Friday, September 12, 2025 

(in person only)

 at Nolde Forest EEC

*Please note: Time is 7:00pm

This opening  of the BOC Meetings begins with a social gathering. Pizza and beverages are provided!

“Pennsylvania Fire Ecology and History,” 

Brant Portner, Environmental Education Specialist, Middle Creek WMA. 

Smokey the Bear taught us that all landscape fires are bad, but fire has shaped ecosystems for thousands of years and its recent suppression has had negative effects. Learn how modern land managers with the PA Game Commission use fire as a tool to enhance habitats.

Friday, October 10, 2025

 (in person only)

 at Nolde Forest EEC

“Bird Rescue and Transport,”

Rita Stima-Stief, avid birder and photographer and licensed rescuer of injured birds. Rita lives in Lebanon County. Join us as she shares tales and photos of her rescues, often harrowing, always rewarding.

Friday, November 14, 2025 

(in person only) at Nolde Forest EEC

“Traveling with Eastern Towhees: Tracking Migration Timing and Pathways of a Declining Songbird,”

Michele A. Eshleman, Motus Avian Research Coordinator at Willistown Conservation Trust and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Delaware.

  We will follow the movements of seven tagged towhees, including three from eastern PA, using the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. We will also discuss the role private landowners can play in helping local birds thrive

  Friday, December 12, 2025 

(in person only) 

at Nolde Forest EEC

“Avian Conservation in an Urbanized Fragmented Landscape,” 

Dan Ardia, Ph.D., Professor of Biology at Franklin & Marshall College. Dan will lead a conversation about his research studying how birds and mammals respond to rapid environmental change in a man-made landscape.

Monk Parakeet photo by Mike Slater  

Video of the Zoom meeting  

“Do Female Birds Sing? “ - Dr. Lauryn Benedict, University of Northern Colorado

They certainly do! Female bird song is more common and widespread than is generally appreciated. This presentation offers an overview of the diversity of female songs, including a few used in spectacular partner duets. Backyard birders are encouraged to advance a growing body of knowledge by listening to singing females.

Dec. 2023 - Zoom Meeting 

Dr. Robert Curry, Villanova University - Dr. Curry is returning to present new findings in the Black-capped and Carolina Chickadee contact zone where the species hybridize. This long-running study now focuses on rapid northward movement of the hybrids. Collaborative work with the Lovette Lab at Cornell has identified a strong signal linking the hybrid-zone movement with climate change. New information from graduate student research focuses on changes in the Nolde Forest population. 

7:30 PM at Location: Nolde Forest EEC, 

(In person only, no Zoom*)

To paraphrase Thoreau, I have traveled much in Reading. A layoff and COVID-19 isolation allowed me to explore the bird life possibilities within the city limits. We'll talk about the places, the people and the birds I encountered during my City of Reading Big Year counts. 

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Fox Sparrow at Angelica Park

Photo by Russ Hoffman

Mar 11, 2022 7:30pm - American Kestrel Conservation: Successful Partnership, PGC and the Birding Community  - Dan Mummert, PGC, Wildlife Diversity Biologist In 2015, the American Kestrel was added to Pennsylvania’s list of species of conservation concern due to a loss of nearly half their population since the mid-1960’s throughout North America. In response, the PA Game Commission’s southeast region created a kestrel conservation initiative that is working to learn more about their local population and help in their conservation. This presentation will discuss this program and the team effort it has been between the PGC and the birding community.  

Feb 11, 2022 7:30 pm - Ecology of the Northern Clapper Rail - meeting by Zoom only

Elisa Elizondo, University of Delaware, Ph.D. candidate

It's spring! Time to head for the coastal marshes with hopes of glimpsing elusive clapper rails (Rallus crepitans crepitans). The Saltmarsh Habitat Avian Research Program (tidalmarshbirds.org) is 

dedicated to the study of salt marsh birds and recent efforts led by Lisa Elizondo seek to uncover more information regarding this secretive species. This program will include recent data from Delaware on clapper rail nesting ecology and movement patterns, including the first chick survival data and the first GPS tag data.

(Meeting Via Zoom Only)

Read some more about the Clapper Rail research.

 Photo: A GPS tagged Clapper Rail at the Delaware Woodland Beach Wildlife Area (Photo: Elisa Elizondo, University of Delaware)