The meeting was called to order at 7 pm by President Rich Wood.
Upcoming Field Trips: Allen Larner will lead a trip to Highland County on Saturday, 1/18. Penny Warren will lead a trip on 1/27 to Bell’s Lane.
Recent Sightings: There are many interesting sightings reported including Short-eared Owls, Lapland Longspurs, a Rough-legged Hawk (Mt. Sidney), Eastern and Western Meadowlarks (Albemarle County), American Tree Sparrow and Virginia Rail (Lake Shenandoah), Fox Sparrows, Purple Finches, Grackles, Brown Thrashers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Red-breasted Nuthatch, a Barn Owl, and Northern Harrier. At the Fishersville Quarry the following are being seen: Ring-necked Ducks, a Red-headed Duck, Gadwalls, Green-winged Teal, Coots. Two Bald Eagles are on a nest at Barren Ridge.
Membership: Mona reports we have 165 paid memberships with an additional 35 still to renew. We welcomed 6 new members over the past month.
Club Exhibits: Two important festivals are coming up in the spring at which the club has exhibits – Earth Day in Staunton on April 26 and Riverfest in Waynesboro on May 3. These are very well attended community events and our ABC exhibits get a lot of attention. Volunteers are needed for 2–4-hour shifts.
The Great Backyard Bird Count is February 14-19th. All are encouraged to participate in this count which is a collaboration between The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, The National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada. All you have to do is count birds wherever you choose, for a minimum of 15 minutes, any time over the 4 days. Then you report your findings through e-bird/Merlin. For more details go to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. By participating you will be contributing important scientific data for bird conservation.
Hospitality: In order for members to have more opportunities to socialize, Linda Matkins suggested restarting Birds and Brews. Her idea was met with enthusiasm by all.
Program: “Gardening for Birds” presented by Dr. Robyn Puffenbarger. Some takeaways from this program: (1) Our homes are critically important ecosystems from the bottom to the top of the food chain. (2) Strive for 70-80% native plantings on your property. Be careful when determining what is a native. Some cultivars can be ok, but native is best. (3) Simply getting rid of invasives such as Bradford Pear, Autumn oOive, Privet, Multiflora Rose, Burning Bush, etc. allows natives the opportunity to return. Dead trees are good habitat. (4) Resources for what to plant include the book, Natures’s Best Hope, the Flora of Virginia app, Audubon Society website, Digital Atlas of Virginia, Plant Ridge and Valley Natives created by the Virginia Native Plant Society, and many more. (5) Examples of very beneficial plants/trees include Crabapples, Broom sedge, Serviceberry, native Willows, Juneberry, Hackberry, Red Mulberry, Fringe Tree, Beautyberry, native Honeysuckle, Trumpet vine, Black Haw Viburnum, Purple Top Grass, Mountain Mint, native Sunflowers, etc. It is very important to decrease your non-native grass lawns. Local resources for native plants include but are not limited to Hummingbird Hill Natives, Natural Garden, Blue Ridge Prism, 7 Bends Nursery, Center for Urban Habitats.
The Augusta Bird Club will be creating a page on our website devoted to improving habitat for birds by planting native plants.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 pm. – Marilyn Nash, Secretary