Feeding Birds…Not Bears
Annual Meeting Program
and Potluck Supper
If you are wondering how to keep our local black bears away from your birdfeeders, Audubon's Monday, June 10 Program is for you. Join us at 7:30 at the Highlands Civic Center, for a presentation by Russ Regnery, Highlands Plateau Audubon Society President.
Black bears are iconic features of our mountains. Many of us also make an important connection with our local fauna through the practice of supplementing the diets of seed-eating birds and hummingbirds; i.e., 'feeding the birds.' Bears have learned that bird feeders can be a significant concentrated food source, especially when natural food sources are limited and/or when hunting pressures encourage bears to move into relatively urbanized "safe havens." Of bears that learn to associate bird seed as a routine food source, many are reported to subsequently have unfortunate human encounters that end up with the ultimate death of the bear, not to mention making it the easy target for hunters at the opening of bear season. The cliché that "a fed bear is a dead bear" is unfortunately an accurate truism. The problem has become sufficiently acute that, in several communities, one political reaction has been to outlaw bird feeding altogether.
As citizens with an interest in both native birds and bears, it behooves anyone feeding birds in this community to be aware of the potential negative consequences to bears, and make themselves familiar with the various methods that can be used to minimize habituating bears to unnatural food sources, while hopefully at the same time continuing to enjoy interacting with birds at a feeder.
Russ Regnery, a local resident, and someone with an interest in black bears, will review measures to minimize bear, bird feeder, and undesirable human interactions. He will also discuss techniques for installation of bear-resistant bird feeders of varying levels of sophistication. This discussion is targeted primarily for those among us who feed birds and would like to continue to do so. The discussion will focus specifically on the issue of bird feeders and bears, not other important bear-related topics such as garbage feeding, personal deterrents, hunting regulations, etc.
HPAS Annual Meeting and Potluck Supper
Come for our Annual Potluck Supper, beginning at 6:00 PM, Monday, June 10, at the Highlands Civic Center. Bring a dish to share and a utensil to serve it! This is always a fun time to catch up with those of our members who are returning from their Southern migration. You'll meet some new friends as well - and enjoy some delicious food.
Our exciting program is described above.
Following supper, there will be a brief annual membership meeting. There are two matters of business: election of directors and approval of a minor change to our Chapter Bylaws. The nominating committee has presented the following slate, approved by the Board of Directors: Dee Andrey (Highlands), Romney Bathurst (Highlands), Avary Doubleday (Highlands), Mike Kaiser (Highlands), Michelle Ruigrok (Highlands),and Mary Lou Waas (Cashiers). Doubleday will be elected for a two-year term and each of the others for a term of three years.
The Board has changed the Chapter's fiscal year to the calendar year, which more closely reflects our activities, and those of our birds. We are asking the membership to approval a change to Article II: Membership Meetings, Section 1 to read as follows:
The Annual Meeting of the Society shall be held in either August or September, at a date, time and place determined by the Board, at which time new Directors will be elected.
As written, the Bylaws state that the Annual Meeting will be held in the last month of the fiscal year, which would now be December, not a good time for this meeting.
