Conococheague Audubon Society

PO Box 20, Fayetteville, PA 17222

ConAudubon@outlook.com

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Conococheague Audubon

Conservation

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February 2023 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Birds, Conservation, How to Get Involved, Monthly Message, OutreachTagged

Winter is here, but I’m glad we haven’t had much snow to deal with (yet). Not many birds are coming to feeders at my house. Sometimes there’s a Sharp-shinned Hawk hanging around, but I can’t always attribute the paucity of birds to that.

Coming up soon: You can count birds anywhere for the Great Backyard Bird Count! The 26th annual GBBC will be held Friday, February 17, through Monday, February 20, 2023. Please visit the official website at birdcount.org for more information. Anyone can count anywhere for as little as 15 minutes, or as long as you wish. Keep separate lists for each location on each day that you bird. Report results via eBird. The Great Backyard Bird Count is an inter-organizational effort between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada.

Volunteer opportunities:

  • Monitor Bluebird Trail boxes. Contact Dorian/Lynn Runt, adamsmail@centurylink.net or 717-352-4995.
  • Clean up and help maintain the native plants garden at Norlo Park. Contact Josh Donaldson, jd425@embarqmail.com or 717-264-6920.
  • We are looking for help at a new Bird Day event being planned by the Franklin County Visitors Bureau for 4 May. Contact Terri Kochert, bobterri81@comcast.net or 717-263-3692.
  • We need 2 new Directors to serve a 3-year term starting in May. Contact Ron George, Eric Martin, or Terri Kochert.
  • Plant trees at the new Furnace Run Park in Southampton Township ~April 14-16. 

Thanks to all who have made a donation to keep Conococheague Audubon alive. It’s never too late to mail a check to CAS at PO Box 20, Fayetteville, PA 17222.

The Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO) would be happy to have you as a member. They publish a periodic report about birds seen in the state, sponsor the PA Bird Atlas projects, hold meetings, and conduct field trips. To learn more about PSO, visit pabirds.org. To join, visit this link: Join PSO.

July 2022 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Birds, Conservation, How to Get Involved, Monthly Message, OutreachTagged ,

Dear Conococheague Auduboners and friends – 

Some Scarlet Tanagers are still singing, and the House Wrens seem to be feeding whoever is in the nest box. Summer is definitely here! 

Terri Kochert has graciously agreed to be our Outreach coordinator. (I hope her arm isn’t too sore after the twisting I gave it.) She has been involved in most of our outreach activities for the past few years, and, like Debby Hook, really enjoys engaging with the public about birds and Audubon. Please offer her your support by volunteering to help at such events. Or, help in advance by preparing materials for display. Bottom line: we need your help! 

In that vein, there are three more Chambersburg Farmers’ Market Saturdays for us this summer: July 23, August 27, and September 24. The time is brief for each day, just 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. It’s a great way to spend part of a Saturday morning, and you can visit the rest of the market booths while you are there. Corn should be available starting this week. J Please contact Terri (717-263-3692) if you want to help.  

We are on hiatus as far as meetings and field trips go. Our next meeting will be on September 12th and the next field trip is September 10th. We will be posting the schedule later this summer and sending you the new Activities List in August. We are still looking for someone to contact local media outlets with Publicity about our activities. Most of this happens through Facebook these days. So, if you are familiar with Facebook, please step up, or we won’t have as much engagement with the community. Contact me (Val Barnes) at conaudubon@outlook.com or 717-352-4397 to learn more. 

To celebrate the joy birds bring to our lives, National Audubon released Volume II of For the Birds: The Birdsong Project, produced by Grammy Award-winning music supervisor Randall Poster. In collaboration with some of the world’s greatest musicians, artists, and actors, the collection features all-new tracks by artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Elvis Costello, Very Nice Person, Hania Rani, The Flaming Lips, Michael Uzowuru, Mary Lattimore, Matthew McConaughey, Inara George and Van Dyke Parks, Jeff Goldblum, Stephin Merritt, and many more. Listen now at https://www.audubon.org/birdsong-project

According to a press release from Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources: On June 17, 2022, “leaders from seven state agencies today highlighted the importance of protecting native species, which are critical to protecting our natural resources, at a stream restoration site at Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission headquarters. Governor Tom Wolf has proclaimed the first Pennsylvania Native Species Day.”  

“Pennsylvania has 2.2 million acres of state forests, millions of acres of state park and game lands, and private forestlands that must be protected from invasive species,” DCNR Assistant State Forester Matt Keefer said. “Protecting our native plants and forests is critical to keeping Pennsylvania landscapes beautiful and productive for future generations.” 

