December monthly meeting:
Penguins and albatrosses; pisco sours and choripans: a journey around the bottom of South America
What could be more festive than penguins? And albatrosses?
You can see plenty of both on December 10, when BBC member Andrew Melnykovych will give a presentation on his January trip from Santiago, Chile, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, via, among other places, Cape Horn, Antarctica, and the Falkland Islands. There will be avian oddities like the Snowy Sheathbill, side trips into gastronomy and culture, an explanation of what the Antarctic and Dingle peninsulas have in common, and the answer to this: “What is the dumbest question tourists ask guides in Buenos Aires?”
You can see plenty of both on December 10, when BBC member Andrew Melnykovych will give a presentation on his January trip from Santiago, Chile, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, via, among other places, Cape Horn, Antarctica, and the Falkland Islands. There will be avian oddities like the Snowy Sheathbill, side trips into gastronomy and culture, an explanation of what the Antarctic and Dingle peninsulas have in common, and the answer to this: “What is the dumbest question tourists ask guides in Buenos Aires?”
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The December monthly meeting is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 10, at St. Marks Episcopal Church, 2822 Frankfort Avenue, on the corner of Frankfort Avenue and Kennedy Avenue in Crescent Hill.
IT'S TIME TO RENEW YOUR BBC MEMBERSHIP
PLEASE DON'T MAKE US SEND YOU A POSTCARD
Once again, it's that time of year. The time when the Beckham Bird Club and every other organization to which you belong (and quite a few to which you don’t) send out reminders to renew your membership.
Not that you need any prompting, but here are the Top Five Reasons to Renew for 2025 (and every year thereafter):
1. Support BBC programming. Your dues pay for our meeting venues, speaker fees and support BBC activities such as the picnic and annual dinner.
2. Stay informed about what the BBC will be doing in 2025. Renewing your membership means you will continue receiving the newsletter and other updates.
3. Your dues help BBC remain visible in the community by paying the costs of the BBC website.
4. Your dues pay for printing the BBC membership directory and allow us to periodically update our technology (laptop, projector, etc.).
5. MOST IMPORTANT REASON: You reap the psychic reward of being a part of and supporting a great organization.
TOP TWO REASONS TO RENEW IMMEDIATELY:
1. It helps the BBC budget.
2. It's good for the environment.
If you don't renew by December 31, you will receive a reminder by e-mail. If you STILL haven't renewed by the end of January, we will be forced to mail you a reminder. We do not want to resort to such an extreme measure.
The BBC membership committee wants to limit the number of renewal reminders that have to be sent by mail. Cutting back on mailings saves the BBC the cost of printing and postage; it also reduces our carbon footprint (ever so slightly, to be sure, but every bit helps).
(In that same vein, we are also encouraging members who still receive a mailed newsletter to switch to the electronic version. You can make the change when you renew.)
Here's a handy guide to the renewing or restoring or starting your membership in the Beckham Bird Club.
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 are the details:
BBC MEMBERSHIP FORM DOWNLOAD LINK
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.
Not that you need any prompting, but here are the Top Five Reasons to Renew for 2025 (and every year thereafter):
1. Support BBC programming. Your dues pay for our meeting venues, speaker fees and support BBC activities such as the picnic and annual dinner.
2. Stay informed about what the BBC will be doing in 2025. Renewing your membership means you will continue receiving the newsletter and other updates.
3. Your dues help BBC remain visible in the community by paying the costs of the BBC website.
4. Your dues pay for printing the BBC membership directory and allow us to periodically update our technology (laptop, projector, etc.).
5. MOST IMPORTANT REASON: You reap the psychic reward of being a part of and supporting a great organization.
TOP TWO REASONS TO RENEW IMMEDIATELY:
1. It helps the BBC budget.
2. It's good for the environment.
If you don't renew by December 31, you will receive a reminder by e-mail. If you STILL haven't renewed by the end of January, we will be forced to mail you a reminder. We do not want to resort to such an extreme measure.
The BBC membership committee wants to limit the number of renewal reminders that have to be sent by mail. Cutting back on mailings saves the BBC the cost of printing and postage; it also reduces our carbon footprint (ever so slightly, to be sure, but every bit helps).
(In that same vein, we are also encouraging members who still receive a mailed newsletter to switch to the electronic version. You can make the change when you renew.)
Here's a handy guide to the renewing or restoring or starting your membership in the Beckham Bird Club.
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 are the details:
- 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. SINCE PAYPAL TAKES A CUT OF YOUR DUES AS A PROCESSING FEE, PLEASE CONSIDER ADDING AN EXTRA 5% TO YOUR DUES PAYMENT TO OFFSET THE FEE.
- 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 [email protected] so we can keep our membership roster up to date.
BBC MEMBERSHIP FORM DOWNLOAD LINK
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.
- Make your home bird safe by turning off unneeded indoor and outside lights, especially during migration, closing blinds, and applying decals to make windows more visible to birds to reduce collisions.
- 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.