Whether you’re watching your backyard buddies from the comfort of your A/C or braving the shade outside, there’s plenty to observe in the summer. But when you need a break, spend some time with our newsletter!
In this issue, you’ll find the latest on what VFAS has been up to, how birding can help new physicians, how you can help with a purple martin research project, a remembrance of a Philadelphia birding legend, and a selection of books we are excited to add to our summer reading list.
As always, thank you for your interest in your local Audubon chapter- we hope to see you at a program soon!
It may be hot and humid out, but the birds don't care! We at VFAS continue to run events all summer long.You can always find the most complete schedule of upcoming events on our website or through our Meetup profile. Some upcoming events we are looking forward to include: birding at Tyler Arboretum, a photo walk at Chanticleer Garden,
monthly beginner bird walks at the John James Audubon Center, monthly hikes at Ridley Creek SP,and our annual meeting at the John James Audubon Center.We hope to see you this summer!
The VFAS Annual Meeting will be on August 9th at the John James Audubon Center!
More information coming soon . . .
- Calling all photographers! -
Our annual meeting will include a year-in-review photo slideshow highlighting the birds, locations, and camaraderie we’ve enjoyed over the past 12-months. If you have photos you’d like to submit, we’d love to hear from you! To be eligible, your photos must meet these criteria:
Taken at a VFAS meeting or event held anywhere from July 2025 through June 2026
Original images - please don’t pull from social media posts such as Facebook or Instagram
Must be submitted as JPEGs
Be a minimum of 1MB in size, not to exceed 5MB
Limit of 5 images per photographer
Please label your photos using this format: VFAS_YOUR LAST NAME or INITIALS_DDMMYEAR_BirdID
Please don't submit photos generated by AI or photos that have been digitally altered beyond normal editing
Please email valleyforgeaudubon@gmail.com if you would like to participate. We’ll send you a link where you can upload your photos. Deadline to submit entries is July 12. Thanks so much for sharing your photos!
(Note: VFAS will not claim ownership of any images; all images will remain the property of the photographer.)
NEW BOARD MEMBER:
We would like to extend a warm welcome to Peggy Gillin, who recently joined our Board of Directors! Peggy also volunteers for our Outreach Committee.
Chipping Sparrow, photo by Kayann Cassidy
We couldn't do this important community science without help from members like you! The Spring 2026 results will be available in our next newsletter. In the meantime, mark your calendars for our annual Christmas Bird Count to be held on Saturday, December 26, 2026.
Advocacy Committee members Janet Krevenas and Kelsey Stanton Murphy staff a table at the Rose Valley native plant sale on April 26 (left), and Ralf Graves and Shirley Dodson join Kelsey at the Delco Environmental Expo at Rose Tree Park on May 30 (right).
VFAS Advocacy Committee members heard that concern many times as they staffed tables at events this spring. What can you do when you enjoy watching birds and don’t want them to crash into your windows?
The new Advocacy bird strike display helps viewers understand that birds can’t see glass like we do and believe they can fly through. The solution is to ensure that dangerous windows are marked with patterns that are visible to birds. Options include full exterior window screens, hanging cords, and patterned dots placed 2” vertically and 2” horizontally apart. Visit our website for details and ideas.
Interested in working with a group to advocate for birds?
Did you know that VFAS offers more than just birding tours?
VFAS volunteers also delivered an engaging Earth Day program for more than 200 fourth‑grade students and staff at Lower Pottsgrove Elementary School. On a bright spring afternoon, students set off on a custom-designed nature scavenger hunt, searching for items such as a soaring bird, a stick covered in lichen, a tree with a natural cavity suitable for nesting, and even a single ant. Along the way they discovered their school grounds with fresh eyes, noticing details they had never observed before. They were also taught the importance of being thoughtful stewards of the earth, helping students understand how small daily choices can make a meaningful difference for the environment and inspiring them to care for and preserve the natural world around them.
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR BANDED PURPLE MARTINS
A second-year male purple martin banded near Kennett Square, PA,
resighted in the following year.
Will Krohn, a graduate student at the University of Delaware, is studying how Purple Martins select their nesting colonies and move between them. To do this, a collaborative team is putting small, lightweight, colored bands on the legs of the birds. These uniquely colored bands continue to be attached to fledgling birds at over 20 colonies across the state of Pennsylvania, mostly in southeastern and northwestern PA and in the Lehigh Valley.
The majority of the banded birds are expected to stay in these areas, but any location that hosts nesting Purple Martins could have a color-banded bird. We need your help finding them! Be on the look out for returning sub-adults sporting color bands.
If you ever see a color-banded Purple Martin, please let Will know! First, record the color and relative position of each band. He needs to know which leg each band or bands were on, and if there were multiple on the same leg, which band was “higher up” on the bird’s leg. If you have a camera, try taking a picture! The easiest way to submit a resight is with this form
You can view Will’s presentation of his purple martin research on You Tube
Above photo is an example of how color-coded bands are recorded.
