Conservation – Page 2 – Conococheague Audubon

March 2025 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on March 5, 2025March 5, 2025Posted in Birds, Conservation, Monthly MessageTagged birds, films

It’s above 30 degrees. Can spring be far away?!

Eastern Bluebirds take advantage of nest boxes and our Bluebird Trail team is in charge of organizing volunteers to monitor at least two nest box trails – one on Penn National Golf Course and one at Caledonia State Park. You are invited to attend the opening presentation for the 2025 bluebird season on Saturday, March 8, at 9:30 AM in the Penn National Clubhouse, 3720 Clubhouse Drive, Fayetteville, PA. The keynote address will be presented by JOAN WATROBA from the Bluebird Society of Pennsylvania. Please contact one of the organizers to register for the event: Lynn & Dorian Runt 717-352-4995 or adamsmail@centurylink.net; John Fry 301-503-3646 or johnefryjr@yahoo.com; Ruth Barton 301-367-6968 or ruthbarton46@gmail.com.

An application for the $500 scholarship that Conococheague Audubon is offering this year is available on the Chambersburg Area Education Foundation website. Applications are due March 21, 2025. Qualified applicants include those CASD students who intend to pursue post-secondary studies in environmental conservation, ornithology, wildlife management, or a related field. We look forward to seeing applications. Please tell CASD seniors about the opportunity!

Buttonwood Nature Center near Waynesboro has invited us to set up a display table at their Earth Day event on April 26. The event will take place from 11-4 at Pine Hill Recreation Area. We seek volunteers; and we need to decide soon whether or not we have enough interest to say yes. Please contact Terri Kochert (terri.kochert81@gmail.com or 717-263-3692) ASAP if you are interested.

Field trip: Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area is mostly closed due to geese having been infected with Avian Influenza. The March 1 field trip is CANCELLED.

The last Nature Film of the season is Frogs: The Thin Green Line. Join us on Thursday, March 6 at 7 PM at Chambersburg Area Middle School South.

Budget requests for the June 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026 season are due to Donna Hocker ( dlhocker@yahoo.com ) by March 1.

A reminder that the April 14 annual business meeting will feature elections and reports from the year as well as a program, Radio-tracking Passerines in Early Successional Habitat, by Grace Muench. Plan to participate!

Volunteer needs:

Conservation Chair John Greer reminds us our highway clean-up day is March 8, 2025. This is part of PENNDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program. We have “adopted” 2 miles of PA-997 from I-81 west to Main Street, Scotland. It is easy walking on wide shoulders. Supplies are provided–including “grabbers” generously donated by Waste Connections so as to save our backs. We will meet at 9 a.m. at the Scotland Park & Ride, I-81 exit 20. Even if you are unable to pick up trash, we need a driver to shuttle supplies, and we need a pickup truck to carry filled bags. Please join us to help beautify PA! Action: Contact John to volunteer.
Bluebird Trail – see earlier paragraph above.
Greencastle-Antrim Middle School Trout Release, May 15. Val Barnes and Terri Kochert are volunteering to help out. Action: Additional volunteers? Contact Terri.
On April 26, 2025 Buttonwood is requesting CAS to have a display table to celebrate Earth Day. Action: Volunteers will be needed from 11 AM – 4 PM. Contact Terri.
June 14, 2025 Appalachian Trail Festival, Red Run Park, Waynesboro, PA from 9:00 – 3:00. Action: Volunteers? Contact Terri.
June 28, 2025 North Square Farmers Market, Chambersburg, PA from 8:00 – 12:00. (Just one time this summer.) Action: Volunteers? Contact Terri.
Beginning Birders’ Workshop on June 7 at Caledonia. Planning meetings at 6 PM before the March and April General Meetings. Contact Janet to volunteer.

September 2024 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on September 2, 2024September 2, 2024Posted in Conservation, Monthly Message, OutreachTagged donate

Summer is winding down and kids are already back in school. Can cool fall nights be far behind? We’re keeping our eyes peeled for those confusing fall warblers. My favorite is the Chestnut-sided Warbler, with its lime green back. What’s yours?

Let’s collect our thoughts about why we joined Audubon. Send an email to ConAudubon@outlook.com and we’ll publish them in the next Naturally. Maybe we can inspire each other to dedicate more time to our feathered friends and the environment.

Conservation Chair John Greer sends this message: Please Join Us! Come out on Sept. 28, 2024, to help clean up our section of Rt 997. We have adopted a two-mile section under PennDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program that runs from I-81 to Main Street in Scotland. Volunteers are needed to pick up trash on all or part of this section. Training and safety gear will be provided. Meet at the Park and Ride at the intersection of I-81 and Rt 997 at 9:00 a.m. For details, call John Greer at 443 255-8871 or email him at jngreer@aol.com. See you there!

If you would like to volunteer to help at one of our outreach events, please contact Terri Kochert at terri.kochert81@gmail.com or 717-264-3692.

If you haven’t already sent your donation to help CAS, it’s not too late. Please mail your check to CAS, PO Box 20, Fayetteville, PA 17222. Good birding!

