Blog

This year's report has been prepared by Rick Keyser, our raw bird data compiler. Thank you to each section leader, and to all other bird counters, for extending the tradition of the VFAS’s Spring Bird Count (SBC) for another year.  The number of people counting for...

Recent research has shown that hummingbird feeders can affect the bill size of Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna), a western species. Anna’s hummingbirds have surged northward as far as southeast Alaska over the past 150 years. For years, scientists believed Anna’s...

Here are some new summer nature--themed books.  You can find more information about them here. Adults The Bird with Flaming Red Feet: Seasons with an Uncommonly Common Seabird by Maria Mudd Ruth The Book of Birds: A Field Guide of Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane...

Will Krohn, a graduate student at the University of Delaware, is studying how Purple Martins move between and select their nesting colonies. To do this, a huge, collaborative team is putting small, lightweight, colored bands on the legs of the birds. These uniquely...

At the request of the PA Game Commission, Hawk Mountain has initiated a new statewide Northern Harrier project focused on breeding harriers within the state. The team is particularly interested in any sites that have adult birds present between the May 15-July 15 safe...

The Annual Cape May optics sale will take place April 11 (9 am-5 pm) and April 12 (9 am-3 pm) at the Cape May Convention Center, 714 Beach Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204. This is the place to go to try out and purchase new binoculars or to trade yours in for a newer...

With 85 species observed, this was the second highest total of species observed for the count. Our highest was 91 species in 2013.  This is the 3rd year in a row that we had greater than 80 species.  It is very strange that the overall worldwide trend is a decline of...

You can find more information on these new Spring books at https://valleyforgeaudubon.org/new-and-noteworthy-books/ Adults An Experiment In Birding by Stacey Pazar Huth and Noah T. Gibb The Feather Wars: And the Great Crusade to Save America's Birds by James McCommons...

Wildlife in Need PA has reached out to us for help in their efforts to recruit volunteers.  If you are interested in volunteering, please contact them through their website, Facebook page, or by phone, all listed below. Wildlife in Need Emergency Response of PA (WIN)...

Discovering a banded goose is an unusual experience that offers a fascinating glimpse into its life history:  it signifies that the bird has been captured, marked with a unique identifier, and is part of ongoing scientific research to understand migration patterns,...