RCAS Monthly Board Meeting. Board meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month and are open to the public. West Rutland Town Hall conference room, 6:30 PM.

There will be a talk on Celebrating 25 Years of West Rutland Marsh Bird Walks - A Commentary on What Species We Have Seen/Heard?.

Presenter: Lee Allen, Avid birder, RCAS volunteer, and Professor Emeritus, Dept. Forestry & Environmental Sciences, North Carolina State University.

Join us in celebrating 25 years of Rutland County Audubon Society's monthly bird walks at West Rutland Marsh. Since the initial walk organized by Roy Pilcher and other RCAS members, hundreds of intrepid birders have braved snow, sleet, ice, rain, freezing cold, sweltering heat, and many beautiful days to maintain an unbroken 25-year record of monthly bird walks. Thanks to diligent record keeping and eBird, we now have an amazing trove of "citizen science" data to better understand what species are present and how their presence has changed over seasons and years.

During my presentation I will illustrate and discuss several questions including:

1) What species have been seen/heard?

2) What species have been recorded almost every month? What species has the highest count?

3) What species are present today that were not recorded 20+ years ago, and vice-versa?

4) What species are permanent residents? Have they changed?

5) What species are "rare".... recorded only once, less than 5 times? Why?

6) What species are migrants... spring, winter, local?

7) What month(s) are the best to see the most species?

8) So what may the future hold?