UPCOMING PROGRAM: 7pm, April 14, 2025, Dick Rowe – Birds and Birding the Greater Rockbridge County Area.
Dick Rowe started birding as a teenager in Indiana with his parents. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Ripon College, WI; a Master’s degree from Bowling Green State Univ, OH; and a PhD from Michigan State Univ. He and his family moved to Virginia (Lexington) in 1991 when he began teaching at VMI. In May of 2024, Dick retired after 33 years of teaching biology at VMI. During his tenure there, he served as Chair of the Biology Dept and received several awards for teaching and research. His research focused on vocal communication and nest defense in Tree Swallows. He also developed a webpage on the Birds of Rockbridge County and supplementary sighting records and photographs. Dick served on VARCOM, was a member of the VSO Board of Directors, and received the VSO’s James Eike award for service to the VSO. He is the coordinator and compiler of the Lexington CBC and conducts two Breeding Bird Surveys with his daughter, Lucy.

The AUGUSTA BIRD CLUB was founded in 1966 and currently has about 190 members from Augusta County, Staunton and Waynesboro, Virginia, as well as nearby areas. Monthly meetings are conducted Sep-May in Staunton that includes a Program by an invited speaker. Our members organize frequent field trips and other events throughout the year. We are also active in various educational programs and conservation efforts as well as a variety of citizen-science projects such as the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, Christmas Bird Counts, and Winter Raptor Surveys. Anyone interested in joining are welcome to attend one of our meetings! Contact us with any inquiries you may have.

Remembering Bill Roberson.  One of our long time club members, Bill Roberson, passed away on December 12, 2024 at Augusta Health after a brief illness. His obituary can be found HERE. Bill taught high school mathematics at Robert E. Lee High School (now Staunton High) for 37 years and later at area colleges. One of our club members remembers having “Mr. Roberson” for geometry and described him as being soft spoken and “a true Virginia Gentleman”. This writer happened upon a group of men from the Lee High class of 1967 celebrating the holidays in an area restaurant. Upon learning of Bills’ death, they said Bill taught all of them math and remembered him fondly. One of the things they remember most was his love and appreciation of the land and nature around him in Swoope, VA. Bill helped with our annual bird club holiday parties by cooking the turkey and after the party, you would find Bill and his wife Peggy, cleaning in the kitchen. After the bird club meeting in November, Bill said he was so excited to learn about Merlin and was looking forward to downloading the app and using it. Bill was a kind, thoughtful and gentle man and will be missed by all.

Join us as we work together to protect our birds and environment. Contact the AUGUSTA BIRD CLUB for more information and learn about volunteer opportunities. We graciously accept gifts via cash, check, credit card, or PayPal.