April 8, 2024 Minutes, Covenant Presbyterian Church

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President Rich Wood.
Recent Sightings: Brown Thrasher, nesting Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Purple Finches, Blue-headed Vireo, Louisiana Waterthrush, Great Egret at Augusta Springs, Green Heron, Pied-billed Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser, Virginia Rail at Cowbane, Hermit Thrush, Fox Sparrows, 50 Cedar Waxwings facing into the eclipse. The nest with 2 eaglets in New Hope is doing well. Sadly, the 2 Great Horned Owlets at the JMU Arboretum have disappeared. The Sangers Lane heron rookery is very active.
Field Trips: (1) Jo King will lead a trip to McCormick’s Mill on 4/10. (2) Allen Larner will lead a group to Honey Grove looking for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers on April 13.
Volunteer Opportunities: Earth Day Staunton is April 20 at Gypsy Hill Park. Riverfest is in Waynesboro on April 27. Volunteers are really needed to represent the club at our booths. These are important and well attended events and will be good publicity for our club. Please contact Rich Wood, beagleboy831@comcast.net to let him know you will help.
Education/Conservation: The Bluebird Trail boxes at Bessie Weller Elementary have been repaired and relocated for better use and monitoring by the students.
Website: Vic Laubach has spent considerable time and effort updating and revamping our website. We all appreciate this important component of our club. The URL is https://augustabirdclub.org. Everyone is encouraged to visit the site which contains a wide variety of information. Vic is looking for pictures of local birds so everyone is encouraged to send their favorite pictures to him. Please include the location and date taken.
May Meeting: McCormick’s Mill will be the site of our May meeting. Jo King will lead a bird walk followed by a potluck brunch. Meet in the parking area at 8:00 am?
Elections: The annual ABC board elections were held. All current board members were willing to serve another term. There were no nominations from the floor. The club unanimously elected Rich Wood as president, Vic Laubach as vice-president, Marilyn Nash as secretary, and Mona Beard as treasurer.
Program: Dr. Robin Puffenbarger, Chair of the Dept. of Biology at Bridgewater College, shared many bird specimens from their collection. Among many interesting facts presented was how we see the colors of bird feathers. Green and blue colors are actually not pigment in the feathers but rather a combination of light and the structure of the feather. The iridescence of hummingbird feathers is also structural, not pigment. Yellows, reds, and oranges come from carotenoids in the diet. Browns and chestnuts come from melanin in the feathers. We thank Robin for sharing these specimens with us.
The meeting adjourned at 8:20 pm.  -Marilyn Nash, Secretary