The Appalachian Audubon Society - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Monthly Programs | Field Trips | Annual Appeal | Bird Seed Sale | Native Plant Sale

Monthly Programs (for directions to the Programs, click here)
Appalachian Audubon presents monthly community programs at the Christ Presbyterian Church, in the Allendale development, Lower Allen Township. Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. with refreshments and social time, followed by brief announcements and the program at 7:30 p.m. The programs are free and open to the public. Meetings generally are held on the third Thursday of each month, except for holidays, from Sept. through May. For further details on the next monthly program, please click on "Newsletter" above, download the Kingfisher Courier for the month of interest, and see page 1.

September 20, 2012
A History of Hawk Mountain—Much More than a Hawk Watch!
Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, a 2600-acre mountaintop preserve along the Appalachian flyway near Kempton, PA, is a conservation training site and popular hawk watch. But did you know that it once was a place where raptors were slaughtered for a bounty from the Pennsylvania Game Commission? Retired physician Bill Anderson, a member of the HMS board of directors, will tell us about Hawk Mountain’s importance to international raptor conservation, its dramatic history, and three feisty HMS founding conservationists that you probably never heard of! (See the companion field trip on October 25!)

October 18, 2012
Butterflies of Pennsylvania
What can frustrated birders do during the slow birding months of summer? Look for butterflies! Julie Eckenrode, Conservation Biologist at Fort Indiantown Gap, will give us tips on identifying the many common and uncommon species of butterflies throughout Pennsylvania. We’ll also learn how to how to collect, preserve and mount specimens. A program highlight will be the extremely isolated Regal Fritillary, a rare and beautiful treasure of Fort Indiantown Gap. (See the companion field trip in June!)

November 15, 2012
Second PA Breeding Bird Atlas: Bird Conservation Blueprint for the 21st Century
The results are in! More than 2,000 volunteers generated over 1 million observations between 2004 and 2009, and the 500-page Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania is scheduled for publication in fall 2012. Dan Brauning, Wildlife Diversity Chief at the PA Game Commission and Co-editor of the Atlas, will present the highlights of the findings of this exhaustive study of Pennsylvania’s breeding birds. Many AAS members participated in this important research project!

December 13, 2012
Appalachian Audubon Holiday Social
An evening of socializing, with refreshments, music, games, and prizes. If you like, bring along a dozen of your favorite cookies or other holiday treat to share. Note the early date this month!

January 17, 2013
The Fall and Rise of the American Chestnut
The American chestnut tree was once the dominant tree species across the east and considered more important than the oaks we have today. Growing over 100 feet tall and more than 4 feet wide, this majestic tree provided not only great forest and wildlife benefits but also provided a way of life for residents throughout the Appalachian Mountains and beyond. But an exotic blight attacked in 1904, and by 1950 over 4 billion American chestnut trees were dead and the species was all but eradicated. Tim Eck, President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, will tell us about one of the most exciting restoration projects in recent history, giving hope that the American Chestnut can make a comeback and survive in perpetuity.

February 21, 2013
Islands of Grass in a Sea of Forest
For Pennsylvania’s Henslow’s Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, and many other species, our ever-shrinking grasslands are critical for survival. Jason Hill has worked his way around the Western Hemisphere studying birds, currently finishing his PhD at Penn State University studying the population ecology of grassland sparrows on reclaimed surface mines. Jason will share the findings of his three-year experiment that manipulated 200 acres of grasslands to monitor the effects on grassland sparrows, and he will give us a regional and national perspective on the future of grassland birds. (See the companion field trip in June!)

March 21, 2013
Pornithology: The Birds and the Birds and the Bees
George Armistead, events coordinator for the American Birding Association and research associate at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, will provide an entertaining and educational review of interesting reproductive strategies in birds and the associated unusual behavior, with copious innuendo and anthropomorphism to keep the concepts in perspective. Rated PG!

April 18, 2013
Golden Eagles and Wind Power
To better understand the ecology and risk from wind power development to the small population of Golden Eagles in eastern North America, Mike Lanzone, CEO of Cellular Tracking Technologies in Somerset, PA, and his wife Trish Miller trapped and fitted 42 Golden Eagles with telemetry devices. Mike will tell us about their seven years of research and how the information they gathered can be used to recommend changes to turbine placement to reduce the risk of collision to low-flying eagles.

May 16, 2013 – Annual Banquet
Snowy Owls—the Ultimate Nomad of the Canadian Arctic - Reservation Form Here
Jean-Francois Therrien, PhD, joined the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary as Senior Research Biologist in September 2011, working on various aspects of raptor conservation science such as satellite tracking of Peregrine Falcons, Turkey Vultures, American Kestrels, and Snowy Owls. A native of Sherbrooke, Quebec, he spent years of doctoral research studying Snowy Owl breeding grounds in the high Arctic. Dr. Therrien will tell us about his work with the Snowy Owls and explain how these highly mobile and unpredictable predatory birds are monitored over several years. His program also will give us a taste of field work situations in this highly remote and hostile environment.

Unless otherwise noted, programs take place at Christ Presbyterian Church, 421 Deerfield Rd, Camp Hill, 17011 near the Cedar Cliff Plaza in the Allendale development. Call 960-9441 or 732-5615 for further information.

All programs except the Annual Banquet are free of charge. Public is welcome and encouraged to attend. Enjoy a ½ hour of refreshments and social time starting at 7:00 p.m. Programs begin at 7:30.