by Gerald Robe
The spring meeting of the Kentucky Ornithological Society was held April 23-25 at Kentucky Dam Village. President Hap Chambers called the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m. CDT on the 23rd. Following Hap's introductory comments, Elizabeth Cuizio of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources gave a brief presentation on an environmental impact study (EIS) on the effects of Double-crested Cormorants on the two islands in Kentucky Lake where they breed. These two islands provide important fish spawning habitats, and the activities of the cormorants cause a loss of trees that could potentially damage this habitat. The EIS would determine the best way to manage the cormorant population to protect these islands. The Double-crested Cormorant is considered an endangered breeding bird in Kentucky, with only 15-20 breeding pairs. However, the nationwide cormorant population is not endangered.
After Ms.
Cuizio's presentation, Vice-president Mark Bennett introduced Phyllis Niemi,
who challenged the KOS members present at the meeting with a bird trivia
contest. The contest was won by Lee McNeely.
Next, Mark
Bennett introduced Bill Lisowsky, area Director of the Land Between the
Lakes Recreation Area, who gave a presentation entitled 'LBL - Birds Between
the Lakes.' Mr. Lisowsky's presentation included some background information
on the history and geography of the LBL area, current proposals for the
management of the area, ongoing research projects and efforts to attract
visitors, and concluded with a slide show featuring birds and wildlife
from the LBL area.
Following Mr. Lisowsky's presentation, Rick Huffines of Clark's River National Wildlife Refuge and Pat Brandon of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources made a presentation of the 2003 Kentucky Warbler Migratory Songbird Award to KOS member Gary Ritchison. The award was presented in recognition of his many avian conservation research efforts, as well as for the inspiration that he has given to others. Dr. Ritchison accepted the award, and offered his thanks for the support of his students and his wife, Tammy.
Mark Bennett then turned the meeting over to Brainard Palmer-Ball, who announced to the KOS membership that the newly revised KOS field cards were now available for sale for 25 cents each, or 5 for $1.00.
Mark then concluded the Friday evening meeting with a discussion in changes to the published meeting program and a description of Saturday's planned field trips. The meeting closed at 8:36 p.m. and was followed by refreshments and a social hour.
The rain on Saturday morning did not seem to dampen the KOS members' enthusiasm. Field trips included: a walk around the lodge and campgrounds led by Fred Busroe, a trip around the upper dam area to look for waterfowl and migrants led by David Roemer, two trips for the LBL area led by Bill Lisowsky and Maurica Toon, and a trip to Fulton County to look for shorebirds led by Hap Chambers.
The Saturday night general meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by President Hap Chambers. Blaine Ferrell then conducted the species tally for the meeting. As of Saturday night, 162 species had been observed by KOS members in the LBL area.
The first speaker of the night was Dr. Jeff Hoover of the Illinois Natural History Survey. Dr. Hoover's presentation 'Swamping Out the Negative Effects of Habitat Fragmentation: Avian Ecology and the Restoration of Bottomland Forests' outlined his research efforts to study the effects of habitat fragmentation on breeding bird populations. Dr. Hoover spoke on the causes of habitat fragmentation and how fragmentation impacts breeding bird success by increasing predation by animals such as raccoons and brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds, and how this information can be used to improve songbird conservation efforts. The next presentation of the evening, 'Increases in Nesting Osprey at Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake', was given by Ed Ray and Tammie Sanders. Mr. Ray presented information on the history of the Osprey in the LBL area, and outlined the efforts of his organization, Kentucky Environmental Education Projects, Inc. (KEEP), to involve local schools in the conservation of Ospreys and other birds. Following the main presentation, Miss Sanders and Mr. Ray provided KOS members with literature about their ongoing projects, answered questions, and displayed other materials, such as Eastern Bluebird nest cams, that they use to educate school children about bird conservation.
The meeting concluded at 9:00 p.m. following closing statements from Hap Chambers regarding the upcoming Fall 2004 KOS meeting at Pine Mountain State Resort Park and the announcement of the schedule of field trips on Sunday.
Sunday's field trips were a trip to the Clark's River National Wildlife Refuge led by Hap Chambers, and the area around the dams and upper Lake Barkley led by Brainard Palmer-Ball.