The State College Bird Club, 1941-2020
State College, Pennsylvania
Purpose and History
Since its inception in 1941, the State College Bird Club has
been a fixture in the local community of Pennsylvania's Happy
Valley. Today, we are a diverse group dedicated to the
appreciation of wild birds in central Pennsylvania. The Bird
Club attracts members from many facets of our community: We are
academics, school children, retirees, college students,
laborers, and others, all bound by the common thread of our love
for wild birds and the natural world. In a town where the local
community often lives in the shadow of a major university, the
State College Bird Club is a shining example of an organization
that enjoys a mutually beneficial relationship with Penn State.
The State College Bird Club is responsible for collecting and
cataloging important information on bird populations in central
Pennsylvania. In addition to year round record-keeping for PA
BIRDS Magazine, Bird Club members participate in the the
Christmas Bird Count, Breeding Bird Survey, PA Migration Count,
the Pennsylvania Special Areas Project, Cornell's various
citizen science initiatives and other projects. Bird Club
members were also instrumental in the development of the 1st and
2nd Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlases, and Merrill Woods'
seminal 1952 publication, Birds of the State College Region,
Pennsylvania, which was the motivation and basis for the 2010
publication, Birds of Central Pennsylvania by Nick Bolgiano and
Greg Grove with additional contributors.
Developing Bird Club efforts to promote birds and conservation
include a Bird Club website and Facebook presence. We currently
maintain an email listserv to rapidly disseminate information on
rare birds and other important local findings. Bird Club members
make presentations to schools and other local citizen's groups,
publish articles in local newspapers and state and national
periodicals, and have made birds topics on a local talk radio
program and TV. The Bird Club also maintains a presence on
issues of local, state, and national conservation concern.
The Bird Club holds monthly meetings and field trips from
September through May (all open to the public). Eight meetings
per year feature presentations with topics that run the gamut
from Ph.D.- level original research to travelogues of birding
vacations. The dedication of Bird Club members to spend time in
the field and report their findings have established the Centre
Region as one of the premiere locations in the Eastern U.S. to
observe both the spring and fall migrations of Golden Eagles.
For 72 years, the State College Bird Club has provided a forum
in which people can gather as a community to learn more about
birds and about their own place in the natural world. Our vision
for the future includes an expanded role in conservation-related
projects, without losing sight of the reason we all got together
in the first place; our never-ending fascination with the birds
around us.
Nick Kerlin, 2012, former President, The State College Bird Club
(revision of the original 1998 article by Tim O'Connell, Former
President)
Current
Officers as of September 2023
Office
Name Term
President: Doug Wentzel 2023-2025
VP for Field Trips: Susan Smith 2022-2024
VP for Programs: Brady Thomas 2023-2025
Treasurer: Karen Kotlowski 2022-2024
Secretary: Peggy Wagoner Saporito 2023-2025
Board Member at Large:
Deb Escalet 2023-2025
Bob Fowles 2022-2024
Jon Kauffman 2022-2024
Doug Mason 2023-2025
Current By-Laws (click
to download)