Programs

Monthly programs are open to the public and are held at
7:00 PM at William K Sanford (Colonie) Town Library or Five Rivers Environmental Education Center in Delmar. 

Have suggestions/comments on our Programs?   Email: programs@hmbc.net

For Audubon Society of the Capital Region Program info, go to:
Capital Region Audubon Website
  (This link will open a new window)


Monday, June 2, 2008
America’s
National Parks   Scott Stoner and Denise Hackert-Stoner
7:00 PM at the William K. Sanford (Colonie) Town Library

 

From Maine’s rocky coast to Florida’s Everglades, across great plains, badlands, mountains and deserts, to the Pacific coast and on to Hawaii and Alaska, we'll highlight the scenic wonders and diverse habitats and wildlife preserved through our National Park System.  From the depths of Death Valley to the heights of the Rockies, delicate flowers to giant sequoias, and a wide variety of birds, the park system preserves much of the best of the American outdoors.   In our photographic journey, we'll visit both popular and lesser-known park sites, and discuss both park history and current issues.  Come join us to learn about our national parks!

 

Scott Stoner is past president of both the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club and the Audubon Society of the Capital Region.  His work has been published in Birder’s World Magazine and he addresses many bird-related letters to the NYS Conservationist.  Denise is a past officer and director of the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club.  Scott and Denise write a monthly nature column in the Chatham Courier, and recently co-authored a feature article on Christmas Bird Counts in the December 2007 NYS Conservationist.  Together they have birded, explored, and photographed America from Maine to Hawaii.


Monday, September 8, 2008 - Joint Program with Audubon Society of the Capital Region
Birding at Tropical Lodges  Gregg Recer
7:00 PM at the William K. Sanford (Colonie) Town Library

Tropical birding holds a fascination for many birders from temperate regions, if for no other reason than the remarkably high species diversity compared to higher latitudes.  For North American birders, birding the nearby neotropics is also a way to begin gaining familiarity with entire new bird families.  Self-contained lodges located in the heart of even the most remote tropical forests are making exploring these complex habitats easier.  Many combine spectacular natural history observation with unexpected creature comforts.  Gregg Recer will share slides and stories of recent birding adventures at lodges in Belize, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago and consider ideas for touring tropical lodges as a way to see representatives of all (or, at least, most) of the world's bird families.  Gregg is past president of the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club and a frequent speaker at the Club's meetings.

Monday, October 6, 2008   (rescheduled from December 2007)
Bicknell's Thrush   Julie Hart
7:00 PM at the William K. Sanford (Colonie) Town Library


New York's Montane Specialist: Bicknell's Thrush - New York's montane forests are home to a unique, high-elevation bird community that includes the elusive Bicknell’s Thrush, the only bird endemic to the northeast region. Bicknell's Thrush have adapted to this extreme environment in a number of ways, most notably with a unique breeding system and unusual food habits. There are a number of management and conservation issues facing Bicknell's Thrush and other high-elevation birds, including acid rain, climate change, wind power development, recreational development, and timber management. A high-elevation songbird monitoring program, Mountain Birdwatch, was initiated in 2000 to provide baseline information for making sound stewardship decisions about these montane issues. This annual point-count survey pays special attention to Bicknell’s Thrush, Swainson’s Thrush, Blackpoll Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, and Winter Wren. Approximately 120 routes are surveyed annually throughout New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The results have been used to monitor population levels, create a habitat map, provide site-specific information to guide development decisions, and identify priorities for land conservation. Specific information for New York will be presented, including the distribution of Bicknell’s Thrush, Mountain Birdwatch route locations, survey results, and volunteer opportunities.

Bio for Julie Hart
Julie Hart is the coordinator of Mountain Birdwatch with the Institute of Conservation Ecology. She has spent the last two summers surveying Bicknell's Thrush throughout their range, including Mountain Birdwatch surveys and demographic studies of this rare species. She also assists many other ecology programs at ICE involving both birds and butterflies. Prior to working with mountain songbirds, Julie spent five years traveling around the world studying birds. She spent time monitoring Common Loons in New Hampshire, surveying Golden-winged Warblers in the Catskills of New York, protecting Common and Roseate Terns in Maine, researching Kokako in New Zealand, searching for Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Arkansas, and recording breeding birds throughout New York and Vermont. She worked in the bird conservation departments at Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology where she was involved with national bird conservation initiatives such as the Important Bird Areas Program, the Audubon WatchList, and Partners in Flight.

Thursday, October 9, 2008
Condor Tales: What I Learned in Twelve Years with the Big Birds
7:00 PM at the William K. Sanford (Colonie) Town Library
 
Joint program of the Audubon Society of the Capital Region and the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club
 
Sanford R. "Sandy" Wilbur was leader of the California Condor research and recovery effort from 1969 to 1981, the period during which the current captive breeding and release program was developed. Using color slides and readings from his recent book, "Condor Tales: What I Learned in Twelve Years with the Big Birds," he describes how the condors became endangered (reaching a low point of only about fifteen birds in the early 1980s) and how the condors came to be taken from the wild for a captive breeding program. The "Tales" are a blend of biology, sociology and politics, and the presentation sheds light on what it really takes to save an endangered species.

[A quote about the presentation: "Thanks so much for the fascinating insights of your contributions to the condor saga... Good reading, and an important point of view... I’ve reread it all and congratulate you on a very good tale. Your frank assessments were refreshing and produced several good laughs.” - Roland C. Clement, Vice-president, National Audubon Society (retired)]

Sandy was born in Oakland, California, in 1940 and graduated from Humboldt State College in Wildlife Management.  After a short period with the California Department of Fish and Game, he spent the next 34 years with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, about half that time managing national wildlife refuges in the West and Southeast, and the other half with the Endangered Species Program. In addition to the California Condor, his endangered species work has included rails, terns, vireos, spotted owls, and Hawaiian birds. He has written many scientific papers and magazine articles and several books, including "Condor Tales," "Birds of Baja California, Mexico," and "Vulture Biology and Management."  Currently, he and his wife Sally live in Oregon in the winter, and New Hampshire in the summer.


Monday, November 3, 2008
Alaska  Bernie Grossman
7:00 PM at the William K. Sanford (Colonie) Town Library


Monday, December 1, 2008  - Holiday Party and program.  Topic and location TBA


For Audubon Society of the Capital Region Program info, go to:
Capital Region Audubon Website
(This link will open a new window)

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