Conococheague Audubon Society

PO Box 20, Fayetteville, PA 17222

ConAudubon@outlook.com

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Conococheague Audubon

How to Get Involved

Call to take action to help CAS, NAS, birds in general… how to get involved

July 2023 From the President

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

Conococheague Audubon is the proud owner of a new laptop computer. This one doesn’t have a row or two of dead pixels, which is nice. It’s also much faster than the old one. You’ll get to see it in action at our first meeting of the 2023-2024 season on Monday, September 11. Chris and Rebecca Payne will tell us all about their birding trip to Belize. We’re finalizing the activities for the season; you’ll get an Activities List in the mail in August.

The garden team is planning an educational and conversational tour of our chapter’s Native Plants Garden at Norlo Park (3050 Lincoln Way E, Fayetteville, PA 17222) on Monday July 17th at 9 AM.  We’ll begin with a short Master Gardener class on native plants by MG and garden volunteer Anne St. John, followed by a tour of the garden focused on the plants as well as the butterflies, bees, and birds which depend so much on native plants. It will conclude well before noon.  Our walk will be on lawn grass which may not be dry. Rain date is Wednesday July 19th, 9 AM. This will be the first of what we plan to be an annual event, open to the public. We hope to see you there! Please wear your CAS t-shirt and hat, if you have them. Please contact tour host Josh Donaldson with any questions at 717-264-6920.

Terri Kochert is arranging volunteers to represent CAS at our display table at the Chambersburg Farmers’ Market on 4th Saturdays, 9 AM – noon, July – September. Contact Terri Kochert, bobterri81@comcast.net or 717-263-3692. Stop by and see all the material Terri and others have gathered for the public.

National Audubon has collected some good photos of some awfully cute baby birds. Check them out!

Thank you for your continued support and interest, and good birding! 

June 2023 From the President

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

As we roll into summer and the end of our fiscal year, let’s take a moment to applaud the efforts of our Board of Directors, Committee Chairs, and Officers over the past 12 months. Without these stalwart volunteers, it would be impossible to accomplish the conservation, education, and citizen science projects in which we take such pride. We appreciate your ongoing service and contributions to the chapter. We look forward to your continuing leadership and participation in our activities.

If you would like to volunteer, we would love to have your help. Contact the committee chair or any officer to step up. Volunteer opportunities this summer include:

  • Clean up and help maintain the native plants garden at Norlo Park. Contact Josh Donaldson, jd425@embarqmail.com or 717-264-6920. 
  • Monitor birds on Michaux State Forest, Contact John or Sue Greer, jngreer@aol.com or 443-255-8871 
  • Appalachian Trail Festival on Saturday, June 10 from 10 AM- 4 PM at Red Run Park in Waynesboro (12143 Buchanan Trail East). Contact Debby Hook at 717-372-0228 or debbyk@pa.net.  
  • Display table at Chambersburg Farmers’ Market on 4th Saturdays, 9 AM – noon, June – September. Contact Terri Kochert, bobterri81@comcast.net or 717-263-3692.  

NEW event in July! The Conococheague Audubon Society is planning an educational and conversational tour of our chapter’s Native Plants Garden at Norlo Park (3050 Lincoln Way E, Fayetteville, PA 17222) on Monday July 17th at 9am.  We’ll begin with a short Master Gardener class on native plants by MG and garden volunteer Anne St. John, followed by a tour of the garden focused on the plants as well as the butterflies, bees, and birds which depend so much on native plants.  It will conclude well before noon.  Our walk will be on lawn grass which may not be dry.  Rain date is Wednesday July 19th, 9am. This will be the first of what we plan to be an annual event, open to the public.  We hope to see you there!   Please contact tour host Josh Donaldson with any questions at  717.264.6920

Other Upcoming Activities: [as always, please call the field trip leader in advance and be at the meeting place a few minutes early. It’s a good idea to double-check the details about a trip on our website’s calendar.] 

June 3, Saturday, WORKSHOP. 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, 717-372-0379, jwtice1@comcast.net.

June 10, Saturday, FIELD TRIP, 7:00 AM South Mountain/Caledonia/Michaux Important Birding Area (IBA) for RESIDENT SONGBIRDS.  Leave from second parking lot beyond Visitors’ Center in Caledonia State Park.  Bring scopes and binoculars.  Eric and Rhetta Martin, 717-597-8675.

June 16-19, Fri.-Mon., CONSERVATION COUNT, All day for 1-4 days.  Join a team for fundraising opportunities.  Breeding Birding Blitz for Conservation by the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology.  See www.breedingbirdblitz.org for info.  Vern Gauthier, 717-385-9526, verngauthier14@gmail.com.

June 17, Saturday, FIELD TRIP, 7:30 AM Especially for BEGINNING BIRDERS.  Chambersburg section of Cumberland Valley Rail Trail.  Meet at Big Lots, 184 Southgate Mall, parking lot next to Washington Street.  Bring binoculars and field guide. Debby Hook, 717-372-0228.

