The

PSO Pileated

October 2010 The Newsletter of the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology Volume 21, Number 3

From the Presidents Desk....Birding with a Purpose Again!

Having just spent the last six years as a RegionalCoordinator for the Second Pennsylvania Breeding BirdAtlas, I was looking forward to a break from the birding-with-a-purpose mode. Maybe my wife Janet and I wouldget our fishing licenses again. Or perhaps the summerwould be free to strap the bikes onto the back of the SUVand get back onto the rails-to-trails. Or more unlikely, Iwould finally take the time to make the effort to get mygolf game respectable again!

But duty was calling. Thelegendary Bob Leberman, theman who brought bird banding toPowdermill Nature Reservealmost 50 years ago and was thesecond Earl Poole winner, (yes Iam kissing up to make sure I canget him to sign a first printedition of the upcoming update tothe Birds of the Ligioner Valley),had resigned as WestmorelandCounty compiler. Geoff Maloshhad put out feelers for areplacement, but nobody hadstepped up. I checked withseveral capable and logicalreplacements, but they didnt want the work. Yikes, I amon the Board of PSO and now Im the president. Severalissues of PA Birds had been printed, and I have staredpainfully at the No Report for Westmoreland County. Earlier this year I contacted Geoff to inquire about thecompilers responsibilities, and in May I took the job.

Its not overwhelming, but it requires a bit more work thanthe narratives that appear in the four seasonal issues of PABirds. Data tables must also be compiled for both springand fall migration and for the breeding season as well. For

the applicable species, first and last dates are entered onthe migration tables. Just as the Atlas required a code, sodoes the breeding table. I now work on the tables dailyand have really enjoyed what it has done for my birding. Ihave never been much of a lister, nor thought much aboutwhen the Hooded Wablers stopped singing around thehouse. Now I am bent out of shape because I haventobserved a Red-winged Blackbird since July 31 whatswith that? I am now looking forward to charting thearrivals and departures over the years ahead and beingable to make somewhat intelligent comments in thenarrative. I now find myself with many more questions forwhich I would love to have answers like What

happened to our Carolina Wrensthis past tough winter?

So I am more than OK withbirding with a purpose again. Ilurk the PA list serve for reports ofWestmoreland Countyobservations, thinking how I willneed to hit birding spots to pick upthose missing species for the tables.So here is my plug: If your countyis without a compiler, considertaking the job. Check the latestissue of PA Birds and/or contactGeoff Malosh for the latest oncounties without compilers. If yourCounty is covered and you are notsharing your observations, then

contact your compiler and ask how you can help theeffort.

And by the way, Janet and I are back on our bikes, and Ihave been pedaling around the outskirts of Murrysville allsummer trying to pick up breeding species and see if theBarn Swallows are still hanging around. But still nofishing licenses, and the golf game still stinks.

Tom Kuehl, President Westmoreland County

This female Hooded Warbler carrying food is a confirmation anycounty compiler can appreciate.

Photo by Bob Moul

The RavenReporter

Tales ofDiscovery aboutPennsylvaniaBirds

Osprey Update

As has been announced in the last Raven Reporter, on PAeBird website, and on the PGC website, we are doing afull survey of Osprey nests this year. Of course, thenesting season is long over for our wandering fish hawks,but we are not finished counting the nests. So far, wehave received records for more than 70 Osprey nestsacross the statefrom Philadelphia ports to Lake Erie. It islooking pretty good.

If you do know of any Osprey nests, please fill out a formthat can be found on the Game Commissions EndangeredBirds website section. A few of you have done this, andwe appreciate it very much. Even our PSO presidentpitched in!

A quick look through the reports is revealing. Although Itis too early to make any real analysis, a few patterns areintriguing and some a bit surprising. It does look likemany of the nests are clustered around still waters, mostlyreservoirs. Some of these still waters are dammed rivers,too. But, Ospreys, unlike Bald Eagles, do not seem to beoccupying many locations along flowing water. They nestin some unusual places including some in the frameworkof bridgessome are not easy to see except by boat. Onepair reacted to a supersized Canada Goose model on top ofa tower by nesting right next to the fake goose. Thismight be the funniest raptor nest we have ever seen in thestate. Thanks to Tony Piccolin for that one! Anotherpattern that observers have noted is that some pairsapparently move around, abandoning what looks like agood nest site and adopting another one within sight of thefirst.

Please send any records of Osprey nests to me at theaddress below. We are proud to announce that CathyHaffner, former colonial water bird and Osprey projectcoordinator, has moved up in the organization to anotherposition. So, I am finishing the great job that she did withthis project.

New PGC Endangered and Threatened SpeciesSection

I would like to reiterate that there is a new section on thePGC website with information about our statesendangered and threatened bird species. These pages willhelp educators, students, birders, naturalists, contractors,environmental planners, writers, and interested residentslearn more about these species of greatest conservationneed. With school recently reconvening, any educationaloutreach on rare birds bears repeating.

The species selected for this list have been chosen becauseof their nesting status in the state. Some of these statuseswill surely change in the future after a full analysis of thechanges observed in the Breeding Bird Atlas have beenstudied.

