flowers – Conococheague Audubon

April 2025 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on April 7, 2025April 7, 2025Posted in Conservation, Monthly Message, Outreach, ZoomTagged flowers, vote, Zoom

According to a recent press release from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,

“Shapiro Administration Launches Statewide Program to Replace Invasive Trees and Shrubs

Pennsylvanians can replace up to five invasive trees and shrubs with native species through the new statewide Pennsylvania Invasive Replace-ive Program— registration now open for May events”.https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/newsroom/shapiro-administration-launches-statewide-program-to-replace-inv.html

“The program aims to replace some of Pennsylvania’s most problematic invasive species, including:

Callery pear(opens in a new tab) (Bradford pear)
Tree-of-heaven(opens in a new tab)
Princess tree(opens in a new tab)
Norway maple(opens in a new tab)
Japanese barberry(opens in a new tab)
Burning bush(opens in a new tab)
Butterfly bush(opens in a new tab)
Other woody trees and shrubs listed here”

The April 14 annual business meeting will feature elections and reports from the year as well as a program, Radio-tracking Passerines in Early Successional Habitat, by Grace Muench. Plan to participate! We need at least 30 votes for the election to be valid, so if you haven’t voted yet, please do. Jeff Schmaltz and Mike Fagan are running to fill our two director openings. Leaders will be reporting status for the 2024 season, so plan to join us in person or participate via Zoom.

Volunteer needs:

Ruth Barton is stepping down as Hospitality Chair. The main duty is setting up a table in the back of our meeting room to welcome newcomers. Feel free to talk to Ruth about what else is involved. Please be hospitable!
John Greer is stepping down as Conservation Chair. The main duties are to stay on top of conservation issues and keep our membership informed. It’s also terrific, but not mandatory, if you write a short article for each Naturally newsletter. Who is willing to be our collective conscience about conservation?
To honor Rhetta Martin’s son Jason, join us for a work session at the Michaux District Forest Office, 10099 Lincoln Way East, Fayetteville, PA 17222 at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, May 7. We’ll be helping to plant native seeds and plugs around the office. Wear gardening garb and bring a trowel or shovel. You need to submit a volunteer form: DCNR Conservation Volunteers. Action: Contact Josh Donaldson to volunteer.
Greencastle-Antrim Middle School Trout Release day, with nature-related activities, at Caledonia State Park on Thursday, May 15. Last year the schedule had us arriving at 8:30 to set up and leaving by 1:30; we assume this year will be similar. Action: Contact Terri Kochert to volunteer.
Buttonwood asked CAS to set up a display table on April 26, 2025 to celebrate Earth Day at Pine Hill Recreation Area, 12684 Mentzer Gap Rd, Waynesboro, PA. Volunteers will be needed from 11 AM – 4 PM. Action: Contact Larry and Sharon Williams to volunteer.
June 14, 2025 Appalachian Trail Festival, Red Run Park, Waynesboro, PA from 9:00 – 3:00. Action: Contact Terri Kochert to volunteer.
June 28, 2025 North Square Farmers Market, Chambersburg, PA from 8:00 – 12:00. (Just one time this summer.) Action: Contact Terri Kochert to volunteer.
Beginning Birders’ Workshop on June 7 at Caledonia. Planning meeting at 6 PM before the April General Meetings. Action: Contact Janet Tice to volunteer.

Please bring family and friends to our events – we welcome new faces! Everything is open to everyone and is free.

July 2024 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on July 9, 2024July 9, 2024Posted in Birds, Conservation, Monthly MessageTagged birds, flowers

Summer is officially here and resident birds are breeding. If you see evidence of nesting, please eBird via the PA Atlas Portal so that your records are counted in the 3rd PA Bird Atlas Project.

