The fall meeting of the Kentucky Ornithological Society was held September 27th through September 29th at Natural Bridge State Resort Park.  President Kathy Caminiti called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. EDT.  Immediately following the call to order, Vice-President Hap Chambers introduced the speakers for the evening.

The first speaker was David Roemer of Bowling Green.  Mr. Roemer used PowerPoint to present “Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and Selected Other Kentucky Birds”.  Digital photographs of the recent nesting occurrence of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers in Lyon County below Barkley Dam were the highlight of the program.  Photographs of the adult birds, the nest, fledglings, and general activity of the birds were presented.  Other uncommon and common species observed recently in Kentucky were included in the program including Wilson’s Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Bobolink, Baird’s Sandpiper, and Short-billed Dowitcher.

The second speaker for the evening was Lee McNeely of Burlington.  Mr. McNeely’s topic was “Birding Ethics”.  Using slides, Mr. McNeely took attendees to a variety of locations and a variety of real-life situations to ask, “What would you do?”  Locations used during the slide presentation included south Texas, the island of Attu, Kentucky, and others.  Situations involved trespassing on private property, reporting rare species, tape playing and pishing, in addition to many other issues.  The American Birding Association Code of Ethics was used as a guidepost for decision-making for the questions.

During both programs, remaining books and miscellaneous articles from the Anne L. Stamm collection were offered for sale to members to augment the Anne L. Stamm Avian Education Fund.  Refreshments consisting of soft drinks, bottled water, cookies, and other snacks were offered in the meeting room at the conclusion of the programs during a social period.

Early morning fog dampened Saturday morning field trips that departed the lodge at 8:00 AM.  Luckily, the fog gave way to partly sunny skies by about 10:30 a.m..  Three (3) trips with several birders in each trip birded the area until near 12:00 Noon.  The trips and leaders were as follows:

¨ Zeb Weese, Park Naturalist and KOS member, a four (4) mile hike on the trails of the park,
¨ Lee McNeely, a walk on the roads near the lodge and the chair lift, and
¨ Gerald Robe, the Rock Bridge formation in the Red River Gorge.

At 2:00 p.m., Dr. Gary Ritchison presented a program on the provisioning behavior of adult Eastern Bluebirds.  The forty-five minute program focused on the factors that influence what types of food and how often food is delivered to broods of bluebirds that differ in size and age.

The KOS Executive Board met from 3:00 PM to 5:45 p.m. while other members birded on their own or relaxed around the lodge.

Dr. Dever Holt of the Owl Research Institute in Charlo, Montana, presented the Saturday evening program beginning just after 7:30 PM.  Dr. Holt informed participants with slides and a brilliant lecture on the unique features of owls.  The presentation included owl evolution, owl taxonomy, structural features of owls such as their ears, feathers, and head shape, as well as dietary considerations, habitat considerations, and other factors.  Another focus of the program was the location and observation of owls.  During this segment, a variety of owl species were shown in their typical habitat as they might appear in daylight hours and techniques for finding the birds were discussed.

Following the program, the annual business meeting of the Society was held.  There were two orders of business.  The first item was the election of officers for the year 2003.  The slate of the nominating committee was approved on a voice vote with no opposition noted.  Officers elected by the Society are:

Kathy Caminiti, President
Hap Chambers, Vice President
Brainard Palmer-Ball, Corresponding Secretary
Jim Williams, Treasurer
Gerald Robe, Recording Secretary
Doris Tichnor, Councillor
Phyllis Niemi, Councillor

All offices are for one (1) year terms except councillors who hold a two (2) year term.

The second order of business was a proposed increase in dues.  The change in dues structure was approved by the Society membership on a voice vote with no opposition noted.  The new dues structure is:

Individual $15
Family $20
Student $10
Contributing $25
Corporate $100
Life $300

Sunday morning found that the fog had not relented.  Zeb Weese and Gerald Robe led morning field trips to within the park and to the Red River Gorge respectively.  This day, the fog burned away more quickly and birding conditions were somewhat improved.  The field trips concluded in the late morning bringing a close to the 2002 fall meeting of the Kentucky Ornithological Society.

--Contributed by Mark Bennett, Recording Secretary