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The Birding Club of Delaware

County is a birding club located in

Delaware County, Pennsylvania,

with the purpose of expanding indi-

vidual interest in and study of wild

birds.

The Birding Club of Delaware

County is open to birders and bird

watchers of all skill levels.

Membership is from September

through August.

Meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday

of each month from September

through June at the Marple Township

Library Meeting Room. Meetings

begin at 7:30PM.

Visitors are always welcome.

For additional information regarding

membership, please contact John

D’Amico at 610-566-1461

or email membership@bcdelco.org.

Websites

BCDC: www.bcdelco.org

RTPHW: www.rtphawkwatch.org

All materials, illustrations and photos

are copyrighted 2010, by the Birding

Club of Delaware County, all rights

reserved.

November 2010

Volume 13, Issue 2

1 Programs

2 Field Trip Schedule

3 Birding Yellowstone

By Peter & Kris Wade

4 Powdermill Banding

By Lauren Johnson

5 Accidental Birder

By Noel Kelly

6 Member Profiles

8 Birding Grand Isle (2)

By Mariana Pesthy

10 Bluebirds 2010

By Alice Sevareid

11 Darlington in October

By Dave Eberly

12 World Series of Birding

By Bill Roache

N E W S L E T T E R

Inside This Issue

November 10: Jim McVoy

Fifty Birds in Fifty States In 1997, Jim and Sue McVoy embarked on a quest to find at least

fifty species of birds in each of the fifty US states. Some states gave up

their birds in a matter of hours; others were stingier. One state had to be

visited three times; Hawaii, twice (it was a dirty job, but. . .). Rock

pigeons appear on forty-nine of their state lists. Where did they miss

them? Jim and Sue saved Alaska for their fiftieth state, visiting it in 2009,

the year of Alaska's fiftieth anniversary of statehood. Which unsuspecting

bird was the fiftieth bird in the fiftieth state? In his presentation, Jim

shares travel stories and favorite birding spots around the country and

tells all.

Jim McVoy was born and raised on a dairy farm near Syracuse, NY.

He did his undergraduate studies in music theory and composition at

Syracuse University followed by graduate work at the Eastman School of

Music. From 1970-1979 he taught at Elizabethtown College. He then

moved to West Chester University where he taught until his retirement in

2005. Jim now offers his time as a volunteer for the Stroud Preserve, the

Land Trust and Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research.

December 8: Win Shafer

Birding the Appalachian Trail Win Shafer and his son Blake (AKA Birdman and Li'l Wayne) spent 4

1/2 months in 2009 hiking the entire 2175 miles of the Appalachian Trail

from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine. Being in the

mountains and woods in many different life zones during spring

migration afforded incomparable opportunities for bird observation.

Win's program is a travelogue of his unique adventure and birding

experience.

January 12: David Barber David is a research biologist at the Acopian Center for Conservation

Learning at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.

Programs

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BCDC FIELD TRIPS

November 6, Saturday Crosslands Field Birds

8:00 AM. Meet at the Crosslands Center, off of Route 926.

Leader: Dale Kendell 610-793-0291

November 13, Saturday Hidden Valley Saw-whet Owl Banding For directions and time contact the trip leader.

Leader: Sheryl Johnson 610-649-4621

November 21, Sunday Lakes of Chester County

7:00 AM. Meet at Boscov's parking lot at Exton Mall for a 3/4-day trip. Bring a lunch.

Leader: Holly Merker 610-733-4392

December 4, Saturday Eagles at Conowingo, Plus Perryville Park

8:00 AM. Meet at the Fishermen’s parking lot below the Conowingo Dam.

Leader: Janis Zane 610-361-8477

December 11, Saturday Forsythe & Barnegat Waterfowl & Short-eared Owl

8:00 AM. Meet at the parking lot at Forsythe NWR (Brigantine) for a full-day trip.

Leader: Tom Mc Parland 610-331-1863

December 18, Saturday Glenolden Christmas Count

Annual Christmas Bird Count in Delaware County, PA

Coordinator: Nick Pulcinella 610-696-0687

January 1, Saturday Big Al does Big Day in [Coastal] Delaware

6:00 AM. Meet at McDonald's at I-95 & Route 452 in Aston, PA.

