State College
Bird Club Meeting
January 28, 2026
Presiding: Doug Wentzel
Recording: Peggy Wagoner Saporito
Attendance: 14 in person/17 on zoom
Meeting Format: Hybrid: In-person and Zoom
Meeting Location: Millbrook Marsh Spring Creek Education Building
(Thanks again to Susan Crandall Hart and Mandy Maguffey at
Millbrook Marsh for allowing us to use this lovely room for our
meetings)
Treasurer’s report:(Karen Kottlowski):
SCBC account balances:
Checking: $6,098.99
Savings: $22,580.64
Paypal: $550.00
Announcements/Other Activities:
1. Doug thanked Kathy Bechdel for recording the minutes of this
meeting as Peggy Waggoner was unavailable. Also, thank you to
Kathy Bechdel and Bob Fowles for organizing and publishing the
Winter/Spring field trip schedule on the club’s website.
2. Doug thanked Connor Schmitt and Amber Weiwel for leading a bird
walk at the Lower Trail January 11
3. There is an initial meeting of the Bird Design Discussion Group
on January 29 at 7 pm at Jabebo in Bellefonte. Kevin Abbott has
sent a link to the Zoom option via the bird club email list.
4. There have been comments from members that some emails are
being delivered to their “spam”. Bob Fowles is working on this
issue. There are currently 452 on the listserv.
5. February 13-16 is the Backyard Bird Count. Consider
participating and record your lists to eBird and PA Bird Atlas.
6. Amber Weiwel announced that the PA Bird Atlas is currently
hiring technicians for the summer season to complete point counts.
If interested, contact Amber or find more information on the PA
Bird Atlas website. Job
Opportunities | Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: Learn Visit Join
7. PA Native Plant Society (www.panativeplantsociety.org)
is sponsoring a Winter Seed Sowing Workshop on Saturday, January
31 from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm at Schlow Library.
8. Greg Grove reported on the status of construction of Rutter’s
at Old Crow Wetland. Speculation is that there is some issue with
the first phase of construction and efforts are being made to
stabilize the site. Greg emphasized that this is speculation,
however there has been no work on the site for a couple of months.
9. Connor Schmitt announced another field trip similar to
the January 11 event. On February 14 from 10 am to noon, Connor
and Amber Weiwel will lead a walk on the Lower Trail. See website
for more information. www.scbirdcl.org
10. Susan Hart announced that the Youth Bird Club is starting this
Sunday, February 1 with 6 - 7 youth birders. See website for
details: https://www.crpr.org/mmnc-public-programs
11. Brady announced the next meeting will be on February 25 with
Dave Toews as guest speaker.
Guest Speaker:
Brady Thomas introduced this month’s guest speaker, Heidi Shiver:
Since 2021, Heidi began working to strengthen the Bird Town PA
program and serving as the President of Bird Town Pennsylvania and
working with the Board to support the current programs to continue
to grow the program and promote community-based conservation
actions to create a healthier and sustainable environment for
birds, wildlife and people. She also serves on the Executive
Committee of the Pennsylvania Audubon Council, a Bucks County Penn
State Master Gardener (for over 18 years), and on the Doylestown
Township’s Environmental Advisory Council as an associate. She
wrote and edited the 2nd edition of Birds of Bucks County (2024),
and enjoys birding, gardening, walking, her dog, traveling,
reading, and spending time with her family, two children, and
three grandchildren.
This entire presentation can be viewed for a limited time at:
https://psu.zoom.us/rec/share/X8zdxJ_MdobM0PRvfFST3iaoVcx9PmHEubJonbPCh-Ah
ML6YaqTVHdciKBqN3bo.0PTjkfNOLiTGnIMp
Bird Town PA works in partnership with local municipalities and
like-minded organizations to promote community based conservation
actions to create a healthier and more sustainable environment for
birds, wildlife and people.
Bird Town PA operates under the umbrella of PA Audubon Council for
the past 15 years. Currently there are 99 Bird Towns representing
17 counties. It is part of Bird City Network that represents 275
communities, 13 states, and 4 countries.
Bird Town PA operates in partnership with 15 organizations
including 9 Audubon Societies.
What is the purpose of Bird Town PA?
Keep our ecosystems running smoothly
Bring us joy and beauty
Birds are everywhere
Birds help us know if the environment is healthy
Birds need our help
Threats to birds and their environments were highlighted. These
include:
Loss and fragmentation of habitat
Feral and outdoor cats
Window collisions
Pesticides
Climate change
Invasive Species
Plastics
Heidi reviewed many of the efforts that are being made to address
these issues.
Bird Town PA maintains a website - birdtownpa.org
On the website, you can sign up for two newsletters - Bird Town
Flyer and Bird Beat. There is a private Facebook page - The Bird
Town Forum
Heidi announced three virtual workshops:
February 12 at 7 pm - How to support birds of greatest
conservation need
March 26 at 7 pm - How to properly rescue birds
September 17 at 7 pm - Creating self-sustainable ecosystems
through micro-forests
A significant funding source comes from Penn Community Bank with a
$10,000 donation and volunteers who worked to remove invasive
plants. The donation funded 11 mini-grants.
Businesses and organizations are encouraged to sponsor Bird Town
PA at various levels from $100 - $1000.
Bird Town PA received a $26,700 grant through DCNR which will be
used to offer additional mini-grants.
A Bird Town PA community pledges to work toward four goals:
Creating and Protecting Habitat
Addressing Threats to Birds
Educating and Engaging People
Promoting Sustainability
Each community works through four-tiered certification levels.
Pennsylvania is divided into six Bird Town clutches. Each area
meets throughout the year to share successes, ideas and resources.
There is an annual event where all Bird Town representatives meet.
What can we do?
Increase native plants and remove invasives
Participate in Backyard Habitat Recognition Program
Citizen Science Programs
For more information contact Heidi