Field Report: Exton Park, Oct. 16, 2011

Recently, Valley Forge Audubon started hosting monthly walks (on the third Sunday) at Exton Park in West Whiteland Township. The park site was once the property of the Church Farm School but is now preserved by Chester County. Most of the park is composed of agricultural fields, but the highlight is a large pond and surrounding wetland and meadow that has attracted birds and birders for many years. Once known as Church Farm Pond, this unique site has always been popular because a number of rarities occasionally pop-up. There has been concern that parts of the park may be converted to playing fields, but hopefully our walks, and walks lead by other groups, prove to the community that the park has a particular value as wildlife habitat and can be enjoyed as such.

On October 16, Vince Smith lead a walk there that saw 48 species of birds — an impressive number for October! The complete list, as submitted to eBird by Brian Henderson follows:

Canada Goose  410     Many large flocks of geese on the move.
Wood Duck  1
American Black Duck  1
Mallard  18
Ruddy Duck  5
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Great Blue Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  3
Bald Eagle  1     Scared up monster flock of geese and crows as it came over.
Northern Harrier  1
Sharp-shinned Hawk  1
Cooper's Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
American Kestrel  1     Possibly two birds.  Seen catching and eating a grasshopper.
American Coot  1
Rock Pigeon  8
Mourning Dove  1
Belted Kingfisher  1
Downy Woodpecker  3
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  1
Eastern Phoebe  2
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  250     Huge flock of crows seen at edge of construction area and in the air around.  Many stirred into the air when the bald eagle soared through.
Fish Crow  12
Tree Swallow  200     Perched on power line initially.  They'd fly off, then come back down with more birds somehow, the flock expanding from 30 birds to 200-ish in a matter of minutes.  Seen feeding over fields through the morning.
Carolina Chickadee  5
Carolina Wren  2
Winter Wren  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Eastern Bluebird  5
American Robin  5
Gray Catbird  3  
Northern Mockingbird  2
European Starling  14
Cedar Waxwing  22
Palm Warbler  4
Yellow-rumped Warbler  15
Savannah Sparrow  10
Song Sparrow  19
Swamp Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  18
White-crowned Sparrow  1
Northern Cardinal  4
Red-winged Blackbird  100
Brown-headed Cowbird  8
House Finch  13
American Goldfinch  2

If you are thinking of visiting the park, click on the "location" link below to view it on Google Maps.

Field Report: Valley Forge National Historic Park, Sept. 24 2011

On Saturday, September 24, Valley Forge Audubon Society was honored to help celebrate Public Lands Day at Valley Forge National Historic Park the best way we know how: with a bird and nature walk through the park's meadows and woodlots. National Public Lands Day is a massive nation wide effort that recruits volunteers to enhance and improve our public lands and parks. Despite gray and rainy weather, Valley Forge had a great turn-out with many volunteers offering their time to help improve the park.

The historic significance of Valley Forge needs no further explanation, but the park is also important to the ecology of the region. With 3,500 acres preserved, Valley Forge holds one of the largest areas of connected wildlife habitat in the Philadelphia region. This is especially significant considering the amount of commercial, residential, and industrial development that surrounds the park. In many ways, Valley Forge stands as a wildlife oasis in one of the busiest and most developed sections of suburban Philadelphia. And it is a diverse oasis, containing large sections of deciduous forest, meadows, streams, and a significant section of the Schuylkill River. Over 730 species of plants occur in the park as well as 315 species of animals including 225 species of birds.

27 of those 225 species were spotted on a walk lead by Rob Evans of the Valley Forge Audubon Society. Among the birds seen were several migrants including Black-and-White Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, as well as raptors including Cooper's and Broad-winged Hawks. Large numbers of American Robins, American Crows, and Blue Jays were a testament to the fact that this is the time of year when birds start to form large flocks. The complete list of birds spotted, as compiled by Brian Henderson and submitted to eBird follows:

Mallard - 3
Cooper's Hawk - 1

Broad-winged Hawk - 2

Mourning Dove - 4

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1

Chimney Swift - 4

Belted Kingfisher - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 4

Downy Woodpecker - 1

Hairy Woodpecker - 1

Northern Flicker - 2

Eastern Phoebe - 3

Blue Jay - 23

American Crow - 19

Carolina Chickadee - 3

White-breasted Nuthatch - 2

Carolina Wren - 2

American Robin - 25

Gray Catbird - 4

European Starling - 11

Cedar Waxwing - 15

Black-and-white Warbler - 2

Magnolia Warbler - 1

Eastern Towhee - 1

Northern Cardinal - 1

Indigo Bunting - 1

American Goldfinch - 5

Of course, this was just a small sampling of what can be seen in Valley Forge Park. It's diverse habitats hold a lot of special interest to the Valley Forge Audubon Society. The meadows are one of the most dependable spots in the area to find the Eastern Meadowlark, a grassland bird in slow decline in our area. The meadows also host migrating insects such as Green Darner Dragonflies and Monarch Butterflies, which feed and breed in the abundant milkweed. The river and streams are an important spot for wintering ducks including American Black Duck, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, and Hooded Merganser, and these riparian areas have been important in the comeback of Mink and Bald Eagle.

The park faces many threats, not only from development, but from invasive species including several kinds of plants as well the Rusty Crayfish, which threatens to wipe out the native crayfish species found in Valley Creek. Another problem is the impact of over-browsing from White-tailed Deer. Volunteer activities such as Public Lands day are an important factor in helping to alleviate these problems. Consider volunteering or supporting the park through the Friends of Valley Forge Park. You can also see for yourself how important these areas are on one of our upcoming walks in our Calendar of Events.

