State College Bird Club ZOOM Meeting
February 28, 2024


Presiding: Doug Wentzel

Recording: Peggy Wagoner Saporito

Attendance:61

Meeting Format: Zoom

Treasurer’s report:(Karen Kottlowski):

SCBC balance in the checking account is $4653.00 and savings account is $5576.55. Dues are accepted any time and information can be found on our website. 

Announcements/Other Activities

The listserv has around 450 participants and generates interesting conversations such as bird identification and fascinating information, both local and global. This month’s listserv topics included a wonderful sequence documenting a couple of our members’ Columbian birding trip, a description of the Discord site for local real-time rare bird alerts and a very educational discussion about trumpeter vs. tundra swan identification. To sign up, if you aren’t already, see our website. 
 
Upon the request of Doug Mason, SCBC Board member at large and Sierra Club, Moshannon Group, Chair, three additional SCBC board members, Doug W. (president), Susan Smith (VP of Field Trips) and Brady Thomas (VP of Programs) will attend the meeting sponsored by Nittany Valley Environmental Coalition on March 15 to share information and possible collaborations.

At last evening’s Board meeting, there was approval to increase financial support for housing to $800 for the spring Tussey Mountain official hawk watcher.

Also at the February 27 Board meeting, the process to distribute funds to support bird conservation activities in our region generated by our endowment fund managed by Centre Foundation was discussed. The committee (Deb Escalet, Susan Braun and Peggy Wagoner) have developed an announcement and application form to apply for this year’s available funds ($1331). The announcement with its attached application form will be sent via email to everyone on the listserv in early March. The committee to evaluate and select the project(s) or activity(ies) for funding will include Susan B., Deb, and Peggy. We also would like to invite several other interested SCBC members to join us to help in the selection process. If interested in participating in this selection committee, please contact any of Susan B., Deb, or Peggy.

The annual Avian Education presentation on PSU campus, 112 Forestry Building on March 14 4:30-6:00 pm will feature Dr. John Swaddle discussing “Bird-Window Collisions and What We Can Do About Them”.

Joe Gyekis (SCBC member), Jasmine Fields (State College Borough Sustainability coordinator) and Richard Novak (Fish and Wildlife) are working to have State College designated as a PA Bird Town. A number of towns in the southeastern portion of the state have this designation, prompted by an Audubon Society initiative to encourage bird friendly design and activities in towns.  See https://birdtownpa.org/ for details.

Our March SCBC meeting will be the annual on-line bird photo/sound show coordinated by SCBC member Nick Bolgiano. Look for his email announcement with the instructions for participation sent Feb 28 on our listserv. And this year we will reinstate the May picnic with the location still to be determined.
 
Notable Bird Sightings: Greg Grove’s Summary
(Feb 1 - 28, 2024; Centre and its contiguous counties)

Red-winged blackbirds and grackles are back indicating the change of seasons. Among waterfowl, greater white-fronted goose was reported and the trumpeter swan at Bald Eagle State Park was a highlight. The fact that 20 species of ducks have been recorded in the region during February, points to a warming environment. Woodcock  were back during the first week of February. Wilson’s snipe, a species that was more frequently seen in the past, was only found in 7 locations. A dunlin has been seen throughout the winter in Snyder County. There has only been one previous record of a dunlin in February in our region.

Golden Eagle season is beginning at the Tussey Mountain Hawkwatch as they migrate back to northern breeding grounds. Other raptors seen during the month include northern harriers, short-eared owl, rough-legged hawk (though lower numbers compared to past years probably due to the mild winter), saw-whet owls, merlin and peregrine.

Several northern shrikes were reported. Half-hearty birds that typically move somewhat south of our region during the coldest months including ruby-crowned kinglets, hermit thrush and catbirds have been seen during the past month. With the bumper crop of white pine cones produced last year, red crossbills have been numerous in our region enjoying the pine seeds.

