Birding at Churchville Nature Center

On Friday, May 22nd, 2020, I spent my last day of field ornithology birding at the Churchville Nature Center in Churchville, PA. I arrived at 6:40 am to overcast skies and temperatures around 50 degrees. I started off by taking my usual route through the park because I knew it would off the greatest variety of habitats. I walked past a scrubby field with a stand of Eastern White Pines behind it. Then I passed an open farm field with thicket rows of trees. Next I made it up to the reservior before I headed into deciduous forest. It felt very quiet this morning compared to the first half of the week, but I was very excited to see a Great Horned Owl being chased around by a group of Blue Jays. I was also happy to see and hear a Brown Thrasher perched above the trail. After exploring one half of the reservior I headed back towards the nature center to see what species I might find on the other side. As I scanned the edge of the reservior, a young Cooper's Hawk flew into my field of view! I continued to walk the trails until 11:45 am. Overall, it seems like spring migration might be starting to slow down in southeastern Pennsylvania, but it is always still great to get outside and enjoy some ornitherapy!

Posted on May 22, 2020 09:34 PM by phil_stoll