The Naturalists' Club of Broome County, NY

Learn a bit about the natural history of Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) as well as the ongoing avian research taking place within Lackawanna State Park in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Robert Smith, Ph.D., professor of biology at The University of Scranton, has been conducting research on avian migration in both Michigan and Pennsylvania for some 27 years, and since joining the faculty at The University of Scranton, in and around Lackawanna State Park for the last 17 years. As always, Naturalists’…

Our December Program gives club members a chance to share up to 20 of their favorite photographs with fellow club members. Please go through your photographs and select some to share. Only active members are invited to share photos. Photos will need to be submitted before the meeting. If you have any questions or to make arrangements to submit your images call Robert Grajewski at 607-775-5041 or email images to bcnatclub@gmail.com As always, Naturalists’ Club member meetings are free and…

For our February program we welcome back guest speakers Sam Wilson and Margeaux Maerz who will help us explore Northern South America which has the highest biodiversity on the planet - Colombia and Peru are number one and number two for bird species diversity. Once notorious for drug cartels, Pablo Escobar, and violence, Colombia is now welcoming tourists back in thanks to a renewed peace agreement between FARC rebels and the government. Peru’s tourism industry has boomed with world renowned…

This talk by Twan Leenders will chronicle his nearly 30 years of working with endangered neotropical amphibians. Catastrophic declines in Central American amphibian populations during the late 1980s and early 1990s, left the region’s herpetofauna decimated. Twan has been working in Central America since the early 90s, trying to identify the drivers of this decline and tracking down some of the last surviving populations of these charismatic animals. Dividing his time between research and outreach, Twan has used his photography…

The Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is the only strictly estuarine turtle in the world. Terrapins have a relative unique ecology and a history of overexploitation. Over the last half century, terrapin populations have declined throughout their range (Cape Cod, MA to Corpus Christi, TX). This talk will describe research that began in 2007 to document the state-wide status of terrapin populations in Georgia and how –over the subsequent decade – research identified patterns of human-caused terrapin mortality that led to…

Club member Victor Lamoureux will show us what he’s been finding on his trail cameras. Inexpensive trail cameras (aka game cameras) are widely available. They have become mainstream for some wildlife biology studies, but the everyday naturalist can also use these to reveal animals that share the lands around them. This talk will give some tricks and tips from 4 years of heavy trail camera use with up to 6 out at a time. Highlight pictures will be shown and…

Forests Past, Present and Future Almost all of the northeastern forest was cut down for lumber, growing crops, or grazing farm animals when the United States was colonized. Yet, today, we have more forest in the northeast than we did 200 years ago. What does the type of trees, the growth form of trees, and other signs of past human habitation tell you about what the forest you are standing in was used for in the past? How can you…