Only a few Lapland longspurs have been reported and no snow buntings. Early migrants are beginning to appear such as fox and savannah sparrows and rusty blackbirds. Warblers that have made an appearance include somewhat expected pine and yellow-rumped and an unusual orange-crowned.

Speaker: Amber Wiewel: “Lets (Try To) Count All the Birds in Pennsylvania! A Look at PA’s Third Bird Atlas”

(This entire presentation can be viewed at:
https://psu.zoom.us/rec/share/-CgPTAtqNJEuSmsfe_-Bvsb9hC9r_dqFnD_1GXp7efzjA7l-yndGUixrNdUqKH1v.m1E_ZlABnErvBc34

Amber, who grew up in the Missouri Ozarks with a life-long passion for birds, has studied and conducted research on various species during her education at both U. of Missouri and Iowa State University as well as her professional career with US Geological Survey and at PSU. Now Atlas Coordinator for the entire state, Amber provided us with an excellent overview of the PA Bird Atlas along with some of the details needed for all of us to participate in this massive 5-year, state-wide project to map the distribution and abundance of our state’s bird populations through community science.

The Atlas is repeated every 20 years with previous efforts in 1984-1989 and 2004-2009.  This third atlas, 2024-2029, includes breeding birds which was begun January 11, 2024, and the winter atlas which will begin December 2024.

Results of the atlas are invaluable for conservation and management efforts including updates on threatened, endangered or species of concern, identifying important areas or habitats and assessing bird population responses to land use changes. When combined with results of the 2 previous Bird Atlas efforts, we can also begin to understand how various species’ populations shift over time as the climate changes. Additionally, the atlasing process will help us, as birders, become more informed.

The information that Amber presented can also be found on the Pennsylvania Bird Atlas link in eBird: https://ebird.org/atlaspa/home . A variety of “Atlas Resources” are available by clicking the light blue boxes near the top of this page including Contacts, Handbooks, Quick Guide, Breeding Behavior & Codes, Using the Atlas Portal and Atlas Blocks among others.

Amber described how the state is divided into nearly 5000 3x3 mile blocks and how to contribute checklists to the atlas through the PA Bird Atlas portal in eBird. Checklists can include anything from reporting nesting in your backyard to the dedicated atlasers intensively covering lesser birded areas of the state. The goal is to have state-wide coverage.

For those interested in becoming a Principle Atlaser for one or more blocks, you can sign up at the bottom of this link: https://ebird.org/atlaspa/about/atlas-blocks/.

Amber described guidelines to follow so that submitted checklists are as valuable to the effort as possible, emphasizing the importance of understanding how and when to use breeding codes during your observations. Amber shared a useful color coded chart (https://ebird.org/atlaspa/about/when-to-use-breeding-codes found in the last section “Breeding Timeline”) showing breeding/migration/nonbreeding times throughout the year for each species. Before submitting any breeding codes, it is best to refer to this chart. Checklists should be short in duration (not more than 30 minutes) and focused geographically (1 mile or less) within one habitat. Amber also described in detail each breeding code and how to use them.

At this point all blocks require intensive observations, so Amber encouraged us to bird anywhere and submit observations to the eBird portal. When using the Merlin app to help find birds through sound, it is important to verify species since Merlin is not fool-proof.

Other direct links within the eBird portal that may be helpful include:
https://ebird.org/atlaspa/about/tutorials has tutorials and printable materials.
https://ebird.org/atlaspa/effortmap to view blocks showing the amount of effort within each and by typing an address in this link, you can determine in which block you are located and where you are within a block.

To date, since the Atlas began in mid January, 650 atlasers have submitted close to 18,000 checklists from across 2221 blocks. Across the state there have been about 15 breeding species confirmed including red crossbills, owls and eagles.

To follow the progress of this Atlasing effort, use eBird to explore the Atlas data. And while out atlasing, you can also contribute to the “PA Atlas of Life” by documenting other flora and fauna at www.inaturalist.org/projects/pennsylvania-atlas-of-life.

To contact Amber directly email: PAbirdatlas .