Conococheague Audubon Society

PO Box 20, Fayetteville, PA 17222

ConAudubon@outlook.com

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May 2022 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Birds, Conservation, Monthly Message, ZoomTagged ,

Hello Fellow Nature Lovers, 

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

February 2022 From the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Monthly Message, ZoomTagged

Dear Fellow Nature Lovers,

Though this is still late January, 2022, please receive this as my February letter. I hope you are all staying warm during these frigid temperatures.

I have many events to bring to your attention today. Here they are in order of importance.

  1. I am still in need of a Vice President. I may also add that May 1, 2022 is just around the corner. That’s the date CAS is to install a new president. Please submit your request to serve in this capacity to Terri Kochert at conaudubon@outlook.com. 
  2. Debby Hook has served as our chairperson for the Education: Outreach committee for many years now. Besides making presentations to the Master Gardeners, Kiwanis Club, Tuscarora Wildlife Education Project (TWEP), NETwork Ministries, and the North Square Farmers Market, Debby has made other presentations, too, in her past tenure as Education: Outreach Chair. Debby is stepping down as of May 1, 2022. She has personal obligations that no longer allow her the flexibility to serve in this capacity. Hence, CAS needs an Education: Outreach Chair. Please submit your request to serve in this capacity to Terri Kochert at conaudubon@outlook.com.
  3. From Swans to Songbirds: Winter is for Birding webinar sponsored by Audubon on Feb. 3, 2022. You’ll receive a confirmation and Zoom details within a few days of registration. Upon arrival at the Audubon Pennsylvania website, click the blue Details button to register for this event. 

Upcoming CAS events: 

  • Feb. 14, Monday ZOOM or HYBRID MEETING  7:00 PM Snowy Owl: A Visual Natural History

Presented by award-winning author and wildlife photographer, Paul Bannick of Seattle, WA. Arranged by Jessica Ferguson. [Terri will send out the Zoom invitation on Feb. 13, 2022. Or you may visit the calendar event on our this website for the Zoom invitation.] Mr. Bannick will not be present at St. Luke. Mr. Bannick will be Zooming his presentation from Seattle, WA. Those who wish to view the Zoom presentation at St. Luke are welcome to come to St. Luke.  

  • Feb. 18-20, Fri.-Sun. FIELD TRIP Blackwater NWR, Maryland, auto tour for WATERFOWL.

Leave from Martins’ home at 6:00 PM Friday. Bring scopes, binoculars, and lunch. Make your own motel arrangements. Eric and Rhetta Martin, 717-597-8675.

  • Great Backyard Bird Count: The 25th annual GBBC will be held Friday, Feb. 18-Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. As most of you know, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a free, fun, and easy event that engages bird watchers of all ages and experience in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the four-day event and report their sightings online at birdcount.org.

Scientists at Audubon, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Birds Canada/Oiseaux Canada use the data gleaned from these annual counts to better understand population trends and highlight important locations for future conservation efforts. Every checklist you submit is appreciated greatly.

I hope to see many of you on our Zoom meeting from St. Luke on Feb. 14, 2022 to see the Snowy Owl presentation. Don’t miss it!

Terri Kochert

January 2022 From the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Monthly Message, ZoomTagged ,

Dear Fellow Nature Lovers, 

I hope you had a lovely Christmas time spent with family and friends. Now it’s time to ring in the New Year. Realizing that 2021 is behind us, it’s important to look back at our accomplishments, in spite of COVID restrictions. Later in my letter I will present links to the successes of National Audubon and some Zoom events through Mid-Atlantic Audubon. 

Here are some of our own Conococheague Audubon highlights for 2021.  

  • Captivating, informative, and stellar meetings (if I do say so myself): 
    • Feb.     Birds of the Far North: An Icelandic Adventure 
    • Mar.    Homeland Security: Native Trees Are a Bird’s Refuge 
    • Apr.     Field Guide & App Comparison 
    • May     Invasive Plants: Not For the Birds 
    • Sept.    Cape May Fall Migrants 
    • Oct.     Wood Thrush Nest Success and Productivity in Central Pennsylvania Contiguous Forests 
    • Nov.    Research and Techniques in Ornithological Illustration 
    • Dec.     The Beauty and Fragility of the Everglades 
  • Outreaches: 
    • CAS Volunteers engaged 337 individuals at the local Farmers Market with brochures and enticing poster. 
    • Outreach to twelve Hispanic and African American youngsters and their five teachers at NETwork Ministries in Chambersburg 
    • Outreach to twelve 5th-6th grade girls at Tuscarora Wildlife Education Project, Mercersburg, PA 

                    Thus, we reached out to 366 individuals this year!

Though we are forced to cancel our two January events because of the recent Omicron Covid outbreak, we are still making plans to move forward in February. Here are the two canceled January events:  the Jan. 10, 2022 Covered dish dinner and the Jan. 20, 2022 free nature film.  

  • Jan. 10, Monday     MEETING CANCELED   6:00 PM Covered dish dinner and members’ photo show. All are welcome. 
  • Jan. 20, Thursday    FILM CANCELED 

Though it’s only January, please make your plans now to be on hand to view our February Zoom meeting with Paul Bannick, nationally renowned and award-winning wildlife photographer from Seattle, WA area. He will share with us his incredible photos of Snowy Owls in his Feb. 14, 2022, 7 PM presentation of Snowy Owl: A Visual Natural History. Again, we thank Mr. Jim Bousum of Bousum’s Trucking, LLC in Chambersburg and Petersburg, PA for sponsoring Mr. Paul Bannick’s Snowy Owl presentation. I know that all will be thrilled to see one of our favorite birds captured on film. You may view this presentation in person at St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church or from the comfort of your own home. I will send out the Zoom link for this presentation Sunday evening, Feb. 13, 2022.  