Conococheague Audubon promotes native plants through the Norlo Park garden we established and maintain. Check it out, and contact Josh Donaldson (717-264-6920) if you want to help pull weeds or plant natives in the garden. You might also consider planting more natives on your own property. They are easier to maintain than non-natives, and benefit birds and other species as well. 

Here’s hoping you have a safe and happy Fourth of July. Stay cool and may you see lots of good birds. 

  Val Barnes, President 

June 2022 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Conservation, How to Get Involved, Monthly Message, Outreach

Dear Conococheague Auduboners and Friends – 

Let’s all give heartfelt thanks to outgoing president, Terri Kochert. She navigated our organization through the COVID-19 pandemic with grace, patience, and creativity. She made sure we held as many activities as we safely could, and we all learned about new technologies along the way. Thank you, Terri! Many thanks, too, to Debby Hook, who was extremely active as Immediate Past President and Education – Outreach chair. 

What is Conococheague Audubon Society and why do we exist? The local Conococheague Audubon Society was organized in 1961 as the Conococheague Naturalists. Anyone joining the National Audubon Society in our general area automatically becomes a member of the Conococheague Audubon Society (CAS). We are a family-friendly group with over 300 members primarily from Franklin, Cumberland and Fulton Counties. We have an active membership of 40-70 people who attend meetings regularly and support our activities. We are supported by donations and a small dues-sharing income from the National Audubon Society.  

Our mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems focusing on birds, wildlife in general, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. Our goals are to promote the conservation of wildlife and the natural environment and encourage interest in the study of nature; to provide the opportunity for study and observation of birds, other wildlife, and plants; to contribute to research in the fields of conservation and ornithology by monetary support and/or active participation; and to educate the public on the need to protect wild birds and animals, trees and plants, soil, air and water and promote a better public understanding of these natural resources. 

We end this season with two critical committee vacancies: Education – Outreach and Publicity. We cannot accomplish our mission and goals without someone in each position. Some long-term members look at me and wonder why I am president – again. I stepped forward because no one else would. Won’t you please step forward now and help? In the May Naturally, Debby Hook described the Education – Outreach position. The Publicity chair shares information about our activities with local media. Please contact me about helping. 

As we wind down for this season, we still have a few great activities planned. Please call the leader in advance and be at the meeting place a few minutes early. 

  • June 4, Saturday, BEGINNING BIRDERS’ WORKSHOP. 7:45-noon. Meet at Visitors’ Center in Caledonia State Park, Fayetteville; park in first parking lot beyond Visitors’ Center. Bring binoculars; a few pairs available for loan. Pre-register with Dave Cooney, 717-264-2116 or Janet Tice, 717-372-0379. We still have openings available. Come to participate or to help as a Birding Buddy.
  • June 11, Saturday, FIELD TRIP. 7:00 AM – 1 PM. South Mountain/ Caledonia/ Michaux Important Bird Area for SPRING MIGRANTS. Bring scopes and binoculars Meeting place: Caledonia State Park. Leave from second parking lot beyond Visitors’ Center in Caledonia State Park. Eric and Rhetta Martin, 717-597-8675. We often see/hear birds that breed in higher elevations locally.
  • June 17-20, Friday-Monday, CONSERVATION COUNT. Breeding Bird Blitz Conservation Count and fundraiser organized by Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO). All day for 1-4 days, Join a team for fundraising opportunities, and/or sponsor one or more teams. PSO will select the organizations that will benefit. See www.breedingbirdblitz.org for info. Vern Gauthier, 717-385-9526. 
  • June 18, Saturday, FIELD TRIP. 7:30 AM – 9:30 AM. Easy walk on Chambersburg section of Cumberland Valley Rail Trail, with extra help for beginning birders. Bring binoculars and field guide. Location: Meet at Big Lots parking lot next to Washington Street to walk along Chambersburg section of Cumberland Valley Rail-Trail. Debby Hook, 717-372-0228. 

Please check our website for updates:    www.ConococheagueAudubon.org 

To date, Conococheague Audubon Society members have donated more than $5,000 for the Community Cloud Forest Conservation (CCFC) in central Guatemala to support their capital campaign to purchase 390 acres on which the center is built. If you plan to make a donation, you may write out a check to “Conococheague Audubon Society” and send it to:  Conococheague Audubon, PO Box 20, Fayetteville, PA 17222. Please indicate “CCFC donation” in the memo area of your check. We will accept donations until July 1, 2022. 

National Audubon is sponsoring “For the Birds: The Birdsong Project”. It is a historic outpouring of creativity by more than 200 artists to celebrate the music and joy that birds bring into our lives—and to raise awareness about the need to protect them. Listen today and all proceeds will benefit @National Audubon Society: https://www.audubon.org/birdsong-project. 

