Monthly meetings are held from 7:00-9:00 PM on the first Thursday of each month September-June in the Padua Room of Alexander Hughes Community Center, 1700 Danbury Dr., Claremont, adjacent to Lewis Park.
Our meetings begin promptly at 7 PM with a short bird identification (or teaching) session to help you become a better birder, followed by light refreshments and a short business meeting. Guest speakers present an evening program related to birds and/or conservation. Guests are welcome. Meeting is over by 9:00 PM.
Directions: On Towne Ave. head north from Foothill Blvd or south from the 210 freeway. Turn east on Scripps Drive (signal) and then turn south on Danbury Dr. (no signal). Hughes Center is a large ex-school building on the east side of the Danbury. The Padua room is on the south side of the building. There is easy parking and access on both the west and south sides of the building.
Mask use is based on your comfort level and current guidelines.
Presentations at Spring 2024 Meetings
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Christopher Clark, PhD – “The Ghost of the North Goes Hunting: How Great Gray Owls Catch Voles Under Snow”
In winter, aerial predators like Great Gray Owls perform a remarkable feat: they catch voles hidden under a layer of snow. A layer of snow that can be nearly 20 inches deep with a hardened crust strong enough to hold a person’s weight. But snow is not just a visible barrier; it absorbs and refracts sound creating an ‘acoustic mirage’ that owls must overcome. Come learn about the acoustics of snow and the physical and behavioral adaptations that allow owls to catch their prey without seeing them.
Christopher Clark is a professor of biology at UCR where he and his students use wind tunnels, high speed video, acoustic cameras and other technology to study courtship displays and how feathers produce sound with a focus on hummingbirds. More recently, he has also begun to unravel the mysteries of quiet flight in owls. This fun mix of bioacoustics and biomechanics is used to study the relationship between sound and behavior. Dr. Clark attended Washington State University, UT Austin and received his doctorate from UC Berkeley.
Join us for the meeting that’s not like a meeting! On Thursday, June 6 at 6 pm (note early start time) come to the PVAS Annual June Meeting and Party featuring great food, a silent auction, elections, the Flock Leader Award. See the beautiful bird photography of fellow birders in both our Photo Showcase and our Photo Challenge (the theme this year is Baby Birds – nestlings to juveniles). We want you to come at 6 pm to enjoy our social hour and refreshments while you shop the silent auction. Then we’ll hold our annual elections, announce the recipient of the Hank Child’s Flock Leader Award, and finish with our Photo Showcase and Challenge. If you would like to submit your photos, please email Seth at pomonavalleyaudubon@gmail.com. Historically this event was a potluck and although PVAS will be providing most of the food, we encourage you to make and bring a dish. Email Kimberly at hardlykim7@gmail.com if you can help with set/clean-up and/or bring food. If you have silent auction items, bring them to the May meeting or email tinastoner@earthlink.net. To all our crafty and artistic friends, we’d love for you to donate your creations to our silent auction. (How about some homemade bird houses this year?)
We ask a $5 donation at the door for extra fees associated with the room rental. Thank you.
