Howard County Bird Club

Photo and Video Galleries

Sometime in 2006, a group of us were sitting around and came up with the idea of a page on the Howard County Bird Club (HCBC) website featuring pictures of birds seen and photographed in Howard County. We knew digital cameras were becoming popular among our members and that some people probably had good bird photos taken in the county So we sent out an email to the club members who were active bird photographers, asking them to go through their photos and email some to the webmaster. The response was outstanding and led to the creation of the Birds Photo Gallery and inspiration for all of them. The galleries are not static, so if you are a member and have photos taken in Howard County that you want considered for inclusion, email them to the webmaster.

The bird gallery currently has photos taken in Howard County for most of the birds on the Howard County checklist. Amphibians & reptiles (herp) gallery) was designed and activated in early 2010, the first year of the Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas. The butterfly gallery was activated in November 2011, prompted by the success of the bird and herp photo galleries. With close-focus binoculars, birders found they could get an improved view of odonates and often see enough details to make an identification leading to an odonate gallery in 2012. Like the butterfly gallery, it included size and habitat information. In 2012, a fungi photo key became another part of the Howard County Bird Club’s natural history projects. Next were lichen and moss galleries, followed by a gallery of bees.

When the club began recording monthly meetings, they were posted on the club’s YouTube video channel.