Three Rivers Birding Club 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. Although we, too, like our pets, it is the club's policy not to include them on our walks.
Below is a general statement that will be followed for all our outings. Also, the leader may have specific requirements that are stated in the outing description:
"It is our intention to foster a safe environment during our outings. Social distancing and mask wearing are not required, and sharing equipment is optional; however, attendees should respect individuals who decide to remain socially distant or wear masks. Pets are not permitted on 3RBC outings. The leader may have certain prerequisites and can end a walk if an uncomfortable situation arises."
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 "Items of Interest" 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 2025
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Sunday, June 1 , 2025 – Picnic at Harrison Hills
- Take the PA Turnpike to the New Stanton Exit.
- Take Route 119 South to the exit for Route 31.
- Turn left onto Route 31 East. Proceed through the town of Mt. Pleasant.
- Once through town you will pass a sign for the Glass Center on the right (the sign is flanked by stone pillars).
- Continue down the hill to the next road on the right side, which is White Bridge Road (the road sign is no longer there). If you come to the intersection with Route 982 at a red light, you have gone too far.
- Turn right onto White Bridge Road. You will cross Jacob's Creek, and look for the entrance to the wetlands on the right.
- Turn into the drive and park in the lot on the left.
We will hold our 3RCB picnic this year at Harrison Hills Park on Sunday, June 1st. This will be a bring your own lunch picnic starting at 12:00 PM at the Yakaon pavilion. The pavilion is located across from the environmental center. GPS: 40.6572, -79.7024. As you enter the park stay left, and then turn left at the first intersection, and go up the hill to the large parking lot.
Prior to the picnic we will be having a bird walk starting at 9:00 AM. The walk will start 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.
Saturday June 14, 2025 – Piney Tract (State Game Land #330)
On Saturday, June 14, Three Rivers Birding Club and the Seneca Rocks Audubon Society will have a joint outing led by Michael Leahy. Micheal will show participants some of the highlights around a very special place in Clarion County - State Game Land #330, known as Piney Tract.
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 and other grassland breeding birds in Pennsylvania and likely, the eastern United States. It has been designated as a Global Important Bird Area (#21).
We will meet at 9:00 AM in the game lands parking area on Mt. Zion Road (T-841). 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, Savannah, 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.
The latest issue (April 2025) of Pennsylvania Game News has a very nice article that spotlights this game land (SGL #330).
There is no address here to put into your GPS; however, the actual coordinates for the parking area are these:
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41 Degrees 08'49"N & 79 Degrees 29'57"W or 41.147125, -79.499155
Directions to Piney Tract can be found at the "Birding Locations" link in the left margin.
For questions or more information contact Michael Leahy at MRL706@gmail.com. Or you can phone or text him at 814-229-1648
Saturday, June 21, 2025 – Jacob's Creek Educational Wetlands, Fayette County
Time 7:30 AM Leader: Mike Fialkovich (Cell: 412-303-0010).
It's been eight years since we had an outing to this location! This is a wetland complex that is also used as an environmental education area and is just outside the town of Mount Pleasant off Route 31. We will search for breeding birds along the trails that wind around ponds.
Directions to Jacob's Creek:
GPS Coordinates for the parking lot of Jacob's Creek Wetlands: 40.135378, -79.510170
