Birds – Page 7 – Conococheague Audubon

March 2022 From the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on March 2, 2022March 4, 2022Posted in Birds, Conservation, Monthly Message, Outreach, Zoom

Hello Fellow Nature Lovers,

There are many Conococheague Audubon events coming up in the near future. So, let’s get right to it.

March 5, Saturday FIELD TRIP. 6:30 AM Middle Creek WMA, Lancaster County auto tour for WATERFOWL. Meet at the Park & Ride, Scotland, Exit 20, I-81 northbound. Bring scopes, binoculars, and lunch. Contact Eric and Rhetta Martin, 717–597-8675.

March 8, Tuesday FIELD TRIP NEW DATE. This is a deviation from the Activities List. It’s supposed to rain Monday, March 7, in the afternoon, evening. On Tuesday, March 8, it’s to rain in the AM, but be cloudy in the afternoon. 5:45 PM Tentative outing for WOODCOCKS at Heisey Road orchard. Meet at the Park & Ride, Scotland, Exit 20, I-81 northbound. Bring flashlights. Contact Bob Kochert, 717-263-3692.

March 14, Monday MEETING/HYBRID. 7:00 PM Forest-Bird Restoration by Ron Rohrbaugh, Director, Conservation Science and Forest Programs, Audubon Mid-Atlantic . Arranged by Terri Kochert. The speaker will give the presentation from a remote location via Zoom. Come to St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church or view from home.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7211203928?pwd=RXNwMjZpQVNvSHJGRld3cWZFQjJiZz09

Meeting ID: 721 120 3928 Passcode: cardinal20

I am excited to report that we are resuming the showing of our FREE nature films, beginning 7:30 PM, Thursday, March 24, 2022 at Living Faith Chapel, 8770 Possum Hollow Road, Shippensburg, PA. Film is: Last Stand of the Great Bear. (National Geographic) Great Bear rainforest of British Columbia. Brown, black, “spirit” bears, wolves, and salmon fishing. Doors will open at 7:00 PM. There will be free door prizes too.

Election News: The April election of CAS officers and directors will take place between March 14 and our April 11, 2022 meeting. I will be sending you the ballot via an extra email this month for the express purpose of voting for the listed nominees. Though voting will take place at the Annual Business meeting, April 11, 2022, CAS will also accept voting by proxy, by email, or other electronic means if you are not able to physically attend our meeting. Thus, you may vote early via email or by phone. We’ll appreciate receiving your vote as early as possible. There is a quota of votes needed to validate the election. Please vote immediately when you receive the ballot

Magee Marsh May Field Trip Date Change: Although May seems to be distant from today’s date, I need to bring another schedule change to your attention. In our CAS Activities List we have advertised a trip to Magee Marsh May 2-4. This will need to be changed. Though the Biggest Week in Birding WILL take place this year (after two years of cancellations due to Covid), it is scheduled for May 6-15, 2022. CAS has its final 2021-2022 season meeting on May 9, 2022. So, the CAS Magee Marsh trip will be scheduled for Monday, May 16-Wednesday May 18, 2022. More information about this trip will follow next month.

Calling All Photographers: If you enjoy taking photographs, please send your best bird photos to National Audubon for be selected for their best bird photos.

CAS needs your help: I am putting out a plea for anyone interested in helping for an Earth Day Outreach on Saturday, April 23, 2022 from 10 AM to 2 PM in downtown Chambersburg. Contact me as soon as you can to offer your assistance.

Everglades Info: With Dave Graff’s excellent Florida exposé of the beauty and fragility of the Everglades, I thought I would include a few articles from Audubon Florida about some of the Florida projects to revive the Everglades and the species found there.

“Wandering Spoonbills Tell Us What We Need to Protect the Everglades,” by Chad Witko. Jerry Lorenz of Audubon Florida tracked this species to shed light on how the iconic “River of Grass” is changing, for better or worse.

“12,000-acre Everglades Restoration Project Complete,” by Kelly Cox. The C-44 canal was first dredged in 1923 to divert flood water from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie estuary. It has taken decades and millions of dollars of funds to restore the C-44 area.

Good birding to you all as the weather breaks and Spring arrives!

