PA Society for Ornithology Annual Meeting

Birders of Pennsylvania:

The PA Society for Ornithology is holding its annual meeting in the Poconos on the weekend of May 17-19. This promises to be an exciting and educational event for the state's birders. It will give all of us an first-hand look at the Poconos, one of the state's most scenic and birdy areas. Local ornithologists and birders are going to show us some of the highlights — birding locations and some of the bird research being conducted in that part of the world. There's nothing better than seeing a great place first-hand with local experts as your guides. For more information and a registration form about the PSO meeting visit the PSO website. Please hurry because registration deadline has passed (but don't tell anyone). Shonah Hunter is taking registrations. Her e-mail is shunter@lhup.edu. Her office phone is 570-893-2062.

The meeting will be held at East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg. The meeting will be held at ESU's Moore Biology Hall. This is where our annual business meeting will be held Friday night at 8:00 PM and the afternoon programs will be presented from 1:00 to 5:00 Saturday afternoon. The afternoon speakers will be Dan Klem, Bob Ross, Terry Master and Jim Sheehan, Bud Cook and Doug Gross. Dan will talk about bird mortality of glass compared to other human-associated mortality. Bob will present research on the habitat use of birds in hemlock forests of the Delaware watershed that are threatened by hemlock wooly aldelgid. Terry and Jim will make a presentation on Acadian Flycatcher breeding biology in relationship to wooly aldelgid induced habitat decline. Bud Cook will show us how the Nature Conservancy is trying to preserve one of the last great places: the Poconos. Doug will provide some bird community data for the Nature Conservancy locations around Long Pond. All of these presentations involve subjects of immediate concern to Pennsylvania birders. The hemlock wooly adelgid habitat destruction threatens some of the most important bird habitat in the state! It's our state tree, too!

Saturday evening will be capped off with a banquet and a presentation by Poconos resident John Serrao about the special habitats of the region, emphasizing its forests and barrens. John is a fantastic photographer and eloquent speaker. Watch out, you're liable to see a salamander or bear picture in the presentation, too.

But, folks, the PSO spends most its meeting watching birds. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings are packed with field trips to local birding hot-spots and Pocono special habitats. Local birders are leading trips to their favorite places. Among the places we plan to visit are: the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area, the Bushkill Visitor Center Trail Area, Pocono Environmental Education Center, Thunder Swamp, Promised Land State Park, Bruce Lake Natural Area, Beltsville Reservoir, Hipsy Gap, Long Pond wetlands and barrens, and Tannersville Bog.

Our trip leaders include Chris Turn, Terry Master, Rick Wiltraut, Doug Gross, Deuane Hoffman, Sherri LaBar, Brian Hardiman, Alan Gregory, Bud Cook, and Glenn Czulada (and probably a few more...).

By the way, for you Auduboners, many of the locations PSO will visit and talk about in this meeting are Important Bird Areas that are receiving high conservation priority by PA Audubon, our birding partner.

We plan to have a lot of fun. Hope you can come and join us.

Good birding to all,
Doug Gross
PSO President