We are working to improve our web pages about birdingas recreation and as a conservation and science-orientedactivity. We are interested in your comments about thekinds of features we should develop.

Bald Eagle Nesting Season Keeps Rolling

The Bald Eagle nesting season also is over, but wecontinue to collect more information about the stateseagle nests. Even in August we learned of two andpossibly three new nests. At least one new nest was foundthrough our Osprey surveys. So far, we have more than192 nesting pairs accounted for in the 2010 nestingsurvey. For many nests, we are still seeking news of theirproductivity. It can be a challenge to find out if a nestproduced any young once leaves hide the entire nest fromview.

The new management plan for Bald Eagles has beendrafted and has undergone an internal review. It should beready for public review this winter. The scene for eaglesseems to be constantly changing, but the theme of recentdecades is one of success. One of the main reasons forthat success is the support and cooperation we receivefrom the birding and conservation public.

If you have news of any eagle nests, please let us know bycontacting me.

Loggerhead Shrikes, Anyone?

After some remarkable finds of Loggerhead Shrikesnesting in Adams County, the nesting population of thisEndangered Pennsylvania bird seems to have disappeared. Or has it? In the last few years, there were reports ofLoggerhead Shrikes around old and new haunts. Ifanyone has any news of these birds, please contact eitherDan Brauning or me. We eagerly seek information aboutthis species which may now be Extirpated as a breeder inthe state or, maybe not.

Golden-winged Warbler Grave Concerns

One of the birds emerging as a really high priority forconservation is the Golden-winged Warbler. Its nestingpopulation during the second Atlas was about half of whatit was in the first Atlas of the 1980s. The Golden-winged Warbler (GWWA) is an early-successional species that requires a mosaic of features inits habitat. It is a forest species, but a bird that reactsfavorably to disturbances in the forest that create a mosaicof sparse trees and shrubs with an herbaceous understoryof grasses and forbs. Golden-wings can nest in eitheruplands or wetlands. Their populations are decliningthroughout all of their range as early-succession habitatsrevert to forest and as upland and wetland habitats are lostto human development.

In Pennsylvania, various groups have been working incooperation. The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology hasbeen coordinating a range-wide survey (a follow-up of theGOWAP project). The American Bird Conservancy andIndiana University of Pennsylvania are conducting a BestManagement Practices project in Pennsylvania andMaryland so we can learn what works best for Golden-wings. Jeff Larkin and Marja Bakermans are coordinatingthis project with several technicians working in SproulState Forest and other areas. The Game Commission iscooperating with both of these projects and alsoconducting some of its own studies and management. There is concern about Golden-wings losing competitivelyto its close cousin, the Blue-winged Warbler throughgenetic introgression and perhaps direct competition. There is an accumulation of evidence that Golden-wingsare holding their own in areas where forest is the dominantlandcover, generally at higher elevations in our state. InNew York, they are doing best in forested wetlands. Wehave some records of GWWA in Pocono wetlands, so thestory might be similar there as in southeastern New York. The Breeding Bird Atlas data are valuable for betterunderstanding Golden-winged Warblers in the state. Your data are a big help! From this, our team hasestablished a basic strategy of concentrating managementin three general areas of the state: The Pocono northeastcounties, The Northcentral Highlands, especially SproulState Forest, and The Berks Highlands of sourth-centraland southwestern counties. We also have found thatalthough Golden-wings have the reputation as a shrubspecies, they invariably establish territories where this issome tree canopy as well as shrub cover and perennialherb growth. So, cutting down every tree does not workfor this shrub bird. Golden-wings have been foundingnew populations in recently timbered areas. Atlas datashow where some of these new hotspots are located. In the future, we will be asking for more help from thebirding community. As the story unfolds, we will need towork together to figure out this puzzle.

Please submit your Bald Eagle, Osprey, and Endangered/Threatened species observations and comments to:

Douglas A. GrossWildlife Biologist, Endangered Bird SpecialistPennsylvania Game CommissionPA eBird and PSO Special Areas Project106 Winters Road, Orangeville, PA 17859Phone: 570-458-4109 (or 570-458-4564)E-mail: dogross@state.pa.us or dagross144@verizon.net

PSO Bird QuizHow well do you know your Pennsylvania birds?

1. You see a drab Common Loon on a local lake inJuly. Is it more likely an adult in basic plumage or ayear-old subadult bird?

2. Youre watching a small tern perched on a sand barin late fall, and it has a dark bar on its shoulder. Is itmore likely a Forsters or a Common?

3. You get a good look at a spring male Yellow-rumped Warbler, and you see that it has a whitethroat. Should you grab the camera to document a raresighting?

4. Youre trying to decide whether an adult accipiterperched in your backyard is a small male CoopersHawk or a large female Sharp-shinned Hawk. Younotice that its crown and its nape are the same color,so which species is more likely?

5. A warbler mostly hidden in the foliage has a tailthats nearly all white below. Is it most likely aHooded, a Wilsons, or a Canada?

Paul Hess

(See Answers on page 12.)

