NHBC Indoor Programs

All indoor programs will be held on the second Thursday of the month.  There are no indoor programs in June, July, or August. The social half-hour begins at 7:00 PM; the program at 7:30 PM.  All meetings will be held in the Jones Auditorium, CT Agricultural Experiment Station, Huntington St., New Haven, with the exception of the October meeting which will be at the Yale Peabody Museum. The facility is wheelchair accessible with a ramp and elevator.  [Directions to CAES Jones Auditorium]

Cancellation Policy

Inclement weather or another emergency may cancel a meeting. For cancellation notices, check TV channels WTNH (New Haven) and WFSB (Hartford.) Cancellation notices will also be posted online on ctbird.

2011-2012 INDOOR PROGRAMS

Thursday, September 8, 2011 - Sam Fried
Warblers and Vireos of Eastern North America

Now that "warbler necks" are healed, let's take a closer-and easier-look at the roughly 38 species of eastern wood warblers and 7 species of vireos that had us all bent over backwards in awe last spring. Tonight we'll explore these birds' life histories, migration routes, wintering grounds, and breeding locations throughout the western hemisphere. With a wonderful array of color photos, Sam's presentation will provide a fun, fascinating, and "gentle-on-the-neck" revisit with these true gems of the bird kingdom. Sam is an avid and longtime birder, a past president of Hartford Audubon, and the founder of Flights of Fancy Adventures, a birding, photography, natural history, and golf travel company. In his travels Sam has amassed a vast collection of great photos, many featured in the more than 50 articles he has authored for field guides, books, newspapers, and magazines worldwide. And along with running Flights of Fancy trips to North, Central, and South American birding destinations, the ever-inquisitive Sam now is a golf and fishing writer too.

Thursday, October 13, 2011 - Shannon Kearney-McGee
Ugly Places for Beautiful Birds
Please Note: The Oct. meeting will be held at the Peabody Museum. See directions at the end of this program description.

Nobody likes to see a rough clear cut in a forest or enjoys being prickled by brambles in a field-except, that is, for the Golden-winged Warbler! Unfortunately, the "ugly" shrubland places that some birds need are often prime targets as development pressures rise or these areas are left to grow into forest. Thus, more than 80% of the birds in the Northeast that rely on shrubland habitat-among them the Golden-winged Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Brown Thrasher-are in significant decline. Shannon will discuss recent CT DEP research to estimate the abundance and distribution of shrubland habitat that is currently protected and managed. The goal is to determine how many shrubland birds we can hope to support in the future. Shannon's entire career focus has been the research and monitoring of bird species in greatest conservation need. Employed by DEP for 6 years, her previous12 years of research took her as far west as CA (seabirds) and as far east as Cape Cod (grassland birds). In CT she has studied woodland raptors, owls, whip-poor-wills, chimney swifts nighthawks, and shrubland birds, among others.

Directions and Parking Instructions for the Peabody Museum Environmental Science Center (Room ECS-100)

In New Haven take Exit 3 (Trumbull St.) off Rt. 91 (both northbound & southbound). Turn right at second intersection (Whitney Ave.). Follow signs to Peabody, located at 170 Whitney Ave. at the corner of Sachem St., one block north of Trumbull St.

The Environmental Science Center, 21 Sachem St., is directly behind the Peabody. Some street parking is available on Sachem, free after 7 pm. There is also a Peabody Visitors Parking Lot at the far south end of Yale Lot 22. Its entrance is one block north of the museum, opposite Humphrey St. Enter lot, go straight ahead, turn left at end of drive. Continue to end to second yellow gate. Turn left into parking area.

Enter ESC through Sachem St. main entrance, on the SW corner of the building, close to intersection of Hillhouse Avenue and Sachem. From parking lot walk along far right side of building to the ECS entrance. Go straight down hallway to a circular vestibule. There are 3 hallways. One on the right goes to a stairway. Second hallway on the right leads to a corridor. Room 110 is on this corridor; it's the first room on the right.