Also, I am still looking forward to showing the remaining two free National Geographic films:  Last Stand of the Great Bear on March 24, 2022 and In Search of the Jaguar on April 14, 2022 at our new film location:  Living Faith Chapel, 8770 Possum Hollow Rd., Shippensburg, PA 17257 at 7:30 PM with door prizes and a free pair of binoculars for one young person.  

It is with regret that I inform you of the passing of one of CAS Charter Members, Carl Garner, on December 27, 2021. He was an excellent birder and a meticulous record keeper of the birds he saw throughout the past 60 years of the existence of CAS. It’s possible his list goes back even before the 1961 establishment of Conococheague Naturalists, a.k.a. Conococheague Audubon Society. Dr. Dave Ebbitt has undertaken the extraordinary task of submitting electronically Carl’s lists to ebird.org. Kudos to Dave for working on a dauntless task. Family and friends will greatly miss Carl Garner. May he rest in peace.

NAS Highlights of 2021 short video on Eight Wins for Birds in 2021 

Audubon Mid-Atlantic (Audubon MD-DC and Audubon PA have been combined into one now.) 

Though there are many things I could bring to your attention, please view the following two announcements:

An hour and a half Zoom webinar on Jan. 6, 2022 Bringing Climate Action Home from 6:30 PM-8PM.

From Swans to Songbirds: Winter is for Birding on Feb 3 

Upon arrival at the Audubon Pennsylvania website, click the blue EVENTS button to register for this event.  You’ll receive a confirmation and Zoom details within a few days of registration. 

Another interesting 16-minute video called American Kestrel Box Program with Tom Sayers 

Remember. We are still looking for any interested able volunteers who would be willing to install eight American Kestrel boxes before March 31, 2022.  

Also, I found a short 3-minute video on Five Facts about American Kestrels by National Audubon featuring Rita McMahon of the Wild Bird Fund   

National Audubon also chose the top ten bird videos, which you will find as you scroll down the page to view each of the ten short videos. Enjoy! 

Also, anyone interested in being my Vice-president? Please contact me ASAP at 717-263-3692 or conaudubon@outlook.com . 

May you all have a wonderfully healthy and successful New Year! 

Terri Kochert 

October 2021 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Birds, Monthly Message, ZoomTagged ,

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  

November 2020 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on Posted in Monthly MessageTagged ,

Hello fellow nature lovers, 

Most of the beautiful fall colors have waned.  We all look forward to the culmination of the election on Nov. 3, 2020.  Again, I encourage you all to go to the polls to vote (if you have not already mailed in your ballot).  Whatever the outcome, life goes on.  We have much to be grateful for, living in these United States of America.  Prayerfully the rights and privileges we already experience will continue.   

Just a reminder to all that we are looking for a new Vice President. Ken Higley, due to extenuating circumstances, has stepped out of that role.  So, if you know of anyone wishing to serve CAS in that capacity, please advise me ASAP. 

We are about to experience our first ever CAS Zoom meeting.  Harry Campbell of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, according to his company’s COVID-19 protocols, will be joining us at Norlo Park Community Center via Zoom instead of in person at our November 9, 2020 general meeting.  The title is Chesapeake Baby: Saving a National Treasure.  The Zoom meeting will begin at 7:15 PM and will last a total of 40 minutes.  Please note: WE WILL STILL BE MEETING at Norlo Park Community Center at 7 PM.  Prior to the Zoom meeting, the Youth Contests Winners will be announced and awarded their prizes.  Please join us as we acknowledge both the photography merits of the Best Bird Photos and more so, the tenacity of the Longest Bird List winners.  I believe you will be greatly surprised with the skill expressed by our winners.  We are grateful to all who participated in this year’s Youth Contests.  Please come to encourage our young people.   

An errant Rufous Hummingbird has created quite a stir in the birding community.  All were rushing to get a look and possibly to get a photo or two.  I have included a few photos, taken by Bob Keener, in the above attachment.  Also, many had the opportunity to see a migrating flock of 90 American Golden Plovers along Mud Level Road in Shippensburg, Oct. 16, 2020.  Also seen in October were Least and Solitary Sandpipers, a Wilson’s Phalarope at the Keefer Road pond, a Brant at the Greencastle Antrim Commons, Pine Siskins, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and a raft of 30 Buffleheads at the Long Pine Dam on October 31.  

CAS is inviting anyone to participate in our general meeting on Nov. 9, 2020 via Zoom or in person.  Please find below the actual link to the Nov. 9 Zoom meeting.  IF you feel uncomfortable about using Zoom, perhaps you can join one of our three practice sessions THIS COMING WEEK. Use the same link for any of the practice sessions and for the real meeting at 7:15 PM on November 9.

CAS Practice Zoom 1 (2020-11-03 at 11AM)

CAS Practice Zoom 2 (2020-11-04 at 4 PM)

CAS Practice Zoom 3 (2020-11-04 at 7:30 PM)

Regular meeting via Zoom: Nov 9, 2020 07:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

Join Zoom Meeting 

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7211203928?pwd=RXNwMjZpQVNvSHJGRld3cWZFQjJiZz09

Meeting ID: 721 120 3928 

Passcode: cardinal20 

I hope to see your smiling face Nov. 9 at the Norlo Community Center at 7 PM.   

Until then, please vote.  Good birding to you, one and all! 

Terri Kochert  

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