State College Bird Club
April 24, 2013
The State College Bird Club met at Foxdale Village on April 24,
2013. Approximately 32 members and guests attended, including two
first-time visitors. Nick Kerlin presided.
Business
• The minutes of the March 27th meeting were read.
• Dorothy Bordner presented the Treasurer’s Report.
• Ro Fuller announced that the final club meeting of
the Spring would be a potluck at Shaver’s Creek on May 22.
• The election of officers was held with the following officers elected to 2-year terms:
President: Diane Bierly; VP Programs: Ro Fuller (continuing);
Secretary: Ron Crandall (continuing); Members at large: Nick Bolgiano
and Deb Grove.
• Don Kiel gave an update on the Gray’s Woods wetland
project. He reported that Jim Julian had led several bird walks and
tours there, and that a Breeding Bird Survey was being organized. Don
also said that the group was working on a bird checklist, and that
birders were encouraged to send photos and other information on bird
sightings to either him or the Clearwater Conservancy.
• It was noted that the Spring Tussey Mountain
Hawkwatch had been completed, and that the final tally of Golden Eagles
was 177.
• Greg Grove read the checklist of species seen within 25 miles of Old Main since March 27.
Announcements
• Doug Wentzel noted that the Birding Cup was
scheduled for May 3rd - 4th and that about 20 teams were signed up.
• Nick Kerlin said that the PA Migration Count would
be on May 11th, and that club members should let him know if they were
interested in participating.
• Field Trips – No report.
Presentation
The evening’s presentation was by Penn State grad student Nate Fronk,
who gave a talk called “The Effects of Landscape Changes from Marcellus
Shale Development on Birds.” Nate said that Marcellus Shale gas
drilling started in 2003, and now includes 6000 wells, 3000 of which
are producing. His analysis used Breeding Bird Survey data from North
Central Pennsylvania to compare counts of forest songbirds from before
2003 to counts in 2011-12. Some species classes showed declines
while others showed increases. The results, In particular, showed
that core forest birds had significant declines from Marcellus Shale
development. Chipping Sparrows, by contrast, showed the biggest
increase of any species. Early successional species showed no
relationship to the development. The effects are expected to accelerate
as development continues to increase.
Submitted by Ron Crandall, Secretary.