July 2024 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on July 9, 2024July 9, 2024Posted in Birds, Conservation, Monthly MessageTagged birds, flowers

Summer is officially here and resident birds are breeding. If you see evidence of nesting, please eBird via the PA Atlas Portal so that your records are counted in the 3rd PA Bird Atlas Project.

The Norlo Park Native Plants Garden gang, under the expert guidance of Josh Donaldson, planned an event for Monday, July 15 at 9 AM. Josh invites you to come and learn about the plants, butterflies, bees, and birds that enjoy the garden. (Rain date is July 17 at 9 AM.) Bring a folding chair to use as you listen to the speakers. Josh reports that they saw the first Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar in the garden this spring!

Terri Kochert plans to set up a display table at the Chambersburg North Square Farmers’ Market the last Saturday in July, August, and September. Contact Terri to volunteer. If you are at the market to shop, please stop by and say hello.

Conservation Chair John Greer sends this reminder; SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, September 28, 2024. Please spend a couple hours helping us pick up trash along Route 997 as we kick off our participation in PENNDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program. Training and supplies will be provided. More details to follow. Help beautify our area and clean up the environment.

We’re finalizing the activities for the upcoming season; you’ll get an Activities List in the mail in August. I hope you have a good summer and see lots of good birds. Our next regular meeting will be Monday, September 9 at 7 PM, with Jeanne Verhulst sharing her birding tour of Eastern Australia. As always, please check our website to make sure an event’s plans are unchanged. Thank you for your continued participation and support.

May 2024 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on May 14, 2024May 14, 2024Posted in Conservation, Monthly Message, Outreach

Spring has sprung, the trees and many flowers have bloomed, the hummers and many other residents are back. Migration is underway; we’re happy!

Pennsylvania’s Third Bird Atlas (PBA3), a project of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, is a community science project documenting the distribution and abundance of the birds of Pennsylvania. The project launched on January 1, 2024 and will run through early 2029. Be sure to come to our May 13 meeting to hear all about this project and how you can participate, from Vern Gauthier.

Thanks to all who voted in our elections in April. All candidates were elected and amendments to our By-Laws were approved. Many thanks to outgoing directors John Greer, Sue Greer, and Linda Kaiser. Welcome to new directors John Carter, Larry Williams, and Sharon Williams. All officers were re-elected for another term, and committee chairs agreed to serve for another season. THANK YOU so much!

Budget planning for June 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025 is complete. Thanks to all who contributed to the effort.

Conservation Chair John Greer reports that on April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law the Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act. This bill reauthorizes the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, which the American Bird Conservancy reports is a successful federal grants program funding migratory bird research and habitat restoration throughout the Western Hemisphere supporting a remarkable 717 projects in 43 countries, with 400 migratory bird species benefiting from the funding.

Volunteer opportunities: . Unless stated otherwise, please contact Terri Kochert (717-263-3692 or terri.kochert81@gmail.com ) to sign up as a volunteer.

Monitor Bluebird Trail boxes. Contact Dorian/Lynn Runt, adamsmail@centurylink.net or 717-352-4995. Volunteers needed. For more info: Lynn & Dorian Runt (717-352-4995) or Ruth Barton (301-367-6968).
Clean up and help maintain the native plants garden at Norlo Park. Contact Josh Donaldson, jd425@embarqmail.com or 717-264-6920. Needed starting in spring.
Seventh grade students at Greencastle-Antrim Middle School participate in Pa’s Trout in the Classroom program and will be releasing fingerlings at Caledonia State Park on Thursday, May 16, 2024. Students will be in 10 groups (about 25 students per group) and will rotate to different stations every 20 minutes; 9 – 1:15 pm.
Master Gardener’s Plant Sale. Saturday, May 18 from 9-1. We will have a display table regarding native plants.
Appalachian Trail Festival at Red Run Park, Waynesboro, PA, Saturday, June 8. We will have a display table.
Farmers’ Market in downtown Chambersburg. Dates are June 29; July 27; August 31; and September 28. We will have a display table.

With spring, our activities kick into full gear. Please note the date change for Bill Oyler’s trip. Please contact the trip leader in advance to let him/her know you plan to attend. Note the Beginning Birders’ Workshop is on June 1; bring your friends, family, and neighbors!

News from the Region, February 6, 2024

By Valerie BarnesPosted on February 6, 2024February 6, 2024Posted in Conservation, News

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful

Registration is open for 2024 Pick Up Pennsylvania, an annual community improvement program. Pick Up Pennsylvania is a year-long initiative, however, events scheduled from March 1 through May 31 receive free trash bags, gloves, and safety vests provided by support from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, PennDOT and Keep America Beautiful, as supplies last. Events can include litter cleanups, illegal dump cleanups, community greening and beautification, special collections and education events. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association are sponsoring trash disposal, free of charge or at a reduced rate for registered program participants, at participating landfills from April 1 through April 30, with prior approval. Events must be registered at keeppabeautiful.org to receive free cleanup supplies and a reduced rate for trash disposal.