Rotary Rounds May 3, 2017

Posted by Dean Monke

Lori Larson staffed the registration desk.  Dean Monke greeted us.  Ben Durbin gave our invocation.  Josh Hegum led us in song and we dived into a couple children’s numbers that maybe have not been sung for a while!   Like Three Blind Mice and Old McDonald??  And our own Katie Johnson was at the podium.

Lori Larson staffed the registration desk.  Dean Monke greeted us.  Ben Durbin gave our invocation.  Josh Hegum led us in song and we dived into a couple children’s numbers that maybe have not been sung for a while!   Like Three Blind Mice and Old McDonald??  And our own Katie Johnson was at the podium.

 

Guests at Rotary included Ms. Sara Casey and Emily Sivertson as guests of Bonnie Denzel and we hope looking into the possibility of joining.  Also in attendance was Mrs. Mary Phillipe as a guest to Rotary as she was present to receive a donation from our Club.  We had the chance to donate $520 dollars which will support 20 children in OTC for 5 years in the Imagination Library.

 

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK:  Included Sean McGuirie and Thomas Martinson from Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.  Sean is a senior that was representing baseball and Thomas is also a senior and was representing the track and field team.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:  Josh gave us a little reminder about our upcoming Rotary Golf Tournament that is scheduled for June 15th.  Lori Larson reported that 14 Rotarians were present for the Membership Committee meeting last Monday night.  The preliminary focus is to take a close look at retention of our current members and then move into recruitment.  Please remember the scheduled Fireside Chat that will be at the home of Bob and Lois on Wednesday, May 10th from 5:15 to 6:15 pm.

ROTARY MINUTE:  Bob Russell shared a little about the need for Round Writers and a reminder about the search for Rotary Foreign Exchange host families.  He also gave us an update on the donations that have been made by our club and further assistance from the Rotary District or Foundation.  Our club has contributed $1,260 to the Chad Water Project, along with $1,625 to the Fergus Falls High School Modern Manufacturing Lab, over $2,000 dollars to the Community Garden, and we are scheduled to contribute $5,000 to the Library Project.  All of these projects are matched with other funds for a grand total of over $69,000 dollars to these four causes.  Great Work Rotarians!!

PROGRAM:  Mr. Steve Millard was introduced by Mr. Buzz Lundeen.  It is such an interesting program when we are able to have Steve join us.  He is for sure one of the top birders in OTC and more likely the State of MN.  He has well over 40 years of experience and can for the most part hear the bird and identify it before he even has a chance to see it.  Just in OTC alone he has documented 296 different varieties and he is looking for that magic 300!  In his own backyard he has a list that tops 176 and he has recently seen some trends that he hopes will continue to offer the chance for more species to become more prevalent in the Fergus Falls area.
 

Steve told us that what birds really need is outstanding habitat and diversity.  This diversity comes in the form of seasons, water, and feed.  Some of the species that he mentioned that appear to be on the increase in our area would include the Trumpeter Swan.  They might need a season on these giants if their numbers keep going in the right direction.  He also mentioned that Cardinals are so much more prevalent that say 20 years ago.  The Red Belly Woodpecker is seen more often these days and nobody can believe how many Bald Eagles we get to see these days just about anywhere.  AND I can say for certain that we have more Turkey Vultures in the area because they just happen to be roosting in my own backyard!!

The main area of concern that he brought up is the lack of Prairie Birds of all varieties that are seen these days and of course this can be attributed to the loss of prairie ground across the entire area.  Knowing Steve we can just about guarantee that he will get those last four bird sightings in the next year of so.  Mainly because he knows so many people that give him a call the minute they see some new and exciting bird in the area.  It will probably come with a few birds that have strayed into the area with the change in temperature and climate that we are experiencing now and in the years to come.  Thanks again Steve for a fantastic naturalist program that we always find interesting!