Terri Kochert

December 2021 From the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on December 5, 2021December 17, 2021Posted in Birds, Monthly Message, Zoom

Christmas Greetings to all you Fellow Nature Lovers,

December is here; the end of the year is fast approaching! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are now gearing up for the joyous Christmas season.

The Franklin County Visitors Bureau is currently conducting their Festival of Trees with many decorated trees, wreaths, and swags by local businesses and organizations such as our very own Conococheague Audubon Society. Thanks to Val Barnes, Marguerite Fries, and Debby Hook, we have a “bird seed packet” wreath and swag available for bids at the Visitors Bureau. You place your vote for the “best” item by paying $1, which corresponds to four votes. Silent auction bids can be placed in person, via phone at 866-646-8060 or by emailing fcvbfestivaloftrees@gmail.com. Silent auction amounts will be displayed in the Visitors Center and online. Current bid amounts were updated daily at explorefranklincountypa.com. Final votes for favorites and final bids for the silent auction closed at 7 PM on December 3 with winners being announced the same night. All proceeds will benefit the Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance.

I need to bring to your attention that we are still in urgent need of a Vice President to serve the remainder of the term, from now until April 30, 2022. Then, the Vice President becomes President on May 1, 2022 and will serve until April 30, 2024. I am willing to train the new recruit. Also, CAS needs someone to serve as the Records Compiler, keeping track of all birds seen during our CAS field trips. Field trip leaders submit the final species list to Donna, and she then inserts the bird species onto an Excel worksheet. Donna Hocker has served in this capacity since 2009. She is willing to train her replacement. Please call Terri Kochert at 717-263-3692 or email me at conaudubon@outlook.com to let me know that you are interested in either available position. Thank you, Donna Hocker, for your many years of service in this role!

I am glad to announce that our two Youth Contests for the Longest Bird Species List and the Best Bird Photo will begin again December 1, 2021 and run through October 10, 2022 when the lists and bird photos will be submitted at our regular general meeting at St. Luke. Remember: there is a monetary prize ($50, $35, and $25) available to the first three winners in each of the two contests. So, get your list started now! Get those winter birds on your list, and then go for the spring migrants. Winter birds make great photos too!

These are the upcoming CAS events.

Dec. 13, Monday MEETING HYBRID: SPEAKER WILL BE PRESENT AT ST. LUKE, BUT CAN ALSO BE VIEWED VIA ZOOM

7:00 PM The Beauty and Fragility of the Everglades by Dave Graff, Floridian naturalist. Arranged by Terri Kochert.

Winter FIELD TRIP: Sign up by Dec. 14, for possible visit to Gettysburg Battlefield for SHORT-EARED OWLS (name, contact information). Bob Kochert, 717-263-3692, will advise as to sightings. Meet at Norlo Park Community Center.

Dec. 14, Tuesday NEW CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT (Buchanan Trail)

All day, Franklin/Fulton Counties. For information, Vern Gauthier, 717-385-9526 or verngauthier14@gmail.com

Dec. 18, Saturday CHAMBERSBURG AREA CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

All day, Chambersburg area. For information, call Valerie Barnes, 717-352-4397. There will be NO tally dinner this year.

Dec. 29, Wednesday YORK SPRINGS CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

All day, York Springs area. For information, Tim Johnson, 717-409-4805, tj359@sbcglobal.net

Jan. 1, 2022, Sat. NEWVILLE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

All day, Newville area. For information, Vern Gauthier, 717-385 -9526 or verngauthier14@gmail.com

Sadly, with the uptick in COVID-19 cases, CAS has decided to cancel our first nature film, originally scheduled for January 20, 2022. We hope we will be able to resume showing the films later in 2022. We have also decided to cancel the annual covered dish dinner scheduled for January 10, 2022.

Though most migrants have passed through our area, we have some new winter visitors. Here are some of the good birds seen during the month of November: Common Golden-eyes, Red-breasted Merganser, Merlin, Eastern Phoebe (a slow-moving migrant), American Black Duck, Common Merganser, Gadwall, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Red Crossbills (seen the week before Thanksgiving, a one-day sighting). That’s a nice list of ducks!

For you neophyte/beginning birders, I found an eleven-minute video that may interest you. It’s called Identify Your Common Backyard Birds (Central and Eastern USA).

I also found an interesting article you may enjoy. It’s from National Audubon from five days ago. It’s called, “Ask Kenn: What’s Up With Bird Color Morphs and Phases.”

