Our first speaker of the New Year will be Michael Mandracchia from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. For those of you who came to our June 2009 Club Meeting, you may remember that he was our featured guest and spoke about parrots and other wildlife in India.

Mr. Mandracchia is a 24-year employee of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, where he currently works in the Site Remediation Program’s Bureau of Industrial Site Remediation as a Site Remediation Technical Specialist. He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Manhattan College and a Master’s Degree in Ecology from Northeastern University. Mr.
Mandracchia has been leading birding trips in and around his home town of Jackson, NJ for the past 15 years. He also does birding talks for local libraries, scouting groups, schools and other organizations.

Mr. Mandracchia is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) and a past president of both the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals and his Local NJ Chapter. For his activities in this field, especially for his leading training efforts in Essentials of Hazardous Materials Management Course at NJDEP, he was named the 2001 Hazardous Materials Manager of the Year, and then was the 2004 recipient of the Special Achievements Award, and a five time recipient of the Champion of Excellence Award. In 2003, he also was named a Fellow of the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management.

At our upcoming meeting, Mr. Mandracchia will be speaking to us about the Ducks, Geese and Swans on the NJ State Bird List. Did you know that in its latest update, the Monk Parakeet (#239) was added to the list? Monk Parakeets are now established and have several breeding colonies in a few North Jersey areas. No longer are they considered to be just escaped birds and can be officially counted. We are excited to have Mr. Mandracchia return to The Real Macaw Parrot Club to speak to us about our local and NJ State birds!