Save the date – January 11, 2025! Lehigh Valley Audubon Society’s tenth annual Christmas Bird Count for Kids (CBC4Kids) is coming up! A great antidote to the post-holiday letdown for kids.
Space is limited, so register early!
OWLOWEEN -- Presented By Lehigh Valley Audubon Society And The Wildlands Conservancy
When: Saturday, October 26, 2024 -- 11am To 1pm
CALLING ALL ADULTS AND CHILDREN (Feel free to come in costume)
Come Join Us for a morning filled with
Information About Owls
presented by Kathy Uhler,
Past Director Of The Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Then, meet the Resident Owls Of The Wildlands
with Annmarie Sanderson,
Environmental Educator For The Wildlands
Dissect Owl Pellets to Learn about Their Diets
Enjoy Some Crafts
Take a Short Hike On One Of The Trails with Annmarie
THERE WILL BE OWLOWEEN TREATS FOR EVERYONE!!!!!
Where: The Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary (Wildlands Conservancy)
3701 Orchid Place, Emmaus, PA
Lehigh Valley Audubon Society Community Events
Barbara Malt
Originally Published in July - September 2024 Quarterly Newsletter of The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society
Lehigh Valley Audubon Society (LVAS) had a busy spring meeting the public and providing information about birds and conservation at community events! We were at Herbein’s Garden Center’s 50th anniversary celebration, Allentown’s Earth Day fair, and the Rodale Spring Organic Market and Plant Sale. We also had a table at our stationary bird count for the public at the Lehigh Parkway. Altogether, we talked to about 300 members of the Lehigh Valley community!
LVAS Information Table at Community Event
Allentown Public Library Children’s Program
Barbara Malt
Originally Published in April - June 2024 Quarterly Newsletter of The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society
With spring in sight, LVAS gave a children’s program on migration at the Allentown Public Library on March 9. We talked about migration – including what is it, what birds and other animals migrate and why, and who goes how far. Then, we played bird bingo to practice our ID to welcome arriving migrants. Last, kids ran around finding bird pictures in the children’s room to fill out a scavenger hunt card and decode a message. They all took home a bird ID sheet and a bird tattoo.
LVAS Vice President, Barbara Malt, teaching about bird migration at Allentown Public Library, Spring 2024
Sixteen children and 9 adults attended. This was part of a library series on nature instituted by the Allentown Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) and organized by EAC intern and LVAS member, Felice Cragin. Funding for the internship was provided by Bird Town Pennsylvania.
Children playing Bird Bingo at Allentown Public Library from LVAS Newsletter April 2024
CBC4KIDS 2023
Barbara Malt
Originally Published in January - March 2024 Quarterly Newsletter of The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society
Photo of CBC4Kids Participants 2023
Another CBC4Kids is in the books! We were lucky with the weather – the field count part of the activities took place after the night’s rain ended and before the high winds really kicked up . Our teams this year were the Gnarly Nuthatches, Ninja Crows, and Marauding Mallards . They spotted 355 birds, of 37 different species! Highlights included Bald Eagle, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and American Wigeon . As usual, we wrapped up with a tally and sharing favorite sightings, snacks, and a visit to the Muhlenberg bird museum . Kudos to the nine children and their family members who turned out despite somewhat dire weather predictions . And thank you to the LVAS volunteers who helped in the classroom and in the field – Mark Boyd, Felice Cragin, Dan Pokras, and Paul Sherrer . (Organized by Barbara Malt and Chad Schwartz with assistance from Peter Saenger)
GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT 2023
Originally Published in April - June 2023 Quarterly Newsletter of The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society
Brandon Swayser and Sunny, the Barred Owl
Here at LVAS, we don’t just count birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count – we party! The Great Backyard Bird Count party is a joint project of Lehigh Valley Audubon Society (LVAS) and Wildlands Conservancy. We met at the Trexler Building at the Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary, where feeders were set-up in front of windows. Adults and children alike watched the feeders, practiced their bird ID, and counted the birds. They were enthralled by the chance to view education birds, Sunny the Barred Owl and Nittany the Red-tailed Hawk, up-close, with lots of good info and background stories on these two birds by Brandon Swayser. With cooperative weather, many participants also enjoyed the option to take a guided walk through the woods and along the creek to see what else could be found. Many cookies and pretzels were consumed, bird puzzles were done, and pine cone snowy owls were made.
Participants at Great Backyard Bird Count - Photo by Ello Soto
Twenty-three species were spotted altogether, with highlights including four Common Mergansers and a Red-tailed Hawk and Turkey Vultures circling overhead. A big thanks to our LVAS volunteers who helped with approximately 42 visitors: Jim Funk, Colette Cragin, Paul Sherrer, Janet Farley, Karen Campbell, Dan Pokras, and Betty Abrams. Special thanks to Wayne Frick for bringing his Chirpsounds technology to pipe bird vocalizations inside for learning sound ID.
Participants at Great Backyard Bird Count - Photo by Ello Soto