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