Meetings begin with various business items of discussion such as recent bird sightings, news items or announcements, field trip reports or announcements, and committee updates. This will be followed by a featured Program by a guest speaker. Today’s Program is Birds and Birding the Greater Rockbridge County Area, by Dick Rowe, Virginia Military Institute, Professor Emeritus and Ornithologist. We will take our speaker to dinner prior to the meeting – 5:15pm at Little Maria’s Pizza in Verona. If you’d like to join us for dinner, please email Vic Laubach by noon of the meeting date ([email protected]).
Dick Rowe started birding as a teenager in Indiana with his parents. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Ripon College, WI; Master’s degree from Bowling Green State Univ, OH; and PhD from Michigan State Univ. He and his family moved to Virginia (Lexington) in 1991 when he teached Biology at VMI. In May of 2024, Dick retired after 33 years 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. In this presentation, Dick will share his experiences and photographs while birding in the Greater Rockbridge County Area.