Across the US with the accidental birder
In 2007, Christine Hayden decided her new hobby would be wildlife photography, specifically bears. After a trip to Yellowstone, she then found camera equipment was going to get dusty in Kentucky, if bears were the focus. So birds! Although not intending to end up a birder, this has happened. She now spends most every moment thinking about birds, looking for birds, counting birds, and photographing birds. (She even leads BBC field trips!)
Please join us for a tour around the US, as Christine travels from the north in Minnesota winter, south to Arizona, east to the Florida coast and west to California, all in a whirlwind year of chasing birds, both familiar and new.
Our meeting is on Tuesday, October 10, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2822 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206, 38.254256, -85.689458. St. Mark’s is at the corner of Frankfort Avenue and Kennedy Ave. Please enter by way of the back door near the parking lot.
Please join us for a tour around the US, as Christine travels from the north in Minnesota winter, south to Arizona, east to the Florida coast and west to California, all in a whirlwind year of chasing birds, both familiar and new.
Our meeting is on Tuesday, October 10, at 7:00 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2822 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206, 38.254256, -85.689458. St. Mark’s is at the corner of Frankfort Avenue and Kennedy Ave. Please enter by way of the back door near the parking lot.
BIRDATHON DONATIONS STILL NEEDED!!
What's a Birdathon? It is all of the following:
1. The most important fundraising event of the year for the Beckham Bird Club. It was held in early May.
2. A fundraiser in which the money raised does not go to the BBC, but to organizations in Kentucky that have been selected by the BBC board to receive Birdathon grants.
3. In its traditional format, the Birdathon involves groups of intrepid birders spending an entire day trying to see as many species as possible - more than 100 again this year!! - in order to collect the largest sum possible from donors who have pledged money on a per-species basis. This why it is held during peak spring migration season.
4. In its current incarnation, the Birdathon relies heavily on donors who make donations without regard for the number of species seen or who sees them. This means that you need not have been approached by a birder to donate in support of their efforts. You may simply donate to BBC directly, designating your gift for Birdathon.
5. It is an anyone-can-participate event. You can go birding and ask friends to donate based on your success. Or you can be a donor. It's up to you.
The organizations selected to receive Birdathon grants must be involved in work that benefits birds, typically through land preservation, habitat improvement, environmental education or conservation activism. The amount of funding received by the organizations approved for grants depends entirely on the amount of money available through Birdathon donations. To see the very worthy group of grantees for the 2023 Birdathon, click here.
Impressive list of proposals, isn't it? To help ensure that each grant receives full funding, and if you haven't made a pledge to a Birdathon participant, you can donate directly to Birdathon on this website, by going to this page and clicking on the yellow DONATE button.
WHY BE A BECKHAM BIRD CLUB MEMBER?
If you are not a Beckham Bird Club member, but have an interest in birds, birding or bird conservation, here is why you should join:
Memberships are for the calendar year and dues are due by January 1. However, if you are joining for the first time or rejoining after a lapse in membership, paying your dues after October 1 also gets you a membership for the following year.
You may join either directly through this website using PayPal or credit card or, if you want to pay by check, by downloading, printing and sending in the membership form, which is also on the website.
Here’s a handy guide to the membership process:
http://www.beckhambirdclub.org/uploads/4/6/2/1/46215227/2022_membership_form__2_.pdf
The BBC board encourages you to renew early and hopes that you will encourage non-member birders or bird lovers of your acquaintance to join.
- Support BBC programming. Your dues pay for our meeting venues, speaker fees and support BBC activities such as the picnic and annual dinner.
- Stay informed about what the BBC is doing. Your membership means you will continue receive the newsletter and other updates.
- Your dues help BBC remain visible in the community by paying the costs of the BBC website.
- Your dues pay for printing the BBC membership directory and allow us to periodically update our technology (laptop, projector, etc.).
- MOST IMPORTANT REASON: You reap the psychic reward of being a part of and supporting a great organization.
- Members who don’t renew by December will receive a mailed reminder.
Memberships are for the calendar year and dues are due by January 1. However, if you are joining for the first time or rejoining after a lapse in membership, paying your dues after October 1 also gets you a membership for the following year.
