Hello fellow nature lovers, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019t see any. We staked out last year\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 \u201cgetting skunked.\u201d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The recent Christmas Bird Count (CBC) under the direction of Valerie Barnes was a success. According to Val\u2019s 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\u2019s since mid-October was still seen on Dec. 19, CBC count day. The Townsend\u2019s 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\u2019s Snipe, and Purple Finch. The following birds reached an all-time high count: Cooper\u2019s 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\u2019s 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<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I will send the Zoom link in my \u2018February at Conococheague\u2019 letter. <\/li>