Barn and Tree). In a perfectly legal move, they recorded Cliff Swallow flying above the parking lot of a St. Clair Shores strip mall at Marter and Jefferson while standing the northwest corner of Lake Front Park.

Altogether, the four teams found 79 species of birds in the Grosse Pointes. The two biggest surprises of the day were pleasant and disappointing. A Northern Waterthrush, recorded in Grosse Pointe Farms by O’Keefe, was a great find, but none of the teams were able to find a Carolina Wren.

The sixth annual competition has been set for May 21, 2010.

Red-headed Woodpeckers at the Ford House

2010-05-03T08:41:00.001-07:00

Two Red-headed Woodpeckers have been seen at the Ford House since Friday, and by the looks of it, they might be setting up the nursery. On Friday it appeared that they were searching for nesting cavities and on Sunday, it was reported that they were, um, consummating their relationship. This is important because this species of woodpecker is in serious decline due to competition for nesting sites from the European Starling. (Of course, there are plenty of those at the Ford House...)

Now, just because these two were seen consummating their relationship it does not necessarily mean that we should be passing out cigars. These two birds may yet find the area unacceptable and move on. I'm willing to bet, however, that if these birds are still here in the second week of May they will attempt to nest on the grounds of the Ford House.

Rules for the 2011 Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge

2010-03-31T07:08:00.000-07:00

Join us on Saturday, May 21, for the sixth annual Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge. Teams from each of the five Grosse Pointes will be spreading out across their communities to count as many bird species as possible. The team that gets the most points at the end of the competition wins.

The rules are pretty simple:

1. The competition starts at 5 a.m.

2. The Ford House is off limits -- too easy.

3. We're on the honor system. Nevertheless, claims of extremely rare birds will likely be challenged by the other competitors. You may be asked to provide proof.

4. The bonus bird this year is the Blackburnian Warbler.

5. Meet at Panera Bread in the Village in Grosse Pointe at noon sharp to tabulate. Each team will receive one point for every species they see. You will receive one extra point for any species you see that no other team sees. The bonus bird is worth five points.

6. Be on time for the tabulation. One point will be deducted for each minute you are late.

7. All decisions of the Commissioner of the Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge are final and are not reviewable by a court of law or by congressional committee.

Non-Grosse Pointe residents are welcome. Sign up for a team at our April 18 meeting.

Spring Newsletter

2010-03-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

Spring 2010 Newsletter

"Asian Adventures: Ornithological Discoveries and Rediscoveries"

2010-03-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

Grosse Pointe Audubon has hosted lots of great speakers and interesting people, but on Monday, April 19, we're going to be visited by an absolute superstar in the ornithological world. Pam Rasmussen, assistant curator at the Michigan State University Museum and assistant professor in the MSU Department of Zoology, will present "Asian Adventures: Ornithological Discoveries and Rediscoveries". Rasmussen will recount stories of her involvement in the descriptions of five bird species new to science and the rediscoveries and taxonomic re-evaluations of three others thought possibly extinct. One of the birds she re-discovered, the critically endangered forest owlet, is pictured above in an 1891 painting.

Rasmussen is co-author of "Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide" and is a member of the American Ornithologists Union's Committee on Classification & Nomenclature.

As always, social hour starts at 7 p.m., and the meeting starts at 7:30. This meeting is free and open to the public.

Spring at last!

2010-03-11T12:14:00.000-08:00

Significantly warmer weather has ushered the first migrating birds into Grosse Pointe over the past week. Red-winged Blackbirds are already staking out territories along the Lake St. Clair shoreline, Common Grackles are dominating the feeders, Killdeer plovers are crying their names and Song Sparrows are singing happily. It's not too early to be thinking about butterflies, either. The first hibernating butterflies -- Mourning Cloak and Eastern Commas -- should be emerging in this warmer weather. It's also time to monitor the migration of the Monarch Butterflies from their winter home in Mexico. For more information see: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/index.htm .

Grosse Pointe Audubon will be holding is monthly meeting on Monday, March 15. The speaker that night will be Mike Fitzpatrick, who will present, "A Closer Look At Whitefish Point."

Finally, the date for the 2010 Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge has been set. We've had to juggle a little to accommodate everybody, but join us on Saturday, May 22, for this fun day of competitive birding. More information and rules will follow in the spring newsletter.

Winter 2010 newsletter

2010-01-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

The Winter 2010 newsletter is here!

Winter Newsletter 2009

Meetings for Winter/Spring 2010

2009-12-26T15:05:00.000-08:00

The Grosse Pointe Audubon meeting schedule is set for the winter/spring of 2010. Here's the lineup:

Jan. 25—Richard Wolinski presents, "Purple Martin Life History and Managing Purple Martin Colonies." This program is an introduction to how the martin makes its living while on the wing in North America. Wolinski will discuss the martin's travels, foraging behavior, nesting habits, and how humans and martins interact. Basic information on attracting and keeping martins is provided for those attempting to attract martins for the first time and those wishing to grow their colonies and manage them more effectively.

Feb. 22—"The Uncommon Loon." Jeff Lange, all the way from Petoskey, filmed and produced a film that follows a northern Michigan loon family throughout the nesting season. Jeff will narrate the film and answer questions afterward.

March 15—Mike Fitzpatrick presents, “A Closer Look at Whitefish Point.”

April 19—Pamela Rasmussen, curator of mammalogy and ornithology at Michigan State University Museum, with a program to be announced. Even though this sounds vague, this is a program not to be missed. Rasmussen is a heavyweight in the world of ornithology. She's an expert on the birds of southern Asia, but more importantly she is a first-class sleuth, whose skills helped expose one of the biggest ornithological frauds of the 20th century.

