South Mountain Airs

The Newsletter of the South Mountain Audubon Society

January – March 2013, Volume XXXVIII #1 – The E-mail Edition

SMAS Annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) – Gettysburg Areas

Results of the SMAS CBC #113 held Saturday December 15th.

Our Annual Christmas Bird Count for Gettysburg and Surrounding Areas took place on Saturday, 15 December, 2012.

SMAS had 15 members and volunteers comprising 10 parties counting the number of bird species and the total individual number of birds in the field throughout most of the day in the Gettysburg count area, a 15 mile diameter circle centered on Knoxlyn, PA. Several people also participated by observing at their bird feeders and in their yard and on property areas.

A total of 71 species were seen with 4073 individual birds tallied for the overall count. Two additional species not found on count day were reported during the count week.

The species and individual totals this year compare with 76/7911 in 2010 and 72/8037 in 2011 respectively.

Overall, the total count of individual birds was down this year by approximately 50%. Individual numbers of birds, per species, in some cases were even lower. We believe this was generally due to the mild weather during the count period as was the case last year. It was the second year in a row with open water in all count areas, thus we missed some usual waterfowl and water related species.

We tallied 18 Party Hours / 15.5 miles on foot and 27 hours / 213.4 miles by car.

The complete count is summarized by species and numbers in Christmas Bird Count

UPCOMING BIRD RELATED EVENTS

The 16th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)

After 15 years of success in North America, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) will open up to the entire world for the first time in 2013. Anyone, from anywhere on earth, can participate by visiting www.birdcount.org and reporting the kinds and numbers of birds they see during the 16th annual count, February 15 - 18, 2013.

Discover and help the birds in your community. It's fun, family-friendly, and educational. It is free and open to all ages and skill levels.

Each year, tens of thousands of people throughout the U.S. And Canada take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Participants take part in their own backyards, out their office windows, at local parks and nature centers, and absolutely anywhere else. You can spend as little as 15 minutes or even make a whole weekend of it.

People of all ages and levels of bird-watching experience are welcome to participate. The GBBC is a great way to learn more about the birds in your community and connect with nature and is perfect for fledgling birders. You can count by yourself, with your family, community group, school, or friends. It is an ideal way for experienced birders to introduce children, grandchildren and others to the wonderful world of birds.

Learn how easy it is to participate. Enter your data. Explore results on-line. You can also enter a photo contest if you take pictures of the birds and have a chance to win birding prizes. For complete information visit the GBBC website on-line at: www.birdcount.org.

UPCOMING SMAS PROGRAMS & PRESENTATIONS

Unless indicated otherwise, all SMAS Programs are held at the Adams County Agricultural Resource Center, 670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg, PA at 7:30 PM. A room number for the SMAS meeting will be posted on the front lobby entry inner door.

We’ve posted the information on our total activities’ schedule at the end of this edition

Monday January 14th - “Native Plants, Wildlife, and the Legacy of the PA Quaker Botanists”

Kim Blocher will be speaking to the Adams County Audubon Society on January 14 at 7:30 pm. Her
presentation will focus on the native plants of our South Mountain region and their importance to birds and other
wildlife. Kim will also share some of the rich legacy we’ve inherited from our PA Quaker Botanists and the way
in which that legacy can enhance our appreciation for native plants. Her presentation will also highlight the
ways in which non-native plants have had a negative impact on our South Mountain region and what we can do about it.

The Rev. Dr. Kim Blocher is an Adams County native who grew up in Gettysburg. She and her husband Larry
Knutson currently live near Pine Grove Furnace on the edge of the Michaux State Forest. She serves as pastor of
Zion UCC in Arendtsville. On a recent sabbatical, she began a study of the Pennsylvania Quaker botanists John
and William Bartram and their contribution to our knowledge of native plants. She is working on a guide to
some of the trails in the Michaux Forest, incorporating writings of John and William Bartram. The guide
highlights the native plants important to our local ecosystem and shares some of the history of how these plants
were discovered and introduced by our Quaker botanists.

Monday March 11th - “Saving Pelican 895” an HBO Documentary Movie

Saving Pelican 895 is a HBO documentary about the after effect of the BP Oil Spill on wildlife.
The Louisiana state bird – the brown pelican – spent 45 years on the endangered species list. After years of being
relocated back to its natural habitat, the April 2010 BP explosion and ensuing oil spill ravaged the brown
pelican’s nesting homes on the Gulf of Mexico. But after three months, cleanup workers at the Fort Jackson
Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Louisiana had rescued 894 surviving oiled pelicans. “Saving Pelican
895” tells the gripping story of the rescue of one of the oiled bird victims, pelican “LA 895” (named after its state and rescue number).