Leader: Al Guarente 610-566-8266

January 15, Saturday Waterfowl

9:00 AM. Meet at Roosevelt Park in Philadelphia, PA.

Leader: Tom Reeves 610-361-8027

IMPORTANT NOTES Please contact the field trip leader in advance so you can be notified of any changes.

Plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to departure time.

Please check our website at www.bcdelco.org for updates.

Field Trip Coordinator: Al Guarente, 610-566-8266

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This was a first-time trip for Peter and a return

visit for Kris who came with her family 40 years

ago. After we flew into Salt Lake City, our first day

birding started at Willard Bay State Park. Our first

bird was a Yellow Warbler and then we got a pair

of Bullocks Orioles. More Yellow Warblers, a

Western Tanager, and an Olive-sided Flycatcher

rounded out the visit. Heading north, we came to the

Bear Lake NWR, which was closed on a Sunday.

But nobody told the birds: Outside the refuge we

saw a Western Meadowlark on every other

fencepost and a dark-morph Swainson’s Hawk on a

nest. We also found Cinnamon Teal and plenty of

Western Kingbirds. Heading for Grays Lake NWR

on the Great Bear Lake Road, we came to a

mountain pass where Broad-tailed Hummingbirds

mobbed the feeders at the visitors center. On the

way, we saw Nighthawks in daytime flight, White

Pelicans, Cliff Swallows and Yellow-headed

Blackbirds. Gray’s Lake itself was a

disappointment: The lake was all but dried up at the

end near the shuttered refuge, and no birds were

around.

We went on to four days at Grand Teton

National Park. There, we got a nesting pair of

Trumpeter Swans and their cygnet at the Elk NWR

in Jackson just outside the park. A female Harrier

also put in an appearance. There were Mountain

Bluebirds, a Brewer's Sparrow and Vesper

Sparrows. We saw what we could only identify as

oversized Chipping Sparrows, and that's exactly

what they were, definitely bigger than our usual

eastern customers! We also got Common

Mergansers, American Wigeons, Lesser

Goldfinch, and a Willow Flycatcher. Black-back

Woodpecker and Williamson’s Sapsucker were

target birds that we missed, but we did get a Red-

naped Sapsucker instead. While hiking, we

observed several Green-tailed Towhees and a

Black-throated Gray Warbler. We saw several

Blue Grouse at the top of Signal Mountain near

sunset, just sitting next to and in the road. We stared

at one of them through our scope for 10 minutes

from 30 feet and he finally hopped up on the curb -

not afraid of anything! The next day while hiking,

we got a probable Sage Grouse, a much more skittish

bird. Finally, we witnessed an apparent territorial

fight between a Gray Jay and several Mountain

Chickadees near Jackson Lake.

Upon entering Yellowstone on a snowy mid-

June day, we went to Yellowstone Lake where we

heard a report of a Common Loon sighting. We can

see these guys locally all the time in the winter but

they migrate north in the summer! We never did find

the loon, but we did find Barrow’s Goldeneye,

close to Fishing Cone Geyser, What a beautiful

duck! We were also greeted by Townsend’s

Solitaires in several places, always on talus slopes,

which they like. There were many light-morph

Swainson’s Hawks making appearances with all

those tasty Yellowstone varmints running around as

potential snacks. While watching geysers and

mudpots in the Norris Geyser Basin, we had a Ruby-

crowned Kinglet in a tree over the boardwalk.

There were several others in various places, most

with very pronounced ruby crowns. We saw another

Trumpeter Swan near the west entrance in the

Madison River at the 6 mile marker while the rest of

the crowd was watching a Bald Eagle nest across

the road.

After four days in Yellowstone, we headed north

for a day in Glacier National Park. A Swainson’s

Thrush made a cameo appearance and his cousins

kept up a delightful serenade. We had no luck

finding a Gray-crowned Rosy Finch. The high passes

that they inhabit were full of snow and the road was

closed!

On our way back from Glacier to Salt Lake City,

we had two final memorable sightings. The first was

a Common Loon family in full summer plumage on