Three Rivers Birding Club Southwestern Pennsylvania

What's New? (4/4/2020)

   THE MARCH/APRIL 2020 EDITION OF THE PEREGRINE IS NOW AVAILABLE!

The March/April 2020 issue of The Peregrine is online. Also, see additional photos for Tom Moeller's 'Observations' column on Machias Seal Island (PDF).

   MINUTES FROM OUR FEBRUARY 2020 MEETING ARE AVAILABLE!

Please read the Membership Meeting Minutes from February 5, 2020, with speaker Brian Shema.

   THE SPRING 2020 CLUB BIRD OUTINGS ARE AVAILABLE!

3RBC Bird outings for May and June 2020 have been posted on our Outings page.
The remaining outings are subject to change or cancellation depending on advice of trusted public health officials.

   2019 WAS A BUSY YEAR FOR THE THREE RIVERS BIRDING CLUB!

Steve Thomas has compiled a summary of the club's 2019 activities. Check it out!

Plus, Mike Fialkovich has compiled the 2019 Birds Reported in Allegheny County summary.

   BIRD SONG OPERA - A Delightful Diversion for Birders

As an escape from the stress of COVID-19, we wanted to present some 'light opera' performed by birds from around the world titled Bird Song Opera. This is an original video conceived and created by Volker Pannes of www.shakeup.de, a German website. Volker based this 'opera' on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute, which he rearranged and edited for this video.

Take some time to enjoy this video and see how many of the birds in it you can identify. There is a helpful list at the end of all the performers.

View this delightful video on our "Videos" page.

   PSO's PA BREEDING BIRD BLITZ for CONSERVATION (B4C) - June 12-15, 2020

The Breeding Bird Blitz for Conservation has identified two flagship birds whose populations are declining in Pennsylvania: the Northern Harrier and the Wood Thrush. Both species are listed as Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan. The Northern Harrier is state-listed as "threatened" since its numbers are declining so rapidly.

According to the Breeding Bird Survey, almost half of the Wood Thrushes have disappeared over the last 50 years. Pennsylvania is particularly critical to Wood Thrush survival since 8.5% of the global population is found in our forests.

Although Northern Harriers have a wide range in North America, their dependency on extensive, open, grassy fields and scrub-wetlands makes them scarce breeders in Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania, reclaimed strip mines provide the highest amount of suitable habitat.

Find out more at this website: PA Breeding Bird Blitz

   THE FIRST BALD EAGLE FOUND IN JAPAN

A Japanese friend of 3RBC member Trini Regaspi sent her an article on a Bald Eagle appearing in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, on January 27, 2020, the FIRST reported Bald Eagle in Japan! Hokkaido has a large population of Steller’s Sea Eagles, but now there is a new species there. We westerners yearn to see Asian birds that may fly east to Alaska or the West Coast and record them as ABA sightings, but this is a North American bird that flew west to Japan, giving Japanese birders a treat.

Close viewing of the photo from Japan shows a near full adult eagle, purportedly a female, with dark feathers on its head and small black tips on its tail. This advanced stage of molt would put the bird’s age as a late four-year or early five-year eagle.

The story is reported in Japanese by The Hokkaido Shimbun Press

   BIRDING THE ANDES OF ECUADOR

If you read Sheree Daugherty's two-part President's Message on her trip to the Andes in Ecuador in recent issues of The Peregrine and want more, she has offered up a more detailed account of the tour on the "Trip Reports & Articles" page of our website. This narrative is the day-by-day journey the birding group made high in the Andes and features many of the birds they were able to see. There were three original paintings of Ecuadorian birds by Sheree accompanying the articles in the newsletter. This expanded version also includes a fourth painting by Sheree of a Violet-tailed Sylph, one of the 40 species of hummingbird the group enjoyed viewing.

Read Sheree's expanded trip report here:Birding the Andes of Ecuador.

   WE'LL STAY IN PHIPPS GARDEN CENTER THROUGHOUT 2020!!

Good news! The Three Rivers Birding Club meeting schedule will not be disrupted this year with a move out of the Phipps Garden Center to another location. We were anticipating a move to Botany Hall this year as renovation begins. However, there has been a delay with finalizing the building designs.

In December 2019 Phipps released the final design, which was arrived at after a lengthy community input process. Now they have settled on a footprint and design parameters; the architects can get to work and produce drawings. Work on the renovation project will proceed, but do not expect a move to Phipps’s Botany Hall until 2021.

To see the plans and concept drawings of the possible renovation of the building, go to the site set up by Phipps:
Phipps Garden Center Renovation.