Saving Pelican 895 is a story of redemption and human compassion. People worked interminably in the months
following the spill to rescue the helpless wildlife. Thanks to their efforts, 1,246 birds were rescued and released
back into the wild. The film documents the rescue of the 895th oiled pelican, to show the efforts made to save
one life, showing how conservationists, government agencies and wildlife activists joined forces to preserve this
one life. An inspiring bird’s-eye view of the rigorous process of rescuing thousands of oiled birds.

UPCOMING SMAS FIELD TRIPS

Contact Mike O'Brien, Field Trip Chair, as necessary for more information on all Field Trips, the annual Christmas Bird Count and the Spring Migration Count: 717.642.6676 Res / maddogobrien@gmail.com E-mail.

Please let the Leader know in advance if you plan to attend any field trip, especially if you plan to go direct.

Trips are subject to weathering out, especially in the colder months, or otherwise being changed. In addition, if we have only one or two known attendees, we may cancel or reschedule a given field trip. We cannot alert you unless we hear from you.

Wednesday February 6th Pine Grove Furnace State Park

We’ll meet in the parking lot at the Camp Store and Visitors Center on route 233 (Pine Grove Road) at 8:30 A.M.
We hope to see both resident and wintering land birds. We have had good luck in the past with winter species
such as Hermit Thrush, Winter Wren and Red-breasted nuthatch. Hopefully, we will come across some of this
year's irruptive species such as Crossbills, Evening Grosbeaks, Redpolls and Red-breasted Nuthatches.

If you arrive later than 8:30, the group will be in the area somewhere nearby. It can be quite cold there, so dress
according to the weather forecast. Bring binoculars and a snack and drink as desired. If interested in carpooling
to the site, contact the field trip leader in this regard.

Thursday March 7th - Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area

The Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, located on the Lebanon-Lancaster County line about one mile
south of Kleinfeltersville, is a tract owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission for the protection,
propagation management, preservation and controlled harvest of wildlife. Per the PA Game Commission, this
area of more than 5,000 acres provides habitat for waterfowl, forest and farmland wildlife species, and includes a
40 acre shallow lake and 70 acres of impoundments.

Bring binoculars, appropriate clothing per the weather including windy conditions, and snacks/drink as per
personal needs. Scopes are desirable if available. Mixed birding from vehicles on wildlife drive loop roads and
some walking to include, if desired, about a quarter mile to viewing point on the lake area (and return). Facilities
available. We will have a lunch break in the HQ Building Visitors Center. Contact the leader as needed / for
additional information.

Meet at the parking lot area between CVS and Burger King (across road opposite Walmart) on US #30 near its
intersection with US #15 at 8 AM (this is on the West side of the US #30 and #15 interchange).
Feathery

Feathery Factoid: Did you know that the Dusky Seaside Sparrow was sacrificed to facilitate man's race to the
moon? When the NASA Space Center was established at Cape Canaveral (later Cape Kennedy), Merritt Island
was diked to control mosquitoes. The dikes prevented the tidal flooding of the marshes, sealing the doom of the
specialized sparrow, the last of which passed into extinction in 1987.

Accessing the SMAS Newsletter

A great feature of having the Newsletter on-line and receiving it via e-mail, is that you can always access a misplaced or discarded issue at a future date. You can access the Newsletter in several ways. First, if you do not routinely discard your emails or you retain selected items in your in-box or transfer them to a saved information folder or similar, you can always access them at a future date on your own system. Second, we post the electronic edition on the internet at the following url: perch.es Simply copy the url and paste it into your browser search box or just type it in (Clicking usually will not work). The first header that appears is for the current (most recent) issue. In addition, there is a heading, by year, for past quarter issues which we archive on the site. We have put the past issues here since we started the electronic edition. Third, you can access it on the internet at the Yahoo.com Chat Group site, Adams County Nature Chat (AdCoNaChat). Presence of the information on this site may lag the Newsletter somewhat. We post our SMAS field trips, meeting dates and topics, special events like an annual picnic, annual luncheon, and other club news on the calendar. There are directions uploaded to the files section for some areas we have trips to, and also, we often upload the species list from completed field trips and Christmas Bird Counts on the Files area. You can access the AdCoNaChat web-site at the link provided below. This is the link to the home page and from there you can access posts and messages by members, the Calendar and Files section, and much more. Copy and paste the following url into your browser search box: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AdCoNaChat/