Here is a schedule of activities planned this fall at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area.
Saturday, Oct. 5, 8 a.m. (rain date: Sunday, Oct. 6) – Join the Lancaster County Bird Club on a morning bird walk in search of fall migrant birds. Bring binoculars.
Read More: [Photo Story] Quiet beauty and still waters at Middle Creek
Wednesday, Oct. 9, 6:30 p.m. – Attend a presentation on “Borders for Birds: Creating Early Successional Habitat and Promoting Healthy Forests on Private Lands by Utilizing USDA Programs” in the auditorium to expand the knowledge of private landowners on what conservation practices they can implement on their land to provide quality wildlife habitat within forests with USDA NRCS programs. Look for a review of some of the practices available to treat noxious and invasive species, types of timber stand improvement, practices to create early successional habitat creation, and more. The process of applying and receiving funding from NRCS will also be explained.
Saturday, Oct. 12, 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (rain date: Sunday, Oct. 13) – Bruce Carl will conduct a “Big Sit” birding event at Middle Creek WMA to raise funds for conservation and scholarships. The daylong count invites public participation and sponsorships. Carl will identify bird species from a 17-foot circle, with proceeds benefiting local wildlife management and youth programs. Learn more here.
Friday, Oct. 25 – Deadline to apply for Middle Creek’s archery/flintlock hunt.
Saturday, Nov. 2, 10 a.m. – Join the Game Commission for a behind-the-scenes tour of the many nesting and roosting structures found around the Visitors Center. Houses and roosting structures include those for purple martins, American kestrels, barn owls, eastern bluebirds/tree swallows, chimney swifts and bats. The talk will include all sorts of information for these structures such as characteristics of a well-made nest box, preferred habitat, installation tips, how and why to monitor these structures, and how to prepare wildlife structures for the nesting or roosting season.
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 6:30 p.m. – “Solid Air, Invisible Killer: Saving Billions of Birds from Windows” in the auditorium will present an overview of an important conservation issue for birds and people using Dr. Klem’s 2021 book on the topic. The book describes the cause and breadth of this universal problem of windows as indiscriminately lethal and devastating hazards to free-flying birds, and how to solve it. Detailed objective observations and experiments reveal that birds behave as if clear and reflective windows are invisible to them. Alarmingly, among the dead are the fittest individuals in species populations. Unlike the complexities of other environmental challenges, such as climate change, this human-associated avian mortality factor can be solved. The means to do so will be described and are documented in greater detail in the pages of his book.
Wednesday, Dec. 11, 6:30 p.m. – Presentation in the auditorium on “Monitoring for Non-native Aquatic Invertebrates in the Great Lakes: A Sentinel Site Approach.” Non-native species have significant economic and ecological impacts across ecosystems. Scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center lead an aquatic invasive species monitoring program with many partners in the U.S. Great Lakes to detect new species and inform management decisions. This group uses various techniques to collect and analyze samples for non-native organisms.
Saturday, Dec. 14, 11 a.m. – Learn about animal tracks and how best to find them in the winter. This program will start by learning about common animal tracks and signs to look for, including scat, browse, and more. Attendees will learn how this relates to trapping, law enforcement, hunting, and other activities. Tracks will then be searched for in the field in places like stream banks, fields, and if possible, snow.
Editor’s note: This article was updated after publication to note the new date for the “Big Sit,” which was moved to match the date set by the New Haven Bird Club for this national event.
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