Thursday, November 10, 2011 - Jerry Connolly
Namibia and Botswana: A Spectacular Birding Safari

Namibia, the dry southwestern corner of Africa, plays host to all three of southern Africa's great desert systems: the Karoo in the south, the Kalahari in the east, and the driest of the three, the Namib, sprawling along the west coast. So it's not surprising that Namibia has, arguably, the world's best desert birding. When you add the teak woodlands and riparian habitats of the Caprivi Strip and the waterways of Botswana's Okavango Delta, the world's largest oasis, you do indeed have the makings of a fabulously birdy trip. And Jerry's safari took in more than abundant and diverse avifauna. There were also breathtaking "up close and personal" views of many of Africa's most spectacular mammals-lions, elephants, giraffes, and rhinoceros, among others. In short, this safari had it all, and with his gorgeous photos, tonight Jerry will take us on an awesome trip. Jerry has been organizing trips to Latin America and Africa since 1996. He and his wife Janet opened The Audubon Shop of Madison in 1986.

Notice! A Bonus: Birder Tag Sale at the November Meeting!
Here's a great chance to clean house. Bring bird books you can part with, avian art, or any other birdy treasures. Items will be priced at $1, $5, and $10. And bring money to buy some of the neat "finds." Proceeds go to NHBC's Conservation Fund.

Thursday, December 8, 2011 - Chris Rimmer
Bicknell's Thrush: Conserving a Bird of Two Worlds

The Bicknell's Thrush is one of North America's most rare and vulnerable songbirds. Nesting only in mountaintop forests of Vermont and other northeastern states, and wintering primarily on the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), Bicknell's Thrush faces numerous threats to its long-term survival. On its breeding grounds, these include acid precipitation, ski area development, communications tower construction, wind power development, mercury contamination, and climate change. The species' limited winter habitats likewise are under siege, from deforestation caused by human population pressures. Since 1992, Chris, Director of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE), has led efforts to conserve the Bicknell and the habitats on which it depends. He'll discuss this rare and fascinating songbird and VCE's study of it at both ends of its migratory range. Chris has degrees in Wildlife Biology and Ecology and Behavioral Biology. Prior to his job at VCE, he did research in Ontario, Peru, Mano- met Bird Observatory (MA) and both the Arctic and Antarctic.

Thursday, January 12, 2012 - Jonathan Truern-Trend
Birding Babylon

Jonathan, an Iraq veteran who served two tours there as a member of the CT National Guard, also has had a life-long passion for birds. During his 22 months in Iraq, he birded every chance he got and tonight he will introduce us to the surprisingly rich natural history of the country, an important transit stop for birds migrating to Africa. Iraq is also a major wintering area for waterfowl and shorebirds. Jonathan will discuss the destruction and miraculous rebirth of the great Mesopotamian Marshes and will detail the inspiring work of Nature Iraq, an Iraqi environmental organization that has been surveying and advocating for Iraq's natural resources since 2003, often at great personal risk. A UConn grad in biology, Jonathan has worked in the American Red Cross Epidemiology and Surveillance program studying transfusion-transmitted infectious diseases. In Iraq he was with the 118th Medical Battalion.

Thursday, February 9, 2012 - Dr. Sylvia Halkin
Squirrels: Birders' Enemy #1? Or Intriguing Survivors?

For just one evening, let's give equal time to the clever non-avian creatures that we might as well admit will always be with us. Dr. Sylvia Halkin will tell us about the complex nut-storing behavior of these extremely familiar but not always welcome backyard visitors. Her biology students at CCSU have gotten not only to learn scientific methodology but have had some good fun too in their research on Eastern Gray Squirrels. These animals depend on the nuts that they store for food over the winter and have a remarkable diversity of strategies to protect their stashes from poten- tial thieves. The shrewd tacticians even change their nut-storing behavior in response to recent theft. Enjoy a presentation about the resourceful animals that at times outwit even the professor and her students. Dr. Halkin has published in major science journals on her research on song repertoire use by Northern Cardinals and Black-capped Chickadees and bill-tucking orientation of birds resting in groups, as well as on her work on squirrels. She and her students have appeared on Animal Planet network's Most Extreme Pirates.

