Regular monthly meetings with invited speakers and time for socializing are held on the second Thursday of each month, September through June, at 7:30 PM in Ivy Creek Natural Area Education Building. Please note our new location. The Ivy Creek Natural Area is located on Earlysville Road, about one-half mile from the intersection of Hydraulic Road and West Rio Road, just before the Reservoir. Bring your binoculars and enjoy some birding before the meeting.
Click here for a map to the Ivy Creek Natural Area.
A different speaker each month will talk about birds or broader topics relating to natural history and the environment. The MBC does not schedule meetings during the summer months of July and August.
For more information or directions to find us, contact Jim Nix at 434-973-7366,
jim-nix@comcast.net, or Ron Kingston at 293-5173, kingston@cstone.net .
See our current newsletter for more information about this months meeting.
Sept. 13th speaker - Bill Leaning
Presentation - "Portraits of Nature"
Dr. Bill Leaning is a retired veterinarian, originally from New Zealand. Bill and Clare, his wife, moved to their Earlysville, VA home in 1998. Their home is situated in 17 acres of woods with a small stream and pond. Hoping to develop a haven for a variety of birds, they named the property "Omanu" which in the New Zealand Maori language means "the place of birds" Rarely without a camera nearby, Bill is continuously, adding images to his "Portraits of Nature", as interesting wildlife subjects present themselves. The "Portraits of Nature", program is a PowerPoint pictorial diary of the winged creatures, including birds, butterflies and insects as well as other critters that have visited Omanu in recent years.
Oct. 11th speaker - David Hannah
Presentation - "Natural Wonders of Shenandoah Mountain and the George Washington National Forest"
David Hannah is Conservation Director for the nonprofit group Wild Virginia. He received his M.S. degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida and has worked as a professional in the conservation and natural resource field since 1993. At more than 1 million acres in size, the George Washington National Forest is home to a multitude of natural wonders. From black bears & bobcats to wild turkeys & wood turtles to pond-breeding salamanders & wild trout streams - and the geologic features and plant communities that support them - view the PowerPoint presentation and learn about these under-appreciated resources on our public lands in western Virginia.
Nov. 8th speaker - Dr. Carl Boast
Presentation - "Wildlife in Alaska"
Dr. Boast is a internationally known Behavioral Neuroscientist who conducted drug discovery research primarily in models of Alzheimer's Disease. His retirement as allotted increased time to his favorite pastime - nature photography. He and his wife Linda reside at Smith Mountain Lake in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA. His photos include images from five continents as well as from his own backyard. His presentation is a Microsoft Movie Maker with music and is a result of a month-long trip taken in June of 2005.
December 13th - Christmas Party
January 10, 2008 - Peggy Spiegel
Borneo and Peninsula Malaysia
Peggy Spiegel, now retired, owned For the Birds, a nature/birding store that had locations in Blacksburg and Roanoke. She is now volunteering her time working on the Important Bird Areas Technical Committee, serving as Field Trip Chairman for the New River Valley Bird Club and Co-Chair for the VSO. Personally, retirement has meant the opportunity to travel to some of the most exciting birding spots in the world. This past July she spent three weeks in Borneo and a week in Peninsula Malaysia. She will share this trip with us in her program entitled "Land Below the Wind".
Borneo is the world’s third largest island and is home to some fascinating endemic species of birds including the Bornean Bristlehead in its own endemic family. There are also a variety of mammals including the Orang-utan, king of the Bornean jungle, the bizarre Proboscis Monkey, Bearded Pigs, and much more. The video presentation captures not only the beauty of the country and its wildlife but also provides entertaining displays of their behavior. On the peninsula we will visit one of the famous British hill stations where the birds are not only beautiful but very cooperative when being photographed. From there we will go down to Tamen Negara National Park for birding in a lowland rainforest.
February 14, 2008 - Anne Little
Good Bluebird Stewardship
Anne Little is an avid bluebirder who has lived in Virginia for almost 20 years. She was the Treasurer of the North American Bluebird Society (NABS) for two years and acting Director of NABS for one year. Anne is President of The Virginia Bluebird Society, (VBS) and is one of the founding members of the society.
There will be a Power Point presentation on bluebirds entitled “Good Bluebird Stewardship”. She will show you how to attract these beautiful birds to your yard; give hints on how to provide a safe habitat and will provide information of plantings that provide food that will sustain them. There will also be information on other native cavity nesting birds in Virginia and how you can help increase their chances for survival. help.
Also on display at the slide show, will be examples of nests and eggs from various cavity nesters, and samples of predator guards and boxes used by VBS. There will also be handouts for box and predator guard designs, monitoring protocol and record keeping. Everything you need to build a successful bluebird trail.
March 13, 2008 Meeting - Mr. Anderson will give a DVD presentation: Time Travel in Faulkner's Big Woods: Encounters with the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the Choctawhatchee River basin of Florida and Bayou de View, Arkansas.
Bob Anderson has a BS and MA in biology from ODU and W&M respectively and has been a biologist with US Army Training & Doctrine Command since 1987. Hre has also served as V Pres and raptor research chair for Coastal VA Wildlife Observatory since 1995 (currently giving up those duties).
April 10, 2008 Meeting - Backyard Birding in Kenya, East Africa
Liz and Sam Williams
This will be a presentation of our sightings and birding experiences during four visits to this lovely country since 1990. Our topic alludes to how dramatically successful and fulfilling birding can be while confined to relatively limited geographic areas-- and without the aid of 'high-falootin' tours !! Typical of countries that straddle the equator as Kenya does, there is a heck of a lot of bird variety. I will need to recheck this (especially as we have been in recent contact with 2 of the 3 authors of the Kenya Field Guide-- Zimmerman and Turner) but there are something on the order of 1600 species there as compared to around 725 in all of North America !!..
May 8, 2008 - Member's Night
MBC members share their favorite slides and photographs.
2006-2007
Board Members
Newsletter Submissions:
Deadline for submissions to the newsletter is the 18th of the month preceding publication. Please email information to Amy Gilmer at akgilmer@comcast.net
or call her at 825-2170.