ASC Monthly Speakers
“Birds of Mongolia”
Fred Ramsey
February 16, 2023 – 7:30 PM
Is what you love about Oregon the ability to travel through open country where the touch of humanity is rare? Or where a half day’s tour passes through an abundance of varied landscapes and habitats? If so, you will love Mongolia.
For most of the 20th century Mongolia struggled under the thumb of Russia. It is now, however, a free, democratic country with a growing economy based on mining, agriculture and tourism. Its rugged mountains, expansive forests, vast steppe, clear lakes and rivers, and arid desert provide homes for an amazing wealth of wildlife … birds included.
February’s program will feature Mongolia trips made by ASC members Fred Ramsey and Jim Faulkner. Ostensibly these were flyfishing trips for the world’s largest salmonid, but you will not be surprised to find a heavy emphasis on Mongolia’s birds. There will be pictures and stories to share.
How to See the Monthly Presentations
The 2022 – 2023 Monthly Meetings will be both in-person and available on Zoom! They will be held in the Corvallis Community Center on NW Tyler Ave. in Corvallis. The new location for the meetings is the Oak Room. At 6:30 pm there is a social gathering, followed by a business meeting at 7:00 pm, the program begins at 7:30 pm and lasts about an hour. For those who are viewing the presentation via Zoom, you may wish to tune in at 7:30!
The in-person meetings will also be available on Zoom. ASC members who provided their email address with their membership dues will receive an invitation and instructions the day before the webinar. Members can view the presentation on their computers or phones at home. A few days following the meeting, the link to the recording will be posted on the ASC website (Monthly Meetings) and will be available until the next meeting. (from book jacket)
Meetings are open to the general public, although space is limited. Contact audubon.corvallis@gmail.com for information about accessing the program. More info
2022-2023 Speaker Schedule
Hybrid in-person and Zoom meetings
Feb. 16 – Fred Ramsey “Birds of Mongolia”
Mar. 16 – Marina Richie “Belted Kingfishers”
Apr. 20 – Don Boucher & Lisa Millbank “A Yard Full of Native Plants, Birds, Bugs and More”
May 18 – Bob Beschta “Trophic Cascades & Yellowstone”
Past Video Presentations
January 2022
Local artist Ram Papish specializes in design and illustration of interpretive panels. His presentation explored education and conservation through his paintings, illustrations, and sculptures. Link to recording
December 2022
Eight presenters shared their favorite photos during the annual ASC Members Slide Show. Bev Clark brought highlights from her Uganda safari, Nikkie Cross from the Dry Tortugas, the Everglades, and Oregon, and Julia Corbett showed her new Oregon favorite birds. Teri Engbring shared her Ecuador photos from the cloud forest, highlands, and Galapagos Islands, Tom Heath honed his photography skills with Willamette Valley birds, and Matt Lee shared migrating warblers from the Biggest Week in American Birding (Ohio). Carolyn Peterson used Eye and Dirty Bird themes to showcase Falkland Islands birds and other animals, and Sue Powell highlighted birds and one mammal from a trip to Colombia. Link to recording
November 2022
Wary by nature, yet brave under fire, the magnificent bird has long thrilled the sportsman. Some attribute the bird’s decline to habitat loss, but Worth Mathewson, author of a complete natural history of the species, carefully builds his case to the contrary. Zoom link
October 2022
A key challenge facing the wind industry is the potential for turbines to impact wild animals, both directly, via collisions, and indirectly due to noise pollution, habitat loss, and reduced survival or reproduction. Research Statistician Manuela Huso presented what she has learned from collaborative work and how the wind industry can lessen the impacts.
September 2022
Kelly Hazen shared information about the natural history of Greater Sage-Grouse and Oregon’s Adopt-A-Lek program. Greater Sage-grouse (GSG) are chicken-sized birds that are found in 13 western U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Habitat fragmentation and development have caused severe declines for this dramatic bird.
May 2022
Jonathon Valente discussed the OSU College of Forestry Oregon Marbled Murrelet Project (www.oregonmurrelet.org). TLaunched in 2015, the focus of the project is to understand basic murrelet biology. Jonathon discussed how the research team is using cutting-edge technology to better understand murrelet habitat requirements, movement, and limitations to population growth, as well as how this research will be used to improve management of public and private forest lands.
April 2022
ASC members Matt Lee and Sue Powell shared their photos and stories from their “bucket-list” trip to the Ecuador mainland and Galapagos Islands in October 2021. Ecuador is small but has mega-diverse habitats, including coastal lowlands, foothills, Andean peaks, dry forests, cloud forests, high-altitude Páramo grasslands, Amazonian jungles, and Pacific Islands. This habitat diversity supports 1700 species of birds, more than 130 of which are hummingbirds.
March 2022
OSU researcher Matt Betts presented recent findings on (1) the importance of old growth for moderating the effect of climate change on birds, (2) the effects of deforestation on species endangerment worldwide, and (3) the effects of herbicide on birds and biodiversity generally in the Oregon Coast Range.
February 2022
Dave Mellinger spoke about developing user-friendly acoustic tools for studying marine mammals and their environment. Results are important for research and conservation of marine species throughout the world. Dave ‘flew’ ocean gliders underwater to study sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico.
January 2022
Ryan Baumbusch is researching the foraging ecology of Barred Owls in the Pacific Northwest. By examining the stomach contents of owls removed from Spotted Owl territories, he is inventorying what they eat and comparing it to Spotted Owl diets.