Thursday, March 8, 2012- Patrick Comins
Conserving the Nature of the Connecticut River Watershed

The Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was estab- lished to conserve the abundance and diversity of native plants and animals and their habitats in the 7.2 million acre Connecticut River watershed in CT, MA, NH, and VT. From the sub-boreal forests of VT and NH to the tidal wetlands of the lower Connect-icut River, the Conte Refuge works in partnership to conserve the places that make the Connecticut River Watershed special. Pat-rick hardly needs an introduction to CT birders. Active in the bird conservation field for 20 years, he currently is with Audubon Connecticut as Director of Bird Conservation. He is president of the COA and chairman of the Friends of the Silvio O. Conte Refuge. He has written articles on bird conservation and identification and is a member of the CT Forestlands Council.

Notice! A Bonus: Birder Tag Sale at the March Meeting!
Do you have a bird book you no longer use? Some avian art you no longer have room for? Bring the items to the Jan. and Feb. meetings; we'll sell them at the Mar. meeting. Items will be priced at $1, $5, and $10. Proceeds go to NHBC's Conservation Fund.

Thursday, April 12, 2012 - Twan Leenders, CT Audubon Soc.
Build It and They Will Come?

For better or worse, Connecticut's environment has long been im- pacted by human actions. Many of our threatened and endanger- ed species have historically declined because of the loss or altera- tion of their habitat. Some have declined to the point where human action is needed to improve their plight. How do we select the right habitats? What species should be the focus of our conservation and habitat management strategies? And what can realistically be accomplished in these tough economic times? Twan, Connecticut Audubon's Conservation Biologist, will provide an inside look into the habitat management and restoration projects that take place in some of the state's prime birding areas, including Stratford Point, Milford Point, and Goshen's Croft Forest Preserve. A native of the Netherlands where he earned a PhD specializing in Animal Ecology, Twan has researched declining animal populations in Central and South America, he has worked at the Peabody Museum, and taught at Sacred Heart University. He currently oversees habitat conservation and management activities for CT Audubon.

Thursday, May 10, 2012 - 6:00 pm
Annual Banquet - Amarante's Restaurant, New Haven

Be sure to join us for the Club's Annual Banquet-always great company, great food, and a great program. Reservations required; watch the spring newsletter, Club emails, and the Club website for details and reservation forms. Early reservations are greatly appreciated!

Please remember to bring cash to the banquet to pay for your drinks at the cash bar and to buy tickets for the always-fun raffle of interesting, exciting, and worthwhile prizes!

Banquet program: Peter Alden
Brilliant: The First Year in the Life of a Scarlet Tanager

"He is between me and the sun, and his plumage is incredibly brilliant, all aglow….You can hardly believe a creature can wear such colors."  Those words were written in 1860 by Henry David Thoreau, and who among us hasn't had the same experience upon spotting that fiery red bird when it returns in spring. Tonight's speaker is emi- nently qualified to present this tanager's "biography." Peter Alden, a Concord MA resident, has authored 15 bird and nature books and has led about 300 bird and wildlife tours, safaris, and cruises to 100 countries and the seven seas. With Harvard's Edward O. Wilson he organized the world's first Biodiversity Days; 270 species were found within a few miles of Thoreau's Walden Pond.

Peter begins the story with a nest and egg of a Scarlet Tanager in Concord's Walden Woods. We will follow the bird through his first year, beginning with his education "in a treetop summer school for young tanagers." We'll fly with him along his migration south and see amazing landscapes along the route: the Smokies, Florida, Cuba, Central American, Colombia's Andes, the Amazon, and finally Peru's Manu National Park. There we'll listen as the young bird perfects his unique song over the next four months. Then we follow him back to Concord via Machu Picchu, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, across the Gulf, up the Atlantic coast and back to Walden Woods where his future "wife" finally finds him. Together they'll begin the next chapter of a tanager's life. We will be both educated and entertained as Peter tells of a tanager's many encounters with birds and mammals as well as the dangers and issues during its first year. The timing of this program is perfect. Scarlet Tanagers are now arriving!

"Birds in Words" Flies Again!

A Bird Book Discussion Group

"Birds in Words" Book Group Continues

Join in on "Birds in Words," NHBC's gathering of people who like to read and discuss books on their favorite hobby. Date of next meeting to be announced. Book to be discussed: Birdology by Sy Montgomery. Sessions to continue at 7 pm at Whitney Center. Contact-Kris Johnson: krisjohnson99@snet.net, 203.288.3087

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