Monthly Meeting 7 P.M. Allegany County Main Library, 31 Washington St., Cumberland, (301) 777-1200. Located across the St. from the Board of Ed. Bldg.
The speaker is Dan Feller. The talk is entitled “The Allegheny Woodrat in Maryland: Cumberland Bone Cave Fossils to Endangered Species Status.”
Known from Pleistocene age fossil deposits excavated near Cumberland, the Allegheny woodrat persists today, though now on the brink of extirpation in Maryland. Woodrat life history, distribution and population trends as derived from 17 years of monitoring will be presented, embellished with stories describing the antics of an animal appropriately named the “packrat”.

Saturday April 5th, 2008 – Field Trip to Garrett County Ponds
Call the leader, Roy Brown at (301) 724-7769 for more information. Meet at Parkside School in LaVale at 9 A.M. and pack a lunch for an impromptu picnic at New Germany State Park if we don’t freeze first!

Monthly Meeting 7 P.M. Allegany County Main Library, 31 Washington St., Cumberland, (301) 777-1200. Located across the St. from the Board of Ed. Bldg.
David Yeany II will talk about his research at Finzel Swamp Preserve (TNC) in Garrett County. The title of the talk is “Community Analysis and Habitat Associations of Bird Assemblages Breeding at Finzel Swamp, MD”. Finzel Swamp possesses the correct combination of altitude, topography, hydrology, and floral composition to create a bog habitat likened to those found at more northerly latitudes. Such wetlands have not been well studied south of their typical latitudes; however, some research suggests that these unique habitats boast equally unique communities of breeding birds. Preliminary results from the first field season will be presented discussing the breeding bird community, the significance of various habitat components, and continuing research at Finzel Swamp.

Tuesday Feb. 12th, 2008 – Monthly Meeting 7 P.M. Allegany County Main Library, 31 Washington St., Cumberland, (301) 777-1200. Located across the St. from the Board of Ed. Bldg.
The speaker is Dan Feller. The talk is entitled “The Allegheny Woodrat in Maryland: Cumberland Bone Cave Fossils to Endangered Species Status.”
Known from Pleistocene age fossil deposits excavated near Cumberland, the Allegheny woodrat persists today, though now on the brink of extirpation in Maryland. Woodrat life history, distribution and population trends as derived from 17 years of monitoring will be presented, embellished with stories describing the antics of an animal appropriately named the “packrat”.

February 9th 2008 - Garrett County Mid-Winter Count
Contact compiler Mikey Lutmerding at mikeycerw - @ - yahoo.com or 301-707-7764 (cell) for more information and to get a territory.

Saturday Jan 19th, 2008 - C&O Canal Count
Again this year the C&O Canal Count will replace our mid-winter bird count. Contact Peter Vankevich (email – petevankevich - @ - gmail.com) for a stretch of the Canal to cover. Each mile of the canal is counted separately.

Tuesday Jan. 8th, 2008 – Monthly Meeting 7 P.M. Allegany County Main Library, 31 Washington St., Cumberland, (301) 777-1200.
Hank Kaestner will speak on the topic: "Recent Birding
Adventures 2006-2007; specialty birding in western and central Asia". Hank will talk about recent trips to Yemen and Kazakstan. The talk will include information about culture, geography, and the spice trade in addition to the birds of this area.

Saturday Dec. 15th, 2007 – Allegany County & Oakland Christmas Bird Counts
Please join us for the 106th CBC. To participate in the Allegany count, call J.B. Churchill at (301) 697-1223 (or email jchurchi - @ - atlanticbb.net) to get an area assignment. Tally will be at the Frostburg United Methodist Church Social Hall, 48 W. Main Street at 7:00 PM. Bring a covered dish to share. To participate in the Oakland Count, contact Connie Skipper at connieskipper - @ - hohnet.com or call her at 301-387-5227.

Saturday Oct. 13th, 2007– Field Trip to Town Hill
Meet Ray Kiddy to watch for migrating hawks at a time of year when there is good hawk diversity (with favorable weather conditions). Meet at 7:30 AM at the Mason’s Barn Park and Ride, Exit 46 East Cumberland from I-68. Bring lunch and a drink. Call Ray at (301) 729-1972 for information.

Tuesday Oct. 9th, 2007 – Monthly Meeting 7 P.M. Allegany County Main Library, 31 Washington St., Cumberland, (301) 777-1200.
Topic: Movie Night. We will watch episode 2 ("Mountains") from the BBC series "Planet Earth". This series was released in 2007 and captures never before seen footage of many rare animals worldwide and masterfully presents the diversity of ecosystems with astounding cinematography.