Look no further than the VFAS for some recommendations!
While we have a comprehensive list of great books to check out (peep the “Books for Birders” section on our website), we try to keep our members abreast of newer releases- here's some new ones to check out:
The Bird with Flaming Red Feet:
Seasons with an Uncommonly Common Seabird
by Maria Mudd Ruth
The Bird with Flaming Red Feet is a lively and heartfelt natural history of the Pigeon Guillemot, a charismatic seabird with a surprising story to tell. Found along the coast around the North Pacific and from Alaska to Southern California, this talkative and often-overlooked bird plays an outsized role in the health of marine ecosystem--earning its status as an "indicator species," especially for Washington’s Puget Sound.
The Book of Birds: A Field Guide of Wonder and Loss
by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris
The Book of Birds is a field guide with a difference: It shows readers not just how to identify birds, but also how to identify with them. Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris conjure the unique spirit of nearly fifty once-common species: avocet to yellowhammer, kestrel to kingfisher, skylark to nightingale. In lyrical and incantatory essays, Macfarlane describes each bird’s habits and habitats, their patterns of flight and patterns of song, how they hunt or fish or scavenge or gather, how they nest and raise their chicks, the myths that attend them, the threats that shadow them—and how their lives intersect with our own.
The Company of Owls
by Polly Atkin
An observant, lyrical memoir exploring what owls can teach us about nature, chronic illness, and ourselves—so long as we are quiet enough to listen. Polly Atkin's book is a love letter to the clutch of tawny owlets residing near her home in the heart of England’s Lake District. Confined by a chronic illness to her cottage and the surrounding area, she turns to the trees and the animals among them for companionship—especially the owl siblings who surprise and delight her.
The History of Birds
by Steve Brusatte
Tens of billions of birds share the planet with us, an astonishingly diverse array of species that are present nearly everywhere humans call home—and many places we do not. With their flamboyant plumage, joyous dawn serenades, extraordinary aerial feats, they have captivated human imagination for millennia. Delicate creatures with hollow bones and thin skin protected by downy feathers, how did such a seemingly fragile species break the bounds of Earth and begin to fly, how have they survived millennia, and how does their legacy shape our world?
The Return of the Oystercatcher:
Saving Birds to Save the Planet
by Scott Weidensaul
The Return of the Oystercatcher explores the recovery efforts that are not only preventing declines in bird populations, but helping birds to thrive. From the spectacular recovery of North American raptors, whose numbers have tripled in the last fifty years, to the mind-bending resurgence of the Canada goose in Maine, Scott Weidensaul shares amazing stories of hope and progress in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Watch and Wonder:
Birding as a Spiritual Practice
by Ragan Sutterfield
From having his vision opened by a rare flycatcher, to learning the power of naming while watching shorebirds, to forging friendships on a Christmas Bird Count, naturalist, birder, and Episcopal priest Ragan Sutterfield delves into how birdwatching shapes our souls. He writes of turning yards into refuges for birds on their long migration. Even as we reckon with the inconsolable grief of habitat loss and species decline, he writes, birds can give us hope amid the desolation.
Where the Earth Meets the Sky:
A Story of Penguins, People, and Place in Antarctica
by Louise K. Blight
Where the Earth Meets the Sky is a chronicle of Louise’s time working in the most isolated place in the world. With just one other human being and two thousand penguins for company, this remote Antarctic laboratory allowed her not only to advance the study of seabirds, but also to discover important truths about grief, loss, and the capacity of the natural world to help us heal.
Doris McGovern, who passed away in December 2025, accomplished much over her long, wide-reaching career, and her impact on the birding community is immeasurable. She served as president of the Birding Club of Delaware County (BCDC) from 2012-2014, was a longtime, active Hawk Watcher at Rose Tree Park, and inspired countless birders who learned from her deep trove of knowledge.
Doris was a certified master bird bander and was instrumental in the launch of the banding station at Willistown Conservation Trust’s Rushton Woods Preserve, where she handled songbirds as well as Northern Saw-whet Owls. She studied and banded Purple Martins in Glen Mills and lent her banding credentials to many other locations. Doris was active at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge for decades as a volunteer bird walk leader, as well as overseeing surveys there for the Delaware County/Glenolden Christmas Bird Count, Philadelphia Mid-Winter Census, and the now-defunct PA Migratory Bird Count. She was a regional coordinator for the 2nd PA Breeding Bird Atlas and served as the Philadelphia county eBird reviewer for many years. In 2022, the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club honored Doris with the DEVOC award which recognizes an individual for his/her outstanding contributions to ornithology and exemplifies the spirit of the Founders and upholds the prestige which was established for the Club. Doris’s legacy was long, and she will be missed by many as a teacher and a mentor who generously shared her love of birds with many people.
JOIN THE VFAS VOLUNTEER TEAM!
Are you passionate about birds and nature? Do you like working with a team of like-minded individuals? If so, please join us and volunteer with the Valley Forge Audubon Society! Whatever your interests and talents, we would welcome your participation.
