The Lancaster County Bird Club (LCBC) will meet on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. at the North Museum of Nature and Science, 400 College Ave., Lancaster. The program will be "Ears in the Sky: Using Drones to Study Songbirds," presented by Andy Wilson of Gettysburg College and his undergraduate students.

Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, have now been widely used in ecology and environmental monitoring for several years. Wilson's research program with undergraduate students at Gettysburg College aims to develop methods for monitoring bird sounds by UAS. His research shows that drones can be a highly efficient way of counting songbirds and other vocal species, and they can be quickly deployed to places that are difficult to access.

Wilson has been a birder since age 9, encouraged by his parents and an elementary school teacher in his hometown of Sheffield, England. After working with the British Trust for Ornithology for 10 years, Wilson came to the U.S. to attend graduate school at Penn State University, where he earned a doctorate in ecology. He was data analyst and lead editor of the "Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania," and he chairs the steering committee for the third edition of the book. He also serves on the Maryland/District of Columbia Records Committee, and he is chair of the environmental studies department at Gettysburg College.

The program is free and open to the public. To learn more, call 717-856-3851 or 717-725-2717. Information about the LCBC is available at http://www.lancasterbirdclub.org, http://www.facebook.com/lancasterbirdclub, and http://www.instagram.com/lancasterbirdclub.