Bulletin Board

September 15 Meeting. The September meeting will feature a presentation by Merlin Benner entitled:  Wildlife Conservation Amidst the Marcellus Shale Gas Development – A Focus on Bats and Other Sensitive Species. The natural gas reserves of the Marcellus Shale geologic formation are among the largest in the world. They are situated within easy reach of the major natural gas markets along of the eastern United States and are being rapidly developed on a large scale. Many residents are concerned about the impact that this development will have on our region, specifically on its valuable natural resources and wildlife. Mr. Benner's presentation will include information on the requirements that natural gas developers must follow as related to wildlife and habitat, with specific information on some of the wildlife surveys that are being conducted by a growing team of wildlife specialists. The presentation's focus will be on the bat species of our area and the techniques used to monitor them. Photos of bats captured in Tioga and Potter Counties will be presented, along with natural history information about each of the individual species.

Merlin Benner is a Tioga County native who chose a career in wildlife biology. Following his education at Unity College in Maine and Tennessee Technological University, Merlin started to work as a wildlife biologist in Pennsylvania (primarily with the State’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources), where he has worked for the last 17 years. Ten years ago, he brought his family back to the Wellsboro area where they now live near Hills Creek. Melissa, his wife, is also a Tioga County native. In 2007, Merlin and his partner Jon Felton founded Wildlife Specialists, a natural resource consulting firm (www.wildlife-specialists.com). Since that time Wildlife Specialists has been heavily involved with conducting wildlife and habitat surveys to ensure protection of sensitive resources amidst the development of the Marcellus Shale’s natural gas reserves.

The meeting will take place on September 15 at the Gmeiner Art and Cultural Center on 134 Main Street next to the Green Free Library in Wellsboro. There will be business meeting at 6:30 and the presentation will start at 7:30. The meeting is free, and everyone is welcome to attend.

Future Meetings:

• September -- Merlin Benner from Wildlife Specialists (www.wildlife-specialists.com ) will speak on "Wildlife Conservation Amidst the Marcellus Gas Development - A Focus on Bats and other Sensitive Species";
• October -- TAS members Bob Ross and Dianne Franco presentation entitled: "Return to the South Pacific: Birds and Wildlife of Hawaii, Palau, and Yap";
• November -- Sean Saville, Field Director of the the National Audubon Society, will speak on "The Gulf Oil Spill: An Update on the Present State of Birds and Wildlife".

Eels and Mussels Program. Report from TAS President Phil Krajewski: There have been some positive developments this year. In early spring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated Pine Creek and Buffalo Creek (50 miles south of Pine Creek in Lewisburg, Pa.) as recipients of large eel releases -- tens of thousands of individual eels. With the help of the USFWS and the US Geological Survey (Northern Appalachian Laboratory is located on Rte 6 west of Wellsboro), we released 28,000 American eels in the last two months at various locations in these two Susquehanna River tributaries. Most of the eels were very small (glass eels) while some were larger and were brought in a regular fish stocking truck. We released them above and below two of the existing mussel beds that have been identified (there are very few of these left). While Buffalo Creek got most of the eels so far, Pine Creek will get more in a few weeks.

Our project is almost completely being directed by the USFWS and the USGS. We have spent very little of the money from our grant because most of the money has been designated for monitoring the eels' movements. The only eels that have received transmitters to date have been the large ones we released last year, but because of the limited technology and the enormous size of Pine Creek it was determined that the USGS would work out better methods of monitoring (devising different and larger antennas, etc) so that we could invest the money in new and more efficient methods. Unfortunately, things are moving slowly in this regard, and we cannot speed up the process.

Nevertheless, we have recently been doing experiments with our current equipment trying to detect eels. We are doing this in a scientific way so that if new methods are not found, we will still be able to obtain the information we are looking for. Gridding small areas and extrapolating the results and electro shocking are two possibilities. Meanwhile we will probably have to request that the grant be extended for another year. However, the positive aspect of our efforts is that even if we do not come up with a great deal of data about the movement of the eels , their release at the right places should lead to an increase in the mussel population. To learn more about the program and see photos of the eels and releases, click here.

August Bird Sightings. Species counts continue to be very good, and observers are counting up to around 35 species during a single morning trip. Despte a few days of rain, the weather has also been good, with gloriously beautiful mornings - cool, bright, and sunny. Great egrets are still being seen in ponds near Ansonia and also along the bike trail. Park where it crosses Webster Road, then walk east. There are a couple of large ponds and marshes in that area, where the egrets have been hanging out. Warblers are showing up in small flocks, but they can be tough to identify, both because of their winter plummage and because the trees are still filled with leaves. Species seen include black-throated blue, black-throated green blackburnian, chestnut-sided, magnolia, black-and-white,and yellow-rumped. There are still many common yellowthroats around, but yellow warblers are hard to find now. You may seem some vireos mixed in with the warbler flocks, so look closely. Many of the berry bushes and trees are ripe now -- choke and black cherries, elderberries, wild grapes, etc -- and they are attracting many birds, especially cedar waxwings. Don't be surprised to see some enormous flocks. Incidentally, warblers will eat the berries, too. If you would like to see what has been reported in the county, you can click here.

Muck Visitation Report. Bob Ross recently compiled a visitation report for the Muck from its opening in June 2005 through 2009. In that time over 500 visitors a year have recorded their observations in the logbook provided by the Tiadaghton Audubon Society. Although the majority of logged visitors come from Pennsylvania (1,974), many come from New York (183), New Jersey (99), and -- believe it or not -- California (45). Visitors invariably comment on how much they like the facility and report seeing numerous species, some rather secretive such as sora rails, American bitterns, and common moorhens. Others have seen bears, bobcats and kittens, beavers, and river otters. Deer, too, are often seen. A PDF file of the report can be viewed here.