Shaver’s Creek Birding Cup: 7:00PM Friday April 30 -7:00PM
Saturday May 1. Teams compete to record as many bird species as
possible within this 24 hour period (for more details: https://www.shaverscreek.org/public-programs-and-events/birding-cup/).
This year funds will go towards the Lost Bird Project.
Global Big Day: May 8. This is another event to record
birds in our area on ebird. Last year 130 species were sighted in
Centre and 132 in Huntingdon counties.
Bird Club Elections:
By a unanimous voice vote, five candidates were elected:
• President – Doug Wentzel (returning)
• VP of Programs: Joe Gyekis (returning)
• Secretary: Peggy Wagoner Saporito (returning)
• 2 Board members: Susan Braun and Nick Bolgiano
Thanks to the nominating committee, Jon Kauffman (chair), Larry
Miles and Roana Fuller.
Announcements
Old Crow Wetland update: Greg Grove discussed the proposed
Rutters store and fueling station for vehicles, including 18
wheelers, immediately uphill from this wetland in Smithfield
township, Huntingdon Co. Upon Greg’s urging, at least a dozen
emails were sent to the supervisors to discourage the proposed
construction or at least consider mitigation efforts to protect
this environmentally sensitive area. Greg also encouraged anyone
who is able to attend the supervisors meeting on Thursday, April
29 to voice concerns about the proposal.
PSU Campus Window Strike research: Joe Gyekis
discussed work he and Margaret Brittingham are conducting to
evaluate bird deaths and injuries caused by window collisions. A
Penn State student, Chyvonne Jessick, is coordinating the daily
morning monitoring. So far 174 birds of 63 species have been
found. She is looking for volunteers who live in State College who
are interested in helping by walking a 1 ½ hour route around
campus. Intensive monitoring is needed during the May migration.
If you are interested in helping Chyvonne, contact Joe.
Because of Covid 19, we will not have the typical May picnic again
this year, but Roana Fuller has volunteered to organize the May
Bird Club Zoom meeting at which whoever wishes can share up
to 5 photos with the group, similar to last year’s meeting.
Submissions can be sent to Roana
by May 12.
Tussey Mountain Hawk Watch wrapped up on Sunday April
25. Sean McLaughlin, our official counter, gave us a nice overview
of the birds seen over the last 2 months. Highlights included a
good number of Golden Eagles, 189, the highest count in 5 years
and a new high count for this site of spring migrating Bald
Eagles, 104. Thanks to Nick Bolgiano and Jon Kauffman for
coordinating the hawk watch and to Sean for his dedication and
daily reports from the mountain.
Interesting Bird Sightings: Greg Grove’s Summary
(March 24- April 28, 2021; Centre and its contiguous counties)
As can happen in spring migration season, there have been some
rarities and oddities in the area. Included among them was the
King Rail in a back yard in State College for a few days in mid
April, the 4th record of one in Centre Co. Another rarity, a
Marbled Godwit was sighted today at Bald Eagle State Park, similar
to last year’s sighting of one on April 30. All 4 species of Terns
have been recorded already at BESP, which is early for some of
these species. The first Neotropical Cormorant ever recorded in
the state was seen near Williamsport. At BESP there was an
American White Pelican and a Marsh Wren was seen at Old Crow
Wetland.
Winter finch sightings are winding down as the season progresses.
A few Evening Grosbeaks are still being seen here and there. The
last Redpolls were reported in early April. Purple finches and
Pine Siskins are still around as are the Red Crossbills in Scotia.
Warblers are definitely moving into the area with 23 species
having been reported in the area to date. Hummingbirds are
starting to be reported today.
Our SCBC Board member and avian data expert, Nick Bolgiano,
presented findings from his analysis and distillation of a massive
amount of data from Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), Breeding Bird
Surveys (BBS) and hawk migration counts for a variety of species
impacted in various ways by spruce budworm infestations in eastern
Canada. Nick’s summary is as follows:
“During recent fall and spring migrations, increasingly more of
the spruce budworm warblers, Tennessee, Cape May, and
Bay-breasted, have been seen in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. During
the winter of 2020-2021, irruptions of winter finches were
observed, including Evening Grosbeak and Purple Finch. These two
finches can be thought of as “spruce budworm finches”, as their
numbers multiply during large budworm outbreaks. Such an outbreak
started in 2006 along the St. Lawrence R. in Québec and continues
today, which is why the research presented remains relevant.
Nick presented Christmas Bird Count data from the last 80 years,
showing how Evening Grosbeak and Purple Finch numbers were linked
to the 1968-1986 spruce budworm infestation that occurred from
Lake Superior to Newfoundland and affected up to 55 million
hectares of boreal forest at its peak in 1975. This was the
largest budworm infestation in eastern Canada for which there are
sufficient data. Repeated defoliations will kill a tree and about
half of the defoliated trees died during the 1968-1986
infestation. Evening Grosbeaks and Purple Finches feed budworm
larvae to their chicks and their numbers significantly increased
as the infestation expanded and eventually declined dramatically
after the infestation ended. These two species can probably be
thought of as opportunistic budworm specialists, akin to the
budworm warblers.
When the 1968-1986 budworm infestation collapsed, irruptions of
Boreal Chickadee, Black-capped Chickadee, Pine Grosbeak to
northeastern states were dramatically reduced, and irruptions of
Red Crossbill and White-winged Crossbill were fewer in frequency.
This was thought to have occurred because of the vast loss of
boreal forest trees, the effect upon boreal seed ecology, and on
bird populations themselves. Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common
Redpoll, and Pine Siskin were unaffected.
Breeding Bird Survey data from eastern Québec showed that numbers
of the three budworm warblers, Blackpoll Warbler, Evening
Grosbeak, and Purple Finch rose and fell with the 1968-1986
budworm infestation. As trees died, the numbers of Olive-sided
Flycatcher, Black-backed Woodpecker, Slate-colored Junco, and Fox
Sparrow rose and fell as expected with plant succession.
Sharp-shinned Hawk counts at Hawk Mountain, Waggoner’s Gap, Cape
May, and Kiptopeke lagged 1-2 years behind the increases in
budworm-affected songbirds. While increased numbers of wintering
Sharp-shinned Hawks were observed in southeastern Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, and the Chesapeake region, this was thought to be
caused by migratory short-stopping, with the budworm infestation
being the main driver of population numbers.
Finally, it was noted that Pennsylvania increases in a
mixed-forest assemblage of vireos and warblers coincided with
similar increases in the boreal forest after the budworm collapse
and it was speculated that these increases could be part of common
regional dynamics.”