March General Meeting
Thursday March 21st 7:00 PM @ Hal Holmes
A “BIG NATURAL YEAR” IN WILD AMERICA
In 1953, the famous ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson invited his British colleague James Fisher on a 3-month natural history tour of North America. They recounted this journey in Wild America, a book which takes the reader on a wonderful armchair excursion of our continent’s natural places. Though not a stated goal, theirs was an early “Big Year” in the parlance of birders. They amassed a list of over 580 species of birds.
Since this book was published about 70 years ago, it has inspired countless naturalists and birders to learn about and visit the same stupendous natural areas.
Andy and Ellen Stepniewski live in Yakima and are well-known there for their work and participation in all things birds and nature. They are life-long naturalists with a love for travel, natural environments, and birds.
Join us for this presentation at Hal Holmes at 7 PM on the first day of Spring, March 21st. This is an in-person program, and all interested are invited to attend. Refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there.
In 2022, Andy and Ellen undertook a visit to many of the areas Peterson and Fisher chronicled on their trip. In this presentation, they will share their travels to a good number of these areas and their flora and fauna, and especially the birds they observed. Peterson and Fisher’s circuit of North America was limited to three months, but Andy and Ellen took a year, and so were able to take their time to more thoroughly visit and explore North America’s varied environments during their “prime time.” During that year, they tallied more than 700 species of birds, testament to a vastly improved road system and knowledge of “where the birds are” as compared to 70 years ago.