Thursday, September 7, 2023

September Events


September 16 Field Trip

Dune Harbor County Park

8:00 - Noon


Our field trip this month will be at the new Dune Harbor County Park (the old Nugent Sand Co. properties on the west side of Muskegon) on Saturday morning, September 16.  Originally we posted that we’d start at 8:00 at the park entrance on Lincoln Street south of Winnetaska Road (across from Southwood Ave.).  There will still be a club member there at 8:00 if that’s where you go.  But we’ll actually start at the parking lot on Seminole Road along the south side of the park.  We will look for birds on the path around the lake.  The trip will end around noon.  Hope to see you there!


September 19

First Meeting of the Season

5:30 - 6:15 p.m.


Our first of three business meetings this season will be at 5:30 p.m. on September 19 at the Loutit Library before Steve Hamburg's program.  We should know more details that day about the George Wickstrom project at the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center.  This will also be a good time to renew your membership dues ($20 per year).  All members are invited to attend.  


September 19 Program

Birding in Uganda

Steve Hamburg


The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Loutit District Library, 407 Columbus Ave. in Grand Haven.

Uganda in eastern Africa is a beautiful country with a diversity of habitats including forests, plains and rivers.  It is situated on the edge of Lake Victoria and is where the Nile River begins its long journey north toward Egypt.  Not only does the country have some of the last remaining populations of wild chimpanzees and gorillas, but it has a great variety of birdlife.  In 2021, Covid restrictions made it difficult to travel, but Uganda was one country that had not yet closed its borders to tourists.  Taking advantage of the opportunity, Steve was able to spend three weeks there, visiting several national parks and doing what he likes most, birding.

Steve Hamberg was born and raised in Holland, Michigan.  He graduated from Calvin University with a degree in Physics, then moved to Kansas where he received his PhD in Radiation Biophysics, and after that his MD degree, both from the University of Kansas.  In Miami, Florida, he did his residency in Internal Medicine with the University of Miami.  He next moved to Swaziland in southern Africa where he practiced as a missionary doctor for four years.  In 1990, he moved back to Holland and joined an Internal Medicine practice until the practice was acquired by Spectrum Hospital.  He continued as a physician with Spectrum, focusing mainly on care of nursing home residents until he retired in 2022.  Ever since in Africa, he has enjoyed international birding as a hobby.  To date, he has traveled to 90 countries and has seen over 7,500 species of birds worldwide.