South Mountain Airs
The Newsletter of the South Mountain Audubon Society
August – September 2016, Volume XXXVII #3 – The E-mail Edition

UPCOMING BIRD RELATED / OTHER EVENTS

SMAS Annual Picnic All members should have received information on the Annual SMAS Picnic via a separate emailing which was sent out to the membership earlier, and again on August 3rd, 2016.

This information is reproduced here and it should be noted that the location of the picnic has been changed and the date has been moved to the third Monday in August; this is in line with our recent change in regular public club meetings from the 2nd Monday of the month to the 3rd Monday of the month.

Here is the full message:

Hello, South Mountain Audubon Members!

The need has arisen to change the venue for our annual picnic that will now be held on Monday, August 15. Carole and Barry Simon have graciously offered their home and yard for our gathering this year. Their address is 336 Schriver Road, Gettysburg.

DIRECTIONS FROM THE SQUARE IN GETTYSBURG:

South on Business 15 (Baltimore Street); turn right at Steinwehr Avenue. (Steinwehr Avenue changes to Emmitsburg Road.)
Travel approximately 5 miles and turn right onto Cunningham Road.
In 1.2 miles, bear right onto Schriver Road.
The Simons' driveway will be on the right within the first half mile.
We will tie balloons at the entrance.

All are welcome to arrive anytime after 5 PM and the picnic dinner will begin at 6 PM. Please bring a dish to share, your drink(s) of choice, and a place setting for all in your group.

Also, don't forget to psych yourselves up for the "Annual SMAS Bean Bag Competition!

PLEASE RSVP to Linette at southmountainaudubon@gmail.com if you plan to attend. Also, if you need any further information, please contact Linette at 717-495-8137.

Hope to see you at the picnic!

UPCOMING PROGRAMS & PRESENTATIONS

Unless indicated otherwise, all SMAS Programs are held at the Adams County Agricultural Resource Center,
670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg, PA: Social Time at 7:00 PM; meeting and presentaion program 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 throughout the year at the end of this edition.

UPCOMING SMAS MONTHLY PROGRAMS

September 19th - Tanzania Safari: Birds and Other Wildlife

Presented by Deb and Ralph Siefkin and Linette Mansberger. The program will feature photos of many species of birds, mammals and other animals taken during a recent trip to Tanzania. Arusha, Tarangire, Serengeti, and Lake Manyara National Parks and Ngorongoro Conservation Area were the areas visited. Refreshments served at 7:00 PM; program begins at 7:30.

October 17th - Birding in Bhutan

Presented by Mike Bertram and Kathy King. Mike and Kathy will describe their March trip to Southeast Asia where they birded and visited many historical and cultural sites. Refreshments served at 7:00 PM; program begins at 7:30.

November 21st - Planetarium Presentation at Masters Hall, Gettysburg College

Presented by Ian Clarke. There will be no refreshments served; program begins at 7:30 PM. More information on the program will appear in the next (4th Quarter) SMAS newsletter.

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.

Tuesday September 27th - The "Pulpit" Hawk Watch at Tuscarora Ridge

Hawk watching trip to Tuscarora Ridge summit where US #30 passes over the crest of the ridge near
McConnellsburg, PA. Long called "The Pulpit," this site provides good views of approaching raptors.

This is a joint trip with the York Audubon Society.

Broad-winged Hawks will still be going through at this time. Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks should be present in good numbers and most other raptors are possible at this time. Short and easy access from where we will park to the observation area. No facilities (McConnellsburg within driving distance). Meet in parking area between Burger King and CVS on US Rte #30 (York Street) near its intersection with US #15 in the shopping area where Staples and CVS are located - across the street from Walmart. We will carpool to the extent possible. Bring a chair if you wish as well as personal/food/drink items. Bring apparel as dictated by the weather. Meeting time is 8:30 AM with return in mid-afternoon. This trip is subject to weathering out especially in the event of precipitation.

Saturday December 17th - Annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) - Gettysburg Areas

All are invited and welcome to join SMAS for the 2016 CBC. Complete information will appear in the 4th
Quarter SMAS newsletter under upcoming events.

Feathery Factoid (The Quiz Version) ; Three items this quarter:
1. What is a downy goose called?
2. Which American sandpiper may dive and remail under water if attacked by a hawk?
3. How many doves do North American hunters shoot annually?

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 archive 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 may not always 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.

And, of course, per information above re the new SMAS Website, you can reference current & past issues there.
The url is: http://southmountainaudubon.org/

Feathery Factoid Quiz Answers:
1. A gosling.
2. The Spotted Sandpiper.
3. As many as 50 million (50,000,000) out of a population of 500 million.