Sorry for the second notice - Please NOTE - Due to an unforeseen issue, Edward Burtt must move his talk for tomorrow evening to Nov 18. In his place, his student, Cody Kent will present. We are delighted Cody can step in and present tomorrow evening. Cody was our Nov 18th speaker. Thank you - Darlene "The Microbial Ecosystem in Avian Plumage" - Cody M. Kent. Burtt and Ichida first published research on feather-degrading bacilli on wild birds in 1999. Cody's work with Dr. Burtt is a continuation of this original research with, what has now become, a large data set including over 6,000 birds of 173 species. They have shown that these bacteria are common among all birds, occurring in 42.2% of individuals. In fact, they found these bacilli in all species for which they sampled more than four birds. However, there is still variation in the amount of these bacilli by both species and topography. They have explained some of the variation by foraging strategy. Additionally, they have shown a strong correlation between the presence of these bacteria and the amount of wear on feathers. The frequent and variable occurrence of feather-degrading bacilli suggests that they play a significant role in the deterioration of feathers and may act as a selective force on color, behavior, and molt in a wide range of taxa. To increase understanding of these bacteria, they currently are studying a captive flock of European Starlings. They are regularly monitoring their bacteria loads and hope to understand what role preening and other factors may have in the amount of bacteria birds carry. Cody was introduced to birding by his grandmother sometime before second grade and has been birding ever since. After taking the Ohio Birds project in 4-H in third grade, he started keeping a life list. Since that time his interests in nature have widened, but birds are still his central focus. He has participated in the last eight Audubon Christmas Bird Counts in either Crawford or Delaware County. At Ohio Wesleyan he worked as the lab assistant for the Ornithology class. He intends to go to graduate school to become a Zoology Professor, which will allow him to both teach about and study birds. -----Original Message----- From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Darlene Sillick Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2013 7:42 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Sept 23 Delaware County Bird Club - Speaker change for Monday We are excited to begin a new season for Delaware County Bird Club programs and guests are most certainly welcome to listen to our presenters and meet other area birders. Discussions are lively and laughter plentiful. We hope you will join us this coming Monday. We have a newsletter that is chock full of information and if you would like to read it in its entirety please email me privately. Our newsletter editor Christina Voise has done a terrific job as she moves into year two with us and she has help from club reporters Jed Burtt, Darlene Sillick, Dick Tuttle, Charlie Bombaci. Best Darlene Sillick DCBC program chair Welcome to another season of Delaware County Bird Club programs. The Delaware County Bird Club meetings and program presentations take place on the fourth Monday of each month, September through April, except in November and December when, this year, they are held earlier in the month to allow for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Please join us in the City of Delaware at the Ohio Wesleyan University, Schimmel-Conrades Science Center, Room 163. Conversation and refreshments begin at 7:00 PM; the meetings and programs start at 7:30 PM. Parking is available next to the Selby Stadium on the east side of Henry Street and in the lot south of the Science Center next to Branch Rickey Arena. October 28th: "Ornithophilous Plants" - Bob Harter, Delaware County resident Native plant expert Bob Harter will discuss a dozen plants that will attract nectar-loving hummingbirds to your garden. NOTE - Moved to Sept 23: "The Microbial Ecosystem in Avian Plumage" - Cody M. Kent - OWU student and works as the lab assistant for the Ornithology class MOVED to Nov 18 instead of September 23rd : "High, Low and Charming in the Chiricahuas" - Dr. Jed Burtt, Dr. Cincinnati Conference Professor of Zoology, Ohio Wesleyan University. HIGH, LOW AND CHARMING IN THE CHIRICAHUAS Jed Burtt ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]