Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology
Pennsylvania County Birding

Blair County

County Statistics
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Current County List:
Breeding Species: 124
Top County Lifelist: 221 (Stan Kotala)
Top Big Year: 143 (Beryl Sternagle, 1995)
Top Big Day:
"Best Bird":

Compiler for Pennsylvania Birds:
Charlie Hoyer
PO Box 32
Tyrone, PA 16686
Compiler for North American Birds:

Rick Wiltraut Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center 835 Jacobsburg Road Wind Gap, PA 18091
rwiltraut@state.pa.us

Statistics compiled by Frank Haas. "Best Bird" is Frank's totally subjective choice. Send corrections/updates to fchaas@pabirds.org

Bird Clubs
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Juniata Valley Audubon
www.jvas.org
P.O. Box 32
Tyrone, PA 16686
FIELD TRIPS, PROGRAMS, AND ADVOCACY!

Birding Sites
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CANOE CREEK WATERSHED IMPORTANT BIRD AREA
More than 220 species of birds have been observed in the Canoe Creek Watershed since Juniata Valley Audubon began a Special Areas Project there in 1992. 110 species breed in the watershed . 15 species of special concern have been observed at this location.

The Canoe Creek Watershed includes Canoe Creek State Park, State Game Land 166, and private lands. It includes all lands draining into Canoe Creek, a tributary of the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River. The site is bounded on the east by Canoe Mountain; Brush Mountain forms the boundary on the west and north; the southern boundary is the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River.

Key avian habitats include large blocks of contiguous forest, rhododendron and laurel thickets, several miles of riparian forest along Canoe Creek, forested wetlands, many small beaver ponds, unspoiled emergent and shrub wetlands, native grasslands, old field habitat, and a 160 acre lake.

Due to large expanses of unfragmented forest, the CANOE CREEK WATERSHED IMPORTANT BIRD AREA contains numerous area-sensitive, forest-interior neotropical migrants, including Blackburnian, Cerulean, Black-throated Green, and Black-throated Blue Warblers. An extremely healthy forested riparian corridor supports large numbers of Louisiana Waterthrushes, Acadian Flycatchers, and Warbling Vireos. Beaver ponds and surrounding wetlands are home to the Alder Flycatchers, Swamp Sparrows, Veeries, and Red-shouldered Hawks. Forest openings are used by Golden-winged warblers, Prairie Warblers, and Yellow-breasted Chats.

Very detailed information about the CANOE CREEK WATERSHED IMPORTANT BIRD AREA may be found at the JUNIATA VALLEY AUDUBON website, www.juniatavalleyaudubon.org.

THE LOWER TRAIL (FRANKSTOWN BRANCH OF THE JUNIATA RIVER IBA)

The Lower Trail is a 16-mile long rails-to-trails route along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River between Canoe Creek State Park in Blair County and the village of Alfarata in Huntingdon County. The trail is owned by Rails-to-Trails of Central Pennsylvania and is open to the public free of charge. Public lands bordering the trail include Canoe Creek State Park and State Game Land 147 in Blair County, and State Game Land 118 in Huntingdon County.

The Lower Trail runs through an outstanding example of a Ridge and Valley riparian forest encompassing approximately 5000 acres. The combination of steep, wooded slopes, floodplain forests, and high soil moisture produces a diverse, healthy lowland riparian ecosystem.

More than 150 species of birds have been observed along the Lower Trail since Juniata Valley Audubon began a Special Areas Project there in 1995. This site hosts an impressive concentration of breeding riparian species. Breeding bird counts of up to 200 per hour have been tallied during walking tours along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River. Species present at exceptional breeding concentrations include Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Wood Thrush, Yellow Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, American Redstart, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Baltimore Oriole. Other breeding birds include Wood Duck, Least Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Winter Wren, Northern Parula Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, and Orchard Oriole. In addition to breeding birds, the number of Neotropical migrants during the early portion of spring migration is typically much higher at this site than in surrounding areas, due to early leaf-out along the river. This site hosts one of Pennsylvania's most important Cerulean Warbler breeding areas, with estimates of 50-60 breeding pairs along this 16 mile long corridor.

Bibliography
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    Please send corrections, additions, or updates to Frank Haas: fbhaas@ptd.net