Posts – Page 18 – Conococheague Audubon

October 2020 from the President

By casbirdsPosted on October 5, 2020December 2, 2020Posted in Birds, Monthly Message, Uncategorized

Hello fellow nature lovers,

I trust that you are doing well. The shore birds have largely passed through the area. We have had reports of Stilt Sandpipers at the Greencastle Antrim Ponds, a Merlin, a Northern Harrier and of course, a Eurasian Collared Dove, at the Greencastle Reservoir. There have been sightings of Canada Warblers, Mourning, and even Connecticut, Warblers at the Heisey Orchard in Scotland area and along the Stillhouse Hollow Road. Flocks of various warblers, Chimney Swifts, vireos, and Common Night Hawks were located along the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail by Tom Dougherty. Please let me know if you still have any Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at your feeders. My husband, Bob, and I saw our last “hummer” at our feeders on Sunday. Sadly, they too are migrating on their long journey south to the Amazon region for the winter.

I have two bits of breaking news, though I will confirm in a later message to you all about the hopeful Zooming of our October 12 meeting. In my September letter I announced our breaking news about Conococheague Audubon having its own Facebook page. There are now 21 members. Dave Cooney has recently posted some great photos of a female Blue Grosbeak, a Palm Warbler along Portico Road, and an Eastern Phoebe. https://www.facebook.com/groups/647514482542153 (Copy and paste into your browser for viewing.)

Breaking News: Our intention is to make our Monday, October 12, 2020, 7PM general meeting with Bob Keener presenting his Birds of Ecuador available to those staying home, desiring to see it via Zoom. I will forward the Zoom link as we approach the date. The plan is to still meet at the Community Center as usual. The program will be available via Zoom for those who desire to see it that way. We intend to make the link available too via our website.

Don’t forget! The two coinciding Youth Contests exhibits are due October 12, 2020 at Norlo ParkCommunitycenter at 6:45 PM. We are inviting the young people to stay for our presentation on the Birds of Ecuador. Due on October 12: Best Bird Photos from Dec. 1, 2019 -Oct. 12, 2020 and/or your Longest Bird list from the same dates, Dec. 1, 2019-Oct. 12, 2020. Please visit our website for the details. http://www.ConococheagueAudubon.org (Copy and paste into your browser for viewing.)
Youth Contests Awards: Awards will be presented before our Nov. 9, 2020 general meeting: Chesapeake Bay: Saving a National Treasure.

Other dates of interest to our members:
Announcing: The Big Sit Day, Oct. 10, 11. You, a family member and/or friend, choose an area, a 17’ circle, to observe the birds within that area. Tally the species, numbers, etc. and hours spent on this project. Report this to eBird.org.
Announcing: Get Out and Count on eBird’s October Big Day On October 17, join birders across the globe by participating in October Big Day—a 24-hour opportunity to count and celebrate the birds both near you and around the world during migration. Visit eBird’s October Big Day page to learn more about this event and its role in the inaugural Global Bird Weekend. (To get to this link, you will have to highlight the link, right click on it, and click “Open Hyperlink.”)

For your viewing pleasure watch this short 1:05 video of “Three Hummingbirds Share One Feeder Port in west Texas” on September 3, 2020 during migration https://youtu.be/jUw2QM3qFDg (To get to this link, you will have to highlight the link, right click on it, and click “Open Hyperlink.”)

May you have some good birding days ahead. Look forward to my email about a future Zoom link to view our October 12, 2020 general meeting.

Terri Kochert

September 2020 from the President

By casbirdsPosted on September 3, 2020September 8, 2020Posted in Monthly MessageTagged birds

Hello fellow nature lovers,

It is difficult to believe we are quickly approaching the latter part of 2020, though for some of us, it has not been the kindest of years. Things have the “appearance” of getting “back to normal.” Children are “back to school”. The evenings arrive earlier; the days are shorter. We are also looking forward to the beginning of our 2020-2021 Season at Conococheague.

Breaking news: Conococheague Audubon now has its own Facebook page for those who participate in Facebook. This is for you to post your photos of birds, wildlife, and plants. Ifyou are not a member of CAS, you will have to “request” to join. Once the administrators approve, you may post your photos. This is NOT for advertising any of your events. To connect, go to “Conococheague Audubon” or the following address:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/647514482542153

Please take note of these important September events:

Sept. 5 FIELD TRIP at 7:30 AM to see the Fall Migrants. Meet at the Park and Ride, Scotland Exit 20, I-81 northbound. There will first be a half-mile walk in wet grass at Heisey Orchard. Come prepared with the proper footwear. Bill Oyler requests that participants drive their own vehicles and that they maintain social distancing upon exiting the vehicles. Wearing masks is required when closer than 6 feet. Please call Bill Oyler, 717-360-5191, in advance if you wish to attend. You will also need to sign your name upon arrival at the Park and Ride.
Sept. 14 our First MEETING. At 6:30 PM please stroll through the Norlo Park Garden for a self-tour. Upon entry into the Community Center, please wear a mask and seat yourselves six feet apart from others. Our speaker will be Brittany Clark of the Penn State Extension Office. Her topic is Icky Invasives; insects in our Forests, such as the Spotted Lanternfly.
Sept. 19 FIELD TRIP Meet at 9 AM at Big Lots, 184 Southgate Mall parking lot next to Washington Street for a stroll along the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail. Wearing masks is required, but we will take “mask breaks” during our journey for those who need to. Social distancing is required. Call Terri Kochert in advance of the event, 717-263-3692, of your intentions to participate. You will need to sign your name upon arrival at the trail.
Sept. 26 FIELD TRIP at 11 AM for Hawk Migration. Leave from Sunnyway Foods parking lot, 49 Warm Spring Road, Chambersburg, to go to the “Pulpit.” Beginning hawk watchers are welcome. Bring binoculars. Bring your masks. Please call Bob Carmack, 717-597-8631, in advance of the event of your intentions to participate. You will need to sign your name upon arrival at Sunnyway Foods.

*Please remember that Youth Contests’ entries: 5” X 7” bird photos and longest list of bird species for the year, Dec. 1, 2019-Oct. 12, 2020, are due Oct. 12, 2020 at our regular Monday night meeting.

Here is some good news on the Conservation front:

A federal court has rejected efforts to weaken the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In the past few years there was pushback from the federal government to undermine the decades old treaty protecting birds. This judge ruled it “illegal” to do so. The treaty stands as written.
Earlier this month, the President signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act, a historic bipartisan conservation law, which will provide parks, and public lands the protection and care they deserve, with permanent, mandatory funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund at no additional cost to taxpayers.
The Delaware River Watershed has recently been named, ”River of the Year.” There are plans to celebrate this recognition with virtual and safely in-person events. I will keep you posted of their planned events.

For those of you with children ‘back to school virtually,” perhaps you are looking for a “field trip.” I suggest you check out the “Pick Up Pennsylvania 2020” campaign from Sept. 1 – Nov. 30. Please see the attached flyer about this.

Friends, I hope to see you at one of our scheduled September events. Until then, please enjoy this eight- minute documentary video on the hatching and eventual fledging of two hummingbirds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU_pJ8PAWwQ&feature=emb_rel_end

Happy Birding!

Terri Kochert

Conservation Chair

By casbirdsPosted on September 3, 2020September 3, 2020Posted in Uncategorized

Longtime Christmas Bird Count participant Jim Hardy has agreed to take on two roles in Conococheague Audubon: He will be an apprentice zone captain with Dale Gearhart in Zone 5 this year, planning to take over that role on his own in the future. Jim is also our new Conservation Chair. We appreciate his willingness to support the chapter in both of these important responsibilities!

August 2020 From the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on August 3, 2020August 3, 2020Posted in Birds, Monthly MessageTagged birds

Greetings all fellow nature lovers!

We are indeed in the dog days of summer. Can it get any warmer? Any more humid?

Bob and I have enjoyed watching the vigorous courting antics of a house wren couple. They zoomed all over our back yard, past our ears, and onto other neighbors’ yards, only to return much later to a small birdhouse we have attached to the side of our backyard swing. We are still waiting to witness the fledging of the chicks. The time must be near. We have been watching the adult (female) bring food to the little ones and removing the fecal sacks.

Though the CAS Bluebird trail near Upper Strasburg, PA has been officially postponed due to the COVID-19 lockdown, one of our members has taken it upon herself to watch over a total of 22 bluebird boxes in the Penn National area. On July 8, 2020 Ruth Barton wrote:

Two of the boxes had fledged since her last visit and there were no new nests.
She had only one active tree swallow nest with chicks and cleared out all other tree swallow nests.
Four of the 22 boxes were inaccessible due to tall weeds.
As of July 8, there were 16 empty boxes ready for new residents. (We can only hope there will be more bluebird baby chicks hatched before migration season.) Thank you, Ruth, for this report and for your tenacity!

Also, on July 8 Jim Hook decided to check out the CAS Bluebird Trail with its 25 boxes. He noted:

The 12 boxes off Wye Road appeared to be dominated by tree swallows, with only one active bluebird nest containing one egg.
Two of the four new boxes off Pine Road revealed two bluebird nests.
Three of the four boxes on Joel Burkholder’s lane had evidence of bluebirds. Two of the boxes had bluebird eggs.
The Druckenbrod Lane’s five boxes are dominated by house wrens, with evidence of three earlier bluebird nests.
Jim reported that he found a total of five active bluebird nests with eggs that day. Thank you, Jim for your curiosity!

