WBNC
Birding and nature observation
in Westmoreland County
southwestern Pennsylvania

About the club | Links | Officers | Book Club | Meetings | Field Trips & Outings
Join | PABirds Email List | Application Form
(links to external websites will open in separate windows)

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above: Harlequin Duck at Keystone State Park, Nov. 19 2008
Reported by Linda Huber & Ken Byerly
Photograph by Dick Byers

below: Pine Siskin in Latrobe PA, Jan. 21 2009

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Sandhill Crane

Lake Ethel in Derry, PA
Mid December 2007 to last week of April 2008

More photos are here, more Sandhill Crane info is at wikipedia | Middle Creek | Platte River Nebraska | Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge | International Crane Foundation

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Upland Sandpiper Hutter's Farm Mammoth-Kecksburg PA May 25 1996

Sedge Wren 3rd Bridge Loyalhanna Creek Latrobe PA June 7 1997

Both species are listed as threatened in Pennsylvania by the PA Department of Natural Resources. A threatened species may become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout their range in PA. An endangered species is in danger of extirpation throughout their range in PA.
Endangered & Threatened Species of Pennsylvania: PA Game Commission || DCNR || Fish & Boat Commission

Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania

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Links to other web sites about nature and birds seen locally. These links can become inactive at any time.

Links open in separate browser windows.

Photos by Mark McConaughy:

Pine Siskin, White-winged Crossbill at Bushy Run Battlefield, Westmoreland Co., Feb. 2009

WBNC outing to West Lebanon, Indiana County, Feb. 24 2008.

Common Redpolls at Bushy Run Battlefield Park

Sandhill Crane at Derry Lake, Dec. 31 2007.

Herring Gull Nest in Armstrong County, 29 May 2005.

Short-billed Dowitcher at Mammoth Wetlands and Mammoth Lake, Sat. May 14 2005.

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Westmoreland Botanical Society

Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania

Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club

Three Rivers Birding Club

Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh

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Westmoreland Bird & Nature Club

The Westmoreland Bird & Nature Club (formerly Westmoreland County Bird Club) formed on Feb 26, 1981 to promote interest in birds and conservation and to provide field trips in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The first newsletter, Vol. 1 No. 1, was for March 1981. In that newsletter five field trips were scheduled. Seven people were listed as paid members. The newsletter, now called The Syrinx - Voicebox of the Westmoreland Bird & Nature Club, is published five times a year. Membership meetings are held only three times a year in September, January and April since we are primarily a field oriented organization. Thirty or more field trips are scheduled every year and these are not entirely limited to birds. When the birds do not cooperate we concentrate on botany, herps (reptiles & amphibians) and insects. Butterfly & dragonfly walks are scheduled in the summer.

Club Membership: $7 individual/family. Paid memberships currently stand at 217. All Membership Dues are due in January, unless you joined after September 1st. See Join for details.

Current officers of the club

President - Tom Pearson
Vice President - Hope King
Secretary/Treasurer - Rose Tillmann
Newsletter Editor - Dick Byers
Bird Records - Karen Jackson
Archives Scrapbook - Carol Hassenger
Website - Tim Vechter
Outings Committee - Debbie Bryant (chairperson), Tom Pearson, Dick Byers, Hope King and Karen Jackson.

History of club officers

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Nature Book Club Schedule for 2011

Club Meeting

30th Anniversary Picnic Bash

Where:	Keystone State Park, Pavilion No. 2
Date:	Sun. Aug. 7, 2011
Time:	4:00 – 9:00 P.M.

We’ll picnic, bird, botanize and bat watch for our 30th year celebration. Details on what to bring can be found on the Outings page. We need you to RSVP. We’ll be raffling off three prizes – free tickets for the new 530 page Crossley birding guide to Eastern species, and purchased tickets for the Syrinx nature poems, a copy of Dick’s Conservancy Corner II + any extra tickets you want for the Crossley Guide. There will also be memorabilia displays and a pre-picnic outing at the Loyalhanna access portion of Keystone State Park at 2 p.m. for those of you who missed the last outing at this spot last year. Please see the outings below for details.

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Field Trips for Summer 2011

Cancellation Policy: In the event of inclement weather, please call the field trip leader in advance to confirm if the outing is on or cancelled. The leaders have the right to cancel. Please check weather reports and road conditions. If there's any question, please call the leaders for confirmation. Car pooling is a good idea. Field trips are free and open to the public.

Weather for Latrobe (weather.com) || Weather for Westmoreland County || Weather(underground) for PA

Sat. July 9 Tree Walk at Duff Park

Meet Loree Speedy (724-518-6022) in the Duff Park parking lot at 10:00 a.m. Directions: At the Sheetz traffic light on Route 22 in Murrysville, turn south on School Road. Cross the railroad tracks and turn right into the parking lot.

