Monthly Programs

Since 2015 Fyke's monthly speaker costs have been funded by a generous grant from the Winifred M. and George P. Pitkin Foundation

Oct. 27, 2023, Friday - 8:00 p.m. via Zoom

Cowbirds: Villainous Mobsters or Falsely Maligned Native Species? Sarah Winnicki

Sarah Winnicki

Brown-headed cowbirds are notorious for their breeding system called "brood parasitism.” They lay their eggs in the nests of hundreds of other bird species, forcing those birds to feed their young. cowbird eggs

They've been painted as dastardly villains, but are they? Biologist, PhD candidate, photographer and birder Sarah Winnicki walks us through the biology of cowbirds, paying close attention to their research on the ways they interact with their host  species in their native range in Kansas.

 

November 2, 2023, Thursday - Lee Memorial Library, Allendale

How to Attract Screech Owls, Jim Wright

Sponsored by Lee Memorial Library and the Fyke Nature Association

click image to get the book

Screech owls are the owl most likely to nest in a suburban backyard, but few people know how to entice them to move in–or how to thwart those pesky squirrel interlopers. Jim Wright, a long-time friend of the Fyke Nature Association and Lee Memorial Library, will talk all about The Screech Owl Companion, his brand-new book from Timber Press, Jim thinks the photos alone are worth the price of this entertaining compendium, but see for yourself. Jim will be happy to sign and inscribe copies of The Screech Owl Companion after his talk.

Lillian Stokes, coauthor of The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America says: “Astounding, thorough, wide-ranging, and well done, this book will take you into the world of the beloved Screech Owl. It delivers everything you could want or need to welcome these appealing, diminutive, feathery, fierce creatures as your neighbors.”

Photo of Jim at Flat Rock Brook Nature Center by Sam Pettigrew

Bio: Allendale’s Jim Wright is also the author of The Real James Bond, a biography of the noted ornithologist who fell prey to the world’s most famous case of identity theft. The Wall Street Journal called it “slim and elegant” -- like Bond himself.

Jim’s other books include large-format books about Central America’s largest rainforest, Pennsylvania’s legendary Hawk Mountain, the New Jersey Meadowlands, and –of course – In the Presence of Nature, about the Celery Farm Nature Preserve.

Jim writes “The Bird Watcher” column for The Record and keeps several nature blogs.

 

December 1, 2023, Friday - Monthly Meeting 8:00 p.m.

Members Night, Kurt Muenz

Enjoy an evening of short presentations via Zoom by Fyke Members. Better yet, be a presenter and share your own photos. Information on submitting images will be posted on the Fyke Email List early in October.

 

Past Presentations