Spotlight on MembersPaul Hessby Jack Solomon

[Jack Solomon has served on the PSO board of directors, is the founder and was the first president of the Pittsburgh-based ThreeRivers Birding Club, and has for many decades actively birded western Pennsylvania and beyond. Editor]

Having birded with Paul Hess a great deal these pastseveral decades, Ive long admired him for hiscompanionableness, enviable field skills, and remarkablediversity of interests. How could I not have?Anyonewhos birded with Paul will affirm that hes affable,engaging, and a really good birder. That much is obviousafter only ten minutes in the field with Paul Hess. Spendan entire morning with him, though, and youll start torealize that theres so much more. The man has anencyclopedic knowledge of ornithological history, avianstatus and distribution, and current research on birdbiology. And theres something else, something evenmore important: Paul Hess delights in sharing hisknowledge with others, and he does so in a manner that isalways patient, never condescending, and forever full ofwonder.

Paul Hess received the Earl Poole Award at thePennsylvania Society for Ornithologys annual meeting in2003 in Indiana County, and he got it for good reason infact, a lot of good reasons. The award, named for one ofthe states foremost ornithologists, is presented annually tosomeone who has made outstanding contributions toornithology in Pennsylvania. These contributions maytake various forms research, volunteer efforts,publications, fieldwork, or any other pursuit that has

increased our knowledge andunderstanding of the birdlife inPennsylvania. Paul Hess is a heavyhitter with regard to every one of thesecriteria, and then some.

Hess has also received the W. E. ClydeTodd Award, given by the AudubonSociety of Western Pennsylvania. TheTodd Award annually recognizes anindividual who has made an outstandingcontribution to conservation in westernPennsylvania. As most Pennsylvaniabirders and field ornithologists know,Todd was one of the giants ofprofessional ornithology in westernPennsylvania and beyond. Hessdeserved the Todd Award outright, but Inote here that there is a particularconvergence between the lives of thetwo men. Like Todd before him, Hesshas advanced our understanding of fieldornithology in western Pennsylvania;

and, also like Todd, Hesss achievements are borne ofintellectual integrity, quickness of wit, and an almostunnatural attention to detail. Neither of them came upthrough the system, so to speak: Hesss professionaltraining is in journalism, and Todd more or less bypassedthe higher education establishment altogether. But both ofthem are forces to be reckoned with in terms of theirornithological legacies.

There are many reasons Hess has received suchprestigious awards. He has devoted himself, energeticallyand tirelessly, to identifying, studying, researching, anddocumenting birds, as well as to recording, analyzing, andpublishing his results. Like the people the awards arenamed for, he has contributed significantly and in ascholarly fashion to our understanding of birds.Hess entered college intending to major in the sciences atCarnegie Mellon University, then the Carnegie Institute ofTechnology. After just one year, however, and based onwhat he refers to as the memorable and extremelyrewarding experience of a summer job in journalism, heswitched from science to journalism. While retainingconsiderably more than a passing interest in math andscience, Hess fell in love with journalism and enjoyed along and successful career in the newspaper business. Hestarted out in 1962 as a reporter with the Valley News

Paul Hess, center, leads a field trip to Harrison Hills, one of his favorite birding locales.Photo by Tom Moller

Dispatch, a community newspaper in New Kensington,Pennsylvania. Then he received promotions tosuccessively more responsibility as City Editor, ManagingEditor, and eventually Executive Editor of the Dispatch.In 1987, Hess became Editor of the Niagara Gazette, anewspaper serving Niagara Falls and the Buffalo, NewYork, region.

Hesss records of birds observed at Harrison Hills Park inAllegheny County, near his Natrona Heights home, goback continuously to 1970. For many years, his biannualoutings to Harrison Hills were eagerly looked forward toby birders all across the Pittsburgh region. Away from hisbeloved Harrison Hills, Hess has birded pretty much all ofwestern Pennsylvania and indeed a fair bit of NorthAmerica. He loves citizen science projects, and he is aregular participant in such efforts as the Christmas BirdCount, Breeding Bird Survey, Pennsylvania Breeding BirdAtlas, and many more. Hess enjoys all forms of birding from working his local patch most weekends to pelagicbirding off the Southeast coast (usually multiple trips peryear). He delights in observing and understanding birdbehavior, bird population changes, and the identificationof subspecies.

Yes, Paul Hess is a great birder. But where hedistinguishes himself as more than just a good birder isthat he also publishes numerous, reasoned, well-written,thoroughly researched essays, using his own data as wellas material from the scientific literature. By parlaying abroad knowledge of science with exceptional skills andexperience as a writer and editor, he contributes to ourunderstanding of bird identification, distribution, andecology far beyond that of the ordinary citizen scientist.Hess has always exemplified what I think PSO is allabout: Birding is fun, its fun to do it with others, and itsimportant to read and write about it. Maybe we cant all belike Paul Hess, but we can take inspiration from hisdemonstration that, with record keeping and a lot of study,one can make important contributions to theunderstanding of birds.

Here is just a partial list of Paul Hesss accomplishments:

News and Notes editor and writer for Birding,the premier magazine of the American BirdingAssociation (ABA), a job that requires him toscour the scientific literature for the latest, mostnoteworthy publications and translate theinformation into laymens terms.

Author of the National Geographic SocietysField Guide to Pennsylvania Birds, a generalreference for beginners.

