Host:
Anne Arundel Bird Club
Contact Pamela Kellett at 443-534-6938 or coordinator@marylandbirds.org.
Description:
Gerald Winegrad will present details of his and Carol’s High Arctic expedition around the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, where about 60% of the land mass covered is by glaciers. They made it through the ice to within 560 miles of the North Pole on board the MV Hondius. Carol’s photos include Polar bears, walrus, Arctic fox, Svalbard reindeer, Barnacle, Pink-footed and Graylag Geese, King and Common Eiders, Arctic Terns, Parasitic and Long-tailed Jaegers, Dovekie, Atlantic Puffins, Black Guillemots, Thick-billed and Common Murres, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Northern Fulmars, Glaucous Gulls, and from Oslo, Great-crested Grebe and the Eurasian Coot.
The high cliffs of Svalbard are inhabited by tens of thousands of breeding seabirds with more than 10,000 Thick-billed Murres. Also sighted was the rare bowhead whale as well as beluga, humpback, minke, and fin whales. Bearded, harbor, and ringed seals also were seen. Even in the harsh Arctic environment, wildflowers were flourishing in August.
Gerald’s love of wildlife led him to 50 years of experience in environmental and wildlife advocacy. He served with distinction in the Maryland Legislature for 16 years, the last 12 as a State Senator. He was called the “Environmental Conscience” of the Senate by the Washington Post. Gerald served as vice president of the Anne Arundel Bird Club for nine years which gave him the opportunity to bring prominent speakers to 72 club meetings. He also planned and led birding trips.
Gerald served in the U.S. Navy in the Judge Advocate General’s Corp during the Vietnam War, was promoted to serve as a full-time Military Judge, and achieved the rank of Commander. He received the McDaniel College Alumni of the Year Award in October.
Admission is free, but donations are gladly accepted.
