On Saturday, November 12, from 1pm-3pm at the Fenimore Art Museum, Glimmerglass Film Days will be presenting The Messenger, a documentary about the alarming global impacts that our world is having on birds. Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society (DOAS) is proud to provide partial sponsorship for this presentation, made richer and more valuable by a Question/Answer period following the screening by ornithologist, Bill Evans.
Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society board members and volunteers having been reviewing the historic archives from the past 50 years and one of the things we have found is that DOAS has a rich history of sponsoring films in our region. Beginning in 1970 and continuing through at least 1988, the organization hosted Audubon Wildlife Films, a series of productions that focused on natural history, habitats and wildlife in the US. This well-attended film series was usually held during the winter months in January and February and were hosted at the SUNY Oneonta Campus.
In addition, we found the following related item in the October 1993 issue of The Belted Kingfisher:
“If you visit the sanctuary (referring to the DOAS Sanctuary on Grange Hall Road Spur) and see two large white pyramid shaped objects up there, don’t think aliens have paid a visit! They are two microphones put up as part of a research project by Bill Evans of Ithaca. Bill has six similar stations across the state where he records the sounds of night migrating songbirds in the fall. By listening to the recordings, he is able to identify most of the species and get an accurate count of the numbers passing over. This is a new technique but holds much promise for counting these migrants that previously passed by almost unnoticed.”
It was exciting to find that some of Bill’s research – the findings of which are featured in part of The Messenger – had taken place at the DOAS Sanctuary. We look forward to the film and to connecting once again with Bill Evans.
On Saturday morning, November 12, as part of the Glimmerglass Film Days, DOAS Board Directors Becky Gretton and Charlie Scheim will lead a guided bird walk on the grounds of the Fenimore Art Museum from 10:30 to 11:30am. Participants will meet on the back patio of the museum at 10:30. The Bird Walk is free and open to the public. Tickets to The Messenger are available online at http://www.glimmerglassfilmdays.org/films-events/the-messenger for $6, or at the door for $7.
