PA BREEDING BIRD BLITZ
for CONSERVATION
June 9-19, 2023
100%
Working together to conserve all of our Pennsylvania birds.
Our 2023 Partners and Projects
(Click the logos to go to partner websites)
In 2024, Pennsylvania will begin the Third Bird Atlas which for the first time will for the first time include surveys of wintering birds in addition to breeding birds.
In spring 2023, Hawk Mountain will hire a Pennsylvania Bird Atlas Project Coordinator to work closely with the Atlas Steering Committee to begin developing survey protocols and educational materials that will be used in outreach to general public and to the birding communities. We are seeking funding to help support developing educational and training materials that will be used for promoting the Atlas and educating potential Atlas volunteers across the state. Hawk Mountain is excited to partner with birdwatchers and ornithologists across the state to help launch this important effort to survey and conserve Pennsylvania’s birds.
Photos by
Don Weidemann
What will the
3rd PA Bird Atlas
show about this
and other
field species?
The Foundation for Sustainable Forests, a charitable land trust and outreach organization dedicated to protecting the working forests of northwest Pennsylvania and the surrounding region, is pleased to partner with B4C for our Sustainable Forestry is for the Birds! project. FSF uses its forestry as a proactive tool to improve resiliency and enhance habitat diversity, in turn benefitting birds and other wildlife. Through FSF’s thoughtful selection of overstory trees for harvest, paired with small group selection openings and other stewardship practices, we are developing a mosaic of mixed-age, structurally diverse habitat in our forests. However, invasive understory species are a barrier to native plant regeneration and therefore threaten the condition of the future forest.
Funds raised through the Blitz will directly support invasive species management at FSF’s Floraroze Forest in Erie County, as well as the production of an educational video about FSF’s ecological forestry and ongoing bird research in our woodlands. Floraroze Forest, whose name is derived from the initials of the land donor’s ancestors, has been under FSF’s care since 2007 and is one of six properties being studied by Dr. Steven Latta of the National Aviary. Now in their third year, Dr. Latta’s team is conducting an observational study of the relationship between FSF’s ecological forest management, songbird diversity, and habitat quality. Based on the team’s preliminary data, we believe the invasive species management at Floraroze Forest will benefit numerous Species of Greatest Conservation Need, including Scarlet Tanager, Wood Thrush, and Hooded Warbler.
Photos by
Barry Blust (Left)
and
Jeffry Hall (Right)
Help preserve
this beautiful bird
through the Blitz.
South Middleton Township is committed to growth in our community while maintaining, improving, and expanding our natural environment. Prior to our PA Breeding Bird Blitz for Conservation submission, South Middleton Township had committed to re-establishing several acres of wetlands with native Pennsylvania reeds and grasses.
In the Spring of 2022, local photographer Wes Peterson, photographed a pair of Virginia Rails mating inside South Middleton Township Park wetland area next to the Yellow Breeches Creek. This area has always been an annual stopover for Wilson’s Snipes and several other marshland species, but this is the first time breeding Virginia Rails have established a foothold in the park. In early 2023, the Township identified three target areas within the park to restore and plant common cattail (Typha latifolia), narrow-leaved cattail (Typha angustifolia), and possibly Northeastern bulrush (Scirpus ancistrochaetus) for 2023.
The South Middleton Township Wetland and Grassland Expansion Plan is seeking funding to help remove the target land area of manicured grass and restore the area to its natural wetlands in order to plant target species, thin out larger plant growth in three already established wetland areas to maintain the ecosystem for the already established Rails, and provide educational signs explaining the importance of the Virginia Rail and other target species within our parks. South Middleton Township is excited to partner with the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology and its members to increase awareness within the community and expand the populations of target species, like the Virginia Rail.
South Middleton Virginia Rails
Photos by
Wes Peterson
Second photo
comfirms breeding as two rails mate.