Here's what's happening in our neck of the woods!

 

Looking for something fun and educational to do? WBU is happy to help you find nature centered events in our community. Check out these local nature-centered events in our community!*
 

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Fall Migration Bird Walk - Saturday, October 5th at 8:00am at 100 Museum Road, Stephens, PA 17578. (Rain Date: October 6th)

FREE to the public! No registration required.

Program Description: Search for fall migrant birds on a morning bird walk with the Lancaster County Bird Club (LCBC). The group will meet at the Visitor Center parking lot and will depart promptly at 8am.  Don't forget your binoculars so you don't miss out on the variety of birds that visit the habitat!

For more information on the bird walk, visit the LCBC website or call the Middle Creek Visitors Center at 7171-733-1512 

 

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Borders for Birds: Creating Early Successional Habitat and Promoting Healthy Forests on Private Lands by Utilizing USDA Programs, Wednesday, October 9th at 6:30pm, 100 Museum Road, Stephens, PA 17578.

FREE and open to the public.

Program Description: The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service conducts an information session to educate private landowners on what conservation practices they can implement on their land to provide quality wildlife habitat within forests using the USDA NRCS programs. The talk includes a review of the process to apply and receive funding from NRCS.

For more information on this event, contact Middle Creek WMA at [email protected] or 717-733-1512.

 

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, The Big Sit- Saturday, October 12th from 6:00am to 5:30pm at 100 Museum Road, Stephens, PA 17578. (Rain Date: October 13th) Meet on the Conservation Trail hill overlooking the Visitor Center.

FREE to the public! No registration required.

Program Description: Join members of the Lancaster County Bird Club (LCBC) any time during the day to help identify birds seen and heard from a 17-foot circle. Be sure to bring your binoculars and bird guide books to help you. 

The Big Sit is an annual, international, noncompetitive birding event founded by the New Haven (CT) Bird Club. The LCBC uses this annual event as a fundraiser to supplement its donations to Middle Creek WMA and the LCBC Youth Scholarship program. 

For more information, visit the LCBC website.

 

Lancaster County Bird Club, Beginner Bird Walk at Chestnut Grove - Saturday, October 12th at 9am at Chestnut Grove Natural Area (CGNA), 43 Chestnut Grove Road, Conestoga, PA 17516

FREE to the public. Registration is required.

Program Description: Members of the LCBC lead new birders of all ages on a guided bird walk at Chestnut Grove. Participants will learn the proper use of binoculars, field guides, and apps to improve bird watching skills. The varied landscape at CGNA offers a variety of songbirds, wading birds and waterfowl, as well as woodpeckers and raptors. Don't forget to bring your binoculars if you have them; a limited number of binoculars to borrow will be available.

Registration closes at 6pm, Friday, October 11th. Registered participants will be notified of weather-related cancelations the day before the event. For more information and to register, visit the LCBC website.

 

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, A Close-Up Look at Our Wildlife Nesting and Roosting Structures - Saturday, November 2nd at 10am at 100 Museum Road, Stephens, PA 17578.

FREE to the public!

Program Description: : Join the Game Commission for a behind-the-scenes tour of the many different nesting and roosting structures found around the Visitors Center. Houses and roosting structures include those for purple martins, American kestrels, barn owls, eastern bluebirds/tree swallows, chimney swifts and bats. The talk will include all sorts of information for these structures such as characteristics of a well-made nest box, preferred habitat, installation tips, how and why to monitor these structures, and how to prepare wildlife structures for the nesting or roosting season.

For more information, contact Middle Creek WMA at [email protected] or 717-733-1512

 

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Solid Air, Invisible Killer: Saving Billions of Birds from Windows - Wednesday, November 13th at 6:30pm at 100 Museum Road, Stephens, PA 17578.

FREE to the public!

Program Description: This presentation will present an overview of an important conservation issue for birds and people using Dr. Klem’s 2021 book on the topic. The book describes the cause and breadth of this universal problem of windows as indiscriminately lethal and devastating hazards to free-flying birds, and how to solve it. Detailed objective observations and experiments reveal that birds behave as if clear and reflective windows are invisible to them. Alarmingly, among the dead are the fittest individuals in species populations. Unlike the complexities of other environmental challenges, such as climate change, this human-associated avian mortality factor can be solved. The means to do so will be described and
are documented in greater detail in the pages of his book.

For more information, contact Middle Creek WMA at [email protected] or 717-733-1512

 

*These suggestions are for information only. Listing here is not an endorsement and WBU is not responsible for the venues, the content of the programs, or for any actions taken by the organizations listed.