|
REGULAR MONTHLY PROGRAM
Wyncote Audubon schedules regular monthly programs from September through May. Our programs take place at the Upper Dublin Public Library, 520 Virginia Drive, Fort Washington, PA 19034 and are typically scheduled for the third Friday of each month with variations due to holidays. Programs are free! We welcome all members and friends for refreshments provided at 6:30 PM before the presentations at 7:00 PM. We encourage registrations for our programs and offer the programs via zoom for individuals not able to attend in person.
| |
|
FEBRUARY MONTHLY PROGRAM
7:00 PM, Friday, February 16, 2024
Winged Wonders of Ecuador:
A Photographic Journey into the Avian Paradise of South America
(Rescheduled from January 19th due to inclement weather)
Join Wyncote Audubon at our first Monthly Meeting of the New Year scheduled for 7:00 PM on Friday, February 16, 2024 at the Upper Dublin Public Library, 520 Virginia Drive, Fort Washington, PA 19034. We encourage in person attendance but offer the option to participate via zoom
Join us as we embark on a captivating visual expedition with wildlife photographer Troy Bynum from TB Wildlife Photography as he transports you to the enchanting realm of Ecuador's diverse birdlife. In this lecture, Troy will share his extraordinary experiences and stunning photographs, offering a unique glimpse into the vibrant tapestry of Ecuador's avian paradise. Be prepared to be transported into a world where feathers tell tales and every camera click captures the essence of Ecuador's avian wonders.
During the lecture, Troy will unveil the secrets behind their mesmerizing bird captures, showcasing the intricate beauty of species like the resplendent Andean Cock-of-the-Rock, the elusive Oilbird, and the numerous hummingbirds around the country. Don't miss the opportunity to be inspired by the passion and expertise of Troy, as he unravels the tales behind his lens and provide insights into the art of wildlife photography in one of the most biodiverse regions on our planet. Please preregister using the link below:
| |
|
OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Wyncote Audubon’s strategic plan has identified a need to provide “in-person” programs throughout our “chapter territory in communities and neighborhoods from western Montgomery County and in Philadelphia. These programs may be in conjunction with the many Bird Towns in Montgomery County, our Bird Safe Philly efforts and in partnership with our conservation partners.
| |
|
AN INTRODUCTION TO MAKING YOUR PROPERTY
BIRD FRIENDLY!
1:00 PM, Sunday, February 4, 2024
Upper Moreland Public Library
109 Park Avenue, Willow Grove, PA 19090
Learn several ways to make your property more bird friendly, whether it’s your home, business, school, places of worship, or other open space, however small, that can be transformed into a place to attract and help birds. Learn more about native plants for birds, making windows bird safe, bird feeding, keeping cats indoors, and reducing light.
The Wyncote Audubon and Bird Safe Philly displays and handouts will be available for participants. While this program is introductory, there will be links to resources for those interested in doing a deeper dive into these topics.
Leigh Altadonna, President of the Wyncote Audubon Society and a leader with Bird Safe Philly and Bird Town Pennsylvania, will present this program. Come and join the Upper Moreland EAC and Bird Town at the Upper Moreland Free Public Library for this special program. Pre-registration is not required.
| |
|
INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT!
1:00 PM TO 2:30 PM, Sunday, February 11, 2024
Lower Fredrick Township Building,
53 Spring Mount Road, Schwenksville, PA
Join in a presentation given by Leigh Altadonna, President of the Wyncote Audubon Society. Find out how to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count coming up Feb. 16 -19 2024. Learn about bird watching, identifying, and documenting the birds you observe.
Take part in a brief bird walk (weather permitting) in the woodland edge behind the township building. Bring your own binoculars or borrow a pair at the event. Participants can take home an identification sheet of our common local birds.
This is a FREE event hosted by the Lower Fredrick Bird Town. Participants from the Red Hill Borough Bird Town and the Marlborough and Upper Salford Township Bird Towns are welcome to participate. All members and friends of Wyncote Audubon are welcome to participate in this free event as well!
