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April 12-14, 2007
Airport Hilton in San Antonio
The San Antonio meeting was a resounding success with 185 people (including SAAS folks putting on the meeting) and 213 species of birds recorded! The list can be downlaoded below.
Our Region 5 director, Georgina Schwartz summarized the meeting as follows:
San Antonio Audubon Society was host to the spring meeting of the Texas Ornithological Society at the Airport Hilton Hotel on April 12-15. There were 3 vendors: wood carver, James Middleton, Randy Mock of Naturally Curious, and Maren Phillips of WildLines Note Cards.
We had 29 field trips to venues all the way from Boerne's Cibolo Nature Center and Boerne Lake to Choke Canyon State Park and the Halff Brothers ranch at Pearsall, Metha's Haggard Ranch, and Castroville Regional Park.
We shared our famous birding hotspots like the Mitchell Lake, the new Medina River Park, Crownridge Canyon Natural Area, the Botanical Gardens, and the Warbler Woods belonging to Don and Susan Schaezler. The preliminary count is 211 species. Most everyone found their target birds: Golden-cheeked Warblers, Black-capped Vireos, Rufous-crowned Sparrows, Audubon's Oriole. Brent Ortego put together a full program for Thursday including a Sparrow Workshop and Scientific Papers and we added a field trip for Sunday. Brent Ortego set up his mist nets at Warbler Woods Friday and Saturday mornings and all the visitors were invited to attend. Approximately 188 people registered for the event.
HIghlights of the meeting included the speakers, the food, the birds and the books. Thursday evening we started with Don and Susan Schaezler and their program about "Warbler Woods", Friday evening, it was Iliana Pena with her program about the Mitchell Lake Past and Present followed by Martin Reid and his pictures from the Mitchell Lake. Saturday's banquet was preceded by the social time and the Silent Auction and was followed by Ted Eubanks speaking on "Birding without Binoculars" . In these days when more and more gear is being sold to birders, Ted's presentation was a relief for new birdwatchers. Yes, that's what he said we were called. He signed his bird posters from the exhibit, Faces of Flight, and was joined by fellow-authors of the new book "Birdlife of the Upper Texas Coast" Bob Behrstock and Ron Weeks in a book-signing session. It was the first time all three had been together since their book was published.
As the people came in from their field trips, they entered their sightings on the master list. The sightings got more exciting. First there were all those hawks seen on Thursday at the Schaezlers, the Castroville trip. At Calaveras 50,000 Broadwings flew over, then a Zone-tailed Hawk was seen at Warbler woods, then 100 Swainson's Hawks and 1 Bald Eagle, a Yellow-headed Blackbird, a Horned Lark, a White-tailed Kite, a Chihuahuan Raven from the Halff Brothers' Ranch. The top bird would have to be the Short-tailed Hawk that was seen flying over the Crownridge Canyon Natural Area by Sheridan Coffey and Russ Nelson, among others. This is a very rare hawk for this area and of course, Sheridan will have to write it up for the Texas Bird Records Committee.
The dinner was chicken, mashed potatoes, little green beans, field greens, and cheesecake. Now don't you wish you had come? Many thanks are due to Barbara Kyse and her volunteers and the local committee for putting on this great meeting so that we can all get together and go birding with our friends. The members of the committee were Mike Sims, Sandi Wheeler, Reenie Hurd, Janice McClintock, Mariann Golden, James Middleton, and Georgina Schwartz. Local volunteers included: Sheridan Coffey, Mike Creese, Marian and Bill Collins, Rich Damron, Bob Doe, Jack Eitniear, Dodge Engleman, Debra Engler, Bebe and Mary Fenstermaker, Eva Fromme, Andy Garcia, Mariann Golden, Dana and Arnie Green, Gordie Green, April and Avi Grunspan, Tom and Patsy Inglet, Mary Alice Lavender, Metha Leslie, Michael Mendez, Knox Mille, Dick Park, Martin Reid, Helen Rejzek, Don and Susan Schaezler, MIke Scully, Peggy Spring, Malcolm Mark Swan, and Clark Terrell.
TEXAS ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
SPRING MEETING 2007
APRIL 12-14 SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Where East meets West and the Hill Country meets South Texas
Target Birds: Golden-cheeked Warbler, Black-capped Vireo, Green Kingfisher, Painted Bunting, Vermilion Flycatcher, Black-throated Sparrow, eastern AND western migrants!, more...
Ron Weeks will lead an early trip to the Choke Canyon area on Friday April 13 to look for owls and then join the rest of the group when they arrive at the south shore unit. If you want to go on this trip which leaves the hotel at 4:00 AM! please let Barbara, the person in charge of Registrations know.
Download Registration and Field Trip information
Airport Hilton
611 NW Loop 410 78216
(888) 728-3031 or (210) 340-6060
Special TOS Rate $85 before March 22
- free airport shuttle-
Hosted by San Antonio Audubon Society
http://www.saaudubon.org
Refunds will not be granted unless notice is received on or before Friday, April 6th. For information regarding registration, individuals may contact Barbara Kyse at . |
