At 6:30 p.m., on Wednesday, Oct. 8 the Chenango Bird Club will host a special presentation at the Rogers Environmental Education Visitor Center in Sherburne by Cin-Ty Lee, author of the Field Guide to North American Flycatchers: Kingbirds and Myiarchus. (Submitted photo)

SHERBURNE — The Chenango Bird Club invites all to meet and discuss the acoustic night skies and dark migration of birds at 6:30 p.m., October 8, in the Rogers Environmental Education Visitor Center, located at 2721 State Route 80 in Sherburne.

Chenango Bird Club Communications Chair Dan Pfeifer said a brief business meeting will proceed the main program presented by Texas geologist, avid birder, and author Cin-Ty Lee.

The program will share information regarding the dark migration of birds and results from five years of acoustic monitoring along the upper Texas coast.

Lee said the majority of migratory birds happens at night, this is called the invisible dark migration. Understanding their patterns is one way to assess how changes in land use and climate influence the natural environment.

He noted a series of near continuous acoustic monitoring stations have been established to analyze the nocturnal calls to build a record of flights over the night sky.

Lee will also discuss the decrease in populations of North American grassland birds and the conservation efforts needed for the large-scale unbiased monitoring of ecological health to verify their effectiveness on habitat destruction and modification.

Pfeifer pointed to information found on the app BirdCast. As of October 6, data shows 9,200 birds flew through Chenango County skies and about 66,950,900 birds have fully crossed over the region since the beginning of migration in late August.

“Fall is a great time to spot birds not normally found in the area,” said Pfeifer.

During the month of October, nocturnal migrants will include Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Phoebe, Common Yellowthroat, Lincoln's Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Northern House Wren, Eastern Towhee, and the Solitary Sandpiper.

Lee is the author of three guide books including Field Guide to North American Flycatchers: Kingbirds and Myiarchus, Field Guest to North American Flycatchers: Empidonax and Peewees, and Birdwatching in Riverside, California: Dedicated to Young Birders in the Riverside Area and Beyond.

Refreshments will be provided after the program.

To monitor migration, visit BirdCast live on Facebook or visit their website at BirdCast.info. The site shares the number of birds and species expected to migrate nightly.

Questions can be emailed to Club President Loretta Brady at lorettajbrady@gmail.com.