Field Trips

For: Summer residents

Place: Pavilion #4, 1 Park Rd, Coatesville, PA 19320, 8:00 a.m.

Leaders: Kris Debolt and Peter Wade (215-219-5637, wadedeb@verizon.net)

Note: The Chester County Parks system has seven wonderful parks which provide excellent birdwatching opportunities.  Join us as we explore all seven of the parks, one per month, in 2023.
 
Our 4^th location is Hibernia County Park, home to woods, fields, and the 94-acre Chambers Lake.  We will meander through the park’s various habitats searching land, water, and sky for passerines, waterfowl, raptors, and more.
 
This outing will cover about 2 miles on earthen trails and will last approximately 2-3 hours. Restrooms are available on site at pavilion #4, where we will meet.
 
Directions: From Downingtown, take Route 30 bypass west to exit for Route 82 north. Exit ramp, go left on Rt. 82 to the top of the hill then take a left onto Cedar Knoll Rd. Proceed about 1.9 miles to second park entrance on left #790. DO NOT go to #720 which is the first entrance to the park.
 
Hibernia Park

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

For: Summer Residents

Place: 28 Moores Road, Elverson, PA, 7:00 a.m.

Leader: Mike Coulter. If you plan to attend please email the Great Marsh Institute at lori@greatmarshinstitute.org to let them know to expect you. This will help them to organize and keep groups small. This event is free but donations are always welcome via Paypal or donations at the door. Note that the time has been shifted an hour earlier this month.
 
Note: Join local birding expert Mike Coulter as he guides us through the Great Marsh, an ancient periglacial marsh and the largest marsh in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
 
This event is hosted by the Great Marsh Institute, a non-profit with the mission of supporting scientific studies and educational opportunities for all! This event is free, but donations of any amount are welcome to support the Institute! For full trip details see here. This will be about a 3 hour walk. Conditions could be muddy and very wet so wear appropriate footwear.
 
Please note that the property is private but you can always visit during our planned trips.
 
Directions: The marsh is off of Rt. 401 four miles northwest of Rt. 100 at Ludwig's Corner. Lat/Long = 40.127651, -75.767697 or use 28 Moores Road for GPS directions. Meet at the grassy parking area at the top of the hill near 28 Moores Road. Once you turn off of Rt. 401 on to Moore's Road proceed 1/4 mile along the gravel road. You will cross a bridge and at the 1/4 mile mark make a right up the hill on the paved part of the drive. This is the first right after the bridge. At the top of the hill you should see other cars parked in the meeting area.

For: Good times!

Place: 100 Hadfield Road, Downingtown, PA, 6:00 p.m.

Host: Sandy Moser (610-269-8124, semoser@yahoo.com )

Note: Covered dish picnic. Bring food to share, tableware and lawn chair.
Call or email Sandy if you plan to attend.

Directions: From Route 30, go North on Route 340 until Rt. 340 turns left and Bondsville Rd. goes left (340 is Bailey Rd.) Take Bondsville Road past Bondsville Mills Park.  At the next intersection, Bondsville Rd. goes right and Hadfield Rd is straight across.  Sandy's place is on the corner on the left side of Hadfield Rd.  On the right side is a grassy area inside of a low stone wall.  Go to the end of the wall, turn into the grassy area to park.  From Route 322, turn south on Bondsville Rd.  Turn right onto Hadfield RD. where Bondsville takes a left turn, park behind the wall.

For: Summer Residents

Place: 132 Church Farm Ln, Exton, PA 19341, 7:30 a.m.

Leader: John Mercer (484-459-2062, mercer1135@aol.com), Patty & John Werth (pattyww@comcast.net)

Note: The Chester County Parks system has seven wonderful parks which provide excellent birdwatching opportunities.  Join us as we explore all seven of the parks, one per month, in 2023.
 
For the 5th location in our 2023 birding tour of Chester County’s Parks, we will visit Exton Park, one of the most heavily birded locations in the county. Come before work or camp or chores and join us to watch the early birds catch their worms.
 
This outing will cover 1-2 miles on natural surface trails and will last approximately 2 hours.
 
Restrooms are available on site at the Chester Valley Trail trailhead parking area, where we will meet.
 
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 then take the first left onto Church Farm Lane. The road dead ends at the parking lot for the Chester Valley Trail trailhead, where we will meet.
 
Chester Valley Trail
Exton Park

For: Bicknell’s Thrush, Boreal Chickadee, Canada Jay, Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, coastal alcids, and (hopefully) pelagics.

Place: TBD

Leaders: Michael Blust (802-345-8612, mhblust@gmail.com)

Note1:  The primary target for this trip is the Bicknell’s Thrush. We will join banders from The Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) atop Mt. Mansfield on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning to hopefully see this thrush in the wild and in the hand. Following this we head to the northeast area of Vermont, known as the Northeast Kingdom, to try for any boreal specialties that may still be evident despite it being mid-breeding season when they tend to be quieter. Moose Bog will be our place of focus. Finally we head to the coast of Maine for breeding birds such as Common Eider and Black Guillemot . If the schedule works out we will do a whale-watch/pelagic trip with the possibility of seeing Atlantic Puffins, shearwaters, and other near-coastal pelagics.

Note2: This trip will be limited to 10 participants. Early registration with the leader is important. If you are interested in doing this trip, even if you are not sure, please let the leader know as soon as possible so we save the correct number and mix of rooms before they sell out. There is time to cancel the reservations if you change your mind, but may not be a chance to add any if you decide to go last minute.

Directions: TBD

Bicknell's Thrush
Moose Bog
Maine Birding Trail: Pelagics and Whales