WBNC
Birding and nature observation
in Westmoreland County
southwestern Pennsylvania

About the club | Links | Officers | Book Club | Meetings | Field Trips & Outings
Join | PABirds Email List | Application Form
(links to external websites will open in separate windows)

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above: Harlequin Duck at Keystone State Park, Nov. 19 2008
Reported by Linda Huber & Ken Byerly
Photograph by Dick Byers

below: Pine Siskin in Latrobe PA, Jan. 21 2009

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Sandhill Crane

Lake Ethel in Derry, PA
Mid December 2007 to last week of April 2008

More photos are here, more Sandhill Crane info is at wikipedia | Middle Creek | Platte River Nebraska | Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge | International Crane Foundation

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Upland Sandpiper Hutter's Farm Mammoth-Kecksburg PA May 25 1996

Sedge Wren 3rd Bridge Loyalhanna Creek Latrobe PA June 7 1997

Both species are listed as threatened in Pennsylvania by the PA Department of Natural Resources. A threatened species may become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout their range in PA. An endangered species is in danger of extirpation throughout their range in PA.
Endangered & Threatened Species of Pennsylvania: PA Game Commission || DCNR || Fish & Boat Commission

Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania

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Links to other web sites about nature and birds seen locally. These links can become inactive at any time.

Links open in separate browser windows.

Photos by Mark McConaughy:

Pine Siskin, White-winged Crossbill at Bushy Run Battlefield, Westmoreland Co., Feb. 2009

WBNC outing to West Lebanon, Indiana County, Feb. 24 2008.

Common Redpolls at Bushy Run Battlefield Park

Sandhill Crane at Derry Lake, Dec. 31 2007.

Herring Gull Nest in Armstrong County, 29 May 2005.

Short-billed Dowitcher at Mammoth Wetlands and Mammoth Lake, Sat. May 14 2005.

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Westmoreland Botanical Society

Western Pennsylvania Mushroom Club

Three Rivers Birding Club

Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh

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Westmoreland Bird & Nature Club

The Westmoreland Bird & Nature Club (formerly Westmoreland County Bird Club) formed on Feb 26, 1981 to promote interest in birds and conservation and to provide field trips in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The first newsletter, Vol. 1 No. 1, was for March 1981. In that newsletter five field trips were scheduled. Seven people were listed as paid members. The newsletter is published five times a year. Membership meetings are held only three times a year in September, January and April since we are primarily a field oriented organization. Thirty or more field trips are scheduled every year and these are not entirely limited to birds. When the birds do not cooperate we concentrate on botany, herps (reptiles & amphibians) and insects. Butterfly & dragonfly walks are scheduled in the summer.

Club Membership: $7 individual/family. Paid memberships currently stand at 217. All Membership Dues are due in January, unless you joined after September 1st. See Join for details.

Current officers of the club

President - Tom Pearson
Vice President - Hope King
Secretary/Treasurer - Rose Tillmann
Newsletter Editor - Dick Byers
Bird Records - Karen Jackson
Archives Scrapbook - Carol Hassenger
Website - Tim Vechter
Outings Committee - Debbie Bryant (chairperson), Tom Pearson, Dick Byers, Hope King and Karen Jackson.

History of club officers

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Nature Book Club Schedule for 2009 and 2010 HTML

Nature Book Club Schedule for 2009 PDF

Club Meeting

No meetings are scheduled.

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Field Trips for Winter 2010

Cancellation Policy: In the event of inclement weather, please call the field trip leader in advance to confirm if the outing is on or cancelled. The leaders have the right to cancel. Please check weather reports and road conditions. If there's any question, please call the leaders for confirmation. Car pooling is a good idea. Field trips are free and open to the public.

Weather for Latrobe (weather.com) || Weather for Westmoreland County || Weather(underground) for PA

Sun. Jan 31 Winter Ecology at 3rd Bridge Wetlands

For animal tracks in the snow, winter weeds, trees, birds, whatever we find and how it ties together. Meet Tom Pearson at 10:00 AM at the wetlands parking lot. The parking space is not very big, so car pool if you can. Directions: From Latrobe follow Rt. 981 north out of town. About a mile past the railroad underpass (just past some townhouses called Holiday Acres) turn left onto Derbytown Road. Follow Derbytown Rd to a T-intersection and turn right onto McFarland Rd. The wetland parking lot is just ahead on the right before the bridge. Or, follow Ligonier Street west out of Latrobe until you come to the wetlands.