Regional contributor to North American Birds, theABAs quarterly journal of ornithological record.

Coeditor of the Smithsonian Field Guide to theBirds of North America, published byHarperCollins and written by one of Hesssprotgs, Ted Floyd.

Contributing author of several family and speciesaccounts in the National Geographic SocietysComplete Birds of North America.

Author of 17 articles in Pennsylvania Birds, ourjournal more than any other individual. Inaddition, Hess authors the bird quiz and theOrnithological Literature Notes column for thePSO Pileated on a regular basis.

Former chairman of the Pennsylvania Ornitho-logical Records Committee and a regionalcoordinator for the first Pennsylvania BreedingBird Atlas.

Former compiler of Butler County and AlleghenyCounty bird reports for Pennsylvania Birds.

Former chief editor, and then bird reports editor,of the Audubon Society of WesternPennsylvanias newsletter, The Bulletin, in the late1970s and into the mid-1980s.

Contributing author for Birding in WesternPennsylvania (1996), published by the AudubonSociety of Western Pennsylvania.

Creator of annotated checklists of the birds ofButler County and for Allegheny CountysHarrison Hills Park.

Editor of The Peregrine, the newsletter of theThree Rivers Birding Club, from its inception in2001 to the present.

Paul Hess is widely read all across the U.S. and Canada,he edits local and national books and periodicals, and he isregarded as one of the most capable, helpful, and friendlypeople around. As I finish, Ill add two things aspostscripts: a few comments from some other people and avery long list (as complete as I can compile, but Im sure Imissed a few things) of Hesss accomplishments. Thelength and quality of the list is the message. He has madea huge contribution to birding and ornithologyHeres what a few well known people say:

*Ted Floyd, editor of Birding magazine, and author of,among many other things, the Smithsonian Field Guide tothe Birds of North America notes:

Paul Hess's News and Notes column in Birdingmagazine regularly receives the highest praise fromour readers. Some of the top birders and fieldornithologists in North America say that News andNotes is simply the best. I mean, the absolute best the best writing, in any magazine or any venue,for a general audience about modern ornithologicalresearch.

Hess is a delight to work with. His subject matter isoften sophisticated, but his submissions (4 per issueof Birding magazine, 24 per year) are always clean,timely, and highly interesting. The technicalreviewers and other editors at Birding magazineroutinely convey to me their gratitude for Hess'sprofessionalism, intellect, and overall excellence.I note that Hess's contributions to the AmericanBirding Association go beyond his work for Birdingmagazine. He has generously served as a judge inthe ABA's Young Birder of the Year Contest; hecarefully edited the ABA's beginner birding booklet(Let's Go Birding!), and he is a go-to man forquestions of style, usage, and formatting at Birdingmagazine and beyond.

*Nick Pulcinella: Fellow of the Delaware ValleyOrnithological Club 1999; Witmer Stone Award 1997;Julian K. Potter Award; and 2009 Poole Award recipientadds:

I had the pleasure of working with Paul Hess forseveral years on the Pennsylvania OrnithologicalRecords Committee (PORC). Paul was diligent intrying to make the PORC process more user-friendly to observers submitting reports. UnderPauls unique leadership, PORC improved itsefforts to connect with the general PA birdingcommunity by developing a program that waspresented to various bird clubs throughout the state,explaining how PORC assesses and reachesdecisions and a post-card program to keep thosewho submitted reports abreast of the committeeswork.

Paul also stressed the importance to committeemembers in maintaining and improving thestandards and framework in which the committeefunctioned. These ideas and processes that Paulestablished improved relations between PORC andthe birding community, which continues to reapbenefits today. I've always admired his ability tosee through complex issues and break them downinto workable issues.

Jerry McWilliams, who conducts and analyzes theWaterbird Count at Presque Isle State Park and theShorebird Survey at Gull Point received PSOs Earl Poole Award this year. An author and extremely highlyregarded birder, Jerry comments:

I have never met a kinder and more knowledgeablebirder in all of my 45 or so years of birding. Paul isespecially skilled in educating not only adults, butyoung birders, about birds and bird behavior. Ialways enjoy birding with Paul when he comes toPresque Isle and never fail to learn something about

birds that I didn't know before. I always lookforward to reading his News and Notes in Birdingmagazine.

*Bill Pranty who serves as the ABA Checklist Committeechair and is a Birding technical reviewer and one of themost respected and most productive regional fieldornithologists of our time, is also the author of Birds ofFlorida He states:

Although it was not until the late 1990s that Ifinally met Paul Hess, his name was familiar to mesince 1976, when we occasionally chatted over thetelephone. I was a 14-year-old beginning birderliving in Penn Hills, reading about birds in thePittsburgh region that I could not see because I wastoo young to drive (I absolutely anguished over notbeing able to see the Lesser White-fronted Goose atNorth Park). Paul was one of two patient expertswho improved my birding skills.

Today, I am unceasingly impressed by Paul'sencyclopedic knowledge of bird distribution,behavior, and taxonomy, as well as his ability tosuccinctly explain the at-times complicatedornithological terminology, using language that allbirders can understand. Paul must read a library'sworth of material every month to present such awide-ranging summary of field and laboratoryornithology in his "News and Notes" column that isone of the highlights of each issue of Birding.