Thank you for your continued support and interest, and good birding! 

May 2023 from the President

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

Spring has certainly sprung! Early blooms abound, birds are coming through, and some are staking out territory claims. It’s a great time to get out and appreciate all that nature offers. 

Thursday, May 4 is “Bird Day” and we are celebrating! Sponsored by the Franklin County 11/30 Visitors Center, come to 15 South Main Street Chambersburg, PA 17201 for a noontime Lunch & Learn. The Bird Day Lunch & Learn begins at noon and is offered at no charge. Lunch menu: Variety of wraps, soup, fruit, and cookie with lemonade, iced tea, and water. Please Reserve a Spot at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lunch-learn-may-4-is-bird-day-tickets-624012296577 Activities will continue Friday, May 5 from 5 PM-8PM (no registration required).

If you participate in any of our activities, please sign and submit a waiver form, available on this site under Activities. Please mail the completed form to Conococheague Audubon Society, PO Box 20, Fayetteville, PA 17222 or bring it to a meeting or field trip. 

We held annual elections at our April meeting. Incoming Board of Director members are Jim Hook, Linda Kaiser, and Cindy Thrasher (intern). They assume their new roles at the May meeting. Debby Hook will be our new Recording Secretary and John Greer will take on Conservation Chair responsibilities. Other officers, directors, and committee chairs remain the same. We thank outgoing leaders Ron George, Jim Hardy, Eric Martin, and Rhetta Martin and look forward to their continuing support in different areas. 

We also passed a few changes to our By-Laws related to when local-only members renew their memberships, all officers may be re-elected for multiple two-year terms, and language clarifying that officers and directors are immune from personal liability for actions taken on behalf of CAS.  

Conococheague Audubon is a presence in the community at many events, with most volunteers at special events organized by Education – Outreach Chair, Terri Kochert. Your help would be most appreciated. Here are upcoming 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. 
  • Bird Day events being planned by the Franklin County Visitors Bureau for 4 and 5 May. See above for details about 4 May event. The May 5 activities will happen as part of Chambersburg’s monthly First Friday, 5 PM – 8 PM. Contact Terri Kochert, bobterri81@comcast.net or 717-263-3692. 
  • Monitor birds on Michaux State Forest, Contact John or Sue Greer, jngreer@aol.com or 443-255-8871 
  • Beginning Birders’ Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, June 3 at Caledonia. Volunteers needed! Final planning session will occur at 6:15 PM prior to our May 8 regular meeting at St Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church. Contact Dave Cooney Jr. at (717) 264-2116 or slant1cm@yahoo.com, or Janet Tice at (717) 372-0379 or jwtice1@comcast.net.  
  • Appalachian Trail Festival on Saturday, June 10 from 10 AM- 4 PM at Red Run Park in Waynesboro (12143 Buchanan Trail East). Contact Debby Hook at 717-372-0228 or debbyk@pa.net.  
  • Coming on some Saturdays (probably 4th Saturday, June – September) this summer: display table at Chambersburg Farmers’ Market. Details TBD. Contact Terri Kochert, bobterri81@comcast.net or 717-263-3692. 

May is full of CAS activities. Please call the field trip leader in advance and be at the meeting place a few minutes early. It’s a good idea to double-check the details about a trip on our website’s calendar. 

May 4, Thursday, FIELD TRIP.  6:30 AM Fort McCord area for SPRING ARRIVALS/MIGRANTS.  Meet at North Pointe Center, US 11 north of Chambersburg.  Some walking.  Bring lunch and binoculars.  Bill Oyler,717-360-5191. 

May 5, 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 6, Saturday, FIELD TRIP. 7:00 AM Horse Valley for SPRING MIGRANTS.  Meet at North Pointe Center, US 11 north of Chambersburg.  Bring lunch and binoculars.  Valerie Barnes, 717-352-4397or Donna Hocker, 717-491-2171.

May 8, Monday, MEETING. 7:00 PM Bird Banding by Paul Engman.  Program focus: Cape May Raptor Banding Project generally and the changes seen in the fall migration over 5 decades of banding. Available to view in-person at St. Luke Evangelical Church. Mr. Engman will present using film slides, so no Zoom.

May 13, Saturday, FIELD TRIP, NEW DATE. 6:30 AM Stillhouse Hollow, Heisey Road Orchard, and some local farms 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 13, Saturday, WORK DAY. 9:30 AM Work at NORLO PARK native garden.  Bring garden tools and gloves.  Josh Donaldson, 717-264-6920. 

May 15-17, Mon.-Wed., FIELD TRIP. Trip to Magee Marsh, Ohio, for WARBLER MIGRANTS.  Bring scopes, binoculars, and lunch.  Make own hotel arrangements. Bob and Terri Kochert, 717-263-3692. 

May 20, Saturday, FIELD TRIP.  5:00 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 3, Saturday, WORKSHOP. 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, 717-372-0379, jwtice1@comcast.net. 