May you enjoy the songs and gorgeous plumages of our feathered friends, both those who are just passing through and those who are nesting locally. Good birding! 

  Valerie Barnes, President 

  Contact me at ConAudubon@outlook.com 

May 2022 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Birds, Conservation, How to Get Involved, Monthly Message, ZoomTagged ,

Hello Fellow Nature Lovers, 

Migration is upon us! There have been sightings of a few warblers already. Bob Keener had a Black and White Warbler, John Greer had a Yellow Warbler.  We saw Wilson’s Snipe and Purple Martins off Wenger Road. We had our first Hummingbird on April 25. At Larry Lehman’s we saw a Yellow and Palm Warblers, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole, Gray Catbird, and Green Heron on April 26. Larry also has nesting House Wrens. On April 29 we had a Black-throated Green Warbler on Stillhouse Hollow Road and an Indigo Bunting at our feeder! It’s so wonderful all these signs of new life!   

Announcement from our PA urban centers: 

“The first season of the annual Lights Out Harrisburg program began April 1 at the start of peak spring migration and runs through May 31 when most winged migrants will have passed through Harrisburg. In the fall, Lights Out Harrisburg and peak migration will occur between Aug. 15 and Nov. 15 as birds travel south. Although the request is for lights out during these peak migration periods, light pollution is something to consider all year for Pennsylvania’s resident birds. 

Harrisburg joins Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and more than 30 other cities nationwide, with Lights Out programs. The National Audubon Society, along with partners, established the first Lights Out program in 1999 in Chicago.” 

By Christina Novak ra-dcnrpress@pa.gov <ra-dcnrpress@pa.gov 

Interested in serving as a wildlife mentor? 

The Wildlife Leadership Academy is seeking interested adults to be volunteer mentors wildlife/fisheries focused summer field schools.  Adult mentors learn alongside Academy students, serving as the primary mentors for the participating youth throughout the 5-day residential summer field schools.  Positions are available at each of the 2022 field schools, which will focus on white-tailed deer, bass, brook trout, turkey, and bear. (Five different weeks volunteer mentors are needed. June 13-Aug 6, 2022.) 

Interested in becoming a mentor for Wildlife Leadership Academy?  Apply online today at www.wildlifeleadershipacademy.org/adult-mentor-application 

Upcoming and ongoing events here at Conococheague Audubon:  

Our newly revised Bluebird Trail at Penn National under the direction of Lynn and Dorian Runt, plus many volunteers, have seen plenty of action.  They have recorded thus far five bluebird nests with 4-5 bluebird eggs each.  If you want to help, please call 717-352-3995. 

Please consider participating in one of our many activities.  You will be glad you did! 

May 5, Thursday FIELD TRIP

6:30 AM Path Valley for SPRING MIGRANTS. Leave from Keener’s home, 5207 Heisey Road. Bring scopes, binoculars, and lunch. Bob Keener, 717-532-9723 or 717-658-8765.

May 6, Friday      FIELD TRIP   

6:00 PM Lehman property for SPRING MIGRANTS. Meet at 750 Tallow Hill Road, Chambersburg, to walk around a pond, meadows and woods.  Larry Lehman, 717-263-7203.

May 9, Monday   MEETING

7:00 PM Is Sustainability Impossible or Inevitable? by James P. Hamilton. Arranged by Ron George.

May 14, Saturday                 FIELD TRIP

7:00 AM Little Cove for SPRING MIGRANTS.  Meet at the entrance of Buchanan’s Birthplace State Park. Bring lunch and binoculars.  Valerie Barnes, 717-352-4397or Donna Hocker, 717-491-2171.

May 14, Saturday                 WORK DAY

9:30 AM Work at NORLO PARK native garden. Bring garden tools and gloves. Josh Donaldson, 717-264-6920.

May 16-18, Mon.-Wed.     FIELD TRIP

Trip to Magee Marsh, Ohio, for WARBLER MIGRANTS. Bring scopes, binoculars, and lunch.  Make own hotel arrangements.  Sign up by Feb. 27.  Bob and Terri Kochert, 717-263-3692.

May 21, Saturday      FIELD TRIP

5:30 PM Edenville area for WHIP-POOR-WILLS and BOBOLINKS.  Leave from Sunnyway Foods parking lot, 49 Warm Spring Road, Chambersburg.  Bring scopes and binoculars.  Eric and Rhetta Martin, 717-597-8675.

