Dear Fellow Nature Lovers,
With the cooler weather and the recent dreary, gray, quiet days I trust you are doing well. There are fewer birds in our midst, thus the pervasive silence. It’s time to get your bird feeders up for the winter. Perhaps you never took them down.
Some of our active birders have located some lingering migrants in recent days: a Snow Goose on Mountain Road, a Cattle Egret, a Tree Swallow, a Gray Catbird, a Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Yellowlegs, a Peregrine Falcon, and of course, the Eurasian Collared-Dove in the Greencastle area. Please report other migrants and errant species as you see them.
Because our next CAS general meeting will be a hybrid—in person meeting plus our Zoomed speaker (and any others who wish to view the presentation from home via Zoom), I thought it best to give you a bit of a preview. First of all, few of us are artists. Some of us have used our creativity to produce what we consider “amazing” works of art, though considered “amateur” by others. Many more of us appreciate and value the trained, detailed, and artistic abilities of those when we view their professionally-finished products. On Monday, November 8, 2021 we all are in for a treat. Thanks to Valerie Barnes and Anne St. John, we shall be introduced to the intricacies and rigors of working as a bona fide Certified Science Illustrator, through our guest speaker, Liz Wahid. She will explain the inherent as well as learned techniques of drawing birds. Much of it requires researching the subject matter, studying the subject with a keen eye for detail, and the application of refined drawing techniques to make the subject appear lifelike. The title of her presentation is Research and Techniques in Ornithological Illustrations. You do not want to miss this one.
In addition to this exciting bird illustration presentation, we will also be introducing the winners of our Annual CAS Youth Contests and granting them their awards. We’ll announce and show the winning photos of the Best Bird Photo Contest. We’ll also announce the winner of this year’s Longest Bird List Contest. Winners will be announced prior to hearing from Liz Wahid, Certified Science Illustrator.
Though many of us have finished with the harvesting of fruits and vegetables from our gardens and have laid our gardens to rest over the coming winter months, there are those who are already planning for Spring’s arrival. One aspect of Spring planting may be to expand your native plants garden areas. If so, you may want to participate in the online free webinar offered on November 16, 2021 at 7 PM EST (6 PM CST) through a landscaping group called Wild Ones. It will be presented by Larry Weaner, FALPD, the president and founder of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates and developer of New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL). His topic is “The Self-Perpetuating Landscape: Setting a Process in Motion.” You will learn principles and protocols for creating dynamic, ecologically rich landscapes where nature does much of the “planting.” Once you register at the following link, you will be sent the webinar link via email. A recording will also be available to the public on our YouTube channel in the days following the event. The registration link to the webinar is:
https://wildones.org/self-perpetuating-landscape-registration/ (If it doesn’t direct you immediately to the registration page, please copy and paste this address into your browser.)
Though it is November 1, 2021, it is time to plan to participate in our Chambersburg Conococheague Audubon Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 18, 2021. If you’ve never participated before, that’s an excellent reason to get involved in citizen science and do your part in counting our local birds. You can do so from the comfort of your own home if you live inside the circle area, or you can venture out into one of the five different zones. Please contact Valerie Barnes for the most current information. Call her at 717-352-4397.
Again, here are the items of importance for this month.
Nov. 8, Monday ZOOM or HYBRID REGULAR MEETING
7:00 PM Research and Techniques in Ornithological Illustration by Liz Wahid, Certified Science Illustrator. Arranged by Valerie Barnes and Anne St. John. Youth Contest Winners announced tonight.
Nov. 16, Tuesday Online Webinar through Wild Ones
7 PM. “The Self-Perpetuating Landscape: Setting a Process in Motion.” By Larry Weaner, FALPD, founder of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates. Pre-register online.
Dec. 18, Saturday CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
All day, Chambersburg area. Call Valerie Barnes, 717-352-4397 if interested in participating.
I hope to see you Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at 7 PM at St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2695 Luther Drive, Chambersburg, PA 17202 (off route 997, near the Scotland exit of I-81). For those preferring to Zoom, here’s the link information:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7211203928?pwd=RXNwMjZpQVNvSHJGRld3cWZFQjJiZz09
Time: November 8, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 721 120 3928
Passcode: cardinal20
Prepare to be astounded!
Give thanks every day and keep looking up!
Terri Kochert