May 2013
Volume 15, Issue 5
Inside This Issue
NEWSLETTER
1
Programs
2
Field Trip Schedule
3-4 Delco Ravens!
Al Guarente
The Birding Club of Delaware County is
a birding club located in Delaware
County, Pennsylvania, with the purpose
of expanding individual 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 [email protected].
Websites
BCDC: www.bcdelco.org
RTPHW: www.rtphawkwatch.org
All materials, illustrations and photos are
copyrighted 2013, by the Birding Club of
Delaware County, all rights reserved.
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Programs
March - June
Wednesday, May 8
Amy Davis, ABA's Sightings Department editor for Birding and Winging It, will
enlighten us with a presentation on the breeding birds of Springton Manor Park in
Chester County. Details and descriptions of the park can be found at: http://
www.chesco.org/ccparks/cwp/view.asp?a=1550&q=616437 , in case you'd like to do
a little pre-talk birding on your own. As an adjunct to this program, our own Doris
McGovern will lead a bird walk at Springton Manor on Sunday, May 19. See next
page for details.
Wednesday, June 12
BCDC Annual picnic at Ridley Creek State Park, Area 8. See next page for details.
Come out and enjoy the late spring weather with fellow club members.
Wednesday, September 11
To be announced
Wednesday, October 9
Rob Bierregard will enlighten us on the status of the Osprey. If you recall Rob’s
outstanding presentation from last season on the Barred Owl, you know that this
will be a memorable and entertaining program
IMPORTANT NOTE !!!
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.
UPCOMING BCDC FIELD TRIPS
Saturday, May 4
Spring migrants at White Clay Creek with Chris Pugliese. Meet at Painter’s Crossing
(US Route 1 and 202) at 6:45 AM. Contact Chris at: 610-431-9533 or [email protected] .
Sunday, May 5
Still more spring migrants at Haverford College with Sheryl Johnson. Meet at the college’s
south visitor parking lot at 7:30 AM. Contact: 610-643-4621 or [email protected] .
Sunday, May 19
Migrants at Springton Manor Park With Doris McGovern. Meet at Exton Mall Boscov’s
at 7:00 AM Contact Doris at [email protected] or 610-565-8484
Wednesday, June 12
Annual BCDC Picnic at Ridley Creek State Park
Who: You! Your Family! Your Friends! All are welcome!
Where: Ridley Creek State Park, Area #8
When: Wednesday, June 12, 2012
Picnic starts around 5:00 pm. (Pavilion available at 8:00 am.)
BCDC Provides: Soft drinks, Ice, Water, Charcoal, Lighter Fluid, Plates, Napkins, Cooking utensils
You Bring: Your food, plus some to share (if desired)
It’s Dues time!!! Membership Application
Birding Club of Delaware County (BCDC)
2013 - 2014 Season (September 2013 through August 2014)
Meetings are held from September to June
Check one: This is a ___ New ___ Renewal application.
Name________________________________________________________________________
Address______________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip____________________________________________ _____ ______________
Phone: Home ______________________________ Work_____________________________
email address______________________________@__________________________________
Membership Type (check one):
___ $50-Sustaining ___ $40-Contributing ___ $30-Family
___ $20-Individual
Please check our website at www.bcdelco.org for updates.
Field Trip Coordinators: Amy or Chris Langman, 610-566-4091
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A Quest for a Nest
By Al Guarente
As you all probably know by now, the first nesting pair of Common Ravens in Delaware
County has been confirmed. This is a brief review of past sightings of Common Raven in
Delaware County.
The first record of a Common Raven for Delco was a bird seen at Tyler Arboretum on
January 20-29, 1974. Steve Ross and Paul DeAuon saw this bird on multiple days. More
recently, John Freiberg found a single bird on the Glenolden Christmas count on
December 16, 1995 and Sheryl Johnson and Skip Conant observed another raven on
March 18, 1997 as they manned the Rose Tree Hawk Watch.
As far as I can tell, the next record took another thirteen years. This was another
sighting at Rose Tree Hawk Watch by myself on November 10, 2010. The sightings then
started becoming more regular. I had another on March 1, 2011 at the Darlington Tract in
Middletown Township. A little over a year later on April 22, 2012, I was thrilled to
observe two Common Ravens interacting as a pair, once again at the Darlington Tract.
Four days later, April 26, 2012 Dave Eberly and I returned to Darlington and observed a
raven being pursued by a flock of crows. This was when a few of us started discussing the
possibility of raven nesting in the county.
In September 2012, Chris Langman and I
heard and observed one at Ridley Creek State
Park. A few days later in the park, Eric
Weislogel found another. October 2012
produced yet another sighting at Darlington
and we started noting the direction of flight.
Every time I observed a raven at Darlington
it was flying in the same direction. The day
Dave and I saw a raven it would fly in the
same direction as previous times but this time
it returned in the opposite direction, as if it
Nick, Al and Dave at the quarry
were returning to a particular place. We
Photo - Al Guarente
decided that it was possible that the raven
could be hanging around the Glen Mills
quarry which was only a mile and a half distant as the raven flies.
In the fall of 2012, Dave Eberly was talking to Dan Hayes at the Rose Tree Hawk
Watch and he also suggested that the Ravens might be nesting at the quarry since he lives
in Glen Mills and has been seeing them near his home at least once a week. After
discussing the ravens for a while Dan left and amazingly, within two minutes of his
departure, Dave found a pair of ravens fly past the hawk watch.
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Fast forward to January 29, 2013. I happened to meet Bob Kelly at Tyler Arboretum and
after our walk, Bob suggested we go to the quarry in search of a possible raven or two. Well,
as luck would have it, we got to the
quarry just in time to see the raven
perched on the top ridge. Now things
were really looking good for the
possibility of a nesting pair.
Raven in flight
Photo - Dave Eberly
On March 7, 2013, thanks to the
effort of Dave Eberly making
arrangements with the quarry
manager to enter the quarry, we
arrived with high expectations. After
waiting for about an hour, and
having to sign release forms and
watch a safety video, we donned our
hard hats and followed a worker through the quarry.
The nest in the quarry shed (above)
The quarry itself (left)
Photos - Dave Eberly
He drove Dave, Nick Pulcinella and me to a steel building, and lo and behold, inside the
open structure was a raven sitting close to a large stick nest in the rafters. We did it!
Confirmation of our first Common Raven nesting in Delaware County. This is a major
departure from their usual haunts, since most ravens are high elevation birds breeding in the
Appalachians or high deserts out west. Here we are at 189’ above sea level with a nesting
pair of ravens. What a milestone for Delaware County!
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