You may join either directly through this website using PayPal or credit card or, if you want to pay by check, by downloading, printing and sending in the membership form, which is also on the website.
Here’s a handy guide to the membership process:
- Go the membership tab at the top of this page.
- You will see a list of membership categories, with the dues for each and a yellow button that says “Donate.”
- Click on the button. It will take you to PayPal.
- Enter the amount you wish to pay (we encourage you to renew at the highest level you can) and then DESIGNATE YOUR CONTRIBUTION FOR MEMBERSHIP (this is the default choice). THIS IS SO WE KNOW YOU ARE PAYING DUES, RATHER THAN MAKING A DONATION.
- IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Dues payments in excess of the amount for the membership category specified will be deposited into the general fund unless otherwise designated by the member making the payment. In other words, if you sign up as a contributing member at the $30 dues level, but pay $50, the extra $20 will go to the general fund, unless you designate for another purpose, such as Birdathon.
- Select payment either through your PayPal account, if you have one, or by credit card.
- If you select credit card payment, you will be asked for credit card information, including your name and address, (don’t worry, it’s a secure site) and then be asked to create a PayPal account. Doing so will simplify the process next time. (Just remember to write down your password and save it where it can be relocated.)
- IF YOU HAVE BEEN A MEMBER BEFORE AND HAVE NEW CONTACT INFORMATION (ADDRESS, EMAIL, PHONE), YOU CAN ADD A NOTE LETTING US KNOW. PLEASE DO SO.
- YOU ALSO MAY SHARE YOUR ADDRESS WITH BBC BY CHECKING THE BOX THAT SENDS IT TO US TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR GIFT.
- Complete the transaction by following the PayPal prompts. You will get an email confirmation of your payment.
- AND JUST IN CASE, please take the following IMPORTANT STEP: Please email your name, address, email and telephone number to bbcky1935@gmail.com so we can keep our membership roster up to date.
http://www.beckhambirdclub.org/uploads/4/6/2/1/46215227/2022_membership_form__2_.pdf
The BBC board encourages you to renew early and hopes that you will encourage non-member birders or bird lovers of your acquaintance to join.
A MESSAGE FROM THE BBC BOARD
In response to member concerns and after careful consideration, the Beckham Bird Club board has determined that field trips will now be no-smoking and no-vaping events. The current policy of asking participants who smoke and vape to step away from the main group has proven both ineffective and unworkable. Therefore, effective immediately, participants are asked to refrain from smoking or vaping for the duration of the field trip. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
In response to member concerns and after careful consideration, the Beckham Bird Club board has determined that field trips will now be no-smoking and no-vaping events. The current policy of asking participants who smoke and vape to step away from the main group has proven both ineffective and unworkable. Therefore, effective immediately, participants are asked to refrain from smoking or vaping for the duration of the field trip. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
How to Get Involved With Birds and Birding
- Attend Beckham Bird Club meetings, especially if you have never been to one.
- Come along on a Beckham Bird Club field trip, especially if you have never been on one.
- After doing the first two things on this list, join the Beckham Bird Club. It's easy to do on this website from the Membership tab
- Obtain a good pair of binoculars and both a hard copy and phone app field guide. Use them frequently.
- Join the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's eBird and Merlin sites. They're free and easy to use, and they are a great way to record your bird observations and find and identify birds.
- If you have a yard, research how to make it bird friendly by adding native plants, feeders and water sources. Then add.
- Join the Kentucky Ornithological Society (KOS).
- Subscribe to the birdKY listserv via KOS. It's a great way to know what's going on with birds in Kentucky.
- Attend one of the KOS meetings in April or September.
- Donate to the BBC Birdathon.
- Familiarize yourself with the American Birding Association's Code of Birding Ethics (see Birding Ethics under the Conservation tab above) and adhere to it when birding.
- Get out and bird in one of Kentucky's least-birded counties. Kentucky has a substantial portion of the counties with the fewest eBird checklists. You can help fix that.
- Attend a birding festival in Kentucky or elsewhere.
- Take a child birding.
- Donate your old/unused binoculars and scopes to nature centers, school groups interested in birding.
- Bird, bird, and bird some more.