Tues. Feb. 9 Nature Book Club

The selection this month is A Brief History of Charles Darwin, His Life and Times by Cyril Aydon. Join us for our discussion of the world's greatest naturalist at the Donohoe Center Barn at 7:00 PM.

Fri. - Mon. Feb. 12-15 Great Backyard Bird Count

Count all birds by species at any one time at your feeder on any or all four days. You can move around the neighborhood and add those to your list too. Enter your data online at www.birdsource.org.

Sat. Feb. 20 Armchair Birding

At the residence of Len & Linda Hess. Arrive no earlier than 8:30 AM. From the Rt 711/130 intersection in Stahlstown, turn north (up the hill). Drive 1.3 miles to Old Distillery Rd and turn right at the Foggy Mt. Lodge sign. Drive 1.2 miles until you see the sign 33^rd St. on your left. The modular Hess residence (316) is on your right.

Sat. Feb. 27 Chestnut Ridge Strips

For short-eared owls. Meet Dick Byers (724-393-3543) at the 2nd Parking lot at Donegal Lake at 3:30 PM.

Sat - Sun. Mar. 6-7 Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area

For multitudes of snow geese, tundra swans, and other waterfowl. Plan to arrive at the Visitor's center at noon on Saturday. We will bird along the driving route, staying until dusk so we can watch the geese and swans arrive for the night along with harriers and short-eared owls. On Sunday we will get back to Middlecreek before dawn to watch the geese and swan leave the area for their feeding grounds. Sunday breakfast will be at 9 AM at the Quentin Haus Restaurant, which is beside the Four Seasons Motel (2525 Quetin Rd. Colebrook 17042), Make your hotel reservation for Sat. Mar. 6 at the Four Seasons in Colebrook, PA 717-272-8402.
Directions to the Visitor Center: From Pennsylvania Turnpike Exit 286 - Take Route 272 North for three miles, and at the traffic light, turn left on Route 897 Follow Route 897 North for about 14 miles into the village of Kleinfeltersville. In Kleinfeltersville make the first left after the stop sign (Hopeland Road). The Visitors Center will be on the right about 2 miles down Hopeland Road. www.pgc.state.pa.us.

Sun. Mar. 14 Little Sewickley Creek

For snow trillium and waterfowl. Meet at the trail entrance at 1 PM. No leader. Directions: Take the PA Turnpike to Exit 67-Route 30/Irwin/Greensburg. Take the Route 30 East/Greensburg ramp. At the first stoplight on Route 30, turn right onto Arona Rd, then another right after 0.5 mile onto unmarked Wendel Rd. Travel this road 3.7 miles to a T. Turn right at the T and continue 1 mile to Herminie to a 4-way stop (VFD on corner). Continue straight to the next stop sign and turn left. Proceed through 2 more stop signs, end at a T, and turn right. Continue past the Dairy Queen on your right and continue down a hill. We will meet just before the highway bridge. Park on the left side.

Sat. Mar. 20 Waterfowl Tour

Meet at the Jacobs Creek Reservoir at 9:30 AM. From there we will move on to Bridgeport, the Education Wetlands. Acme Reservoir, Donegal Lake (if there's any water in it) and finish at Trout Run Reservoir. Lunch will be either at Brady's on Route 31 or Ruthie's in Ligonier depending where we are at noon. Directions: From Mt Pleasant, head east on Route 31 to the traffic light in Laurelville and turn right onto Route 982. In about 4 miles you'll see a white church on your right. Turn right onto Mudd School Rd just before reaching the church and go straight ahead through the intersection. In a quarter mile you'll see the reservoir on your left. The park entrance is on the left another half mile up the road.

Note: for the email addresses replace "_AT_" with "@", and "_DOT_ with ".", without the quotes. This is done to help foil spamming programs.

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To join Westmoreland Bird & Nature Club

Rose Tillmann
PO Box 188
New Derry PA 15671

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Web page, and photos (unless otherwise noted), by tim vechter.
For more about birding in Westmoreland County & Western PA look for links at:
http://www.westol.com/~towhee/redtail.htm | site map

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For places to bird in Westmoreland County click here

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