September 2023 Meeting

Tue, September 5, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Blue Spruce County Park Lodge
Speaker: Ron Burkert

Description

Ron Burkert will present Feathered Jewels and Their Southeastern Arizona Friends at our Septem- ber meeting. His talk will include shots of nine hummingbird species and a variety of other birds that he photographed on his trip to Tucson and the Sky Islands last September.

Ron Burkert, grew up in the Oley Valley farm country east of Reading where he roamed the fields and forests of Berks County. After graduating from Penn State University with a BS in Forest Science ('74), he received a grant to work on his MS from West Virginia University in Wildlife Management ('78). His thesis title was "Wild Turkey Brood Range: Overstory Characteristics." His first full-time job with the University of Arkansas at Monticello was as a Research Associate and then as Administrative Assistant to the Forestry Department Head from 1978-1982. He worked on bobwhite, white-tailed deer and Wild Turkey habitat research projects. In October 1982 he returned to PA to work with the non-profit Ruffed Grouse Society in Moon Twp. in a wide range of capacities from 1982 until the end of 2016.

In February 2017 Ron discovered eBird when he had just over 100 bird species on his life list. Currently he has seen more than 500 species, having birded in 28 states as well as in the Bahamas. He carries his camera/telephoto and Rode shotgun mic on almost every birding outing so that he can document the vast majority of his sightings with photos and/or audio recordings. He has participated in the Three Rivers Birding Club's Slide Slam for several years.