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PIAS Monthly Programs:PIAS holds programs on the third Friday of each month (except for holidays) from September through June, excluding December and January. The meetings are held at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, Room 112, 301 Peninsula Drive in Erie. They begin with the program at 7 p.m., followed by a social gathering. Everyone is invited; you need not be a member to attend and enjoy the informative, educational and fun programs.
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Field Trips and Activities
PIAS offers a variety of field trips which provide individuals with recreational and educational experiences throughout the year.
In addition, PIAS sponsors other annual activities including the
PIAS offers a variety of field trips which provide individuals with recreational and educational experiences throughout the year.
In addition, PIAS sponsors other annual activities including the
- Christmas Bird Count
- Great Backyard Bird Count
- Raptor Experience
- Hawk Watch in the spring
- Festival of the Birds in May
- Allegany Nature Pilgrimage (See details below.)
Monthly Program
photo credit by Alex Lamoreaux
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PIA February 2019 Program
Friday, February 15, 2019 Program: 7:00 pm ***Note change of location: The program will be held at the Jean Stull Center on Presque Isle State Park*** Winter Raptor Surveys in Pennsylvania Greg Grove, PA Society for Ornithology Greg Grove will introduce us to the Winter Raptor Survey that has been conducted throughout Pennsylvania since 2001. This car-based survey, once modest now included 850 hours of observation and 12,000 miles of road in 2018. New efforts in Erie County this year will add to those numbers. |
The focus has been on raptors of open-country because of their ease of finding and relative winter abundance – primarily Red-tailed and Rough-legged hawks, American Kestrels, and Northern Harriers. All other raptors and vultures are also recorded. The data collected over 18 years has been analyzed to allow comparison of densities for each species between individual counties and regions of the state, and to assess trends for each species year-to-year.
Greg Grove’s birding nterests include the distribution of bird species in central Pennsylvania and ways of surveying populations. He founded the Stone Mt. Hawk Watch (1991), the Lake Raystown CBC (1994), the Pennsylvania Winter Raptor Survey (2001), and three Breeding Bird Surveys in Rothrock State Forest. He is past president of the State College Bird Club and the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology and was a Regional Coordinator during the 2nd Breeding Bird Atlas. He is co-author of The Birds of Central Pennsylvania with Nick Bolgiano. He is currently editor of Pennsylvania Birds and an eBird reviewer for five counties in central Pennsylvania. In 2018, he received the Earl Poole award from the PSO, for his significant contributions to Pennsylvania'a ornithology. Grove has a B.S. in Biology from Penn State and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Ohio State. He recently retired from Penn State where he taught Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and worked in the DNA analysis lab.
Greg Grove’s birding nterests include the distribution of bird species in central Pennsylvania and ways of surveying populations. He founded the Stone Mt. Hawk Watch (1991), the Lake Raystown CBC (1994), the Pennsylvania Winter Raptor Survey (2001), and three Breeding Bird Surveys in Rothrock State Forest. He is past president of the State College Bird Club and the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology and was a Regional Coordinator during the 2nd Breeding Bird Atlas. He is co-author of The Birds of Central Pennsylvania with Nick Bolgiano. He is currently editor of Pennsylvania Birds and an eBird reviewer for five counties in central Pennsylvania. In 2018, he received the Earl Poole award from the PSO, for his significant contributions to Pennsylvania'a ornithology. Grove has a B.S. in Biology from Penn State and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Ohio State. He recently retired from Penn State where he taught Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and worked in the DNA analysis lab.
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PIA March 2019 Program
Friday, March 15, 2019 Program: 7:00 pm Tracking the Rare Breeding Birds of Pennsylvania’s High Elevation Boreal Wetlands David Yeany II, Conservation Planning Specialist/Ornithologist Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy David Yeany, will share his research into some of Pennsylvania’s rarest breeding birds, including state Endangered yellow-bellied flycatcher and blackpoll warbler, in the boreal wetlands of the state. These wetlands include numerous bogs, fens, and other peatland communities characterized by plant species more common far north of Pennsylvania and soils consisting of slowly decomposing organic material – or peat. |
Their studies use Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify more than 1,300 potential peatlands statewide, and carried out the first large-scale systematic and quantitative bird survey within these difficult-to-access habitats from 2016 to 2018.
This study links high priority peatland breeding birds to specific peatland community types and provides insight to their vulnerability and significance for conservation in Pennsylvania.
David Yeany serves as conservation planner and ornithologist for the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) in Pittsburgh, PA.
Prior to 2011, he was Important Bird Areas Coordinator for Audubon Maryland-DC, and has worked for Fort Indiantown Gap National Guard Training Center in Annville, PA and for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, District 8 in Clarion.
Yeany has a M.S. in Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology from Frostburg State University and holds a B.S. in Biology from Messiah College. He has extensive studies in ornithology, herpetology, animal ecology, and plant taxonomy. David grew up in Forest County and currently lives with his wife, Colleen, and infant son, Drake, in Allegheny County.
This study links high priority peatland breeding birds to specific peatland community types and provides insight to their vulnerability and significance for conservation in Pennsylvania.
David Yeany serves as conservation planner and ornithologist for the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) in Pittsburgh, PA.
Prior to 2011, he was Important Bird Areas Coordinator for Audubon Maryland-DC, and has worked for Fort Indiantown Gap National Guard Training Center in Annville, PA and for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, District 8 in Clarion.
Yeany has a M.S. in Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology from Frostburg State University and holds a B.S. in Biology from Messiah College. He has extensive studies in ornithology, herpetology, animal ecology, and plant taxonomy. David grew up in Forest County and currently lives with his wife, Colleen, and infant son, Drake, in Allegheny County.
Allegany Nature PilgrimageTHE 61st ANNUAL ALLEGANY PILGRIMAGE WILL BE HELD
FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY May 31, June 1, and 2, 2019 For more information and to register go to www.alleganynaturepilgrimage.com A friendly reminder from the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage Committee.
The 2019 Allegany Nature Pilgrimage will take place on May 31, June 1, and 2. Cabins and campsites for this event can be rented 9 months in advance. If you are just staying the weekend, you can start to make your reservations this Friday, August 31. Campsites and cabins must be secured through the State Parks system. Here's a link to that site from our website: http://www.alleganynaturepilgrimage.com/about.html (Scroll down to the title "Lodging and Food") We hope to see you there in 2019! |
Friday Evening
Jared Miller Television host of Animal Explorations Jared will share his wildlife adventures from around the globe and bring live animals from his western NY farm. 
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The pilgrimage has been made possible through the efforts of volunteers from these organizations since 1959:
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