Meetings

Unless indicated otherwise, all SMAS Programs are held at the Adams County Agricultural Resource Center, 670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg, PA at 7:30 pm (refreshments at 7 pm). A room number for the SMAS meeting will be posted on the front lobby entry inner door.

Bonnie Portzline (profile - courtesy of The Gettysburg Times) is happy to give her presentation ‘Birds with a Gettysburg address’ to interested parties. The presentation is based on her wonderful photographs of local birds.

Bird Arrivals and Departures

The Spring Migration Bird challenge is underway (spreadsheet here). You can join at any time. If you are interested in participating or just want to know what is going on contact Mike Bertram at 717-809-3911.

Local Bird Sightings in 2022

Although the number of species recorded in the Christmas Bird Count in 2022 was lower than usual that was not reflected in the eBird reports for Adams County and the local IBAs for the complete year. In fact there were a number of new species as well as reports of species not see locally for many years. Someone tried to tweak the numbers by releasing Indian Peafowl and Red Junglefowl, but they did not succeed.

A trio of new sparrows were recorded, Clay-colored, Nelson, and Harris. The Marsh Wren had eluded recording in the county in the past although there were observations in all surrounding areas. Marsh Wrens were observed in two separate places in the county in 2022.

Among the species not see locally for many years were: Sandhill Crane, Snow Bunting, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, and Dunlin.

Meetings and other Activities

Bird Walk, Saturday, 25th March Friday, 7th April Geology/Bird Walk at Cedar Woods Farm on Plum Run Road near New Oxford

Jeri Jones, local geologist, will lead us through various habitats and explain the geology of the area. We will also bird as we explore. Hiking boots are recommended and, if the weather is warm enough, insect/tick repellent is suggested. The address is 141 Plum Run Road, New Oxford. We will meet at 9 AM. Someone will stand along the road to direct you to the grassy parking area.

Directions: From New Oxford - As of the date of this message, Oxford Road is CLOSED due to bridge construction just south of Plum Run Road. Alternative directions follow: Travel north from the traffic circle in New Oxford on Carlisle Street/Oxford Road to the 4-way stop in the small village of New Chester. Turn right at the 4-way stop onto the Hunterstown-Hampton Road (Route 394). In less than a mile turn left onto Group Mill Road. Follow Group Mill Road to the end, turn left and then make another (almost immediate) left onto Plum Run Road. The entrance to Cedar Woods Farm will be on your left in less than 2 miles.

From Gettysburg - Travel north on Route 15. Exit at Route 234 and turn right onto Route 234. Make an almost immediate right onto Oxford Road. After about 3-4 miles, turn left onto Plum Run Road. The entrance to Cedar Woods Farm will be on your right just beyond Tapeworm Road on your left.

Questions? - call Linette at 717-495-8137

Bird Walk, Saturday, 1st April, 8 am Location: Taneytown Road, near Mead's HQ. (parking off Hunt's Road) Walk leader: Cy Deitz.

Trip to Conoy Wetlands / Mt. Cuba Thursday and Friday, 13th and 14th April Conoy Wetlands Nature Preserve (about 1 hour from Gburg) / Mt. Cuba Center overnight (located near Hockessin, DE - about 70 miles from Conoy WNP) Mt. Cuba opens on April 1 and is open Wednesdays through Sundays Linette will organize in March.

Monday, April 17 Dean Rust, “The Beloved and Charismatic Bluebird”; Dean is president of the PA Bluebird Society

Refreshments and social time: 7:00 PM

A brief business meeting followed by the program: 7:30 PM.

Location: Ag Center in Gettysburg at 670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg.
Free and open to the public

Bird Walk, Saturday, 29th April Location: Long Pine Reservoir, Michaux State Forest. Walk leader: Mike Bertram. Details to follow.

Bird Walk, Saturday, 6th May, 7 am Location: Knox Road - Meet at Hamiltonban Township Parking Lot to carpool. Walk leader: Tony Arnold

Beginner's Bird Walk, Sunday, 7th May, 8 am Location: Eisenhower Farm. This walk will be geared toward beginning birders, but there will be an option for experienced birders to do a separate stroll. Walk leader: Linette Mansberger.

Monday, May 15 Linette Mansberger, “Birds, Beasts, and Beauty - The Bountiful Island of Papua New Guinea”;

Travel to the South Pacific through Linette Mansberger’s photographic presentation of her 2022 trip to Papua New Guinea. The program will include a tiny bit of geography, a little bite of history, and a bounteous amount of beauty from this island country located just below the equator.

Refreshments and social time: 7:00 PM

A brief business meeting followed by the program: 7:30 PM.

Location: Ag Center in Gettysburg at 670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg.
Free and open to the public

Bird Walk, Saturday, 13th May, 7:30 am. International Migratory Bird Day - Spanglerظ€آs Spring . Walk leader: Don Gilbert

Bird Walk, Saturday, 20th May, 8 am Plum Run Road. Organization: Linette Mansberger

Bird Walk, Saturday, 3rd June, 7:30 am Mary Ann Furnace trail, Codorus State Park. Walk leader: Evan Vaeth

Monday, June 19 American Kestrel Research at Hawk Mountain by Jean-Francois Therrien.

Refreshments and social time: 7:00 PM

A brief business meeting followed by the program: 7:30 PM.

Location: Ag Center in Gettysburg at 670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg.
Free and open to the public

The South Mountain Audubon Society aims are to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity focusing on Adams County, PA.

The Society works towards those aims with meetings, birding trips, and conservation activities.

There are 2 Important Bird Areas locally:

• South Mountain
  
• South Adams County Grasslands

Click here to join National Audubon and the South Mountain Audubon Society. Please select U17 as the Chapter code from the drop down menu on the form.

If you only want to join the South Mountain Audubon Society only then sign up at the next event you attend. The annual membership is $15.

The Society can be contacted in the following ways:

email: SMAS@southmountainaudubon.org

Tel.: 717-809-3911

Mail: SMAS, P.O. Box 3671, Gettysburg, PA 17325.

Field Trips

FIELD TRIPS - Field trips will be planned on an annual basis and a tentative list will be sent in late December to those on our email list. Details for day trips will be announced in the monthly email blasts, and details for overnight trips will be announced a few months in advance. Also, information can be found on this website. Each monthly email will list a contact person and a meeting place and time for the upcoming events. If you are not on our email list, you can contact Mike Bertram at the2nomads@gmail.com or call 717-809-3911 (please leave a voicemail) if you have questions or need other details. Field trip cancellations will be announced by email as soon as possible and also on this website.

Eisenhower Farms

On Sunday 13th September South Mountain Audubon ran a bird walk in conjunction with Gettysburg NMP at Eisenhower Farms. On a cold and windy day 23 bird species were found.

American Crow

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Photos by Linette Mansberger

Evergreen Cemetery, Gettsysburg

On the 7th January SMAS took a walk through Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg. 19 species were observed..

White-breasted Nuthatch


Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

photos by Linette Mansberger

Big Run, Newville

On the 28th of January SMAS birded at Big Run, Newville. 33 species were observed including a pair of Horned Larks.

Eisenhower Farms

On the 4th of March SMAS visited Eisenhower Farms. Bird walks for both beginners and experienced birders took place. 22 species were observed by the beginner's group, and 34 by the experienced group.

American Kestrel

photo by Evan Vaeth

Educational Initiatives

South Mountain Audubon sponsors educational efforts on natural history in the local schools. In March it finacnced the purchase of books by the Montessori School.