MARCH PROGRAM

“A DEFENSE OF THE HOLY TRIO”

A Discussion on Urban Birds

7:30 PM, Friday, March 17,2023

Upper Dublin Public Library, 520 Virginia Drive, Fort Washington, PA 19034

Pigeons, starlings, and house sparrows are the most abundant and easily observed birds in urban settings. They can be entertaining to watch and to listen to. Give them a chance, and you might even appreciate their beauty. Nature writer Billy Brown discusses their history, their place in the urban food web, and why he recommends that beginning birders start with the most disrespected birds in the Philly region.

Bernard S. Brown ("Billy") is a nature writer for Grid magazine and author of Exploring Philly Nature: A Guide for All Four Seasons will present this program.

We encourage everyone to consider attending the  “in-person” meeting but it can also be enjoyed virtually. For more information, go to the Wyncote Audubon website to register via Eventbrite.

FIELD TRIP

EDWIN B. FORSYTHE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Saturday, March 11, 2023, 9:00 AM TO 3:00 PM

Join Leigh Altadonna for this field trip at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge and nearby Brigantine Island. We will meet at the Visitors Center Parking Lot. We will begin with some birding by foot on the trails behind the Visitors Center. We will then take to our cars and make with frequent stops around the eight-mile drive that loops around the refuge. We will look for migrating for waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, raptors and more. Bring spotting scopes if you have them. Bring your lunch! We will stop to eat along the circuit or back near the Visitors Center depending on our progress.

We will offer an optional afternoon field trip extension to Brigantine Island depending on the weather and the birds. There are a few stops on the island that offer opportunities for coastal birding and other birds around the inlet.

Please preregister for this Field Trip with Eventbrite. This will 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. 

ABINGTON BIRD TOWN WALK

Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Lorimer Park Moredon Road Parking Lot

Join Jennifer Sherwood, Chair of Abington Bird Town for this monthly bird walk at Lorimer Park. We will walk portions of the Pennypack Trail and trails in 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 main parking lot at Lorimer Park, 183 Moredon Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006. 

CHELTENHAM BIRD TOWN WALK

Saturday, March 18, 2023, 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Tookany Creek Park from the Central Avenue Parking Lot

Join Judith Gratz for this monthly bird walk at Tookany Creek Park. We will walk portions of the trails along the Tookany Creek in the Park, part of an official Audubon IBA (Important Bird Area). These walks are being sponsored by the Cheltenham Bird Town, and Sustainable Cheltenham, and supported by the Tookany Tacony Watershed Partnership and the Wyncote Audubon Society. Directions: Meet at the Parking Lot at the Central Avenue 

UPPER DUBLIN BIRD TOWN WALK

The Schedule for Walks with Nilesh Shah will resume in April 2023

WISSAHICKON TRAILS/WYNCOTE AUDUBON BIRD WALK

Sunday, March 26, 2023, 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve and Four Mills or Green Ribbon Trail

Join Jamie Stewart, Wissahickon Trails, and Leigh Altadonna, Wyncote Audubon, for a bird walk at the Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve and Four Mills or the Green Ribbon Trails. Meet at 8:00 PM the Wissahickon Waterfowl Preserve. We will look for waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, and more. We will then move to do a loop at either Four Mills or the Green Ribbon Trail after the Waterfowl Preserve. We will hope to see some of our early spring migrants. Directions: Meet at 1-93 Maple Street, Ambler, PA 19002 and park along Maple Street adjacent to the Waterfowl Preserve.

BIRD SAFE PHILLY

Volunteers Needed for Spring Migration

April 1 through May 31, 2023

Members of Wyncote Audubon have been important to the successful 2021 launch of “Lights Out” and “Bird Safe Philly.” We look to expand our efforts in the coming year. Bird Safe Philly is gearing up to be ready for Spring Migration for 2023 and we need VOLUNTEERS! Volunteers are needed from April 1, 2023 through May 31, 2023.

• 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 Robin Irizarry and Stephanie Egger at wyncoteaudubonsociety@gmail.com. More details about these opportunities are also available at https://www.birdsafephilly.org.

OLD YORK ROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY

 “Wings Over Wyncote: The story of the Wyncote Bird Club and the Work to Protect Birds”

Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 7:30 PM, Abington Friends Meeting

Founded in April 1914, the Wyncote Bird Club pursued a mission to protect birds and their habitats. The “Club” has continued to thrive due to the incredible work of many important individuals who founded and led the “Club” from its founding and through to its transition in 1967 as a chapter of the National Audubon Society.

Dr. Altadonna’s program will profile several of the individuals involved with the “Club” over the years. He will share images and anecdotes that profile some of these leaders and the contributions they made to stimulate broader interest in birds and their protection. Ernest Harold Baynes, Ester Heacock, Florence Griscom, Edward Hicks Parry, and others are among the personalities Leigh will profile. Some selected activities of the Wyncote Bird Club will be shared. He will also spotlight some of the ways the “Club” influenced a cadre of individuals including at national and international conservation levels.

Lectures are FREE and open to the public both In-person in The John Barnes Room at Abington Friends Meeting and on Zoom. Login details will be posted day of the event.

The lecture series is sponsored by a grant from the Jenkintown Lyceum. For more information, please call the Old York Road Historical Society at 215-886-8590.

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES

 Conversations with Birds

A new exhibition opened Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University which celebrates the remarkable diversity of birds, their important role in ecosystems, and people’s relationships with our avian friends. Conversations With Birds spotlights familiar local birds, such as house sparrows and cardinals, and goes beyond to introduce the variety of migrators that pass through on astounding epic journeys across the globe. 

Conversations With Birds is free with general museum admission and on view through Sunday, May 21. To purchase tickets, visit the website.

Wyncote Audubon Society | wyncoteaudubonsociety@gmail.com | wyncoteaudubon.org

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