Field Report: Norristown Farm Park, Sept. 3 2011

On Saturday September 3, Vince Smith lead a bird walk at the Norristown Farm Park. Over the course of three miles, the group saw a total of 46 species, including nine species of migrating warblers. The complete list, as submitted to eBird:

Canada Goose  12
Mallard  3
Great Blue Heron  1
Green Heron  6
Turkey Vulture  3
Cooper's Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Ring-billed Gull  2
Mourning Dove  28
Chimney Swift  12
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  3
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  5
Northern Flicker  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Eastern Phoebe  3
Warbling Vireo  1
Red-eyed Vireo  4
Blue Jay  8
American Crow  31
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  8
Tree Swallow  1
Bank Swallow  1
Barn Swallow  4
Carolina Chickadee  8
Tufted Titmouse  6
White-breasted Nuthatch  5
Carolina Wren  4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Wood Thrush  1
American Robin  35
Gray Catbird  12
European Starling  11
Black-and-white Warbler  2
Common Yellowthroat  5
American Redstart  5
Northern Parula  1
Blackburnian Warbler  1
Yellow Warbler  4
Chestnut-sided Warbler  1
Pine Warbler  1
Canada Warbler  1
Song Sparrow  3
Northern Cardinal  7
Red-winged Blackbird  1
American Goldfinch  9

Field Report: Black Rock Sanctuary, Aug. 27, 2011

On Saturday morning, August 27, Vince Smith lead a bird walk at Black Rock Sanctuary in Phoenixville. On their two mile walk, the group saw a total of 40 bird species. Here's the complete list, as submitted to eBird:

Mallard  2
Great Egret  1
Green Heron  3
Mourning Dove  4
Chimney Swift  27
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  5
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Eastern Phoebe  1
Warbling Vireo  1
Red-eyed Vireo  1
Blue Jay  9
American Crow  4
Fish Crow  1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  6
Barn Swallow  12
Carolina Chickadee  3
Tufted Titmouse  3
White-breasted Nuthatch  4
Carolina Wren  8
House Wren  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Eastern Bluebird  1
American Robin  12
Gray Catbird  15
European Starling  14
Common Yellowthroat  1
Eastern Towhee  2
Chipping Sparrow  2
Scarlet Tanager  1
Northern Cardinal  4
Indigo Bunting  5
Common Grackle  4
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Baltimore Oriole  13
House Finch  5
American Goldfinch  15

Cradle of Birding Festival is Sept. 17 at John Heinz NWR

Everyone is invited for all-day fun at the 8th annual Cradle of Birding Wildlife and Conservation Festival at John Heinz NWR, on September 17, 2011. The festival features wildlife exhibits, live animal shows, bird walks, demonstrations, fishing, archery, live music, free lunch, trolley tours around the impoundment, and much more. The first bird walk starts at 7 am. Exhibitors and other activities run from 9 am to 3 pm.  At 2 pm, John Heinz NWR welcomes keynote speaker JOHN ROGERS of Bird Town Pennsylvania, presenting "Designing with Natives, A Road Map to Backyard Design and Stewardship." At 10 am, Dr. Barb Elliot and Edie Parnum, co-directors of the Valley Forge Audubon Society "Backyards for Nature", program will present a colorful, interesting program highlighting the benefits of native species. The annual Heinz Refuge Photo Contest winners will be announced in the afternoon. The Cradle of Birding Festival is great fun for the whole family, and free of charge. Tell your friends, bring a child, and join us on September 17! For more information, visit http://www.friendsofheinzrefuge.org/.

Field Report: Black Rock Sanctuary, Aug 13, 2011

On Saturday, August 13, Vince Smith's bird walk at Black Rock Sanctuary tallied 36 species. The complete list, as submitted to eBird:

Wood Duck  3
Mallard  2
Great Blue Heron  1
Green Heron  4
Turkey Vulture  8
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Rock Pigeon  3
Mourning Dove  5
Chimney Swift  8
Belted Kingfisher  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  3
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  2
Eastern Phoebe  2
Blue Jay  5
American Crow  3
Tree Swallow  1
Barn Swallow  4
Carolina Chickadee  8
Tufted Titmouse  2
Carolina Wren  2
House Wren  1
Eastern Bluebird  2
American Robin  6
Gray Catbird  30
Northern Mockingbird  3
European Starling  30
Field Sparrow  3
Northern Cardinal  4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  2
Indigo Bunting  1
Common Grackle  1
Brown-headed Cowbird  15
Baltimore Oriole  3
House Finch  2
American Goldfinch  5

Remember, you can find walks on our home page at valleyforgeaudubon.org or on our Facebook page.

Welcome to the New Wingbeat Blog

As the seasons turn from summer to fall, we witness the leaves of deciduous trees change color and migratory birds flying to their winter homes. Change is a constant in the natural world and one of the factors that makes observing nature so rewarding.
And just as change comes to the natural world, change has come to Wingbeat, which for years was the quarterly newsletter mailed to joint members of the Valley Forge Audubon Society and the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove. It should be no surprise that organizations like ours are constantly struggling with the best way to direct the money we receive. The cost of producing a newsletter, like Wingbeat, including the printing and postage for mailing, can be quite high. In looking over the best way to use our budget, we’ve come to the decision that the cost of printing and mailing a newsletter is too high. As a result, the Fall of 2011 saw the last paper issue of Wingbeat.
What you are reading now is Wingbeat’s new home online as the joint blog of the Valley Forge Audubon Society and the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove. The new blog will feature the same in-depth articles on events at Mill Grove, local birds and environmental issues, and tips for your home from Backyards for Nature, as well as field reports from our walks and hikes.
Change is inevitable but beneficial as well. It’s our hope that the new blog, along with our redesigned website and our Facebook pages will give us a greater presence on the online world and attract new members while invigorating our current ones. It’s also an excellent way to communicate our objectives and both strengthen and educate our community.