*Geoff Malosh, the editor of Pennsylvania Birds, aphysicist, and one of the most knowledgeable andscientifically capable birders in Pennsylvania writes:

Paul has described himself to me as a ridiculousfanatic about extensive research which is hismodest way of admitting that he is among the mostwell-read and knowledgeable amateurornithologists out there. The depth of hisknowledge, and the extensive research he does, is atremendously important factor in our currentunderstanding of the recent and historicaldistribution of Pennsylvania avifauna. As a readerof Pennsylvania Birds since the publication ofVolume 1, Number 1, back in 1987, I cant evenbegin to guess the number of articles that have citedPaul in the acknowledgments over the years, andfor good reason: authors are aware that he is indispensible when it comes to peer review onmatters of identification, distribution, history, andcurrent ideas and theory in ornithology.

Now as editor of Pennsylvania Birds, I can sayfrom personal experience how invaluable Paulsadvice and coaching have been as I found my way

in this role, both as a willing anonymous technicalreviewer any time I needed him, and as aprofessional journalist and editor willing to help. I never asked a question of him that has goneunanswered or sought advice that I ended uprejecting. In other words, my tenure as editor wouldhave been much more rocky and mistake-riddled sofar, without Pauls insight and willingness to sharehis experience and expertise. I, and indeed anyoneinterested in Pennsylvania birds, have much tothank Paul for.

*Jon Dunn, one of the primary experts on fieldidentification in North America, professional bird tourleader, and prolific author, writes:

I know Paul primarily through his participation on afew Wings tours to California and his attendance ata few ABA Conferences, most recently in Minot,North Dakota. Paul is one of those ideal participantswho really gets involved in what he's studying. Notonly is he enthusiastic, but he looks carefully andasks lots of questions about identification, aboutbehavior, about distribution, and whether there areany taxonomic issues involved. And he always

enjoys what he sees rather than worry about whatwas missed, or what might be missed.

Through these events we became friends, andduring that time I reviewed his column for Birdingmagazine. I always look forward to receiving Paul'sdrafts, and I always learn something from them,usually a great deal. And Paul is always receptive tochanging parts, if needed, and if nothing else, wehave a great conversation on the subjects he'swriting about. He's a true intellectual and whatmatters most is his getting it right! His column is inmy view the most important feature of Birdingmagazine these days.

In addition to all of the above, Paul doesn't takehimself that seriously and has a wicked sense ofhumor. In short he's a terrific companion, whetherin the field or discussing the intricacies of ataxonomic problem. I'm greatly honored to be hisfriend.

For a complete listing of Paul Hesss publications, check ourwebsite, http://pabirds.org, for the link.

Wing-Tagged VulturesThis spring and summer staff and interns at HawkMountain Sanctuary, Kempton, PA, have been colormarking Turkey and Black Vultures to learn more abouttheir local and long-distance movements. Turkey Vulturesare marked with light blue wing tags and Black Vultureshave been marked with yellow tags. Each tag has a 2- or3-digit number on it. We need your help spotting andreporting these birds. Please report all sightings of wing-tagged vultures with the following information: the wingthat is tagged (right or left), number (if possible), location,time of day, date, whether the bird was perched or flying,and whether it was alone or with other vultures (notenumber). Please send all reports to barber@hawkmtn.org.

Thanks for all your help!

David BarberResearch BiologistHawk Mountain Sanctuary

10/10/10Is that an easy date to remember? We hope it is as its thisyears date for the Big Sit which is always the secondSunday in October. Hosted by Birdwatchers Digest, itwas founded in Connecticut by the New Haven Bird Club. The object is to tally as many species as possible from onespot.

So grab a chair and select your 17-foot-diameter circle. Have a picnic or a barbecue. The count begins at 12:00a.m. midnight and ends 24 hours later. Groups of peoplecan come and go. Big Sit participants can work in shifts.No one person needs to be there for the whole Big Sit!The area can be left and returned to frequently, but theexact 17-foot diameter circle must be used for countingbirds each time.

For more information check the website at:

Did You Know?Woodpeckers have extremely long tongues relative to their size. Their tongues can be extended far beyond the tips oftheir bills and are capable of moving laterally. They have elongated hyoid horns which support their extremely longtongues. The Hairy Woodpeckers tongue is so long that it is wrapped up around its right eye.

Ornithological Literature NotesStudy after study has demonstrated catastrophic damageto Eastern Hemlock forests by the hemlock woollyadelgid, and research is increasingly showing gravethreats to the forests birds.

Potential danger was predicted for populations of theAcadian Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo, Black-throatedGreen Warbler, and Blackburnian Warbler in a 2004study of the Delaware Water Gap National RecreationArea in northeastern Pennsylvania and northwesternNew Jersey (Natural Areas Journal 24:307-315). RobertM. Ross, a former PSO president, and coauthors Lori A.Redell, Randy M. Bennett, and John A. Young reportedthat those species have a high affinity for hemlockforests and have greater numbers of territories inhemlock than in hardwood sites.