I hope to see many of you via Zoom or in person on December 13. Perhaps it will feel more like the Florida weather as portrayed in Dave Graff’s presentation instead of the chilly temperatures we currently are experiencing. For those preferring to Zoom, here’s the link information:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7211203928?pwd=RXNwMjZpQVNvSHJGRld3cWZFQjJiZz09

Time: December 13, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Meeting ID: 721 120 3928

Passcode: cardinal20

Continue to feed the birds, count them, report your findings to Marguerite Fries on Dec. 18 if you live inside the Chambersburg CBC circle, and enjoy watching them as they flit about.

Merry Christmas!

Terri Kochert

November 2021 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on November 1, 2021November 1, 2021Posted in Birds, Monthly Message, Zoom

Dear Fellow Nature Lovers,

With the cooler weather and the recent dreary, gray, quiet days I trust you are doing well. There are fewer birds in our midst, thus the pervasive silence. It’s time to get your bird feeders up for the winter. Perhaps you never took them down.

Some of our active birders have located some lingering migrants in recent days: a Snow Goose on Mountain Road, a Cattle Egret, a Tree Swallow, a Gray Catbird, a Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Yellowlegs, a Peregrine Falcon, and of course, the Eurasian Collared-Dove in the Greencastle area. Please report other migrants and errant species as you see them.

Because our next CAS general meeting will be a hybrid—in person meeting plus our Zoomed speaker (and any others who wish to view the presentation from home via Zoom), I thought it best to give you a bit of a preview. First of all, few of us are artists. Some of us have used our creativity to produce what we consider “amazing” works of art, though considered “amateur” by others. Many more of us appreciate and value the trained, detailed, and artistic abilities of those when we view their professionally-finished products. On Monday, November 8, 2021 we all are in for a treat. Thanks to Valerie Barnes and Anne St. John, we shall be introduced to the intricacies and rigors of working as a bona fide Certified Science Illustrator, through our guest speaker, Liz Wahid. She will explain the inherent as well as learned techniques of drawing birds. Much of it requires researching the subject matter, studying the subject with a keen eye for detail, and the application of refined drawing techniques to make the subject appear lifelike. The title of her presentation is Research and Techniques in Ornithological Illustrations. You do not want to miss this one.

In addition to this exciting bird illustration presentation, we will also be introducing the winners of our Annual CAS Youth Contests and granting them their awards. We’ll announce and show the winning photos of the Best Bird Photo Contest. We’ll also announce the winner of this year’s Longest Bird List Contest. Winners will be announced prior to hearing from Liz Wahid, Certified Science Illustrator.

Though many of us have finished with the harvesting of fruits and vegetables from our gardens and have laid our gardens to rest over the coming winter months, there are those who are already planning for Spring’s arrival. One aspect of Spring planting may be to expand your native plants garden areas. If so, you may want to participate in the online free webinar offered on November 16, 2021 at 7 PM EST (6 PM CST) through a landscaping group called Wild Ones. It will be presented by Larry Weaner, FALPD, the president and founder of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates and developer of New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL). His topic is “The Self-Perpetuating Landscape: Setting a Process in Motion.” You will learn principles and protocols for creating dynamic, ecologically rich landscapes where nature does much of the “planting.” Once you register at the following link, you will be sent the webinar link via email. A recording will also be available to the public on our YouTube channel in the days following the event. The registration link to the webinar is:

https://wildones.org/self-perpetuating-landscape-registration/ (If it doesn’t direct you immediately to the registration page, please copy and paste this address into your browser.)

Though it is November 1, 2021, it is time to plan to participate in our Chambersburg Conococheague Audubon Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 18, 2021. If you’ve never participated before, that’s an excellent reason to get involved in citizen science and do your part in counting our local birds. You can do so from the comfort of your own home if you live inside the circle area, or you can venture out into one of the five different zones. Please contact Valerie Barnes for the most current information. Call her at 717-352-4397.

Again, here are the items of importance for this month.

Nov. 8, Monday ZOOM or HYBRID REGULAR MEETING

7:00 PM Research and Techniques in Ornithological Illustration by Liz Wahid, Certified Science Illustrator. Arranged by Valerie Barnes and Anne St. John. Youth Contest Winners announced tonight.