And plan now to attend our annual field trip to Seven Ponds Nature Center in Dryden, Mich., on Saturday, May 8. Your dues helped to pay for the $1.8 million expansion of the Seven Ponds Nature Center's Interpretive Building, and the staff at the center is eager to show it off and say thank you.

Grosse Pointe Woods Team Wins Annual Challenge

2009-05-20T18:23:00.001-07:00

The Grosse Pointe Woods team of Martin Blagdurn and Rosann Kovalcik has won the fourth-annual Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge, which was held on May 2.

The competition pits teams from the Grosse Pointes in a seven-hour race to find as many bird species as possible between 5 a.m. and noon in their respective communities. At noon, all teams gather in a restaurant in the Village to tabulate results, declare a winner and swap stories of the day. Each team reports their sightings on the honor system. The Challenge is becoming a fun spring tradition for members of the Grosse Pointe Audubon Society. The event is held in the spring because of the tremendous variety of birds that migrates through our community this time of year.

This is the first year the Woods team has won the Challenge, earning 64 points by seeing 56 species of birds. The Grosse Pointe Farms team finished second with 55 points. The Grosse Pointe Park finished third with 50 points, and the City team finished fourth with 44 points. Each team received one point for each species they saw, one additional point for each species they saw exclusively, and five points for seeing this year's bonus bird, the Northern Yellow-shafted Flicker. The City team had been the defending champion going into the 2009 event.

Even though the event is designed to be a fun competition, members of other teams express jealousy over the advantages that Kovalcik and Blagdurn have. Kovalcik is the owner of the Mack Avenue Wild Birds Unlimited, which is the epicenter of Grosse Pointe bird gossip. Customers share their sightings with Kovalcik and she knows exactly where to go to find the largest variety of birds. Kovalcik and Blagdurn have also turned their yard into a sanctuary that often attracts uncommon birds. Without having to leave their kitchen, they counted a Carolina wren, a somewhat uncommon bird in the Pointes, visiting a feeder in their yard.

Bill Rapai, the lone member of the City team, was the competition's early bird. He visited Neff Park at 5:15 a.m. to search unsuccessfully for the Eastern Screech Owls. Chris Chamberlain and Mark O'Keefe, the Farms team, found a Ruby-throated Hummingbird on the grounds of the Country Club of Detroit. Mike and Judy Florian, the Park team, found a Least Flycatcher. The Woods team found a Sandhill Crane, the most unusual bird of the day, flying north along the Lake St. Clair shoreline. Altogether, the four teams found 79 species of birds during the seven-hour count period.

More arrivals

2009-04-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

Penny Swanson reports that she had her first male Baltimore oriole at her nectar feeder on Tuesday, and the singing also announced the first house wren in her yard this year. Two chipping sparrows were also seen picking at grain on the patio on Monday. Chickadees have finally taken to building a nest in one of my hanging houses. Not bad, she says, for not even leaving the house.

2011 Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge

2009-04-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

Join us on Friday, May 20, for the annual Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge. Teams from each of the five Grosse Pointes will be spreading out across their communities to count as many bird species as possible. The team that gets the most points at the end of the competition wins!

The rules are pretty simple:

1. The competition starts at 5 a.m.

2. The Ford House is off limits -- too easy!

3. We're on the honor system. Claims of extremely rare birds will not only likely be challenged by the other competitors, you may be asked to provide proof.

4. The bonus bird this year is the Blackburnian Warbler.

5. Meet at Panera Bread in the Village in Grosse Pointe at noon sharp to tabulate. Each team will receive one point for every species they see. You will receive one extra point for any species you see that no other team sees. The bonus bird is worth five points.

6. Be on time for the tabulation. One point will be deducted for each minute you are late.

7. All decisions of the Commissioner of the Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge are final and are not reviewable by a court of law or by Congress.

Good luck!

Meeting Schedule

2008-12-31T12:49:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year from Grosse Pointe Audubon!

Here's our lineup for our winter/spring meetings:

Jan. 26—Michigan’s Mammals.

Join Matt Hackett of the Madison Heights Nature Center to explore the world of wild Michigan mammals. Be amazed at how many mammals are found locally—even in the cities of metropolitan Detroit. Some animals with a local taxidermy history will be shared. (Yes, the mounts themselves and their history.) Other visuals and anecdotes will provide clues of the mammals known to be at Friendship Woods in Madison Heights. Add to your knowledge of the furred and fancy of Southeastern Michigan! (This meeting will also feature the return of the dreaded quiz!)

Feb. 23—Jack Smiley of Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy. More information to come ASAP.

March 16—Was that another LBJ?

Join Gary Siegrist “People for Wildlife Coordinator” from the Dahlem Conservancy and past president of Michigan Audubon and explore the confusing world of those nondescript native sparrows. Gary will try to make some sense of these little brown jobs that can be so difficult to identify. Helpful tips about their markings and songs will go along way toward your birding contentment.

April 20—"Costa Rica -- the Land of Pura Vida".

Ralph Gorton is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Lansing Community College. In addition to entomology, molecular biology and microbiology courses, Ralph also taught a "Biology in the Tropics" course and took students to Costa Rica on six occasions. His illustrated talk will introduce the amazing biodiversity, geography and history of this Central American wonderland.

As always, social hour starts at 7 p.m., and the meeting starts at 7:30. All meetings are free and open to the public. If you haven't been to one of our meetings in a while, well, what's keeping you? We have an excellent assortment of desserts, good conversation and great speakers. Make a resolution in 2009 to attend a meeting!