Sun. July 24 Dragonfly walk at Jacobs Creek Wetlands

Meet Tom Pearson (724-961-2219) in the wetlands parking lot at 1 p.m. Directions: From the Donegal Turnpike Exit , head west on Route 31. Turn left at the light at the bottom of 3-mile Hill in Laurelville and drive 1.4 miles to Whitebridge Road. Turn right and go .3 miles to the wetlands sign. Turn left into the wetlands, go through the gate and park at the first parking lot on the left.

Sat. July 30 Bioblitz of the Westmoreland Conservancy properties

Our last bioblitz here was 2001. Birders should arrive at Sloan School at 8 a.m. Botanists, entomologists, mushroom and herp folks can arrive at 10:00 a.m. We will concentrate mainly on Caywood, McGinnis, King and Walter depending on how many and who shows up. Come for a day of fun searching and identifying anything you find on the trails. We’ll give you directions to the reserves from the Sloan School parking lot. Directions to Sloan School: From the McDonald’s Restaurant on Route 22 in Murrysville, turn north onto Hall Road. Continue straight through the first traffic light onto Sardis Road. Sloan School is on the right 2.9 miles past McDonald’s on Sardis Road. Turn right and cross over Haymaker Run. Park on the left side f the school.

Sun. Aug. 7 Loyalhanna Access

Meet at 2:00 p.m. at the 981 parking lot. If it fills up, we’ll operate a shuttle from the Slag Road parking lot. After the walk, we’ll head for pavilion # 2 for the 30th anniversary picnic bash. Directions to the 981parking lot: From the Rt. 22 light in New Alexandria, the parking lot is 2.5 miles on your right on 981. From the 981 RR overpass in Latrobe, it is 4 miles. Slag Road is .3 miles south of the 981 parking lot.

Sun. Aug. 7, 30th WBNC Anniversary Celebration at Keystone S.P. Pavilion # 2 4pm-dusk

We plan to eat at 5, bats will fly at dusk. Water, electricity (bring ext. cord) charcoal grills available. The club is hosting this picnic, you need bring only your drinks (decaf provided), a side dish, and maybe a comfy chair. Those pavilion benches can get hard. Please RSVP to Karen Jackson by Aug. 1 at Merlegj_AT_comcast_DOT_net or 724-668-7421. Pavilion #2 is just off Slag Rd, near the road (Stone Lodge Rd) to the campground contact station, below the dam, west of the lake. For a map of Keystone State Park showing pavilion locations click here.

Tues: Aug. 9 Nature Book Club

Meet at the Donohoe Center to discuss Nature’s Second Chance at 7 p.m.

Sat. Aug. 13 Caywood Nature Reserve in Murrysville.

Join Tom Pearson at 9 a.m. at the Sloan School parking lot to carpool to Caywood.

Sun. Aug. 21 Conneaut Harbor for shorebirds

Meet Karen Jackson (724-668-7421) at the second rest stop on I-79N at 10:00 a.m.

Sun. Aug. 28 Bald Eagle Watch at the Allegheny Front

This is the peak period of the early bald eagle flight. Meet at the lookout. For directions, contact Dick Byers at otusasio_AT_lhtot_DOT_com, 724-593-3543 or Karen Jackson at MERLEGJ_AT_comcast_DOT_net, 724-668-7421. Or click here

Thur. Sep. 8 Donegal Lake and Randal Reserve Ecology walk

Meet Tom Pearson at the dam parking lot on the other side of the lake at 10:00 a.m.

Sun. Sep. 18 Pump Station Road for warblers

This is the peak week of the passerine bird migration. Meet Ken Byerly (724-468-8594) at the Delmont MacDonald’s on Route 22 at 8:00 a.m.

Thur. Sep. 22 Allegheny Front Hawkwatch

Will this be the peak day of the broadwing migration? It’s a sure thing between the 16th and 28th, but what day? Come and find out at the lookout. 11:00 a.m. See Aug. 28 for directions.

Sat. Sep. 24 Kooser State Park

Join Dick Byers to hike the Kincora and Kooser Run Trail of this small picturesque park. Meet in the far eastern end of the beach parking lot along Route 31 at 10:00 a.m.

Addendum:

Sun. Aug. 21 Marcy's annual garden tour and joint picnic with Todd Bird Club

As usual, bring a chair and a dish to share. Marcy will have sloppy joes and buns, drinks (except diet), paper products, and insect repellant. Contact Marcy by phone (724-459-7229) or email (plant4nature_AT_dishmail_DOT_net) with how many are coming and what you will be bringing. Rain date is the 28th.

Note: for the email addresses replace "_AT_" with "@", and "_DOT_" with ".", without the quotes. This is done to help foil spamming programs.

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To join Westmoreland Bird & Nature Club

Rose Tillmann
PO Box 188
New Derry PA 15671

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Web page, and photos (unless otherwise noted), by tim vechter
For more about birding in Westmoreland County & Western PA look for links at:
http://www.westol.com/~towhee/redtail.htm | site map

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For places to bird in Westmoreland County click here

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