In mid-July, a young female birder, Miriam Weaver, located an anomaly on her family’s farm. She noticed that this new sparrow had a significantly different (“insect sounding”) song and appearance from the other house sparrows around her family’s farm. She had found a clay-colored sparrow.

It breeds in the northern part of the USA west of New York and into western Canada.
It winters in Texas and throughout Mexico.
This is the first time one has been discovered in Franklin County. It is only the second account on record of one in Pennsylvania.
Of course, such good news travels fast. Soon, the Weaver farm in the Orrstown area was inundated with curious birders. Some attempted and did indeed get some great photos. Please see my attachment with these photos. There were reports of still seeing it yet on July 31.

Thursday, July 30, Bill Oyler reported four glossy ibises were seen off Sandy Mount Road, Pleasant Hall area near Bender’s first pond. Many went to see them.

For your amusement, I am including the URL for an interesting story of how a mother cat adopts newly hatched ducklings. You will have to copy and paste this website into your browser. It should appear immediately. https://youtu.be/570khFoaE4s

Currently we plan to meet as usual at the Norlo Park Community Center on September 14, 2020. We are asking that you wear a mask and social distance. Members will disinfect the premises before your arrival.

Just for your information National Audubon is making some new combinations. National Audubon Society announced on July 7 that Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offices are being merged into the new Audubon Mid-Atlantic office. We will still correspond with Kelly McGinley of the Harrisburg regional office.
Val Barnes and Janet Tice have been working to update and improve our CAS website. The new site will allow us to change or add pictures more easily, identify how to contact CAS leaders via email or phone, let you view maps where we meet, and show all our activities on a calendar. If you see any problems not related to calendar events, please let Val or Janet know.

Stay cool and safe!

Terri Kochert

Clay-colored Sparrow by Jefferson Shank, 2020-07

Support CAS!

By Valerie BarnesPosted on July 26, 2020January 3, 2021Posted in UncategorizedTagged donate

Greetings, members and friends of Conococheague Audubon Society,

We hope you are healthy and safe in this COVID-19 era. Another summer is on the wing as we approach a new season of lively birding activity. Some aspects of our planned activities remain tentative, but we are hopeful that all will proceed as planned. Check this website for updates.

Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel this year’s films due to COVID-19. Stay tuned for the 2021-2022 season!

~~We are offering three FREE high-quality nature films for your family’s viewing pleasure:~~

January 21, 2021: “Last Stand of the Great Bear,” (National Geographic), Great Bear rainforest of British Columbia; brown, black, “spirit” bears, wolves, and salmon fishing.
March 25, 2021: “Saving Songbirds,” (PBS), international efforts to save songbirds.
April 8, 2021: “Return of the Clouded Leopards,” (National Geographic), a tale of two orphaned cubs. (This was originally scheduled for March 2020.)

All films will begin at 7:30 PM at Chambersburg Area Middle School South, with pre-show musical entertainment at 7. While the films are free, we still need your support and will accept donations at the door.

Your contributions are what keep us operating as a fully volunteer organization. All our activities are FREE to participants. Thanks to your donations, we give Audubon Adventures, an interactive science newspaper, to area third- through fifth-grade classrooms. Our Beginning Birders’ Workshop in June introduces both children and adults to the skill and thrill of identifying colorful local birds. We offer scholarships to local youth and adults interested in birds and conservation. This spring we gave Michaux State Forest a supply of native seeds for habitat restoration.

Your assistance allows us to provide the community with current educational and conservation programming through our scheduled monthly meetings (second Mondays at 7 PM in Norlo Park Community Center). Bring your family and friends – all are welcome. During the October and November meetings, we hope to see many entries for our annual youth birding contests – Longest Bird List and Best Bird Photo of the year.

Other ongoing projects that your contributions fund are the Norlo Park Native Plants Garden; Christmas bird count citizen science; educational, interactive exhibits and presentations; the Naturally newsletter; and other conservation efforts. We need your help to continue our conservation and educational outreach, and we thank all of you for joining us in being good stewards of the earth in our daily lives.

We appreciate your support. Please make a generous gift. Complete this form and send it with your check by September 30. Thank you.

We hope to see you at some of the 2020-2021 Conococheague Audubon events. Please wear a mask to keep us all safe. Please check this website to confirm the status of the event you plan to attend.

Thank you for your help,

Terri Kochert, President