NEXT MEETING: Friday October 1 at 7:30 pm at the Unitarian Meeting House on Spring Hill Road in Storrs. There will be refreshments, brought by Rebecca Goettel, at 7. Jeffrey Feldmann from West Hartford will present a slide talk titled "Secrets of the Bantam Lake area." Mr. Feldmann is a kayaker and photographer and has previously presented this program to Hartford Audubon. In October, "birders should schedule a visit to Bantam Lake in Litchfield to see Ruddy Duck, American Coot, Pied-billed Grebe, and other waterbirds." (Devine and Smith, A Connecticut Birding Guide.)

There will be a short business meeting before the program to elect officers for the coming year. There has not been a quorum (15 members) at either of the two previous meetings to hold elections. The slate to be presented by the nominating committee is as follows:

President Bruce Carver (Bruce has been acting president

since the resignation of Bob Pirrie)

Vice-president/Program Chair Rebecca Goettel

SecretaryWeb page Steve Morytko

Treasurer

Newsletter Sam Higgins

Field Trips Larry Marcus

In the last newsletter, I mistakenly said that Carol Phillips was the candidate for Treasurer. I should have said at that time that Carol Sutton had agreed to remain as Treasurer. She has since declined the nomination and we are in need of someone willing to serve as Treasurer. Would any one who is willing to fill this important role in the organization, please call Bruce Carver at 456-1662. Thank you and I apologize to both Carols for this mistake.

 

FIELD TRIPS: There will be a trip within the local "NOS AREA" to see any remaining warblers and sparrows and waterbirds that have returned. Date and leader to be announced. Please call Larry Marcus at 429-7195 if you are interested in searching for local birds.

NOS HISTORY: September 1962, trips were planned to White Memorial in Litchfield (location of Bantam Lake, coincidentally), led by Dolores Hilding and a local trip to the Mansfield area. Jim Slater was presenting a program on how to identify sparrows. Dues were still $2. for individual memberships. And there was a Baked Bean dinner at the Church Cabin which cost members $1 for adults and $.50 for children in September, 1964, and there was a note that said "there is excellent birding as Bassets Bridge. The water has been let out of pond behind the dam and interesting birds are visiting the flats."

 

OOK UPDATE: Bruce tells me that the maps are being "fine-tuned" and all other work has been completed for the third edition of "The Birds of Storrs". He is hoping to have the manuscript to the printer and have a meeting and book-signing in December.

 

DUES NOTICE

Please don't send your dues to the Post Office Box in Mansfield Center for the time being. Because there isn't a Treasurer now the bill has not been paid. If you sent your dues last month and they were returned to you, we are sorry. You can either wait until next month when the box will once again be available or you can send them to me at 38 Hammond Hill, Hampton, 06247, and I will get them to whoever the Treasurer is, after this month's meeting. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.

 

Report from the trip to Lighthouse Point Park and Sandy Point in New Haven and Hammonasset State Park, September 25.

Pied-billed Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

Mute Swan

Canada Goose

American Black Duck

Osprey

Northern Harrier

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

American Kestrel

Clapper Rail

Black-bellied Plover

American Golden-Plover

Killdeer

Lesser Yellowlegs

Marbled Godwit

Sanderling

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Laughing Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Great-black-backed Gull

Common Tern

Forster's Tern

Black Skimmer

Rock Dove

Mourning Dove

Northern Flicker

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Tree Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

Blue Hay

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Carolina Wren

American Robin

Gray Catbird

Northern Mockingbird

European Starling

Northern Cardinal

Eastern Towhee

House Finch

House Sparrow