Nov. 16, Tuesday Online Webinar through Wild Ones

7 PM. “The Self-Perpetuating Landscape: Setting a Process in Motion.” By Larry Weaner, FALPD, founder of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates. Pre-register online.

Dec. 18, Saturday CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

All day, Chambersburg area. Call Valerie Barnes, 717-352-4397 if interested in participating.

I hope to see you Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 at 7 PM at St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2695 Luther Drive, Chambersburg, PA 17202 (off route 997, near the Scotland exit of I-81). For those preferring to Zoom, here’s the link information:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7211203928?pwd=RXNwMjZpQVNvSHJGRld3cWZFQjJiZz09

Time: November 8, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Meeting ID: 721 120 3928

Passcode: cardinal20

Prepare to be astounded!

Give thanks every day and keep looking up!

Terri Kochert

October 2021 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on October 4, 2021October 4, 2021Posted in Birds, Monthly Message, ZoomTagged birds, Zoom

Hello Fellow Nature Lovers,

Can you feel the nights getting cooler? Fall is definitely upon us.

A few good birds are still being seen in the local area. Bill Oyler saw a Baird’s Sandpiper at a newer location, along the Woods Road Warehouse retentions ponds near Mainsville, PA. A Stilt Sandpiper was seen at the Greencastle Reservoir by Carl Garner and Dave Ebbitt on 28 September. Bill Oyler also saw the elusive Connecticut Warbler in the Heisey Orchard on Monday. October 1 Tom Dougherty had a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Philadelphia Vireo in the Hunter’s Chase subdivision, Chambersburg.

A group of us from Conococheague Audubon journeyed to Cape May, NJ on Wednesday, September 22 – Friday, September 24, 2021. Our new directors, John and Sue Greer, led the trip. They were very prepared! They ventured to Cape May on Monday and had a day and a half to explore the birding areas. With colorful maps in hand, they greeted us at a new place for us, the Garrett Family Preserve, established by The Nature Conservancy. Though we didn’t see much there this time, it’s wonderful to add a new birding site.

Over the course of the remaining two days, we visited the Cape May Point Hawk Watch and the trails behind the Hawk Watch at the Cap May Point State Park. We were able to see a Eurasian Widgeon, both Green- wing and Blue-wing Teal and Black Duck in the nearby ponds. We also got good looks at various fall-plumaged warblers by the cedar trees before entering the trail. We saw numerous Northern Parulas. That was such a treat! We arose early Thursday intending to catch the “Morning Flight” as described by our September 13, 2021 meeting speakers, Chris and Rebecca Payne. Alas, at Higbee Beach Management Wildlife Area we saw little bird life either on the platform or in the open meadows. We were able to see Stilt Sandpipers, both Yellowlegs, Teals, Shovelers, both Snowy and Great Egrets, Royal and Forster’s Terns, and a Peregrine Falcon by the Nature Conservancy South Cape May Meadows. Some of us visited Nummy’s Island late Thursday afternoon where we saw American Oystercatchers, a Black-bellied Plover, Boat-tailed Grackles, one Sora, and one Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow. On Friday we visited the Wetlands Institute, seeing a group of Willets, two Wilson’s Snipe, a Little Blue Heron and Tri-colored Heron. We had a group of White Ibises fly over. We also had one juvenile Black-crowned Night-heron. By the Stone Harbor Point we saw many Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plovers, and both Great and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Though we didn’t see many birds at the Avalon Sea Watch, it was great to visit with the lone recorder of passing species. Overall, it was a terrific outing! Even the weather cooperated. Though much rain and stormy weather had been forecasted, we avoided most of it.

Again, a reminder that our October 11, 2021 general meeting will be held at St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2695 Luther Drive, Chambersburg, PA (off Route 997, near Scotland exit of I-81). Our speaker will be Eric Zawatski, a Penn State graduate presenting via Zoom about the Wood Thrush Nesting Success here in Central PA Contiguous Forests at 7 PM. I will send out the Zoom invitation on Sunday, Oct. 10 for those desiring to watch it from the comfort of their own homes. ***That same evening, Oct. 11, 2021, ALL Youth Contest participants should arrive by 6:45 PM to hand in both their Longest Bird Species List and their Best Bird Photos.

