The Naturalists' Club of Broome County, NY

As a keystone species and mast-producing canopy tree, the loss of the American chestnut from the Eastern US was an ecological and economic disaster for the region more than a hundred years ago. This native species, once classified as functionally extinct, is now poised to make a comeback thanks to modern technology and ground-breaking research. The American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project will share their inspiring success story, and elaborate on how genetic engineering can benefit the fields of conservation and restoration. Dr. Allison Oakes is currently a postdoctoral research…

Teri Franzen is passionate about observing and photographing wildlife on its terms, wild, unaltered and undisturbed.  She has been a wildlife photographer since 2012 after having met up with a Northern Goshawk on her very first outing. Since then she's photographed mammals and birds throughout the US as well as Italy and Africa. Her two most involved ventures have been photographing Wood Ducks in 2015 and Peregrine Falcons in 2016, both requiring long hours in makeshift blinds.  She will discuss these two…

Our December Program gives members a chance to share 10 to 15 of their favorite photographs with fellow club members. Please go through your photographs and select some to share. You may bring your pictures on a CD or thumb drive. If possible make arrangements ahead of time so that digital images can be preloaded on to the computer and avoid any computer related difficulties at the meeting. Only members are invited to share photos. If you have any questions…

The Mariana Crow is a small, unique forest crow endemic to the islands of Guam and Rota in the Mariana Islands. This species has experienced a dramatic decline in the past 30-40 years. Andria Kroner will discuss their ecology, the factors that are contributing to their decline, and what is currently being done to reverse it. We will discuss Andria’s proposed behavioral research which may play a key role in understanding this intelligent species and improving the success of future reintroductions. Andria Kroner graduated with a bachelor’s…

Our guest speaker will be Justin Mann.  Migratory songbirds can collect information about their environment or they can utilize social cues from other individuals to assess the quality of a habitat. To examine how migratory songbirds are influenced by social information, black-and-white warbler songs were broadcast at study sites where that species had not been observed during baseline bird surveys. Experiments were conducted in both low and high quality habitats. We will discuss how social information influences habitat selection in…

Dan Dunn will talk about how he got into birding, his wildlife adventures and his passion for wildlife photography. He will show photos of Hawks, Eagles, Owls, Elk, and local birds, including some seen on club field trips. Dan is a graduate of the New York Institute of Photography, previous owner/operator of American Reflections Photography doing Environmental Portraiture of Families and Children, weddings equine and equestrian photography, previous member of the Southern Tier Professional Photographers Society of New York and former…

In lieu of our normal Wednesday December meeting, our meeting will be moved to THURSDAY evening, DECEMBER 14.  This is for an EXCLUSIVE, "first-look" at the new NatureTrek exhibit at the Roberson Museum and Science Center. The exhibit features realistic dioramas of local habitats and utilizes the taxidermy of Lee Loomis throughout. Rick Marsi, who consulted on the exhibit, will be on hand to give some remarks. The exhibit will not be open until early 2018, so this is an…

Club member Carolyn Cooper will present her topic: Accidental Big Year: Birding Festival and Nature Travel Tips from my Nomadic Wanderings. When your best-laid plans go awry, sometimes you just have to wing it. In a tale resembling Innocents Abroad meets Into the Wild, Carolyn Cooper recounts how 2015 accidentally became her Big Year as she crisscrosses the country from the Pacific Northwest to Texas to Southern California and through the Southwest looking for a new home — and new…