Calendar of Events

For: Shorebirds & herons

Place: Forsythe NWR Headquarters, 8:00 a.m.

Leaders: John Mercer (484-459-2062, mercer1135@aol.com)

Note: Meet at Forsythe at 8:00 a.m. Minimal walking involved. Bring a lunch, this is an all day trip.

Directions: Due to Covid concerns, check with leader to confirm if carpooling is occurring. Call leader for trip details, carpooling and directions. Forsythe NWR Visitor Center address: you MUST use 800 Great Creek Rd, Galloway NJ or Google will steer you 30 miles wrong.

Edwin B. Forsythe NWR

For: Fall migrants

Place: Bucktoe Preserve parking, 9:30 a.m.

Leader:  Larry Lewis – Early Bird Tours (484-340-7672, earlybirdtours@comcast.net)

Note:  A Big Sit is an all day affair, but everyone is welcome to come and go as they please. It is usually a fun time to see how many birds can be spotted while not moving out of a 15 foot circle.

Note: The watch goes everyday from September 1, 2018 through November 30, 2018 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. People can come and go as they want and are welcome to join Larry any of the days he is at the hawk watch.

Directions:  From Kennett Square, take Union Street south out of town.  This becomes Kaolin Road.  Make a right onto Hillendale Road.  Proceed about 1.5 miles to Sharp Road and make a left.  The entrance is on the left at 432 Sharp Road.  Look for the “BCP” sign.  Upon entering driveway, make a right on gravel road opposite first driveway you see.  Follow gravel road to the pavilion and parking area.

Bucktoe Creek Preserve

For: Fall migrants

Place: The South side of Chambers Lake, 8:00 a.m.

Leader: Larry Lewis – Early Bird Tours (484-340-7672, earlybirdtours@comcast.net)

Note: A Big Sit is an all day affair, but everyone is welcome to come and go as they please. It is usually a fun time to see how many birds can be spotted while not moving out of a 15 foot circle. Great fun, with plenty of food and camaraderie, like tailgating.

Directions: From Coatesville, PA (in western Chester County): From the Rt. 30 By-pass north of Coatesville, take Rt. 82 exit north. Turn left at the 4-way stop sign (Rt.340) and go 1.3 miles to Wagontown Rd. Turn right on Wagontown Rd. and continue on this winding hill for 1.5 miles (you will pass the Hibernia Park entrance on your right). Continue up the hill and the lake will become visible on the right. If attending the “Big Sit”, continue a couple of tenths of a mile further along Wagontown Rd. past the lake parking lot and to the western dike of the lake. Carefully pull off the road and park in the grass near the dike. You will see us sitting on the dike near the road.

Chambers Lake

For: Fall migrants, warblers, shorebirds and waterfowl

Place for Saturday: Cape May Point State Park Lighthouse parking lot, 7:30 a.m.

Place for Sunday: Higbee Beach parking lot, 7:00 a.m.

Leader: Barry Blust (610-458-5616, BarryBlust@comcast.net)

Note: Contact Barry for details. Please make your own reservations if you plan on staying overnight.

Note: This trip involves considerable walking, 2 to 4 miles each day, over relatively flat terrain, but some walking in sand will be involved. Please join us both days or either day.

Cape May Bird Observatory

Cape May Point State Park

For: Fall migrants

Place: 116 Canterbury Court Nottingham, PA, 8:00 a.m.

Host: Sabrena Boekell (717-529-1155, sabrena68@verizon.net )

Note: The walk is about 1.5 to 2 miles on maintained even ground and will take about 2.5 to 3 hours. This is a limited access area and is therefore limited to 10 people. You must sign up in advance for this trip, by contacting Sabrena Boekell at the above phone or email.
Habitat includes creek, open ground, mixed woodlands and swamp.

Directions: From Rt 1, take the Rt 272 exit, turn right. Go about 3 miles over Octoraro Creek, turn left onto Kirk’s Mill Rd. Go to 2nd stop and turn left, go about half mile, turn right onto Griest Rd. Sign for Brittany Commons is on right. Turn right onto Canterbury Court. Park on cul-de-sac at end of road.

For: Fall migrants

Place: Willisbrook Preserve Parking lot, Line Road, 8:30 a.m.

Leader: Sue Lucas (610-647-4779, sue.lucas@comcast.net)

Note: Owned by Natural Lands Trust, it includes over 20 acres of Serpentine Barrens. We will explore the diverse variety of birds and plants. This is a half day trip with about 2 miles of walking over fairly flat terrain.

Directions: From Routes 202 and Paoli Pike, take Paoli Pike east between 3.5 and 4 miles to Line Road. Turn right on Line Road. Go past the soccer field parking to the preserve parking, about ½ mile.

Willisbrook Preserve

For: Migrating Nighthawks

Place: Bucktoe Preserve parking lot, Kennett Square, PA, 5:00 p.m.

Leader: Larry Lewis – Early Bird Tours (484-340-7672, earlybirdtours@comcast.net)

Note: The Bucktoe Common Nighthawk watch goes from Aug 23 to September 3 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Bring picnic dinner and drinks and enjoy the show.

Directions: From Kennett Square, take Union Street south of town. This becomes Kaolin Road. Make a right onto Hillendale Road. Proceed about 1.5 miles to Sharp Road and make a left. The entrance is on the left at 432 Sharp Road. Look for the “BCP” sign. Upon entering driveway, make a right on gravel road opposite first driveway you see. Follow gravel road to the pavilion and parking area.

Bucktoe Preserve

For: Shorebirds, herons and summer residents

Place: Bombay Hook NWR Headquarters, 8:30 a.m.

Leaders: John Mercer (484-459-2062, mercer1135@aol.com)

Note:  Due to the closure of the bathrooms at Bombay Hook Headquarters, we will only be going around Bombay Hook then heading home. The Wawa in Smyrna does have bathrooms that are open, so plan your arrival to allow for stopping at the Wawa. The port-a-potty at Bear Swamp is open, but that is 2/3 the way around the Preserve.

Due to the concerns about Covid 19, there will be no carpooling or sharing of scopes.

Directions: Meet at Bombay Hook NWR, 2591 Whitehall Neck Rd, Smyrna, DE 19977 at 8:30am.

Carpooling:  There will be no carpooling.

Bombay Hook NWR

For: Seasonal birds

Place: Exton Park, 8:30 a.m.

Leader: Various leaders in conjunction with Friends of Exton Park

Note: Formerly known as Church Farm Pond and now a part of Exton Park, this pond and surrounding wetland had been a popular birding spot for years.

Directions: From the intersection of Routes 30 and 202, drive west along Route 30 and turn right on Valley Creek Blvd. At the end of the road, make a left on Swedesford Road and park in the gravel parking lot on your left where the perimeter trail starts. This is a 1.5 mile walk and will take between 1.5 and 2 hours.

Exton Park