John McNamara
WCBC member John McNamara will tell us about his travels in northern Peru.
John is a long-time member of the WCBC who is a serious bird photographer. He can often be seen on club trips providing advice to participants on the use of their optics.
Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.
For: Migrants and resident birds
Place: Parking lot on 1123 Rapp’s Dam Rd.
Leader: Rick Wolf (610-933-6414, randewolf@icloud.com)
Note: We will walk approximately 2 level miles along French Creek looking for migrating & resident birds in addition to learning about the rich history of the immediate area.
Directions: Take route 113 to Rapps Dam Road for 1/4 mile to the trail head or email or call leader for directions or use the link below.
For: Spring Migrants
Place: 28 Moores Road, Elverson, PA, 8:00 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, Venmo, or cash donations at the door.
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.
John McFarland
John & Karen were volunteers at Santa Ana NWR along the Rio Grande in Texas, October - December 2024. In that time period and through various bird guides, they got to know many of the hot spots of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. This presentation will showcase many of the specialties of this area and give you insight on how you too can easily bird this unique region.
John & Karen have been avid birders for over 25 years. They retired about five years ago and travel the US via RV.
Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.
For: Early migrants
Place: Newlin Township Maintenance Building, 8:00 a.m.
Leaders: Judy Ford (484-682-7748, RareJBird@verizon.net) and Mike Gardner (484-880-7083, birdnerd@zoominternet.net)
Note: Approximately 3 hours, walking over mostly flat, marshy terrain, about 1-2 miles. Waterproof boots or shoes a must.
Directions: The Newlin Twp Bldg parking lot (1751 Embreeville Rd Coatesville PA 19320) is west of West Chester, on PA Rte 162, directly across from the marsh.
Will Krohn
Purple Martins are the largest species of swallow in North America and, in the east, they nest almost entirely in human-constructed nesting colonies. Southeastern PA is one of two strongholds for Purple Martins in the state, and some of the largest colonies in Pennsylvania are in Chester and Delaware Counties. Purple Martins are a model organism for studying the migration and movement of songbirds due to their large size, conspicuous nature, and proximity to humans. They’re also a strong indicator of overall ecosystem health. Will's research seeks to uncover the rates at which young Purple Martins return to and disperse from the natal colony after hatching. Understanding how far Purple Martins travel from the natal colony is especially important since humans must construct all nesting colonies for the species. Purple Martins have declined by approximately 38% since 1970, so quantifying the rates and distances at which martins disperse will be a key tool for the conservation and management of the species. The Pennsylvania Game Commission and potentially other agencies will be able to use the information he collects in determining where they can best construct new colonies to bolster populations and connectivity, helping steer the recovery of this beloved bird.
Will Krohn is an M.S. student in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, studying dispersal in Purple Martins for his thesis. Will received his B.A. from Colgate University in 2023, where he double-majored in Biology and Environmental Studies. Since graduating, Will has worked as a technician on numerous avian research and conservation projects around the country, and in 2025, Will started his Master's at UD. Will is originally from Bucks County, PA, and he is an avid PA birder. In his free time, Will also enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and anything else that gets him out in nature.
Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.
For: Summer residents, butterflies, etc.
Place: Stroud Preserve parking lot, 8:00 a.m.
Leaders: Armas Hill (302-529-1876, Armas@focusonnature.com)
Note: Trip is an approximately two- to three-hour walk covering about 2 miles with some moderate hills.
Directions: From West Chester, take Route 162 west for about 2 miles and turn left onto North Creek Road. The parking lot is on the right.
For: Shorebirds, herons
Place: Forsythe NWR Headquarters, 8:00 a.m.
Leaders: Bruce Piecukonis (610-247-2205, Pterodroma@comcast.net)
Note: Meet at Forsythe at 8:00 a.m. Minimal walking involved. Bring a lunch, this is an all day trip.
Directions: Meet at the refuge headquarters parking area (800 Great Creek Rd, Galloway, NJ 08205).
For: Spring Migrants
Place: 28 Moores Road, Elverson, PA, 7:00 a.m.
Leader: TBD. 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, Venmo, or cash donations at the door.
Note: Join a local birding expert who will guide 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.
John Mercer & Dorothy Bedford
Club members John & Dorothy will tell us about their trip to Papua New Guinea for the grand opening of the Comongi Lodge. The lodge is in the mountains of Papua New Guinea and hosts a variety of special birds like Stephanie's Astrapia and other Birds-of-Paradise. This travelog will highlight some of the amazing birds found in Papua New Guinea, many of which are only found in that area on the surrounding islands.
Note: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.
Coordinated by TBD
Every year, we end our meetings and presentations on the first Monday in June with a showing of members' photos. If you would like to contribute and show your photos, below is the process for getting the photos to TBD. This is quite a bit of work for the coordinator, so please get your pictures to TBD as soon as you can.
1. Maximum 50 photos per participating member
(depending on the number of people that want to show pictures, TBD may need to make a selection and pair the numbers down a bit. We think the absolute maximum number of photos should not exceed 300. E.g. if 7 people send 50 photos each, TBD will take out 7 photos per submission to bring it down to 301).
2. The photos need to be in JPEG format. Ideally each photo file should be 2Mb or less. However, if you don't know how to compress your files, TBD with do so himself if it becomes too much for the Powerpoint presentation file
3. Each file name should include the name of the bird. If you want to also show on the slides the location where the photos were taken, please include the name of the location also in the file name, or include a Word document with the cross reference of location to the file name. TBD will then make sure that the location is shown on the slides.
4. The photos should preferably be sent to TBD via websites such as DROPBOX or WETRANSFER. These services are free if you don't exceed 2 Gb for the 50 photos combined.
5.TBD's email address is TBD
6. Please make sure to get your photos to TBD by May 15th at the very latest. Earlier submissions are encouraged.
7. If you want to give the photos to TBD on a memory stick or a CD, get in touch with him via phone (cell: TBD) or via email to discuss day, time and location to hand over the memory stick or the CD, You can also mail a memory stick or CD to his home address at TBD.
NOTE: This meeting will be held in person at the meeting house and via Zoom. Zoom signon will start at 7:15 to enable the meeting to begin at 7:30.
For: Summer Residents
Place: East Goshen Township Chamber of Commerce Parking Lot in Applebrook (off Hibberd Lane), 8:30 a.m.
Leader: Sue Vanasse (484-459-4189, hsvanasse@verizon.net)
Note: Bring your binoculars and join us for a bird walk in the park.
This event is sponsored by the East Goshen Township Conservancy Board.