Hello fellow nature lovers, 

It’s difficult to think that Christmas 2020 has come and gone.  It may have been a difficult time for some of you.  I am sure you are resilient in maintaining family relationships despite the Covid-19 restrictions, if only being able to do so virtually.  I have no doubt that you are quite content to leave 2020 behind.  We are all now hopeful for a more promising, life-filled 2021. 

Some of you have signed up to see the Short-eared Owls typically seen on the Gettysburg Battlefield.  Unfortunately, none have shown up yet.  My husband, Bob and I were over in Gettysburg Dec. 28, 2020 and didn’t see any.  We staked out last year’s location to no avail.  We were not the only ones.  There were four other people staking them out as well.  There have been no Gettysburg sightings of SEOs posted on ebird.org.   

Speaking of Short-eared Owls (SEOs), they have been seen at the Hopewell Township Park, near Shrewsbury, York County, on Dec. 29, 2020.  That is a long one hour 40-minute trip to make with the end possibility of “getting skunked.” Bob and I saw SEOs about three years ago at that same park. We led a trip there because there were no SEOs being seen in Gettysburg. Our group saw no SEOs that particular evening.  Thus, I will keep you posted if any SEOs are seen in Gettysburg.   

The recent Christmas Bird Count (CBC) under the direction of Valerie Barnes was a success. According to Val’s report, there were 80 different species recorded by 55 observers.  A total of 18, 492 birds were seen by these observers.  There were some excellent birds recorded.  As you may already know, the Rufous Hummingbird which has been showing up at Kathy Lauver’s since mid-October was still seen on Dec. 19, CBC count day.  The Townsend’s Solitaire and seven Evening Grosbeaks are still being seen at Caledonia State Park.  During the CBC the other following birds were seen:  Peregrine Falcon, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Meadowlark, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, one lone Eastern Screech Owl, Merlin, 8 Snow Buntings, Eastern Towhee, Wilson’s Snipe, and Purple Finch.  The following birds reached an all-time high count:  Cooper’s Hawk (26), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (25), Common raven (15), Carolina Wren (157), Hermit Thrush (16), and Northern Cardinal (636).  I am grateful to the Zone Captains and all the participants in this year’s CBC count.  As usual, Val Barnes did a fantastic job of keeping all the numbers straight.  She will have a detailed report in the March Naturally. 

• There will be NO January Covered Dish dinner this year due to the Covid restrictions.   
• Our Feb. 8, 2021 general meeting will be done via Zoom. John Greer will speak about Birds of the Far North: An Icelandic Adventure.  This should be a “cool” presentation.  Don’t miss it!   
  I will send the Zoom link in my ‘February at Conococheague’ letter.  
• I am sorry that you missed December’s meeting with Bob Keener and his Birds of Ecuador.  It was replete with splendid photos and amusing anecdotes.  Please don’t miss our February Zoom meeting.   

For your viewing pleasure I have included this two-minute video put out by National Audubon Society. 

Enjoy!  May you all have a wonderful New Year! 

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to com, whispering ‘it will be happier’…”~ Alfred Lord Tennyson 

Terri Kochert