BALTIMORE BIRD CLUB

The Baltimore Bird Club 2011-12 Schedule is now up, as is The Winter 2011 issue of Chip Notes as well as The 2011-12 Baltimore Orioles Junior Birding Club Schedule

Welcome to the home page of the Baltimore Bird Club, a chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society. Here you will find information about the BBC, the MOS, and their activities; and links to some of the finest birding sites on the web.

Baltimore Bird Club Information

• 2011-12 Schedule of Club activities.
• The Winter 2011 issue of CHIP NOTES, the BBC's newsletter. For earlier issues see the Chip Notes Back Issues
• The Baltimore Bird Club has a Meetup Site
• Attention youth! You can win a fabulous backpack including binoculars, field guides, and other birding loot. Click the link for more information.
• Youth Birding -- read about the BBC's new Baltimore Orioles Junior Birding Club
• eBird Trail Tracker for Cylburn Arboretum -- Maryland's first eBird Trail Tracker was dedicated at Cylburn Arboretum May 1, 2011. To see a list of recent bird sightings recorded on Cylburn's eBird Trail Tracker within the past seven days, click here. Learn more about eBird Trail Trackers.
• BBC Documents
  • A new letter from the president regarding proposed changes in the BBC Bylaws.
  • BBC Constitution and Bylaws
  • Modified Bylaws approved by the Board of Directors on October 11th, 2011
• Learn more about the Baltimore Bird Club
• View or print out a membership application in html or pdf format.
• Seasonal Sighting Records: Summer 2010
• Baltimore Bird Club Field Trip Leader Guidelines
• The BBC Field Trip Report form
• The BBC has published a Birder's Guide to Baltimore.
• See descriptions from the Guide for two favorite Baltimore sites:
  • Lake Roland
  • Cylburn Arboretum
• A checklist of Baltimore Birds
• The goal of Lights Out Baltimore! is "to make Charm City safe for migratory birds by turning out decorative lighting in the city during peak migration seasons, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and to advocate for bird-safe building design that makes glass and windows visible to birds." Learn more at the Lights Out Baltimore site.
• Will proposed changes to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act regulations have any effect on the Baltimore Bird Club? See an analysis of the matter by BBC President Karen Morley at Fish and Wildlife Service Holding Migratory Bird Specimens -- Change in Regulations
• The BBC also maintains the Backyard Birding page.
• Stay abreast of plans for the environmental restoration of the South Cell of Hart-Miller Island, Maryland's premiere shorebird site.
• See photos of some BBC members at Cylburn Mansion.

Maryland and the Region

• The Home Page of the Maryland Ornithological Society
  • The Allegany & Garrett Counties' Bird Club, a Chapter of MOS
  • The Cecil Bird Club, an MOS chapter.
  • The Frederick Bird Club, an MOS chapter.
  • The Harford Bird Club, an MOS chapter.
  • The Howard County Bird Club, a Chapter of MOS
  • The Kent County Chapter of MOS
  • The Montgomery County Chapter of MOS
• From the only Maryland county on the ocean: the Worcester County Birding page.
• The home page of the Audubon Naturalist Society
• The Home Page of the Potomac Valley Audubon Society
• Birds of North Point State Park in Baltimore County.
• The Irvine Nature Center, in Baltimore County.
• The Oregon Ridge Nature Center, in Baltimore County.
• A list of Maryland Birds
• The state's guide to Maryland Parks, Forests, and WMAs
• Sam Droege's essay "Maryland, Efficiency, and Birds" surveys the changes in Maryland's birdlife over the past 400 years.
• GORP's pages for Blackwater and Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuges
• The C&O Canal Page
• The home page of the Northern Virgina Bird Club
• The Virginia Society of Ornithology
• From Maryland's neighbor to the north: the Pennsylvania Virtual Birding Site
• Every Fall, hawk watchers migrate to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

What Are Birders Talking About?

• Here are the archives of birding lists (discussion groups that communicate by email):
  • Maryland Osprey
  • Virginia
  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey
  • BirdChat (USA)
• Read the latest submissions to Rec.Birds and UK.Rec.Birdwatching

What Else Is Out There?

• The most important site:
  • Jack Siler's Birding on the Net
• Some Megasites (chock full o' birding links)
  • from the United States:
    • Dan Victor's Cascadia;
    • Geographical Birding Guide, originally developed by Ignaz Wanders.
  • from Canada:
    • Denis Lepage's Birdlinks to the World; and
    • Chris Majka's Electronic Resources on Ornithology
  • Find out how to attract birds to your yard and keep them coming back on the Backyard Birding Page
  • Want to know about American birds? Visit the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
  • There's almost too much information about American birds at the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center -- it's not just for high plains birders. Learn about waterfowl and other birds.
  • Birds, Birds, Birds -- from the Office of Migratory Bird Management

CHIP NOTES Back Issues:

Bird Fun and Games

• What is the name for a flock of ravens or teal or pheasants? Check the List of Group Names.
• See a list of Whimsical Group Names and send your creations to the list.
• Test your birding skills by taking the Patuxent Bird Quiz
• Virtual flocks are featured on Craig Reynolds's Boids page.

Enough with the Birds, Already

Who Dealt This Mess?