Unchecked expansion of the exotic adelgid andsubsequent hemlock decline could negatively impact3,600 pairs from the park and several million pairs fromnortheastern United States hemlock forests due toelimination of preferred habitat, the authors said.

A study published in 2009 supports that assessment forthe Acadian Flycatcher in heavily infested areas (Auk126:543-553). Michael C. Allen, James Sheehan Jr.,Terry L. Master, and Robert S. Mulvihill analyzed theflycatchers abundance at 11 sites in and around theDelaware Water Gap and the Powdermill NatureReserve in Westmoreland County.

Their findings were particularly worrisome atnortheastern sites where the adelgid had been active for along time. As defoliation increased, the density ofAcadian Flycatcher breeding pairs decreased. At themost heavily infested sites, the pair density wasapproximately 70 percent lower than at uninfested sites.

By contrast, infestation at Powdermill began recentlyand the habitat was not yet affected so severely. At thesouthwestern Pennsylvania sites, pair densities werecomparable to those in relatively less-infested portionsof the Delaware Water Gap.

Interestingly, nest survival rates were not significantlyrelated to degrees of defoliation, but the authorscommented that even if nesting success is not directlyimpaired, the flycatchers population may decrease andits range may contract as the species preferred hemlockhabitat disappears.

The mechanism of decline appears to be habitatavoidance in response to defoliation, whether because ofa lack of nest sites, a lack of insect prey, or some otherfactor. This warrants further study, and it may berelevant to other bird species or other forest pathogens,Allen and his coauthors said.

Paul Hess phess@salsgiver.com

T-Shirt Art Wanted

The Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO) islooking for colorful bird art for its t-shirts.

I am sure most of you have seen t-shirts from other birdclubs, nature centers, etc. with colorful, accuratepaintings of birds representative of the location. Wewould like to follow suit.

The current PSO t-shirts have the PSO logo on them. Wewould like to produce another t-shirt with paintings ofnative Pennsylvania species.

The painting or drawing may be something newlycreated by the artist or artwork that he or she has alreadyfinished. We would just need permission to use one oftheir existing pieces.

We cannot pay for the art but will include the artistssignature on the graphic on the t-shirt and acknowledgethe artist in our advertisements for the t-shirts.

The PSO Board of Directors will review any artworksubmitted and select the ones that will be used.

The bird(s) depicted should be native to Pennsylvania,preferably breeding species. Accurate depictions arepreferred, but modernistic impressions will also beconsidered. The art will be judged on its accuracy andaesthetic appearance.

Please send a digital photo or scan of any artwork youwould like us to consider to Frank Haas atfchaas@pabirds.org.

Dr. Kenneth C. Parkes Honored Posthumouslyby Paul Hess

In the two-century-old footsteps ofWilliam Bartram, Thomas Say, andAlexander Wilson, another eminentPennsylvania ornithologist has beenhonored with his name on an aviangenus. He is Kenneth C. Parkes, latecurator of birds at Carnegie Museumof Natural History in Pittsburgh, andthe new genus is Parkesia (PARKS-ee-uh) for the two waterthrushes.

Dr. Parkes had long believed that theNorthern Waterthrush and LouisianaWaterthrush warranted a genusseparate from the Ovenbird for anumber of reasons. The waterthrushes notonly differ conspicuously from theOvenbird in structure, behavior,locomotion, and vocalizations, but alsoare evolutionarily distinct from theOvenbird in juvenal plumage and howlong they retain it.

This year, the official gatekeeper of ourtaxonomy the North AmericanClassification Committee of AmericanOrnithologists Union (the check-listcommittee) agreed. The committeekept the Ovenbird in the genus Seiurusand created Parkesia for thewaterthrushes.

The change resulted from arecommendation by George Sangster, aPh.D. student in the MolecularSystematics Laboratory at the SwedishMuseum of Natural History in Stockholm. He emphasizedan even more conclusive, distinction: Several geneticanalyses have demonstrated that the waterthrushes differsignificantly from the Ovenbird in mitochondrial DNA. Infact, in terms of evolutionary divergence, the Ovenbird isonly distantly related to the waterthrushes.

Sangsters recommendation was published in 2008 in aprominent scientific journal, the Bulletin of the BritishOrnithologists Club (128:212215). He concluded thepaper, It is a great pleasure to name this taxon for the lateKenneth C. Parkes, former curator at the Carnegie Museumof Natural History, Pittsburgh, to honor his lastingcontributions to avian taxonomy, molt terminology,hybridization and faunistics.

In an e-mail note to me, Sangsterdescribed his reasons in more detailfor PSO members:

I never had the privilege of meetingor even corresponding with KenParkes, but it is hard to overlook hisenormous influence on ornithology.He was one of those rare globaltaxonomists: He seemed to be asfamiliar with Asian, Australian, andAfrican birds as with those fromNorth and South America. In fact,he has described new subspecies(more than 100 in total) from all

continents except Antarctica. I doubtthat this accomplishment will ever bematched by any living or futureornithologist.

For me, it seemed only logical toattach his name to a genus ofparulids, given his many importantcontributions to our understanding ofthis group, which span a period of noless than 50 years. It will be a realpleasure to see the name Parkesiaprinted in future field guides andother popular ornithological works,so that many years from todaybirders will still ask who Ken Parkeswas.