   THE ALLEGHENY LAND TRUST'S CHURCHILL VALLEY GREENWAY

Three Rivers member Ted Weller and Tom Dougherty, the Allegheny Land Trust’s vice-president of development, recently visited the former Churchill Country Club property, about 148 acres just off of the Parkway East. ALT has signed an agreement to acquire this property in early 2020 assuming it can come up with the funding requirements. While ALT already has some substantial grant money, all of this is dependent on getting the additional grassroots funding from individuals, businesses, and other sources.

Ted and Tom spent about an hour at the Churchill property, which has not been a country club for about 10 years, on a 90+ degree sunny afternoon, and Ted came away very impressed with the birding potential of this property, let alone its other natural benefits, especially given this suburban location. Even in the midday heat, he noted at least 15 species that he either heard or saw, and the pair even flushed what Ted believed was either a Woodcock or possibly a Wilson’s Snipe. Ted believes this location has high potential with mixed habitat and a stream running through it. And because it was once a golf course, there are decent existing paved trails that were formerly cart paths.

Read more about the Churchill Valley Greenway project at these links:

•    "Churchill Valley Greenway" from the Allegheny Land Trust

•    "Allegheny Land Trust eyeing former Churchill Valley Club site"

•    "Allegheny Land Trust Wants To Preserve Former Country Club As Greenspace"

   NEW PAGE CREATED FOR LOWELL BURKET'S DISCOVERY OF THE THREE SPECIES, TWO GENERA WARBLER!

If you're wondering where photos of the "Burket's Warbler" have gone, you'll have to look on the new webpage created for all the information on that exciting new bird. There are photos, background information, links to articles and interviews, and more. Be sure to read about the new honor received by Dave Toews, the researcher who deciphered the three-species warbler's DNA.

Click on "'Burket's Warbler' News" on the side menu to see this new page.

   THE SCREECH-OWL HAS BEEN JOINED BY NEW FRIENDS!!

As we hope you know, the screech-owl video has moved to our new VIDEO PAGE! Click on "Videos" in the Side Menu to find the owl and several new videos by members, including a Rufus Hummingbird, the "Burket's Warbler," and more!
We hope you enjoy this new page, and we hope that you can contribute to it too.

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   View the 18 species seen on the FRICK PARK Dead of Winter Outing III (January 25) on eBird: Frick Park List.

   View the 25 species seen on the GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT at SEWICKLEY HEIGHTS BOROUGH PARK outing (February 15) as a PDF: Sewickley Heights GBBC List.

Items to Note!

ABA CODE OF ETHICS

The American Birding Association's Principles of Birding Ethics now has its own page (ABA Code of Ethics) on this website. All birders are reminded to follow these guidelines while birding for the protection of the birds, respect for the environment, and enjoyment of other birders.

Follow us on FACEBOOK!

Be sure to visit our club's Facebook page for up-to-date news on happenings with the club, member photos, or links to other birding sites.

The National Aviary Wants You to Volunteer!

Volunteer with the National Aviary and engage with their visitors. Find opportunities to teach classes, guide tours, work in our gift shop, facilitate crafts, or operate our bird flight simulator. Build lasting relationships and gain excellent experience. Volunteer positions available for teens ages 16-17 and adults ages 18+.

Call 412-258-9455 to learn more or apply online at Volunteer Opportunities.

Longer Articles are Still Available

Read Kathleen Siebert's article on her journey to Ecuador Take the "Sun Route" to Enjoy Ecuador's Avian Wealth, and Geoff Malosh's tale of chasing the sun's eclipse A Different Kind of Chase: Not for Birds This Time.
Don't forget David Yeany II's wonderful report by about his adventure pursuing a Kirtland's Warbler in Michigan with friends on a "slow" day at Magee Marsh in May 2018: Kirtland's Warbler.
Plus, the stunning gallery of birds and scenery from Northwest Argentina, which is an adjunct to Claire Staples' article "A Very High Adventure: Birding to 15,000 Feet in Argentina's Andes" [The Peregrine Vol. 18, No. 2, March/April 2019], can still be enjoyed: Northwest Argentina.

The Peregrine "Online-only" Option Remains Available to Members

As we announced at our April 4 meeting, our members may choose NOT to receive a paper copy of our newsletter The Peregrine, in order to reduce clutter, save trees, or protect the environment. If you only want to view our newsletter online, please email Tom Moeller at thosjmoel@gmail.com and ask him to put you on the "online only" list to NO LONGER receive paper copies of The Peregrine.
Our membership rates remain the same with this change. It is your preference whether or not to receive the paper copy of the newsletter.

The List of Birding Checklists

We offer more checklists on our Outings page. There are now nine (9) lists you can download and use as you explore these birding hotspots. Check them out!

PENNSYLVANIA BIRDS — See what you've been missing!

The Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO) publishes sample article from the current issue of Pennsylvania Birds online. Anyone who does not subscribe or perhaps does not even know about PSO can now actually see a little bit of what they've been missing, and hopefully be encouraged to join PSO!