We ask that participants preregister for this program in order to provide any updates or alerts in the event of inclement weather.
| |
|
Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Sunday, February 25, 2024
100 Stevens Road, Stevens, PA 17578
Join our field trip leader, Judy Stepenaskie, at 1:00 PM at the Middle Creek WMA Visitors Center in Stevens, PA. Witness the spectacle of thousands of snow geese gathering on their way north. We’ll also see tundra swans and other waterfowl. We are starting late so that we can watch the huge flocks flying over us, as they move from the lake to the fields in the late afternoon. For those interested in staying till dusk, we’ll look for Short-eared Owls. Please register for this Field Trip to enable us to communicate, via email, any last minute directions or postponement of the field trip in the event of snow or other unforeseen circumstances. This is a joint field trip with the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club.
| |
|
Barnegat Light, NJ
8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Saturday, March 9, 2024
208 Broadway, Barnegat Light, NJ 08006
Field Trip Leaders: Leigh Altadonna and Ken Walsh (DVOC)
This joint field trip with the DVOC was originally scheduled for January 6, 2024 but was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Barnegat Inlet SP lies at the northern tip of Long Beach Island, NJ. We will meet birders at the State Park lot behind the famous lighthouse at 8 AM. After scanning Barnegat Bay, we will walk alongside the jetty bordering the Inlet, birding there and along the Atlantic Ocean beach, returning to the lighthouse by 1:00 pm through the dunes. Target birds include Harlequin and Long-tailed Ducks, Common Eider, Purple Sandpiper and Great Cormorant. Birders should anticipate cold and windy conditions, and dress accordingly. Water and sunblock recommended. This is a joint DVOC and Wyncote Audubon Field Trip. Please register for this trip so we can communicate any last minute changes to you about the trip.
| |
|
THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRDCOUNT IS HERE!
PRESIDENTS’ WEEKEND
Friday, February 17th through Monday, February 20th
The Great Backyard Bird Count is a worldwide event and an easy way for anyone anywhere to get involved in this community science program. You can count birds in your yard, a local park, school, or just about anywhere for a period of 15 minutes or more. Folks can participate multiple times through the weekend and submit a new checklist each time you count. Details on participation and submitting your observation can be found at birdcount.org. Birds Canada, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Wild Birds Unlimited sponsor this annual GBBC. You can join Wyncote Audubon in a number of GBBC events through the weekend.
| |
|
GBBC COMMUNITY EVENT AT FOX CHASE FARM!
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Saturday, February 10, 2024
8500 Pine Road, Philadelphia, PA 19111
Wyncote Audubon Volunteers and the staff at Fox Chase Farm are cohosting a Great Back Yard Bird Count Prep Event. This is a family event and will provide activities and information to prepare folks to participate in the GBBC over Presidents’ Weekend. The Wyncote volunteers will provide information on common winter bird identification, help with making pine cone bird feeders, information about the GGBC, bird walks, information on preventing bird collisions at windows, and more! This is an “open ended” event with a variety of stations for kids, parents, and teachers – stop by and visit the activity centers at any time during the event and/or go on a guided bird walk. Stay as long as you would like! The staff at Fox Chase Farm are reaching out to the teachers and schools they serve and Wyncote Audubon is reaching out to the cadre of Audubon Adventures schools we have supported over the years. Some of the activities will be inside the Fox Chase Farm “classroom” and other stations will be nearby – dress for the weather conditions.
| |
|
PRESIDENTS’ DAY BIRD WALK AT TACONY CREEK PARK!
