The weather was beautiful for the Flat Rock Hike at Colonel Denning State Park. It was a tough climb but well worth it when we got to see the view. Unfortunately we did not see any Black Vultures since they had already migrated. We did see one Turkey Vulture in migration mode.
On the way back, Sean suggested we loop down the Tuscarora Trail to the Lehman Trail to the wheel where the trails intersect with the Flat Rock Trail down to the trail head. It proved a nice return trip. We also heard Santa’s sleigh bells in the woods which turned out to be a labrador with a bell for hunting season. The dog and its owner were both very friendly.

When at the top of Flat Rock we took a few minutes to discuss the differences between the Black Vulture and Turkey Vulture.  The Turkey Vulture being about 30 inches in length, with wingspans up to 6 feet while the Black Vulture is approximately 24  inches in length, with a wingspan less than 5 feet.  The Turkey Vulture has a long tail and the Black Vulture has a shorter tail.  These differences allow the Turkey Vulture to soar the thermals better than the Black Vulture.  A Turkey Vulture holds its wings in a “V” during flight, rarely flaps and wobbles while soaring.  The Black Vulture will flap its wings more, does not wobble and Continue reading →

Our moonlight hike was a success even though Mother Nature did not cooperate.  We rescheduled for Sunday and had clear skies and a beautiful view of the Moon and the valley below.  We also had quite a surprise when two shining eyes observed us very closely from a bush along the trail.  Fortunately, it was a deer blinded by our lights and just stood there for us to observe.  At least it wasn’t a coyote or bear.

Once at the top of Peter’s Mt. the 8 phases of the Moon and other aspects were discussed: The lunar phases are created by changing angles of the Earth, Moon and Sun as the Moon orbits the Earth.  Starting with the New Moon,  when the Moon is between the Earth and Sun with the lit side facing away from Earth, the moon is dark and cannot be seen easily. The next phase, the Waxing Crescent,  is a sliver of light less than half full. ( Waxing means getting larger with crescent meaning less than half.)  The 3rd phase, the 1st quarter or half moon, is just that half full.  (Quarter refers to the extent of the Moon’s cycle around the Earth, not its shape.)  Waxing Gibbous is the 4th phase with gibbous meaning more than half.  The Full Moon phase is the 5th phase, with the Earth between the Sun and Moon, and from that point the Moon begins to wane, decrease in size.  From there you have the Waning Gibbous, 6th phase, Third Quarter, 7th phase, and Waning Crescent your last phase.  These are the 8 phases of the moon in the Western Culture.  Non – Western cultures may use a different number of Moon phases, for example there are a total of Continue reading →

We held our Haldeman Island Waterfowl Hike on October 13th and it was a great success.  25 of the 29 registrants arrived on time and ready to explore this rarely seen island located at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers.  Our group was comprised of birding enthusiasts, curious kayakers, families out enjoying a day in the fresh air and people just interested in learning more about this exclusive island.

The 990 acre (about 1.5 square miles) Haldeman Island was previously quarried by Pennsy Supply and was later sold to the PA State Game Commission in 1990.  The quarries on the northern half of the island were filled with water, and small islands were built within the ponds to foster Canada Geese.  Unfortunately the Canada Goose program didn’t work out very well but the Bald Eagle program which followed was an enormous success.

We probably saw about 16 different immature bald eagles throughout the morning and once spotted no less than 6 eagles within the view of a single spotting scope Continue reading →