Friday, May 17, 2013
Austin Smith, 16, is one of the Upper Main Line YMCA's 'B.B. Kingfishers.'
If you've ever seen the movie The Big Year, starring Steve Martin and Jack Black, you know how exciting birding can be. Three local teens recently experienced that thrill firsthand, as they spotted 186 bird species to claim a historic title on May 11—the first youth team to win the New Jersey Audubon Society's World Series of Birding: Great Valley High School student Austin Smith was one of the three students on the team. The Kingfishers were also overseen by two Great Valley alums—Brian Quindlen, who teaches weekly bird-identification skills through at the YMCA, and Brian Raicich, the YMCA’s Senior Director of Youth Development, who originally started the birding program there. Read more about the B.B. Kingfishers' big win in the Patch …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Beauty in the Brambles Bird Walk & Workshop will be held at Rushton Farm on May 4.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
A local golf club suspects its recent guests might have escaped a Willistown farm.
So these two guineafowl walk onto a golf course... No, it's not the opening of a joke. There really are two birds at Edgmont Country Club, and they appear to have walked there, not flown. They've been there since Monday, according to an email from Peter Mariani, a project manager at the country club: But if it was a joke, the punch line would include an angry golfer in the pro shop, waving a new club in one hand and pointing at the two guineafowl with the other hand, saying, "You promised me a Double Eagle."
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The unwilling host says she'd like to see the winged guests go away forever.
Patch reader Karen Sullivan has a question about some uninvited guests in her yard: Turns out, they're not turkey vultures—they're black vultures. That's according to Lisa Kiziuk, Director of Bird Conservation at Willistown Conservation Trust, who says the birds are fairly common to this area and tend to roost during the winter. They are amazing birds and when people learn about their interesting natural history, they usually gain a deep appreciation for them. Kiziuk went on link to link to a story about poisoned vultures in India and more info than you wanted on turkey vultures (her words). She suggested Sullivan call the PA Game commission or a private animal control expert.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Willistown Conservation Trust looks at what human men can learn from birds on Valentine's Day.
In honor of Valentine's Day, Willistown Conservation Trust's bird blog examined What Men Can Learn from Avian Romance. Blake Goll, WCT's Nature Education Coordinator and an experienced birder, authored the post, which includes six lessons that human men can take from their winged counterparts. The first lesson pairs a picture of Elvis Presley with one of the Male Hooded Merganser: The second lesson is what inspired the headline of this post and the Youtube video above: In other words, take after the Red-capped Manakin, which does a Michael Jackson impersonation in its efforts to woo a mate. (Skip to 2:41 in the video to see the dance.) Read all six lessons in the full post at the Willistown Conservation Trust Bird Blog.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Monday is the final day to register for the Willistown bird-counting event on May 12.
Birders young and old are invited to count birds in the Willistown area on May 12. Willistown Conservation Trust's birders will host young "wildwings" on a hike through private trails followed by a casual supper. Check out the Trust's Bird Blog for a preview of some of the birds that inhabit or pass through the area. Monday is the final day to register for the event. An email from birder Blake Goll has the details: This is a friendly competition among teams to identify the most bird species in the beautiful Willistown area. The competition begins as early as you wish on the morning of May 12th to 6pm. There is an optional early start May 11th 6pm to find owls and other species. Families and birders of all skills levels are invited. …
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The structure was built by Eagle Scout Cody Pitz.
The new bird banding station at Rushton Farm looks a bit like a gazebo one might find in a nice park. The wooden structure, built by Eagle Scout Cody Pitz, features a skylight in the roof but no walls, and is big enough to easily fit the crew of about 12 people who attended its first use the morning of Wednesday, May 25. It was a slow morning—the tail end of the spring migration station—until a volunteer birder named Lou approached the station and breathlessly announced, "Lisa, we've got a pileated." Lisa Kiziuk, associate stewardship manager at Willistown Conservation Trust, was immediately off and running. Through the field and into the wood, she found a pileated woodpecker in one of the 10 nets that had been set up at dawn. Returning …
Hannah Goldestein
11:33 am on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Robin is correct! more ›