National Audubon invites us to learn more about the Canada (not Canadian) Goose. For instance, “goslings … can learn to swim within one day of being born.” 

Thank you for your continued support and interest, and good birding! 

April 2023 from the President

By casbirdsPosted on Posted in How to Get Involved, Monthly Message, Outreach, ZoomTagged

Our annual business meeting will take place at St Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church at 7 PM on Monday, April 10. First up will be The Birds and the Bees, presented by Tracy Snyder, Penn State Bee Monitoring program.

The rest of the meeting will involve elections for new directors, voting on proposed changes to our Constitution/By-Laws, and reports from officers and committees. For the elections and voting to be valid, we must have a quorum, so PLEASE VOTE! There are three ways you may vote: in person at the April 10 meeting, sending an email to mailto:ConAudubon@outlook.com, or by calling Valerie Barnes at 717-352-4397.

VOTING:

1.  Nominees for Director are Jim Hook, Linda Kaiser, and Cindy Thrasher. You may vote for all three or fewer. 

 Jim Hook: VOTE Yes or No

 Linda Kaiser: VOTE Yes or No

 Cindy Thrasher: VOTE Yes or No

2. Please see the file named ConstByLaws2023-03-13.pdf to review the proposed changes to our Constitution/By-Laws. Proposed changes are marked in red.

Article II: Most local-only members renew their membership in September, but some are on a different schedule. Insertion of “normally” in Section 6.b. acknowledges that.  VOTE on this proposed change: Yes or No

Article IV: Proposes that all officers (including President and Vice President) may be re-elected for multiple two-year terms. This gives us more flexibility going forward. VOTE on this proposed change: Yes or No

Article V: Adds language clarifying that officers and directors are immune from personal liability for actions taken on behalf of CAS. As mentioned last month, we have been reviewing our organization’s liability insurance coverage. These new clauses are proposed as a result of that review. We will be purchasing new liability insurance for officers and directors; these new clauses support the coverage provided by the insurance. VOTE on these proposed changes: Yes or No.

Officer and Committee Chairs: Please send a written report for this fiscal year to Valerie Barnes (barnesva4@comcast.net) and ConAudubon@outlook.com by April 3. Please report status, accomplishments, the number of people reached by your endeavors, expenditures, plans and requested funding for next year, and hours spent. Our current fiscal year runs from June 1, 2022 – May 31, 2023. If you need to update your report after April 3 (perhaps because not everything is finished yet for the fiscal year), just send a revised file to Val and the CAS email address. During the meeting on April 10, we’ll ask you to present the highlights.

It’s spring and thoughts turn to our gardens and yards, in addition to migrating birds. To see stellar photographs showing birds on native plants from National Audubon Society visit: These 12 birds are thriving with native plants  And, from Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Landscaping for Birds: 7 Important Plant Group

National Audubon announced that they are keeping the name “Audubon”. See more details regarding the decision by visiting https://www.audubon.org/news/open-letter-ceo-audubons-name

We have many Upcoming Activities scheduled this spring. As always, please let the field trip leader know in advance that you plan to attend. And check the Calendar on this website for updates.

We have many Volunteer Opportunities coming up. Please help represent Conococheague Audubon at these community outreach events.

  • 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.
  • Be at our table during the Conococheague Institute’s  Get to Know Nature: Learning then Conserving event planned for Saturday, April 15, 2023 during some portion of the time span 10am to 4pm. Contact Terri Kochert, bobterri81@comcast.net or 717-263-3692.
  • We are looking for help at a new Bird Day event being planned by the Franklin County Visitors Bureau for 4 and 5 May. Contact Terri Kochert, bobterri81@comcast.net or 717-263-3692.
  • Monitor birds on Michaux State Forest, Contact John Greer, jngreer@aol.com or 443-255-8871 or Sue Greer, Sgreer412@gmail.com or 443-255-9559.
  • Plant trees at the new Furnace Run Park in Southampton Township ~April 14-16. Contact Ron George, writinron@comcast.net or 717-446-4183.
  • Beginning Birders’ Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, June 3 at Caledonia. Volunteers needed! Planning sessions will occur at 6:15 PM prior to our April 10 and May 8 regular meetings at St Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church. Contact Dave Cooney Jr. at (717) 264-2116 or slant1cm@yahoo.com, or Janet Tice at (717) 372-0379 or jwtice1@comcast.net.
  • Coming on 4th Saturdays this summer, June – September: display table at Chambersburg Farmers’ Market. Details TBD. Contact Terri Kochert, bobterri81@comcast.net or 717-263-3692.

We are planning next season’s activities on April 11. See the calendar event for Zoom information. If you have an idea for a program or a new field trip, please participate in the meeting. All field trip leaders should participate to set the date for your trip.

It’s not too late to sign up for the field trip to Magee Marsh in Ohio, May 15-17. Contact Terri Kochert, bobterri81@comcast.net or 717-263-3692

Good birding!

Valerie Barnes, President

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.

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