Williamsburg Bird Club

The next Williamsburg Bird Club meeting will be January 15, 2020. Join Shirley Devan and other members of the Club on January 1 from 1-3 p.m. at the boardwalk on the Greensprings Trail. See Calendar for details.

Please consider renewing your membership for 2020. You can download a membership/renewal form here.

I’m sorry to say we are canceling Saturday’s field trip to Grandview Nature Preserve. The weather forecast is calling for a chilly drizzle with high winds, meaning passerines along the trail to the beach will be hunkered down, and the conditions on the beach will be less than pleasant. Furthermore, there’s a Coastal Flood Watch in effect starting Saturday morning, with tides higher than normal, so there may not be much beach to walk on in any event.

We’ll try it again in the future, and we hope we’ll have better conditions then.

Bob Long was president of the Williamsburg Bird Club from 2006-2007. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 17, at 3:00 at the Williamsburg United Methodist Church, 500 Jamestown Rd, Williamsburg, VA. Bob’s positive and exuberant spirit will be sorely missed! Obituary

The eagle is a symbol of conservation and environmentalism. Saving the bald eagle from extinction in the continental U.S. by banning DDT was one of the signature achievements of the environmental movement.

The eagle is also a symbol of American patriotism. But conservationists and environmentalists are often accused of being unpatriotic when they oppose development projects promising short-term economic benefits. Much of our political debate centers on the disingenuous dichotomy of jobs versus the environment.

Dan Cristol writes, “The Bald Eagle is off the endangered species list and quite abundant in Virginia. It is finally safe to discuss whether the eagle is a fitting national symbol.

“Because of the Bald Eagle’s habit of eating mainly carrion and robbing Osprey of their hard-earned catch, Ben Franklin was an early critic. In a letter to his daughter he wrote of the Bald Eagle, “… like those among men who live by sharping & robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district.”

Read the full article at https://www.vagazette.com/life/va-vg-birding-1222-story.html

“More than a decade ago, Cathy Millar began feeling burned out over work and family obligations. Seeking relief from daily stressors, Millar found comfort through nature by joining the Williamsburg Bird Club.

“I grew up in a household where everyone was always interested in nature,” said Millar, who has been a member of the Williamsburg Bird Club for a dozen years and is the club’s secretary. “For me, going on a bird walk is a spiritually renewing experience. I love stopping and watching birds and other creatures. I find it engrossing and soothing. When I go, all the worries of the world take a backseat for a while.”

Williamsburg Bird Club — with roughly 200 members — defines its mission as promoting the study of wild birds….” Read the rest of the story at the Virginia Gazette.

NOTE: At the end of the article, the Gazette says that the WBC “meets the second and fourth Saturdays of every month at 8 a.m., typically at New Quarter Park.” Every fourth Saturday we meet at New Quarter Park. Every second Saturday, we meet at different parks or trails. See the calendar for details.

Please check Calendar for upcoming bird walks, field trips and meetings.