Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Counting crows ... and other birds
For folks who are hooked on birding, there is never an off-season; they do it all year. And for those same bird watchers, the enthusiasm for looking skyward frequently expands to keeping lists, holding meetings, taking trips and buying expensive equipment.
This past weekend was an important on the birders’ calenders, because it was the 20th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, the project organized by the National Auidubon Society and Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. In brief, it is an event that engages birders to report the number of birds they see in and around their homes or even anyplace in the world.
They then submit their checklists to Cornell, where researchers tabulate the data and learn more about bird populations and geographical shifts. From there they can infer what’s going on with environmental changes and the migrating patterns of the flocks.
On Sunday, members of the West Chester Bird Club were out scanning the skies in Exton Park, not for the international event, but for their own observations and reporting.
They do that a lot. In fact, they hold monthly meetings and report on where they’ve been, what they’ve seen and where they intend to go next.
Club Vice President Bob Murray was first on the scene bright and early on Sunday. As birds
flew overhead and perched in the trees, he could not resist lifting his binoculars and checking out what species was doing the rustling on the branches or winging it in the sky.
He’s been engaged by birding from as far back in his life as he can remember, when his family would make trips to the shore in his childhood and they would casually glance up to identify the birds that were nearby.
He said Exton Park is a good and frequent location in Chester County to see birds, but there are other
sites as well.
“We like Marsh Creek and Struble Lake especially for the ducks — anyplace where there’s water,” he said.
Club President Mike Harvell said even at the local level in the West Chester Bird Club, the members can observe trends in the bird population. For example, several years ago there was an increase in snowy owls in the area, and that was a result of a change in their prey to the north. Looking for more rodents, they flew south to the Middle Atlantic states.
Program Coordinator Lisa Tull said one indication of climate changes is the increase of red tail hawks, black vultures and Carolina chickadees who in earlier
times stayed farther to the south, but have moved north.
“We know it’s warmer,” she said.
She added that identifying the Carolina chickadees becomes slightly more difficult because they tend to interbreed with their hardier cousins, the black-capped chickadees, Sometimes their identifying features become mixed.
The members of the group all spoke of seeing increasing numbers of bald eagles since the banning of the insecticide DDT, which a death knoll to eagles’ eggs.
“Since the 1970s we’re up to more than 100 pairs in Chester County. Conowingo is the best place,” Harvell said.
As they looked up at a nearby tree, a small bird was flitting around that they had trouble identifying — a sign that they had to bring out the big equipment including a spotting scope and tripod.
That’s what it’s like when birders grow more enthusiastic and start fine-tuning their identifying skills and equipment.
Club member Judy White said a good scope and tripod can run up to about $3,000.
But that’s not all they can spend their money on. There’s binoculars, cameras and trips.
Murray said there are accounts of birders who are so enthusiastic about enhancing their lists of viewed birds that they travel all over the world to catch a glimpse of
yet another species — which can run into the thousands.
He added, however, that birding is a great hobby that can be started with very little financial investment. “All you need is a pair of binoculars and a bird identification book.”
The West Chester Bird Club meets monthly at the West Chester Friends Meetinghouse
on North High Street. Meetings start at 7:30 p.m. They are open to the general public, and the members have a chance there to compare lists and hear birding presentations. They also sponsor frequent field trips, especially in May during the migration season.
For information, go to westchesterbirdclub.org.