Meet by the Deer Painting on the Trail Near the Park Entrance at Bingham Street and East Ashdale Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19120
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, February 19, 2024 in Tacony Creek Park
Join the Tookany/Tacony Watershed Partnership and the Wyncote Audubon Society for this GBBC Bird Walk in Tacony Creek Park, FREE! We will meet by the deer painting on the trail located near the park entrance at the intersection of Bingham St and E Ashdale St. Open to all families and individuals. Binoculars will be on loan for participants. Learn about some of our common winter birds that frequent the park. Help us with this event on the final day of Presidents’ Weekend and the GBBC! Questions? doryan@ttfwatershed.org | 215-744-1853
| |
|
BIRD TOWN PENNSYLVANIA BIRDWALKS
All are welcome to participate, including new birders and experienced birders alike. Bring binoculars if you have them; wear comfortable footwear and clothing. Come see some of the fall migrants that Continue to pass through our area. There also is a chance to see some of our early returning winter resident bird species. No preregistration is required.
| |
|
LOWER GWYNEDD BIRD TOWN BIRD WALK
8:30 am to 10:30am Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Gwynedd Preserve (Upper Gwynedd)
Join Steven Saffier, Lower Gwynedd EAC associate member on a walk exploring Natural Lands’ amazing nature preserve that contains woodlands, meadows, pond and edge habitat. Nearly 200 species of birds have been recorded in this conservation area and other wildlife abound!. Meet at the parking lot 640 Swedesford Road in North Wales. Please RSVP to contactus@lowergwynedd.org
| |
|
CHELTENHAM BIRD TOWN BIRD WALK
8:00 AM to 10:00 Am, Saturday, February 17, 2024
High School Park
Join Judith Gratz at 8:00 a.m. on the third Saturday in February for a walk to search for the birds in the Park and along the Tookany Creek. The Cheltenham Bird Town, Tookany/Tacony Frankford Watershed Partnership, Friends of High School Park, and the Wyncote Audubon Society sponsor these walks. Directions: Meet at High School Park, located at High School Road and Montgomery Ave. in Elkins Park. There is free parking in the SEPTA lot adjacent to the Park. A Regional Rail train stops one block from the Park, and the 28 bus stops at the corner of the Park.
| |
|
ABINGTON BIRD TOWN BIRD WALK
8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Lorimer Park from 798 Welsh Road
Join Jennifer Sherwood for her monthly bird walk at Lorimer Park. We will walk portions of the Pennypack Trail into Lorimer Park, an official Audubon IBA (Important Bird Area). These walks are being sponsored by the Abington Bird Town, and the Abington Environmental Advisory Council, and supported by the Wyncote Audubon Society. Directions: Meet at the parking lot at 798 Welsh Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006
| |
|
CLIMATE WATCH
Winter 2024
January 15th through February 15th
Climate Watch continues into February. There is still time to join volunteers from the Wyncote Audubon Society as we complete the winter cycle of the Audubon Climate Watch Community Science Program. Our volunteers will be conducting a dozen “point counts” in each of the remaining “Climate Squares” not yet completed in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. Contact Nilesh Shaw, Wyncote Audubon’s Climate Watch Coordinator at wyncoteaudubon@gmail.com if you would like to participate on one of our Climate Watch Teams.
| |
|
Volunteers Needed for Spring Migration 2024
Members of Wyncote Audubon have been important to the successful launch of “Lights Out” and “Bird Safe Philly” that now enters its fourth year. We look to expand our efforts in the coming year. Bird Safe Philly is gearing up to be ready for Spring Migration for 2024 and we need VOLUNTEERS! Volunteers are needed from April 15, 2024 through May 31, 2024.
- We need folks willing to give one morning a week at 8:00 AM to transport injured birds, as needed, from center city to the SCEE Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic.
- We also need individuals willing to monitor a walking route from 5:30 AM to 8:00 AM one day a week to collect, document, and transport birds that have perished due to collisions with center city buildings. These casualties are collected by the Academy of Natural Sciences where they are used in ongoing avian research.
To volunteer or learn more details about these opportunities contact us at wyncoteaudubonsociety@gmail.com. More details about these opportunities are also available at https://www.birdsafephilly.org.
| |
|
CHECK OUT THE “CALENDAR” ON THE WYNCOTE AUDUBON WEBSITE
TO KEEP UP WITH SCHEDULED ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS!
https://wyncoteaudubon.org
| |
YOU ARE WHAT HOPE LOOKS LIKE TO A BIRD! | |
Website and Emails for Wyncote Audubon By: | | | | |
