October 2011 Minutes

State College Bird Club

26 October 2011

The State College Bird Club met at Foxdale Village on 26 October 2011. Forty-three members and guests attended; Nick Kerlin presided.

Business

Nan Butkovich read the minutes from the previous meeting. As an experiment, those minutes were posted for comment on the listserv immediately after the September meeting. Members seemed to like this, so we will use this method in the future and dispense with the reading of minutes at our meetings. A few paper copies of the minutes will be available at each meeting so that members who do not have an internet connection will be able to comment. The minutes will also continue to be posted on our website.
Dorothy Bordner presented the Treasurer’s report and the checklist.
Species of note observed within 25 miles of the Penn State campus since 28 Sept. 2011 included a number of ducks, such as American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Surf Scoter, and Ruddy Duck, which continue to move into our region. Hawkwatchers continue to delight in the array of raptors heading south along the ridgetops. Notable species include Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and the occasional Golden Eagle. Stone Mountain produced a real gem: an Anhinga. Shorebirds continued in abundance, allowing birders to get some practice separating Black-bellied Plovers from American Golden-plovers. Dunlin, a Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, and American Woodcock were also observed. Gray-cheeked Thrush and American Pipit represented the middle of the checklist, while a nice variety of warblers were noted, with lucky birders reporting Orange-crowned Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and Mourning Warbler. Several notable sparrows lingered into the mid-autumn: Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, and Lincoln’s Sparrow were reported. Rusty Blackbirds have also begun to migrate through the area.
Diane Bierly volunteered to tackle the updating of the by-laws. When the revisions are completed, they will be presented to the membership for a vote.
Alex Lamoreaux set up a Facebook page for the club.
Bob Fowles put a 70th anniversary banner on the club website.
Nobody’s volunteered to help with the t-shirts… yet.

Announcements

Alex Lamoreaux reported on a winter hummingbird contest in Lycoming County that is sponsored by Lycoming Audubon. The goal is to encourage local residents to keep their hummingbird feeders up through December in the hope of attracting late and/or out-of-territory hummingbirds. They’ve had three reported so far. Even though it’s late to start something similar the membership present voted to develop a similar program and give it a try here.
Nan Butkovich prepared a draft checklist for the Julian Wetlands/Governor Tom Ridge Wetlands Preserve. It will be sent to Wildlife for Everyone.
Wildlife for Everyone has a large number of nest boxes available. Nick Kerlin’s going to set up a date in November for interested members to help install them at Julian and Tom Ridge.
The season’s banding has ended at the PSU Arboretum. A total of 295 birds of 41 species were handled. The three most common species were Gray Catbird, American Goldfinch, and White-throated Sparrow.

Upcoming events

6 Nov.: Bald Eagle State Park field trip – more details to come.
16 Nov.: Our next speaker will be Mark Henry, who will discuss birding in Panama.

Presentation

Our speaker this month was Margaret Brittingham, who gave a presentation on the effects of Marcellus Shale drilling on forest bird habitat. The number of permits issued and wells drilled has increased at an exponential pace since 2008; approximately 3000 wells have been drilled so far. Many of these are located in the north-central and the extreme south-west part of the state.

The former area is of particular concern, since much of Pennsylvania’s core forests are there. The core forests are areas with very low levels of forest fragmentation and are key breeding areas for a variety of neotropical migrant songbirds. They also have the highest levels of mammal diversity in the state.

Gas and oil drilling have a long history in the state; however, the shallow wells have a fairly low footprint in the forest. Well pads are small, and the roads are narrow. On the other hand, Marcellus Shale pads are much larger and more massively constructed, with a mean size of about 5 acres and most in the 5-10 acre range. Larger pads tend to have on-site water storage, while the smaller ones are generally for test wells. Although the larger pads are capable of holding multiple wells, 77% have only 1-2 wells per pad.

Of even greater concern are the linear corridors created by new roads and pipelines. These tend to be wider than those created to support shallow drilling, and because the roads are supporting heavier traffic and loads, they are much more substantial than the older roads. Both greatly increase the risk of habitat fragmentation. Primary areas of concern caused by these features include a spread of invasive species into new areas, core forest fragmentation due to an increase in edge (boundaries between core forest and other habitats), disturbance of sensitive habitats such as vernal pools and seeps, and creating barriers to dispersal of some species.

Other concerns involve seismic testing, and an increase in light and noise pollution. Some sources of these are of relatively short duration, being related to exploration and drilling operations. However, others are long-term, such as the noise levels caused by pipeline compressor stations.

As a result of all of these factors, many species are considered to be at risk. These tend to fall into three categories: those that are intolerant of disturbance, such as Northern Goshawk and Broadwing Hawk; those with limited abilities to disperse, such as frogs and salamanders; and species with small populations or that have a limited distribution, such as Timber Rattlesnakes.

Brittingham and her students have been studying the effects of drilling on avian species in core forests that are being impacted by Marcellus Shale drilling. Baseline data include data collected by the first and second Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas projects and are being compared with data collected after drilling began. So far they show a 4% decline in core forest habitat, and 84% of the drill pads have not undergone reclamation. Much of the remaining 16% of reclaimed pads have been planted in a grassy cover rather than something closer to the original habitat.

Preliminary results of their research show that 10 avian species are more abundant in the core forests away from the drilling pads than near them. These include Ovenbird and Blue-headed Vireo. American Robins were more abundant near the drilling pads. A few species, such as Mourning Dove, Common Grackle, and Indigo Bunting, were not found in the core forests but were present only around the well pads. Other species, such as Wood Thrush and Magnolia Warbler, were absent near the drill pads and were only located in the core forests. Their initial data suggest that local changes are occurring, but they don’t know yet if these will translate into large-scale changes.

Minutes taken by Nan Butkovich, Secretary