Then, Sangster added a very poignantcomment: After my manuscript wascompleted in late July 2007, I had

hoped to inform Dr. Parkes about my intention of naming agenus after him. It was when I looked on the Internet for acontacting address that I found out that he had passed awayonly a week before.

Bob Mulvihill, a close associate of Dr. Parkes at theCarnegie Museums Powdermill Avian Research Center,discussed Kens opinion in Powdermills online bandingreport in June 2004. Bob noted that Jon Dunn and KimballGarrett cited Kens view in their authoritative Field Guideto Warblers of North America.

Bob has his own personal enthusiasm for the taxonomicdecision: It means that I have spent much of myprofessional career studying a species that is now named

(continued on page 10 )

The Louisiana Waterthrush, now Parkesia motacilla, is oneof two species in the new genus Parkesia.

Photo by Bob Moul

The other species named in honor of Dr. Parkes is theNorthern Waterthrush, Parkesia noveboracensis

Photo by Bobby Greene

Margaret Buckwalter 1920 2010

Margaret Buckwalter, one of the founding members ofthe Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology, passed awayon Wednesday, August 25.

Margaret was among the group of people who saw theneed for an Audubon chapter in Clarion County andhelped organize the Seneca Rocks Audubon Society inthe early 1980s. She served on the Board for most of theyears that Senaca Rocks has been in existence and at onetime or another held each officer post president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer besides working ona variety of committees.

For years she led the Birdathon for Seneca Rocks andachieved first place in the Regional and Statecompetitions from 1988 through 1999. In 1998 sheattended the National Audubon Convention and, in herwords, was totally surprised when SRAS won secondplace nationally for chapters with fewer than 300members. Seneca Rocks won again in 2002. Margaretenjoyed the competition for most species seen, mostmoney raised, and most sponsors signed on. The highesttotal amount pledged was in 2003 when $5220 wasraised, the last year that she led the Birdathon.

Margaret and Walter Fye led the Christmas Bird Countfrom 1987 through the mid 2000s. She was diligent inreporting the results and became adept at sending thereports electronically.

She was an enthusiastic participant in field trips and indeveloping an interest in birding in others, especially theelementary school students to whom she talked aboutbirds. Margaret was one of a group who worked for

many years to establish State Game Lands 330 (PineyTract), and she was proud of this achievement. TheBeaver Creek project was also on which she participatedand enjoyed. Margaret led many field trips to CookForest State Park, gathering and entering data for thecreation of the Bird checklist for the park.

Margaret served as a coordinator for the first PABreeding Bird Atlas, and also as the Clarion Countycompiler for Pennsylvania Birds until a few years ago.In 2005, Margaret was presented with PSOs Earl PooleAward for her contributions to ornithology andconservation.

SRAS members always looked forward to the slides thatMargaret shared at the annual Members Night. She wasan award winning photographer and often hadexceptional photos which everyone enjoyed.

Browsing through over two decades of issues of TheDrummer, the publication of Seneca Rocks Aububon, Ifound articles that she has written in almost every issue. In addition to articles about the CBC and Birdathonthere are those on field trips, both Breeding Bird Atlascounts, and bird sightings and identification. Margarethas also contributed to Seneca Rocks website.

Margarets numerous talents and contributions to SenecaRocks Audubon Society and to the Pennsylvania Societyfor Ornithology will be difficult to replicate. We willkeep her memory alive through conservation andeducation projects.

Janice Horn

Kenneth C. Parkes HonoredPosthumously (continued from page 9)

in honor of a man who has strongly influenced myprofessional career. I like the serendipity of that i.e., theLouisiana Waterthrush is my favorite bird, and Ken is myfavorite ornithologist!

So, Pennsylvania now has four genera in its ornithologicallegacy: Bartramia for the Upland Sandpiper; Sayornis forthe Black Phoebe, Eastern Phoebe, and Says Phoebe; Wilsonia for the Hooded Warbler, Wilsons Warbler, andCanada Warbler; and Parkesia for the Northern Waterthrushand Louisiana Waterthrush.

PSO Annual Meeting 2011Next years PSO meeting falls a little later than usualalthough it is still the third complete weekend in May.Some confusion has arisen since May 1 falls on aSunday. The second Saturday of May, May 14, 2011,will be the Pennsylvania Migration Count.

Our meeting will be held Friday, May 20, throughSunday, May 22, at the Quality Inn in Bedford.

Details will be forthcoming in future newsletters. Mark your calendars now. We hope to see you inBedford!

PBBA Reminiscing by John Fedak

Now that atlasing has concluded and enough time haspassed to gather my breath, I have been thinking about theintriguing and unusual things that happened to me duringthe 2 PA Breeding Bird Atlas. I birded much of the state,nd

but I concentrated on Region 32. As I think back, some ofwhat I did now seems obsessive. Maybe it was, but it wasfun! In the next few newsletters, I hope to show you thatwithout boring you. I want to give you some ideas of howit felt so that in another 15 years, you can experience it foryourselves, or for some of you, again!

