Lisa Kruppa has arranged for the special photography session with the Raptor Conservancy (http://www.raptorsva.org/).  The Raptor Conservancy is a non-profit organization dedicated to:

• Rehabilitation and release of injured, ill or orphaned native VA birds of prey (raptors);
• Education of the public about raptors and preservation of their habitat; and,
• Endeavoring to increase the wild population of endangered and threatened raptors.

The date for the session will be Saturday, May 10, 2014. The Conservancy will be obtaining permits for a local park in Virginia. Exact location is yet to be determined; it will be within a 30-minute drive of DC.

There will be two one hour sessions, 11 am and noon. Each session will have two 30 minutes sessions with an owl and hawk/falcon; a total of 4 different raptors over the one hour time frame.

The suggested minimum donation for each session one hour session is $30. All donations will go directly to the Conservancy to support their rehabilitation and conservation efforts.

Participation is limited. If you would like to reserve a time slot please contact Lisa Kruppa –

Please specify the time slot as 11 am, Noon, or both.

Greg Holden will lead a field trip to the B&O railroad museum in Baltimore (www.borail.org) on Saturday March 1 starting at 10 am (when museum opens). The museum features an outside display of train engines, a restored roundhouse full of trains and cars and a workhouse. A special Civil War exhibit is going on right now featuring locomotives and railcars that served during the war. Museum is located at 901 West Pratt Street, Baltimore 21223 and has its own parking lot. The museum is open until 4 pm. Entrance fee is $16. Meet in the parking lot at 10am. Note that “Wheeled Vehicles” is our club competition topic for our March meeting.

Our 3rd Casual Camera Chatter meet will be Saturday, January 25, 2014 for our Area 3 – Rockville, zip code 20850-20855, but of course all members are invited to these chats. It will be hosted by Leonor Guillen. She has chosen to have this meet at “le Madeleine” at 11858 Rockville Pike at 10:30 a.m. We do ask you to let us know if you plan to attend, please email Leonor at Leoguillen@verizon.net or Linda at linstadt@aol.com by January 23. A reminder will be sent out in January.