Bulletin Board

There will be no Tiadaghton Audubon Society meetings until this coming September. In August we will have a planning meeting to discuss upcoming programs. If you have any recommendations for programs or activities, please let us know.

August Bird Sightings. Although July did not turn out to be one of the most exciting birdwatching months of the year here in Tioga County, August is off to a good start. The Army Corps of Engineers partially drained Hammond Lake about a week ago, creating huge mudflats that large numbers of shorebirds are now visiting. Species seen include greater and lesser yellowlegs, least, semipalmated, solitary sandpipers, spotted and upland sandpipers, semipalmated plovers, and lots of killdeer. The ospreys on the nest near the facility office at Hammond Lake are raising at least one chick. Not too hard to see from the road, but please do not get any closer. A lot of newly-fledged birds are showing up at feeders everywhere, and some can be hard to identify, so you may want to check your field guides closely. Caspian terns have been reported at both Hammond and Cowanesque Lakes, and a black tern was seen at Hammond Lake. These are infrequent visitors, but you can never tell when one may show up. Many birds are starting to form relatively large flocks now -- especially blackbirds of all types and American robins. Ruby-throated hummingbird counts seem to be up somewhat already, too, but this is normal for late summer as more northern individuals work their way south.

Pennsylvania now has its own "portal to ebird, appropriately entitled Pennsylvania eBird. In addition to providing access to eBird's regular features, this special page provides articles about birds and birding specifically in Pennsylvania. Contributors include PA Audubon, Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology, and the PA Game Commission.

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Revised Photo Gallery. Our photo gallery section has been completely revised with thumbnails and larger photographs. Please take a look. If you have a wildlife photograph you would like to share, please consider submitting it. We only ask that it be taken in Tioga or Potter County and be of reasonably good quality. More megapixels (higher resolution) are better so the photo can be cropped and sharpened and contrast adjusted if necessary.

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Meetings

Meetings are held September through May on the third Wednesday of each month at the Gmeiner Art and Cultural Center on 134 Main Street next to the Green Free Library in Wellsboro. A board meeting takes place at 6:30, and the general meeting is at 7:30; all are welcome.

(Updated 19 August 2008.)

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Photo policy: Photos taken by the webmaster (Gary Tyson) and unattributed photos may be used for non-commercial purposes without permission; however, please credit the photographer and TAS. Please contact us before using photos taken by other persons. In most cases, permission for further use will be given.

Thanks to Wayne C. Sierer for the new raven logo.