Jr. Birding Club April Newswire

April 2014

Willistown Wild Wings Newswire

Upcoming Programs

-Okehocking Guided Hawk Watch 4/12

-Spring Songbird Banding Begins 4/15

-Vernal Wonders Evening 4/25

Future Meetings

Family Open House at Banding Station
Saturday May 17, 2014
9-11 am
Rushton Woods Preserve

Other Fun Upcoming Birding Events!

Ken Leister

County Coordinator of the Bluebird Society of PA -

Will be speaking about Bluebirds at Willistown Friends Quaker Meeting House

Sunday, May 4, 2014
11:30am-12:15pm
Children and adults welcome
RSVP to bhg@wctrust.org

Blake Goll
Nature Education Coordinator
Phone: 610-353-2562 Ext. 20
Email: bhg@wctrust.org

WCT Headquarters

925 Providence Road
Newtown Square, PA 19073
610-353-2562

wctrust.org

Okehocking Guided Hawk Watch

Saturday, April 12 from noon-2pm

Okehocking Preserve

Come on out to observe migrating raptors including eagles, ospreys, vultures, hawks and kestrels at the brand new official hawk watch at Okehocking Preserve! Holly Merker, experienced birder and official hawk watch counter, will be our interpreter of the skies this Saturday. Families and kids of all ages are welcome to come and learn about raptor ID and conservation. Let us know if you need to borrow binoculars. If you can't make it this Saturday, the count will continue throughout the entire month of April to capture raptor migration data.

Sign up by contacting Blake Goll at bhg@wctrust.org

Spring Songbird Banding Begins

Tuesday, April 15 from Sunrise till 11am

Rushton Woods Preserve

The public is welcome to meet us at the banding station in the hedgerows of Rushton Woods Preserve every Tuesday and Thursday mornings from April 15 until May 22. There we will be conducting field science that contributes to bird conservation and helps us document the species that use our special "farm within a nature preserve" habitat. Many of the lovely species we band this time of year are migrating north and can only be seen in our area during the short window of spring migration. Drop by one morning this spring for a feathered feast for your eyes!

Vernal Wonders Evening

Friday, April 25 from 6:30pm-8pm

Location at a local Nature Preserve TBD

Join us at the wettest spot with the most active vernal pools we can find in the area! Vernal pools are small patches of standing water that only exist temporarily in spring. These unique habitats are sanctuaries for beautiful amphibians like wood frogs, spring peepers, and salamanders that need water in which to mate and lay their eggs. We will explore these aquatic habitats and learn about some of the threats to their conservation.

Sign up by contacting Blake Goll at

bhg@wctrust.org by April 21st

What You Missed in March

The After-School Okehocking Bird Box Adventure on March 19th was cold and rainy, but fruitful! The hardy girl scouts learned all about the importance of providing boxes for cavity nesting birds like bluebirds and installed four sturdy boxes at Okehocking Preserve. They'll be monitoring these boxes throughout the coming breeding season and submitting their data to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Nestwatch (http://nestwatch.org/)

The Spring Botany and Birds Walk at Ashbridge Preserve this past Saturday was well attended with almost 30 adults and kids excited to hit the muddy trails after a long winter. We checked on the wood duck boxes that were installed last year and found a magnificent red-phase screech owl roosting inside one of them!

Thanks for your interest in Willistown Conservation Trust's Junior Birding Club, a chapter of PA Young Birders. Studies have shown that regular experience with nature makes kids healthier, happier and significantly improves their performance in all school subjects. Getting your child involved with PA Young Birders is a wise choice that makes positive waves in your child's future.

Our Mission is to develop a culture of caring

for the natural world and desire to conserve

land, by providing meaningful, thought provoking

experiences with nature, especially birds.

Our Objectives for Your Child:

Connect intimately to nature in order to foster a lasting love of the natural world.
Nurture a spirit of discovery and wonder.
Refine birding abilities and cultivate a wholesome lifelong hobby.
Develop science skills and understanding
of the scope of science.
Create a confident conservation ethic by demonstrating the importance of preserving open space.
Recognize the interconnectedness of habitat, birds and other wildlife.
Ensure an ultimate understanding of the positive role humans can play in the natural world

Programs are free unless otherwise noted (although donations are always appreciated), and kids are only expected to bring a desire to learn about birds and explore nature as well as hiking shoes and clothes they don't mind getting dirty! Binoculars are a plus, but we always have a few on hand to borrow. All programs are appropriate for kids ages 8-12, but most are adaptable for younger or older kids as well; just ask me if you are concerned about the age appropriateness of a program.

The Willistown Conservation Trust is a non-profit land trust working to protect the rural beauty of the 28,000 acres surrounding Willistown,Pennsylvania. We're dedicated to permanently protecting our countryside from development and inspiring in people a lifelong love of the land and the natural world. Please visit our website to learn more about us, and subscribe to our bird blog to learn about what's been going on at our bird banding station this year.

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