Lycoming Audubon Society meets at 6:30 p.m. the fourth Wednesday of every month except the months of June, July and August. The November meeting is the third Wednesday. Other exceptions may be due to facility scheduling. See website for confirmation. Meetings are free and open to the public. Hybrid meetings which are both in-person and by Zoom will be held at the Taber Museum.
Mike Fialkovich - September 25th @ 6:30pm
Topic: Birds and Wildlife in Costa Rica
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85929629748
In January 2023, Mike traveled to Costa Rica with the Audubon Society of Western PA for a 10 day tour of the country, visiting various habitats including mountains, rain forest and the Pacific coast. The program will cover the birds and other wildlife observed during the trip. This will be a Zoom program.
Mike is an eBird reviewer for Allegheny, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties. He served as a board member, Vice President, President and Past President of the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO). He is a Seasonal Editor, Allegheny and Fayette county compiler for Pennsylvania Birds, the journal of the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology. He served on the Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee (PORC) from 2012-2021 and wrote the PORC annual reports from 2012-2021. In January 2024 Mike became President of the Three Rivers Birding Club in Pittsburgh, PA. He was the Regional Coordinator and author for the Second Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas and Allegheny County Coordinator for the Third Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas. Mike has run a Breeding Bird Survey in Butler County for many years and participated in the PA Herpetological Atlas surveying two blocks in Westmoreland County.
Heidi Shiver - October 23rd @ 6:30pm
Topic: Bird Town Pennsylvania: Creating Livable Communities Through the Lives of Birds
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85929629748
Come join us to learn more about the state-wide grassroots conservation program Bird Town Pennsylvania and how it works with municipalities to engage, educate and empower their residents, schools, and businesses to make more positive social, economic, and ecologically friendly decisions. Tools and resources available to engage homeowners from Backyard Habitat Programs to Community Science Programs will be shared as well as impactful municipal and community projects including creating Native Plant Pop-up Gardens to Native Plant Garden Tours to Demonstration Gardens and more.
After teaching for 30 years and working as a teacher naturalist for Peace Valley Nature Center for over 10 years, Heidi moved to focus primarily on advocating for the environment. She became a member of Bucks Audubon’s Board and also served as Board President, helping to create their Advocacy committee, establishing renewable energy as a focus and creating and leading their book club for 6 years. She currently serves on Doylestown Township’s Environmental Advisory Council and coordinates their Bird Town Program, is a Bucks County Penn State Master Gardener and also serves on the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Audubon Council. For the past 3 years, she has served as the President of Bird Town Pennsylvania, working intensely with their Board to reinvigorate, to strengthen and to grow the program across the state and promote community-based conservation actions to create a healthier and sustainable environment for birds, wildlife and people.
Reina Tyl - November 20th @ 6:30pm
Topic: Ruffed Grouse and American Woodcocks in Pennsylvania
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85929629748
Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Biologist, Reina Tyl, will discuss the population status of and primary issues affecting two Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Pennsylvania—the ruffed grouse and American woodcock—as well as research being conducted to inform the management of these beloved species.
Reina Tyl has been the PA Game Commission’s Grouse and Woodcock Biologist for over one year and a half. Prior to joining the Game Commission, Reina led the wild turkey and ruffed grouse management programs for the Missouri Department of Conservation for three years. Reina obtained her Master’s degree in wildlife resources from West Virginia University and her Bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries sciences from the Ohio State University.