June 4, Saturday, 7:45 AM     BEGINNING BIRDERS’ WORKSHOP. Meet at Visitors’ Center in Caledonia State Park, Fayetteville; park in first parking lot beyond Visitors’ Center. Bring binoculars; a few pairs available for loan. Pre-register with Dave Cooney, 717-264-2116 or Janet Tice jwtice1@comcast.net, 717-372-0379.  (This is such a great bonding and learning opportunity for parents and children and/or grandparents and grandkids.  It will be great fun for all!  Why not check it out?) 

As I step in to my new role as Immediate Past President (IPP) of CAS, I want to say a huge “Thank You” to the MANY people who helped me along the way.  The list goes beyond the following list, but I especially want to thank Debby Hook (my IPP)for her tremendous guidance and assistance.  I thank Val Barnes for her computer skills getting the Zoom meetings up and running during these past two years of Covid and her gracious patience through it all. I also want to thank Donna Hocker, Treasurer, and Rhetta Martin, Recording Secretary, for their patience and wise advice along the way.  I was surrounded by a kind and helpful team of board of directors.  Thank you all for all your help! 

As I step down as president, CAS will continue running smoothly with Val Barnes as your next CAS President.  I wish Val, Lisa and the rest of the team another two fabulous years of continued success! 

Continue looking up and keep birding! 

Terri Kochert

April 2022 From the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Conservation, How to Get Involved, Monthly Message, OutreachTagged

Hello Fellow Nature Lovers, 

Spring has sprung! My daffodils are in bloom. Crocuses and forsythia are blooming too! Hyacinthe are peeking through. There’s been much more ant and bug activity. And bird activity too! The American Kestrels are searching for nesting spots and also the Eastern Bluebirds. 

I trust you all received my unique email on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 recounting to you about the tremendous opportunity to participate in the Community Cloud Forest Conservation (CCFC) capital campaign to purchase and set aside land in Guatemala for reforestation purposes preserving our wintering birds and the area’s 15 endemic species. You may donate until July 1, 2022. Let’s make it a challenge to see how many acres we can set aside for our feathered friends and other wildlife there. You may wish to entertain an RMD contribution too

Announcements:     

  • April 11, Monday MEETING, 7:00 PM. Importance of Healthy Wetlands by Eileen Shader, Penn State. Arranged by Terri Kochert. Annual business meeting and elections. All chapter members welcome. 
  • April 14, Thursday FILM, 7:30 PM. In Search of the Jaguar. (National Geographic)  Narrated by Glenn Close, an amazing story of a boy with a speech impediment that led him to a life-long passion for jaguars and their preservation. Door prizes.  
  • April 16, Saturday WORK DAY, 9:30 AM Work at NORLO PARK native garden. Bring garden tools and gloves. Josh Donaldson, 717-264-6920. 
  • April 23, Saturday FIELD TRIP, 8:00 AM. C&O Canal. BIRDING and HISTORY. Walk along the canal. Bring binoculars and lunch. Meet at Big Slackwater Boat Ramp parking lot, Sharpsburg, MD. Jim Hardy, 717-404-8989. 
  • April 30, Saturday WORK DAY, 9:30 AM. Work at NORLO PARK native garden. Bring garden tools and gloves. Josh Donaldson, 717-264-6920. 
  • May 16 – May 18, Monday – Wednesday, FIELD TRIP. Magee Marsh, Ohio Field Trip. Please note the date change from the current Activities List. It is now scheduled for Monday May 16 through Wednesday May 18, 2022. Since you are responsible for your own hotel expenses, please contact Bob and Terri Kochert for the hotel name and location. Please email us at bobterri81@comcast.net or call 717-263-3692 before April 4 if interested in attending.  

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful reminds us to remove litter from any public shared place, including the state’s 80 Important Bird Areas that encompass more than 2 million acres of public and private lands. Though you could have registered in January, now you may begin April 1-April 30. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful partners with the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) and Penn DOT to supply free trash bags, gloves and safety vests to registered participants as supplies last. Join thousands of Pennsylvanians for Pick UP Pennsylvania and help “make a difference” to keep Pennsylvania’s Important Bird Areas clean for our feathered friends. 

If any of you are interested in volunteering for the Penn National Bluebird Trail, please contact Lynn and Dorian Runt at therunts@centurylink.net or call (717-352-4995).  

We are busy planning an events outreach at the Conococheague Institute on May 28, 2022. We need an E-Z up, or mobile/portable awning. Does anyone own one that we could borrow for the event? Does anyone have one they would like to donate to CAS for other such Educational Outreaches? Let me know by responding to ConAudubon@outlook.com with the subject:  Awning. Thank you in advance.  

I wish you all a wonderful Spring and blessed Easter. I hope to see many of you either in person or via Zoom on April 11, 2022 at St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church. 

Terri Kochert 

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