SENECA ROCKS AUDUBON SOCIETY
"Leave No Trace for Birding"
with Peggy Butler
6:00 pm, March 11; Clarion Free Library
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Peggy Butler and her husband Ken fell in love with the Wilds of Pennsylvania in 2007. They moved here from Ohio in 2009, in hopes of fly fishing and quietly retiring. They began operating a B&B nestled in the heart of the Allegheny National Forest, because they loved nature and wanted to share it with fellow anglers. Then in 2012 through an amazing set of circumstances, they found themselves immersed in the world of fireflies.
However, fireflies have only recently been Peggy’s focus and interest. She has been a lifelong nature lover, bird watcher, and conservationist. Since her retirement from Forest Area Schools in 2024, Peggy has focused her attention not only on the PA Firefly Festival educational mission, but has a personal goal to achieve certification as a PA Environmental Educator. As part of the process, she participated in the Level 1 Instructor training for Leave No Trace practices. During the 2-day training, she learned the 7 principles, and is committed to applying the practice to not only the firefly activities, but also to all outdoor activities regardless of the habitat or purpose.
She will share how the Leave No Trace principles can be applied to birding, and some fun ways to remember the seven tenets so that you will be able to easily remember them on your next outing.
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Peggy Butler, founder of the PA Firefly Festival.
"Nocturnal Flight Calls"
with Dr. Joe Gyekis
6:00 pm, April 8, Clarion Free Library
Joe Gyekis is a health science instructor at Penn State and an enthusiastic lifelong birder with particular interests in patch listing, nocturnal flight calls, and bird-window collisions.
Joe will talk about recording bird migration from his suburban home at night for the past 8 years as well as observations from other Pennsylvania nocturnal flight call (NFC) recording friends, including fun rarities, interesting discoveries about migration timing, and which species are consistently easier to find by NFC than normal daytime birding.
Joe Gyekis in a selfie with curious cows.
"Birds at Buzzard Swamp, Allegheny National Forest"
with Tom Kuehl
6:00 pm, May 13, Clarion Free Library
Tom Kuehl and his wife Janet are well known in Pennsylvania birding circles and wear many hats. They became avid birders in the late 1990s and are prolific bird enthusiasts. They've been involved in Christmas Bird Counts, Winter Raptor Surveys, and are currently Southwestern Regional Coordinators for the current PA Bird Atlas 3. They were also regional coordinators in the second PA Bird Atlas.
Tom is the Westmoreland County Compiler for Pennsylvania Birds. He served two-year terms as Vice president and President of the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology.
"Butterflies of Pennsylvania"
with Dr. Brian Wargo
6:00 pm, June 10, Clarion Free Library
Brian M. Wargo is best known for being a hawkwatcher. He was a counter at Cumberland Gap Hawk Watch in Maryland and is currently a counter at Allegheny Front Hawk Watch. Along with birds, butterflies have become another serious interest for Wargo. He regularly spends time when the weather is warm, and the sun is shining looking for his favorite insects!
Wargo is the president of the Allegheny Plateau Audubon Society. He is also the chair of the board of the Hawk Migration Association.
Wargo is the author of three books. “Bird!”: An Exploration of Hawkwatching, which gives a bio-ethnographic overview of the hawkwatching community, including the culture of HMA. Wargo’s second book, Visiting Mother Nature: A Beginner’s Guide to Off-the-Grid RVing, documents how he was able to use an RV to view birds in all 49 contiguous states. His most recent book, Idealized Science: A Framework for Practicing Science Authentically, targets his main passion in life, teaching science.
Dr. Brian Wargo