Oct 14, 2024
“Falkland Islands—The Penguin Photo Adventure” with Shawn Carey

Nov 11, 2024
“Osprey – Egg Incubation, Chick Rearing and Wild Fostering” with Stephanie Ellis from WildCare
Zoom link for replay

Dec 9, 2024
Holiday Party featuring our two 2024 Hog Island Scholarship Recipients.
Come and get to know your fellow members.

Jan 13, 2025
“The Breeding Biology of the Common Loon” with James Paruk, Ph.D.

ZOOM-only, no in-person meeting

This presentation will examine behaviors of breeding loons from an evolutionary perspective, emphasizing that successful traits are those that increase reproductive success, such as aggression and cooperation. Last January, Jim presented a fascinating and informative talk to our club on wintering Common Loons. This presentation will give us insight into what “our” loons are doing after they depart Cape Cod in the spring!

Jim Paruk, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biology at St. Joseph’s College, in Maine, and has been studying Common Loons across North America since 1993. He has published over 35 scientific articles on loons and is considered one of the world’s experts on the species. Jim summarized all the state-of-the-art research on Common Loons in his book, Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters with the Great Northern Diver, published in 2021 by the University of Minnesota Press.

 

Feb 10, 2025
“How Birds Created the World” … and Other Stories from The Complete Language of Birds with Randi Minetor

ZOOM-only, no in-person meeting

Ancient Egyptians believed that the Earth began as an egg laid by a giant goose. Ojibwa people of America’s northern plains tell of a Great Flood that swept away the world’s evils, and the bird that braved the deep waters to bring a bit of soil up from the bottom to restart the continent. European scientists once believed that geese survived the winters by turning themselves into barnacles and adhering to the bottoms of ships, transforming back into birds in spring. These and many other tales told in Randi Minetor’s latest book, The Complete Language of Birds, bring us back to a time when birds seemed like magical beings with the answers for so many of the world’s questions.

Bestselling author Randi Minetor writes the Birdfinding and Best Easy Bird Guides series for Falcon Guides/Globe Pequot Press and is the author of Backyard Birding and Butterfly Gardening and Best Easy Day Hikes: Buffalo. Her most recent book, The Complete Language of Birds, is an encyclopedia that unites classic illustrations, science, folklore, and mythology about more than 400 bird species around the world. She writes for Birding Magazine, is a regional report editor for North American Birds, and served for three years as president of the Rochester Birding Association.

 

Mar 10, 2025
“Successes in Bird Conservation on Cape Cod” with Mike Tucker

In the face of multiple studies about declining bird populations, it’s important to recognize success stories in conservation. We will take a close look at the efforts on Cape Cod that are shining examples of why conservation matters. Preserved land, habitat restoration, scientific research and volunteer involvement are just some of the factors contributing to the bird conservation success stories here on Cape Cod. During this presentation we will see how grassland birds, migrating shore-birds, forest nesting species, cavity nesting species and more have benefited through these efforts.

Mike Tucker grew up in RI and developed an interest in birds at a young age. He got his first binoculars at 11 years old and his first camera a year later. He’s been birding and taking photos ever since! Jobs with USFWS, the Audubon Society of RI and volunteer work for environmental non-profit organizations, have led to a wide variety of involvement in the world of birds. Bird survey work, public education (talks and walks), and various wildlife projects continue to be important elements of Mike’s life since moving to Cape Cod in 2017. Projects spearheaded by Mike have included nestbox programs for American Kestrel, Eastern Screech Owl and other cavity nesting species. He has also been involved with projects on nesting Barn Owls, Peregrine Falcons, Ospreys and Bald Eagles.

Apr 14, 2025

Mardelle Shepley, Ph.D., “Birds and Well-Being”

May 12, 2025

Peter Flood – “The Chatham Petrel Expedition and a New Zealand Seabird Primer”

Worldwide, seabirds face ongoing anthropogenic threats at sea, and on the breeding grounds. Once historic and abundant nesting colonies of seabirds have often been directly or indirectly decimated, and/or eliminated, by human-induced pressures from habitat degradation, and the introduction of mammalian predators, including rats, mice, pigs, dogs and cats, driving many seabird species to remote (pest-free) offshore islands, where a single island or acreage may host the only nesting location for a given species. From a conservation perspective, this is inherently dangerous, and places many species at risk for extinction.

One could argue that New Zealand and its surrounding islands may very well be considered the seabird capital of the world.  Conservation efforts for seabirds in New Zealand have been considered innovative and effective in terms of habitat restoration, translocation and predator removal, providing opportunities for seabird populations to increase.

The Chatham Petrel Expedition was another installment of the Extreme Gadflies Series Expeditions, designed and organized by world renowned seabird expert Hadoram Shirihai. The purpose of these expeditions is to observe, study and photographically document all the world’s tubenosed seabirds as part of an ongoing (25+ year) body of work, which will ultimately culminate in a written four-volume tubenose monograph. The Chatham Petrel Expedition was conducted in March of 2023, and consisted of a crew of six experienced seabird enthusiasts (including Peter) that spent 5 days at sea off the Chatham Islands, New Zealand.  The “Chathams” lie approximately 500 miles to the east of New Zealand, and are comprised of the main Chatham Island, Pitt Island, Southeast Island, and several smaller island groups that host amazing numbers and diversity of seabird species.

As the title suggests, the focus of this expedition was to observe, study, and photograph a very rare gadfly petrel at sea – the Chatham Petrel, which currently nests only on the Chathams.  Additionally, ongoing studies of several species of prions (whalebirds) in the area, coupled with documenting numbers of albatrosess, petrels, storm-petrels and shearwaters off the Chathams, made for a successful and exciting expedition.

For this presentation, Peter will share some of the expedition highlights through his experiences, as well as photographs touching on the identification and ecology of the Chatham Petrel. In addition, Peter will provide a primer for some of the other amazing and enigmatic tubenosed seabirds found in and around the Chathams, and New Zealand in general.

Peter Flood, a Cape Cod resident and CCBC member, has a passion for ornithology as evidenced by his varied professional experiences which include: serving as naturalist for Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary leading birding tours and educational programs related to bird identification, natural history and biology; conducting Mass Audubon’s aerial seabird and waterfowl surveys of Nantucket Sound as part of the proposed “Cape Wind” project; and conducting shorebird surveys for Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.  Currently, Peter’s birding interests are focused on the ecology, identification and the range/distribution of seabirds. He has spent thousands of hours at sea, on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and other parts of the world, on various expeditions chasing, observing and photographing some of his favorite subjects.

In addition, Peter volunteers his time with NOAA, conducting seabird surveys of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off Cape Cod, and also volunteers for the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, providing photographic data and behavioral observations of endangered North Atlantic Right Whales off Race Point, Provincetown, MA.   Peter enjoys sharing his seabirding experiences, leading pelagic trips off Massachusetts and North Carolina, and previously served as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Cape Cod Bird Club. His current profession is Director with Green Seal Environmental, LLC.

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List of Past Programs and Speakers