Welcome to the Venango County Birds webpage. The page is designed to provide birding information for those of you interested in watching, feeding, or just discussing birds in Venango County, Pennsylvania, and surrounding area.
Venango County is located in northwestern Pennsylvania approximately midway between Erie and Pittsburgh. During the past twenty years, 267 species have been recorded in the county. Based on current available information, records previous to this are scarce.
One goal of this site is to have more local people become
actively involved in finding and reporting bird sitings, so your questions, comments, criticisms, and witticisms are welcome. The
more communication the better; hopefully we'll all learn something.
MAKE YOUR SIGHTINGS COUNT
The Cornell University Lab of Ornithology sponsors a great way to keep track of your bird sightings and, at the same time, contribute data that can be used by scientific researchers. You can keep a property list, a list for another location you visit often, your life list or pretty much any other list you want. The site keeps track of your entries & allows you to print out yearly, monthly, or weekly reports reports in a variey of ways. For example, after entering the data for your property for a period of time, you can print out a list of all the different birds you sighted on your property during that period, the highest number of each species you reported, the number of days during the month or year you reported a robin, etc. And, it's easy to enter the data. Just keep track of what you see and the highest number seen at any one time during the day, enter that number into the data sheet eBird provides, save it, and you're done. The name of the site is eBird PA and it can be accessed at: eBird PA You'll need to sign up & enter your own password before starting but, after that, it's pretty easy. If you have problems, email me, I'll be glad to help.
LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO GO BIRDING IN PENNSYLVANIA? The Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology has published a great list of the Pennsylvania's top birding sites by county. Visit their web page at Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology and click on Birding Locations on the left hand side. You'll find what you're looking for. WHO AM I? Photo 1 Jerry Stanley and Kathie Goodblood found these late migrants in a corn field at Kahle Lake on December 21. I took the picture later the same day Answers: Photo 1 shows 29 Sandhill Cranes. Photo 2 is a young Barn Owl
.
Photo 2 Unfortunately, this picture was not taken in Venango County. We haven't documented one of these in over 50 years.
CLARION AND PLEASANTVILLE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT (CBC) RESULTS
CLARION: This was the 25th year of the Clarion CBC. While the number of participants was average, the results were poor. The total number of species observed was 43, the lowest total in the 25-year history of the count.
The number of birds counted was the 4th lowest. The one highlight was 6 short-eared owls at Mt. Airy & Rankin Rd. 300+ American robins was our 2nd highest count. Significant misses were: PLEASANTVILLE: This count has been going on for 45 years, 20 years longer than the Clarion CBC. The Pleasantville count had a little better results, the total number of species was 47, exceeding the Clarion Count for only the 3rd time in 25 years, and for the 2nd year in a row.
The count highlight was 2 northern shrike, a new high for the species. Three common grackles were reported, the first report in 15 years. No other sightings stood out. Like the Clarion Count, there were no flickers but there was one red-breasted nuthatch, 2 brown creepers, 9 Carolina wrens, and 115 cedar waxwings. There were no other significant misses
SENECA ROCKS AUDUBON SOCIETY Please consider joining us at an upcoming meeting or field trip. Good times are had by all.
The next meeting is: February 8, 6:15 pm in the basement of the Clarion Free Library, Clarion, PA. Jeff Hall will give a PowerPoint presentation on the South Texas Birding Trail. For detailed directions or more infromation, visit the SRAS web page at Seneca Rocks Audubon Society or email me at gedwards@csonline.net SIGNIFICANT SIGHTINGS THIS MONTH
norther flicker; 2nd year with no sightings, the first year was 1987-88, the origninal count year
red-breasted nuthatch; 3rd year with no sightings breaking a 12-year span with at least one report
brown creeper; 1st year with no sightings
Carolina wren; 1st year with no sightings
cedar waxwing; 1st year with no sightings
Perhaps the weather was too good with nothing to concentrate the birds.
| Date | Species | Location | Comment |
| Jan 10 | Merlin | Franklin | 1 at top of tree between Weigel Marine & the marina |
| Jan 10 | Common Goldeneye | Allegheny River Bike Trail | 12 close to the Oil City end |
| Canada Goose | Mallard | Bufflehead | Common Merganser |
| Ring-necked Pheasant | Ruffed Grouse | Wild Turkey | Bald Eagle |
| Red-tailed Hawk | American Kestrel | Rock Pigeon | Mourning Dove |
| Eastern Screech Owl | Great Horned Owl | Barred Owl | Belted Kingfisher |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | Downy Woodpecker | Hairy Woodpecker | Pileated Woodpecker |
| Northern Shrike | Blue Jay | American Crow | Black-capped Chickadee |
| Tufted Titmouse | White-breasted Nuthatch | Brown Creeper | Carolina Wren |
| Golden-crowned Kinglet | Eastern Bluebird | European Starling | American Tree Sparrow |
| Song Sparrow | White-throated Sparrow | Dark-eyed Junco | Northern Cardinal |
| Purple Finch | House Finch | American Goldfinch | House Sparrow |
Help Wanted! 
I'm in the process of gathering information for a book on the Birds of Venango County and the more people contributing information, the better. Currently, five of us gather information on a regular basis and a few more contribute periodically. We would welcome your input. Birding experience is helpful but anyone from feeder watchers, to hunters, to bike trail enthusiasts, etc. can join in.
A BIG "THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT THIS MONTH" TO:
Other Web Sites For Birds:
All you ever wanted to know about hummingbirds
Venango County Wildlife Rehabilitators
Birds & other nature pictures of Charlotte County, Florida, my brother's web page with some great pictures
Little Birdie Home, up-to-date information on rare bird sighting and more
National Audubon Society
PA Soc. for Ornithology's website. Good local & statewide info
Seneca Rock Audubon Society website
Bartramian Audubon Society
Eastern PA Bird Photos & Information
Mark McConaughy's PA Bird Photos
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
Find Local Birders For Your Next Trip
Birding on the Net
Nature site featuring on-line field guides
Very nice general information, rarity pictures, & more
Birding in Canada
Birding News Around Ohio
Purple Martin Information
Westmoreland Co. Birds
Virtual Birder
About.com Bird Page
State Checklists
Bird Hotlines
Birding
Birdzilla's comprehensive selection of wild bird info
Other Interesting Web Sites for Related Subjects:
Gerry Rising's Nature Watch Column
Venango County Rootsweb Genealogy Site
Venango County Weather
Venango County Fishing Spots
On-line Maps
Local News, Oil City Derrick
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