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Welcome
Welcome to the Presque Isle Audubon Society web site. PIAS is a chapter of the National Audubon Society and a member of Audubon Pennsylvania serving northwestern Pennsylvania including Erie, Crawford and Warren counties. It is named after Presque Isle, a peninsula on the shores of Lake Erie near the city of Erie.
Arial view of Presque Isle © Bob Grubbs
Activities
The Presque Isle Audubon Society provides educational and recreational activities throughout the year which are centered around the natural world and open to the public. PIAS holds meetings on the third Friday of the month in September, October, November, February, March, April, May and June. A wide variety of field trips are offered throughout the year. PIAS publishes a newsletter, Tern of Events, every month except in January and July.
Don, Joao, and Michele at Erie, PA Christmas Bird Count
In addition to field trips and monthly programs, the Presque Isle Audubon Society is involved in other nature-related activities. PIAS conducts the Erie, PA Christmas Bird Count and hosts the "Festival of the Birds" in May. PIAS owns and maintains the 50-acre Laura Olsen Memorial Sanctuary in Crawford County, the 33-acre Fern Wood Sanctuary near Fairview, and is co-owner (with the Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania) of the 89-acre Titus Bog Sanctuary in Erie County. PIAS maintains a collection of nature books at the Nash Library of Gannon University and was instrumental in establishing the Presque Isle Research Library at Presque Isle State Park.
The Presque Isle Audubon Society provides volunteer services to the Erie National Wildlife Refuge and co-sponsors a biennial nature photo contest with the Refuge. As part of the Important Bird Area Program, PIAS monitors breeding birds at Roderick Reserve.
Erie National Wildlife Refuge, Pool 9
PIAS is a member of the Erie County Environmental Coalition. The Society is also a member of the annual Allegany Nature Pilgrimage held at Allegany State Park, NY in June. PIAS participates in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Adopt-A-Highway program. The Society's Education Committee provides free subscriptions to Audubon Adventures to numerous classrooms and school libraries in northwest Pennsylvania.
Red House Lake, Allegany State Park, NY
"Wings, Sand & Song: Presque Isle's Habitat,"
Award Winning Documentary Available on DVD
Awarded an Honorable Mention in Natural Sound at the prestigious 33rd annual International Wildlife Film Festival, the documentary film "Wings, Sand and Song: Presque Isle's Habitats" created by filmakers Tracy Graziano and Benjamin Koncewicz of Moonfire Film Productions is now availble on DVD. DVDs can be purchased at PIAS monthly meetings, at the Big Green Screen Theatre concession stand at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, and at the Erie Wild Birds Unlimited store. You may also mail order. Click here for an order form.
Tracy filming on Pine Tree Trail © Benjamin Koncewicz
As you watch the film you will journey through the unique habitats of Presque Isle during all four seasons to view some of the most intimate moments of bird life: watch a Yellow Warbler build her nest, a Killdeer clutch hatch and take their first steps, Baltimore Oriole fledglings fed by their parents and a multitude of other species who call Presque Isle State Park their home - either for a brief moment during migration or all year long. For more details about the film click here.
Our Mission
Our mission is to promote the conservation and protection of wildlife, plants, soil, and water in relation to human activity; to initiate and carry out plans and activities which would contribute to the conservation and protection of these natural resources; and to provide opportunities to become more aware and appreciative of our physical and biological environment.
Presque Isle Bay © Michele Franz
Next Meeting
"Members' Night"
May 17, 2013
You still have time to prepare your Members' Night presentation. This is your night, YOU, are the program. We look forward to seeing your slides and your art, hearing about your exciting trip, interesting experience and adventure and enjoying your music, poetry and other nature-related subjects. Sharing your interests, and talents with your fellow Auduboners is very rewarding. Your adherence to the five (5) minute time limit will be appreciated by
To participate, call Jean at 474-3395 before Tuesday, May 14. If she is not available, please leave your name and number on the answering machine at 868-4423, and Jean will get back to you. Come on out and have fun with "Where Is It?" by Michelle Rundquist Franz and enjoy Bob Gallivan's always interesting presentations and Chuck Kern's "Kids' Animal Stories.'" How about you? Do you have a kids' animal story that you would like to share with us? We'd love to hear it.
Place: Tom Ridge Environmental Center
Address: 301 Peninsula Drive, Room 112
Social: 7:00 pm
Program: 7:30 pm
Allegany Nature Pilgrimage
May 31 - June 2, 2013
It's time to get ready for the 2013 Allegany Nature Pilmgrimage to be held from Friday to Sunday, May 31-June 2. The Nature Pilgrmage has been providing a nature retreat in Allegany State Park, NY for over 50 years. Members, their families and friends from Buffalo, Jamestown, and Presque Isle Audubon Societies and Burroughs Nature Club gather to enjoy the outdoors and discover more about the world we live in.
Black Snake Mountain Hiking Trail, Allegany State Park, NY
Over 90 different field trips, adventures and classes are held. Nature topics include trees, flowers, ferns, insects, birds, salamanders, reptiles, tracks and signs, mammals, geology, astronomy, ecology, and more. You might also find a class in yoga, paper-making, photography, sketching, nature games... There are evening programs and speakers under the big tent and a chicken barbecue on Saturday evening. Click here to download a 2013 ANP brochure. To register and find out more go to the NEW Allegany Nature Pilgrimage website at:
www.alleganynaturepilgrimage.com.
2013 Spring Bird Banding at Presque Isle
Spring bird banding starts Friday, May 3rd. Banding is sponsored by Audubon PA at Presque Isle and will operate Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through the end of May. We will alternate between Fry's Landing and Niagara Boat Launch: Tuesday and Saturday at Niagara Boat Launch, and Friday and Sunday at Fry's Landing.
In general we will try to open by 8 AM and continue through 1 PM. On Tuesdays we may open slightly later. There is no banding if it is raining or too windy.
You are welcome to come and watch. We look forward to seeing some of you around the banding table.
http://pispbirdbanding.blogspot.com
Festival of the Birds at Presque Isle
Our next Festival will be held in 2014. The 2012 Festival of the Birds at Presque Isle was the best ever with good weather, tons of migrating birds, and great participants. For a summary of the weekend, checkout our blog at: www.presqueisleaudubon.org/blog.