Three Rivers Birding Club

3RBC Outings

Throughout the year, we have many outings to locations in Western Pennsylvania and beyond. For a more comprehensive calendar of birding and other Western Pennsylvania natural history outings and outdoor activities of other groups, see the links at the bottom of this page under the heading of "Events Calendars".

If you are birding one of the areas listed below, download a PDF copy of the birding checklist provided and take it with you:

Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania — Beechwood Farms Bird Checklist
Cook Forest — Cook Forest Bird Checklist
Erie County, Pennsylvania — Erie County PA Bird Checklist
Frick Park — Checklist of Birds in Frick Park
Harrison Hills Park — Harrison Hills Park Bird Checklist
Oil Creek State Park — Oil Creek State Park Bird Checklist
Shenango Reservoir — Shenango Bird Checklist
Westmoreland County — Westmoreland County Bird Checklist
Yellow Creek State Park — Yellow Creek State Park Bird Checklist

Outings are free and open to the public. In the event of inclement weather, contact the leader in advance to confirm whether the outing is on or canceled. Also, contact the leader with any questions about weather, driving directions, or trail conditions.

In the event of a late cancellation of or a change to any of our outings, please check the Three Rivers Birding Club Facebook page or the "What's New?" section of the Home page of this website for the latest information on outings, cancellations, and other events that could not make our newsletter's deadline.

3RBC Current Outings - June 2019

Saturday, June 8 — Piney Tract

On Saturday, June 8th Michael Leahy (mr1706@gmail.com) will show us some of the highlights around a very special place in Western Pennsylvania - State Game Land #330, known as Piney Tract. We will meet at 8:30 am in the game lands parking area on Mt. Zion road.
Piney Tract is a 2,300 acre reclaimed strip mine located in central Clarion County that holds arguably the densest population of Henlow's Sparrows Clay-colored Sparrow and other grassland breeding birds in Pennsylvania and likely, the eastern United States. It has been designated as a Global Important Bird Area (#21).
There are NO facilities in the area so bring water, snacks and lunch. Although insects are seldom a problem here, insect repellent for ticks may be in order.
We will walk a couple of areas here and then drive to a couple of other areas nearby to look for other good birds. Some species to be expected are Henslow's, Savanah, Grasshopper, Clay-colored and possibly Vesper Sparrows. Northern Harrier, Kestrel, Bobolink, Prairie Warbler and Eastern Meadowlark are fairly common. Breeding populations of Upland Sandpiper and Short-eared Owls have been documented.
Directions and more information can be found on the Seneca Rock Audubon website.

Saturday, June 15 — Hunter's Lane in Donegal, Westmoreland County

Mike Fialkovich (412-731-3581) will lead his annual summer outing to the Laurel Mountains. This year we will walk the trail at Hunter's Lane, near Donegal. Meet Mike at the Dairy Queen parking lot off the Donegal Exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike at 7:30 am. We will then drive the short distance to the trailhead.
Hunter's Lane is part of Forbes State Forest and features a variety of habitats including forest, a stream, a shrub marsh, and brush. This was a good location for Golden-winged Warblers in past years, so we'll see if we can find any. Alder Flycatcher and a variety of warblers nest at this site. The hike is level. This outing even produced a Black Bear in the past!
Take the turnpike east from Pittsburgh to Exit 9 - Donegal. After passing through the toll booths, turn left (east) on RT. 31 and travel a short distance to the Dairy Queen on the right side of the road. Allow an hour's drive time from Monroeville.

Sunday, June 23 — ANNUAL PICNIC at Harrison Hills

Mark your calendar for the annual 3RBC bird walk and picnic! This year's picnic will be at Harrison Hills Park off Freeport Road between Natrona Heights and Freeport. We will meet leader, Jim Valimont, for the birding walk at 8:00 AM at the Rachel Carson parking lot near the pond. As you enter the park, bear right and proceed to the parking lot at the end of the road near the pond.
After the morning outing, we will have a pot-luck lunch at the Yakaon Shelter near the Environmental Learning Center. Please bring your own beverages and a dish that will serve 6-8 people to share. Disposable plates and cutlery will be provided, but please consider bringing your own re-usable environmentally friendly picnic plates. Every little bit helps!

3RBC Current Outings - August 2019

Friday, August 23, 2019 — SEWICKLEY HEIGHTS BOROUGH PARK

In collaboration with the Fern Hollow Nature Center, Sheree Daugherty (shereedaugherty@gmail.com) will be our leader for this early fall bird migration walk which will begin at 8:00 AM. We will meet at the upper parking lot. Directions to the park can be found on the 3RBC website's Birding Locations page. Be prepared for muddy trails, and you can bring water and a lunch or snack to continue birding into the afternoon.