Menu
Log in

HomeHUDSON-MOHAWK BIRD CLUB

Building the birding community in New York's Hudson-Mohawk Region

Scroll down to view recordings of previous programs.

Upcoming Programs

    • 1 Apr 2024
    • 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM
    • Five Rivers EEC, Delmar

    The 2024 HMBC Annual Meeting of Members will take place prior to this program, from 7:00 - 7:30PM, EDT at Five Rivers EEC in Delmar and remotely via a Zoom meeting. A separate meeting notice for the Annual Meeting will be sent to HMBC members. The program below will take place immediately after the Annual Meeting concludes and is open to the public.

    Program: 

    Malaysian Borneo: a tropical dream, with Julie Hart and Daniel Schlaepfer

    Borneo is the third largest island in the world and its rainforests are among the oldest. Across lowland rainforests, large rivers, and a 13,000-foot mountain range, biodiversity is spectacular and includes over 600 recorded bird species including an endemic family with one species. This primary habitat is being lost at an alarming rate to palm oil plantation, timber logging, and other uses. For three weeks, Julie Hart and Daniel Schlaepfer visited the Malaysian province of Sabah in northeast Borneo on a guided tour across several destinations that included most major habitat types. The trip offered intimate encounters with Bornean Orangutan, Pygmy Elephants, Rafflesia flowers, and land leeches, and tallied an impressive 300 bird species.

    Julie Hart is a native Vermonter and an ornithologist by training. She coordinates the third New York State Breeding Bird Atlas. The fifth and final field season is this year and all are encouraged to go atlasing! She has worked nationally and internationally on a variety of bird research and bird conservation projects from the mountain tops in the northeast, to sky islands in the west, to expeditions in the Caribbean, to bird banding in New Zealand, and much more. Daniel Schlaepfer learned birding and its joys from Julie. His background is in plant ecology, and he works as an applied researcher informing land managers across the western US. Julie and Daniel have been members of HMBC since 2019 when they moved to the Capital Region.


    • 6 May 2024
    • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
    • 5 Rivers EEC

    Birding northern Belize with John Hershey. 

    Birding Northern Belize

    John will share photos and anecdotes of his birding trip to Northern Belize in March 2023. He visited the Crooked Tree Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary and the New River at Lamanai including the birdy Lamanai Archeological Reserve in search of tropical birds of all kinds. Among the amazing wading birds he will illustrate include: Boat-billed Heron, Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Pinnated Bittern, and Jabiru. Some of the raptors will include: Laughing Falcon, Bat Falcon, Snail Kite, and Black-collared Hawk. A variety of other birds include American Pygmy Kingfisher, Yucatan Woodpecker, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Ivory-billed Woodcreeper, Black-headed Trogon, Red-lored Parrot, White-necked Puffbird, Yucatan Jay, Red-legged Honeycreeper, and Blue Bunting. He also may show some photos of the Mayan temples at Lamanai and the Mennonite Country.



    John is a former Secretary and a Director for the Hudson Mohawk Bird Club (HMBC). He has been leading field trips to Vischer Ferry Preserve, Peebles Island, and Fox Hill Road for many years. Birding has led him to travel throughout North America and more recently to Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, and India. He has presented a number of programs on some of his favorite birding trips as well as on local birding hotspots. He is semi-retired and works part time as a psychologist in private practice.


    • 3 Jun 2024
    • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
    • Five Rivers and via Zoom

    How you can help NY’s breeding birds

    Description: Learn about the third Breeding Bird Atlas in NY and how you can help this community science project. Atlasing is a great way for birders of all abilities to learn about birds while directly contributing to science and conservation. This year is the final year of the Atlas. Can you help us fill in a gap for your favorite species? Do you like to bird somewhere unique or remote? The Atlas is a statewide survey and you can participate at any time using the free eBird app. While atlasing, you will explore new areas, search for clues into the secret lives of birds, and expand your understanding and appreciation of birds. Whether you have been sitting on the fence about contributing to the project or have never heard of the Atlas before, now is your chance to contribute to the largest community science project in the state. There won’t be another atlas until 2040! Attend this talk to find out how you can participate and make an impact for bird conservation.

     

    Bio:  Julie started birding while working in Ithaca as a bird conservation intern with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. She traveled for several years doing field work around the globe, then spent several years chasing high-elevation birds around the Northeast and Hispaniola as the coordinator for Mountain Birdwatch, before she went on to earn her Master’s degree studying the impacts of climate change on Cassia Crossbill in southern Idaho. After spending several years abroad, she is now the Project Coordinator for the third Breeding Bird Atlas in NY. She also serves as the co-chair of the North American Ornithological Atlas.


    • 9 Sep 2024
    • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
    • Five Rivers EEC and via Zoom

    With Kevin McGrath - details forthcoming.

    • 7 Oct 2024
    • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
    • via Zoom only

    Birding Madagascar, with a side of South Africa (Or, Birding Gondwana Pt 4)

    With Gregg Recer

    Lemurs, and chameleons, and bizarre weevils, oh my! Or, if you prefer, ground-rollers, and asities, and vangas, oh my! Whichever, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore. Madagascar is the third-largest tropical island, as well as the second-largest island country, in the world. Although originally at the center of the Gondwana supercontinent, it has been isolated from other land masses for about 90 million years. The result is a very high degree of endemism in its birds, as well as other fauna and flora. Five bird families (and two orders) are unique to the island and, of course, all eight families of lemurs occur (or occurred) only there as well. The diversity and uniqueness of lizards on the island is also quite stunning. Gregg Recer and Cathy Graichen visited the country on a birding tour in 2023 and this talk will share their experiences throughout the island. As a bonus, we'll throw in some scenery and birds from nearby South Africa.

    Gregg Recer is a former HMBC president. He and his wife, Cathy Graichen, have been HMBC members since 1989 and have been focused on world birding for the last 20 years.  

    • 4 Nov 2024
    • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
    • Five Rivers EEC and via Zoom

    Unimaginable- One Birder’s Big Idea, another’s Big Year

    Speaker: Drew Hopkins, Environmental Educator, NYSDEC Five Rivers


    • 2 Dec 2024
    • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
    • Five Rivers EEC

    Birding New Mexico with Sue Adair

    Details forthcoming.

    • 3 Feb 2025
    • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
    • via Zoom only

    Speaker: John Carson, details TBA




Copyright © 1998 -2024

Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyrights to photos and the Birdfinding Calendar are retained by the individual copyright owners. 

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software