At 6:07 pm Vice-President Barbara Saunders opened the meeting.
Vice-President Saunders introduced Fred Baumgarten who presented on “Who’s Buried in Audubon’s Tomb: A Story of Birds, Art and Music, allegro con brio.” Mr. Baumgarten began his presentation with an overview of the life of John James Audubon, his financial ruin and economic redemption in Britain and the fact that he and his wife Lucy were very musical. Mr. Baungarten then provided an overview of the life of Anthony Philip Heinrich, a composer whose life somewhat paralleled Audubon’s, in that he was an immigrant to America who when faced with hard times, fell back on his avocation and created a mythology about himself in order to make a living. He ended his presentation with a sample of Heinrich’s ten movement symphony about the passenger pigeon.
At 7:33 pm President Andrew Rubenfeld called the regular meeting of the society to order.
Recording Secretary Thomas read the minutes of the September 12, 2017 meeting and they were approved as read.
Secretary Thomas then announced three new candidates for membership: Marie-Claire Cunningham, sponsored by Andrew Rubenfeld and Irene Payne; Ben King, sponsored by Stephen Chang; and Allan Welby, sponsored by Kathleen Matthews. The candidates were approved by unanimous vote of the membership.
President Rubenfeld then reminded members to pay their dues and to see Treasurer Chang if they have their dues ready. He also reminded the audience to exit via Central Park West at the conclusion of the program due to construction on the 77thStreet entrance.
At 7:39 pm President Rubenfeld introduced Tom Stephenson, who presented on, “Why Do Birds Sing? How Do They Learn Their Songs? And How Can Birders Learn Them Too?” Mr. Stephenson began his presentation by explaining that some birds can only easily be found by their songs and discussed the various reasons why birds sing, which include finding a mate, maintaining territory and avoiding conflict. Mr. Stephenson also pointed out the fact that bird calls differ based on where a bird can be found, for instance a Cape May at the top of a tree sings higher, simpler notes while birds closer to the ground, such as a Tinamou, sing lower notes. He concluded his presentation by telling the audience that often it is hard to memorize songs because most people have bad techniques. He then illustrated a way to make a mental image for song memorization.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 pm.
Respectfully submitted by
Rochelle Thomas, Recording Secretary