Note: There is a change in our fall birding Field Trip schedule. There will now be a Hawk Migration Watch Field Trip on Oct. 16, 2021. Meeting place is still at Sunnyway Foods parking lot, 49 Warm Spring Road, Chambersburg at 11 AM to head out to the “Pulpit” searching the skies for a few hours for passing hawks and other raptors with Bob and Marion Carmack. Beginning bird watchers are welcome. Bring binoculars. Call 717-597-8631.

For your viewing pleasure, please check out Audubon’s 2021 Top Ten Videos.

I hope to see you at St. Luke on Oct. 11, 2021 (with your mask) at 7 PM for the meeting and/or 6:45 PM for the Youth Contest participants.

Happy Fall to each of you,

Terri Kochert

September 2021 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on September 2, 2021September 2, 2021Posted in Birds, Monthly Message, Zoom

Hello Fellow Nature Lovers,

How can it possibly be that we have zipped through two-thirds of the year 2021 already? Children have returned to school, returning to routine and learning new things. So too, we at CAS are beginning our regular 2021-2022 season. I am looking forward to seeing all your smiling faces once again. Remember that we have a new meeting venue. We will meet in person at St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church fellowship hall (off 997, near the Scotland exit off I-81), 2695 Luther Drive on September 13, 2021. Our speakers for the evening will be Chris and Rebecca Payne. Chris is a recent Shippensburg University graduate and Rebecca used to work at the Nature Center of Cape May, Cape May, NJ. They will be presenting “Fall Migrants”—warblers, raptors and shore birds. We will be conducting this meeting in-person and zooming the meeting to those who choose to view it from home. I will send out the zoom meeting address on Sept. 12 if you prefer to view the meeting at home via Zoom.

Again, to clarify, there still is no definitive answer to the cause of the mysterious bird disease that caused ocular issues, including blindness, and other neurological issues. Regardless, the PA Game Commission (and endorsed by Audubon) is giving their approval for reinstating your bird feeding stations.

There have been very few reports of local migrants other than several flycatchers: Yellow-bellied, Least, and Olive-sided. There have been some juvenile Little Blue Herons found off Mountain Road in the ponds, though they are difficult to see without a scope. There are many shorebirds, including Baird’s Sandpipers, at Woods Road Warehouse retention ponds near Mainsville, PA.

Upcoming field trips and or meetings:

Sept. 4, 2021, Saturday FIELD TRIP
7:15 AM for FALL MIGRANTS. Meet at 7:15 AM at the Park and Ride, Scotland Exit 20, I-81 northbound. One mile walk in wet grass at Heisey Orchard. Then by car on Michaux SF roads with additional walk(s) of up to half mile, with trip ending between 12 and 1 PM.Bring binoculars and snack. Bill Oyler, oylerbill@gmail.com or 717-360-5191.

Sept. 13, Monday ZOOM or HYBRID MEETING
7:00 PM Cape May Fall Migrants by Chris & Rebecca Payne. Meeting at St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2695 Luther Drive, Chambersburg, PA. Preparation for the Cape May trip this month. Arranged by John and Sue Greer.
Sept. 18, Saturday FIELD TRIP
9:00 AM Chambersburg section of Cumberland Valley Rail Trail. Meet at Big Lots, 184 Southgate Mall, parking lot next to Washington Street. Bring binoculars. Terri Kochert, 717-263-3692.

Sept. 22-24, Wed-Fri FIELD TRIP
Trip to Cape May NJ, for FALL MIGRANTS, WARBLERS, RAPTORS and SEABIRDS. Bring scopes and binoculars. Signup Deadline is Sept. 15. Sue Greer, 443-255-9559 or sgreer412@gmail.com.

Sept. 25, Saturday FIELD TRIP
11:00 AM for HAWK MIGRATION. Leave from Sunnyway Foods parking lot, 49 Warm Spring Road, Chambersburg, to “The Pulpit.” Beginning hawk watchers are welcome. Bring binoculars. Leader To Be Announced.

I found two very interesting articles for your edification. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

What Do Birds and Beef Have in Common?

What Is a Songbird, Exactly?

Here’s a group of funny, yet amazing “courting” dances birds do to attract their mates. I hope you enjoy these short videos! 10 Outrageous Ways Birds Dance to Impress their Mates.

Looking forward to seeing you in person on Sept. 13!

Good birding to you all!

Terri Kochert