November 11, 2024 Minutes, Covenant Presbyterian Church

The meeting was called to order at 7 pm by President Rich Wood.
Membership News: Mona Bearor reported that we currently have 205 members. Several new members were in attendance and introduced. Many members conveniently renewed their membership on the seed sale form but those who didn’t were encouraged to renew.
Field Trips: (1) Andrew Clem led a hike to Chimney Hollow and Braley Pond. They found Winter Wrens, a Brown Creeper, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. (2) Jo King led a walk to McCormick’s Farm. They found a Gadwall, Rusty Blackbird, 3 Red-shouldered Hawks, a Red-tailed Hawk, and Kestrel. (3) Penny Warren led a walk at Bell’s Lane. They found Black Vultures, a Savannah Sparrow, and a Northern Harrier were among their findings.
Recent Sightings: Members reported finding Fox Sparrows, a Merlin, Woodcock, Hermit Thrushes, and a remaining Catbird.
Hawk Watch: Vic Laubach reported the HW is going well. In spite of periods of bad weather, they have had 370 hours of monitoring covered so far. Broad-winged Hawks, Merlin, Peregrine, and Bald Eagle numbers are up. The watch continues until November 30.
Seed Sale: Crista Cabe reported a good year with gross seed sales of more than $27,000. This is the first year the pickup was at Augusta Expo and it went smoothly. $1,000 worth of extra seed was sold that Saturday partly because of a large craft fair at Expo. Nature Campers and club members were enthusiastic volunteers. Parents of the Nature Campers told club members how important the scholarships have been for their children and all were very grateful for the support.
December Meeting: Our annual holiday party will take place December 9th at 6:30 pm, upstairs in this building. This is a potluck with the club providing drinks and meat, and members bringing side dishes and dessert.
Christmas Bird Counts: The Augusta County CBC will take place on December 15th with Allen Larner coordinating. The Waynesboro CBC will be January 5 and Crista Cabe will coordinate. Anyone wishing to participate should contact the coordinators.
Nature Camp: Sarah Foster reports that, thanks to profits from the seed sale, full and partial scholarships are available for Nature Camp 2025. She encouraged everyone to recruit campers. Applications can be found on our website and the deadline for submission is December 15.
Program: Jeff Wright gave a lively presentation entitled “Birds, Climate, and Citizen Science”. He discussed how climate change is affecting birds and how everyone can contribute to important research through programs such as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird and Merlin.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 pm. – Marilyn Nash, Secretary