The Norlo Park Native Plants Garden gang, under the expert guidance of Josh Donaldson, planned an event for Monday, July 15 at 9 AM. Josh invites you to come and learn about the plants, butterflies, bees, and birds that enjoy the garden. (Rain date is July 17 at 9 AM.) Bring a folding chair to use as you listen to the speakers. Josh reports that they saw the first Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar in the garden this spring!

Terri Kochert plans to set up a display table at the Chambersburg North Square Farmers’ Market the last Saturday in July, August, and September. Contact Terri to volunteer. If you are at the market to shop, please stop by and say hello.

Conservation Chair John Greer sends this reminder; SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, September 28, 2024. Please spend a couple hours helping us pick up trash along Route 997 as we kick off our participation in PENNDOT’s Adopt-A-Highway program. Training and supplies will be provided. More details to follow. Help beautify our area and clean up the environment.

We’re finalizing the activities for the upcoming season; you’ll get an Activities List in the mail in August. I hope you have a good summer and see lots of good birds. Our next regular meeting will be Monday, September 9 at 7 PM, with Jeanne Verhulst sharing her birding tour of Eastern Australia. As always, please check our website to make sure an event’s plans are unchanged. Thank you for your continued participation and support.

July 2023 From the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on July 1, 2023July 1, 2023Posted in Birds, Monthly Message, OutreachTagged birds, flowers

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!

July 2022 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on July 11, 2022July 11, 2022Posted in Birds, Conservation, Monthly Message, OutreachTagged birds, flowers

Dear Conococheague Auduboners and friends –

Some Scarlet Tanagers are still singing, and the House Wrens seem to be feeding whoever is in the nest box. Summer is definitely here!

Terri Kochert has graciously agreed to be our Outreach coordinator. (I hope her arm isn’t too sore after the twisting I gave it.) She has been involved in most of our outreach activities for the past few years, and, like Debby Hook, really enjoys engaging with the public about birds and Audubon. Please offer her your support by volunteering to help at such events. Or, help in advance by preparing materials for display. Bottom line: we need your help!

In that vein, there are three more Chambersburg Farmers’ Market Saturdays for us this summer: July 23, August 27, and September 24. The time is brief for each day, just 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. It’s a great way to spend part of a Saturday morning, and you can visit the rest of the market booths while you are there. Corn should be available starting this week. J Please contact Terri (717-263-3692) if you want to help.

We are on hiatus as far as meetings and field trips go. Our next meeting will be on September 12^th and the next field trip is September 10^th. We will be posting the schedule later this summer and sending you the new Activities List in August. We are still looking for someone to contact local media outlets with Publicity about our activities. Most of this happens through Facebook these days. So, if you are familiar with Facebook, please step up, or we won’t have as much engagement with the community. Contact me (Val Barnes) at conaudubon@outlook.com or 717-352-4397 to learn more.

To celebrate the joy birds bring to our lives, National Audubon released Volume II of For the Birds: The Birdsong Project, produced by Grammy Award-winning music supervisor Randall Poster. In collaboration with some of the world’s greatest musicians, artists, and actors, the collection features all-new tracks by artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Elvis Costello, Very Nice Person, Hania Rani, The Flaming Lips, Michael Uzowuru, Mary Lattimore, Matthew McConaughey, Inara George and Van Dyke Parks, Jeff Goldblum, Stephin Merritt, and many more. Listen now at https://www.audubon.org/birdsong-project

According to a press release from Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources: On June 17, 2022, “leaders from seven state agencies today highlighted the importance of protecting native species, which are critical to protecting our natural resources, at a stream restoration site at Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission headquarters. Governor Tom Wolf has proclaimed the first Pennsylvania Native Species Day.”

“Pennsylvania has 2.2 million acres of state forests, millions of acres of state park and game lands, and private forestlands that must be protected from invasive species,” DCNR Assistant State Forester Matt Keefer said. “Protecting our native plants and forests is critical to keeping Pennsylvania landscapes beautiful and productive for future generations.”

