The Montclair Bird Club

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For the Zoom link to our online meetings, e-mail montclairbirdclub100@gmail.com.

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February 9, 2022

Virtual Meeting

Oh, Canada!

by Chris Sturm

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Our northern neighbor from sea to sea, with a focus on Newfoundland, the Rocky Mountains, and Churchill.

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Chris Sturm is a native central New Jerseyan who returned to his native state (of his own free will!) after six years in Texas. He is a retired social studies teacher, and was active in the Patriots' Path Scout Council for many years. After 27 years in Springfield, Chris and Maria now live at Leisure Village West in Manchester. They have one son, Alex, who is an Eagle Scout and mechanical engineer. Chris has always spent a great deal of time in nature, hiking and camping. He took up birding in 1971, and shortly thereafter started on a life of nature photography. The nature bug having bitten, he, like so many others, has expanded his interests to all phases of nature study. He has taught basic photography at nature centers and in adult education courses, and has presented programs all over the state. At present, Chris also hosts a nature-oriented show on our community cable channel. Over the years, Chris and Maria have visited all 50 states, much of Canada, and Iceland. By himself, he has also spent time in Mexico and the Canary Islands.

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March 9, 2022

Virtual Meeting

Tracking the Migration of New Jersey Birds

Using the Motus Network

by Cailin O'Connor

 

Cailin O'Connor will introduce us to the Motus wildlife tracking system and its use in visualizing the migratory routes of birds in North America, especially New Jersey. She will also explain Nanotag and Life Tag technology , and demonstrate the use of Motus.org to gain access to the open-source data produced by tags and receivers.  Current projects in New Jersey that use Motus include studies of the effects of brain injury or captive raising on passerines' migratory patterns and dispersal, the land use patterns of warblers, and stopover sites of shorebirds of conservation concern.

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Cailin O'Connor is a lecturer of wildlife ecology at Kean University and a PhD candidate in environmental science at Montclair State University. She serves as bander-in-charge at several migratory and MAPS banding stations in northern New Jersey, and has 20 years of experience as a wild bird rehabilitator. Her research interests include tracking the migration of passerines using the Motus network, with special focus on the aberrant migratory patterns of birds with traumatic brain injuries resulting from window strikes.

 

 

 

 

Recent meetings

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January 2022 A Tale of Many Penguins by Ardith Bondi

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