For example, I had the uncontrollable compulsion to try tofind certain species of bird in each block in the region. Forsome, like Black-capped Chickadees and ChippingSparrows, that really was not a problem as they were easyto find. American Robins seemed a given. But I wasobsessed with finding a Common Raven in every block ofthe region. I almost succeeded, but I missed raven in onlya few blocks; but to make matters worse, I have seen themin those blocks since the Atlas has ended!

The same holds true for Winter Wren and AmericanWoodcock partial coverage. I remember dreaming oflight green, dark green, and black during the atlas. Ialmost hated the color white. To me white meanssurrender, which during the atlas was the same as failure,failing to find what I knew should be there.

One of my obvious successes when looking at the speciesmaps was Northern Saw-whet Owl. I have to confess, Iwanted complete coverage; but in reality, I really was notobsessed by it. The Northern Saw-whet Owl coverage wasa form of serendipity. My children were at the age thatrequired both parents attention. I did not want my lovingwife to feel that I was shortchanging her. So, I tried mybest to fulfill my duties as a dad and to fulfill my duties asthe regional coordinator as well. That meant I had to birdduring my free time when the rest of the family wassleeping. I would start at dusk, sometimes hearing woodcock, mosttimes not. I would play the audio for saw-whets first. Iwould estimate that birds responded about 50 percent ofthe time. Then I would move up the owl scale to screech,barred, and great-horned. Sometimes I recorded all four atthe same spot, and sometimes I even recorded some ofthem at the same time!

I spent a lot of time out at night alone. Sometimes, I gotmore than birds to come in. Once, I was chased by amother raccoon. I heard lots of deer, lots of coyotes, andeven foxes came onto the road.

My worst scare came in the form of a black bear, a verylarge, noisy, and persistent black bear. It took my gettinginto the car quickly, turning on the headlights, andblowing the horn repeatedly to get it to leave. There was afull moon and I was in the middle of the AlleghenyNational Forest. And, as much of a nature lover that I am,I remember that adrenalin kept me awake the rest of thenight.

Of course, there were plenty of times I was not alone. Ihappily showed a non-birding friend his first saw-whet asit swooped down and over his head. My son and wifeaccompanied me once and we found these little owls atmost of the stops. I went out with a WCO on State GameLands that would have been impossible to access withouthis help and his truck!

But it was not an obsession it was being practical. Ofcourse, when you look at the maps, you probably won'tbelieve it was not an obsession. Region 32 is very, verygreen. The regions around 32 could be as well if theircoordinators had small children and could only bird atnight for most of a few seasons! So, it really wasserendipity.

PSO Members Publish Birds of Central PennsylvaniaMembers Nick Bolgiano and Greg Grove, two of our topbirders and field ornithologists, have published a book thathas revised and expanded Merrill Woods book by thesame title, which was first published in 1958 and lastupdated in 1983. It covers a 25-mile radius circle aroundPenn State University. The original book containedspecies accounts with abundance, seasonal occurrence,and habitat information; but Nick and Greg have expandedupon this adding chapters on the bird study and ecology ofnumerous locations. They have also updated andexpanded the species accounts and added bar graphs ofoccurrence and abundance.

Of special note are chapters on hawk watching, theGolden Eagle migration, and Christmas bird counts. Otherchapters cover the various birding sites, complete with thehistory and landscape, bird studies on the site, anddirections for each in a box entitled If You Go.

To purchase this worthwhile book, contact Nick atnbolgiano@pennswoods.net. Cost is $20, including tax,plus $3.50 for shipping for PA residents.

Answers to Bird Quiz (page 3)

1. Year-old loons frequently spend the summer southof the breeding range.

2. Common Tern

3. No, because its our usual Myrtle subspecies, notthe yellow-throated Audubons. You could study itsface to find out whether its an interesting Myrtle xAudubons hybridbut who wants to spend timewith a white-throated yellow-rump when an Orange-crowned Warbler might be just up the trail?

4. Sharp-shinned Hawk

5. Hooded Warbler

PSO NewsletterThis newsletter is published four times a year by the PennsylvaniaSociety for Ornithology. To renew your membership, send yourcheck made payable to PSO to:

Membership Categories: PSO2469 Hammertown RoadNarvon, PA 17555-9730

Individual $ 28.50Family $ 32.50Sustaining $ 42.50

PSO Officers and Directors

Tom Kuehl President tjkuehl@comcast.netJohn Fedak Vice President jlfedak@atlanticbb.netRoger Higbee Secretary rvhigbee@windstream.netFrank Haas Treasurer fchaas@pabirds.org

Geoff Malosh PSO Editor pomarine@earthlink.net Margaret Higbee Newsletter Editor bcoriole@windstream.net Arlene Koch Past President davilene@verizon.netRob Blye rblye@normandeau.com Deuane Hoffman corvuxcorax@comcast.netShonah Hunter shunter@lhup.eduRamsay Koury rkoury123@aol.comSandra Lockerman lockerman@paonline.com Mark McConaughy TimeTraveler@msn.com Carmen Santasania ctsantasania@comcast.net Linda Wagner lwagner342@msn.com

Pennsylvania Society for Ornithologyc/o R. V. Higbee3119 Creekside Road Indiana, PA 15701-7934

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Non-profit OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE PAIDCreekside, PA 15732

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