Western CT Bird Club Meeting—

Pros And Cons Of Volunteer Avian Surveys

WOODBURY — Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Wildlife Technician Shannon Kearney-McGee of the wildlife bureau will be presenting a program to the Western Connecticut Bird Club at its regular monthly meeting on Thursday evening, April 20.

Ms Kearney-McGee will be speaking about avian surveys currently being conducted by the DEP with the help of citizen scientist volunteers. Survey subjects include woodland raptors, shrubland/grassland birds, whip-poor-wills. She will also discuss avian survey techniques, their pros and cons, and the appropriate situations in which the techniques should be used.

Currently working in the DEP’s Diversity Program, Ms Kearney-McGee’s primary responsibilities are land bird breeding inventory and monitoring, and avian disease. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of Connecticut, Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Sciences, studying the distribution of West Nile Virus in wild birds. She has worked for the Cape Cod National Seashore, the National Audubon Society, and Point Reyes Bird Observatory.

The public is invited to Western Connecticut Bird Club meetings free of charge. The social gathering begins at 6:30 pm and the meeting starts at 7. Meetings are usually over by 8:30.

The meeting will be held at the Woodbury Public Library on Main Street. The library is not visible from the road, but its driveway is directly opposite the traffic light at the intersection of Main Street and Route 317. All of Woodbury’s municipal buildings are down this driveway. Heading north, turn right and heading south, turn left, alongside a building and down the driveway. There is parking by the Shove Building.

The Western Connecticut Bird Club is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting the pleasure of bird watching. The club meets the third Thursday of the month from September to April (except December). In May, there is a club picnic, and in June, the club participates in a June Bird Count. For more information contact Club President Larry Fischer at 426-3901.