The Northern Virginia Bird Club will hold its November meeting on Wednesday the
18th at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 4000 Lorcom Lane, Arlington, VA, 22207 at
8:00 pm Directions can be found in the Siskin and on our web page at
www.nvabc.org<http://www.nvabc.org>.
Our speaker will be Desiree Narango with her talk entitled: "Urban Birds: Do
Tree Species Matter? How native and exotic plants affect food resources for
backyard birds." Although scientists have long recognized that the bird
communities in urban areas are usually different from natural areas, surprising
little research has been conducted to figure out why this occurs. Most urban
ecology has focused on the remaining forest in or near urban areas even though
suburban backyards also have the potential to provide suitable habitat for
wildlife. Backyards have many different types of plants that may, or may not,
be capable of providing important food items that promote local biodiversity.
Desiree Narango is a Ph.D. student of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the
University of Delaware and a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Migratory
Bird center. Her research interests focus on understanding how animals respond
and adapt to a rapidly changing world. She is also an active birder who really
enjoys increasing her yard list and getting others excited about the natural
world.
Early bird refreshments start at 7:30. Any contributions of food or beverage
will be most gratefully received.
David Farner
Arlington, Virginia