Conococheague Audubon promotes native plants through the Norlo Park garden we established and maintain. Check it out, and contact Josh Donaldson (717-264-6920) if you want to help pull weeds or plant natives in the garden. You might also consider planting more natives on your own property. They are easier to maintain than non-natives, and benefit birds and other species as well.

Here’s hoping you have a safe and happy Fourth of July. Stay cool and may you see lots of good birds.

Val Barnes, President

August 2021 from the President

By Valerie BarnesPosted on August 5, 2021August 19, 2021Posted in Birds, Monthly Message, OutreachTagged birds, flowers

Hello Fellow Nature Lovers,

As of today, we have 6 short weeks until we assume our new 2021-2022 season of general meetings and other events. I have some very IMPORTANT news for you today. Please read this carefully. Soon you will receive our new Activities List. With that, you will notice a BIG CHANGE! We will be conducting our general meetings, September – May at a new venue. We will now be meeting at St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall. The church is located adjacent to Luther Ridge in Scotland, PA. The full address is 2695 Luther Drive, Chambersburg, PA 17202. We will place signs at the entrance and in the building directing you to the correct room. When September rolls around, please make sure you come to St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church and NOT to Norlo Park Community Center. The room is good sized with plenty of tables and chairs. There is a kitchenette attached too for our January Covered Dish dinner. The church is located off I-81 Scotland Exit #20. Bear east towards Fayetteville on the Black Gap Road. Turn right onto Luther Drive. The church is immediately to the right. There’s ample parking. We hope to see you there!

Due to an emergency family health issue, our CAS Vice President had to step down. Thus, I need a new VP to replace Jessica. Please keep Jessica and her family in your prayers. If interested, please call me at 717-263-3692.

You’ll recall that I sent out a notice to take down your bird feeders July 2, 2021 due to a mysterious eye and neurological disease affecting common grackles, blue jays, European starlings, American robins, cardinals, finches and other birds. To date no one knows anything about the cause of this disease. There’s some speculation that it has to do with the arrival of the 17-year cicadas. Tests are being done, but no firm findings have been determined. Lest you think this is only a local phenomenon, there have been cases of many songbirds dying in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland. To date I have seen nothing about returning to feed the birds at this time. It is hoped that by refraining from feeding the birds, it will cause birds to “social distance” and lessen the chance of infection. For more on this, please read the following article from the National Audubon Society: scientists-still-searching-pathogen-behind-easts-songbird-epidemic

UPDATE AS OF 13 August: The PA Game Commission has lifted the restriction on feeding birds. See the PGC announcement.

As you know this is the migration season for shore birds. Our local area has seen its share of rarities. The new birding “hotspot” seems to be the Greencastle Antrim Ponds west of the Sheetz store. Birds seen in July are American Avocets, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Least Sandpipers, Black Duck, Osprey, Little Blue Heron, White-winged Dove, Kentucky Warbler, and Dickcissel. In the Newville area two Roseate Spoonbills have been seen.

Another reminder to you that for your fall perennial planting you may want to plant Native Plants, which help birds and other pollinators. Also, remember too that as you continue to modify your yards to create a more bird-friendly habitat, Mid-Atlantic Audubon (now merged from PA Audubon and Maryland-DC Audubon) has an application on line to answer questions about your garden. If you pay $25, you will receive a beautiful metal sign to display in your yard. To get a sign for yourself, you will need to go online to pa.audubon.org to find the application. The application is straight forward and not complicated. You will need to print off the application, fill it out, and send in your $25 to pa.audubon.org

I hope to see you all in September at our new location, St. Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church, or perhaps I’ll see you at the North Square Farmers Market on August 28, 2021 between 8 AM and 12 PM. For your viewing pleasure I’ve provided a link below to see some comical birds moving to music in a seven-and-a-half-minute long video.

Try Not To Laugh | 19 Funny Birds Videos Of The Week | The Pet Collective – Bing video

Enjoy!

Terri Kochert