Fall Bird Feeding

Most people think of stocking their feeders in the winter when nature’s bounty is scarce, but many birds begin caching seeds in fall to store for the winter ahead. Here are a few tips for making your backyard attractive to birds this fall:
Set up suet feeders: Suet (beef fat) helps birds keep up the fat reserves that they need to stay warm. If summer weather is still holding on in your area be sure to pick up “no melt” suet cakes or use one part peanut butter to five parts cornmeal which you can spread on tree bark or pine cones.
Place feeders the right distance from windows: Feeder location is very important; approximately one billion birds die in the U.S. each year from window collisions. The best way to prevent fatal collisions is to place your feeder within 3 feet or more than 30 feet from windows. Placing feeders within 3 feet of windows ensures that birds do not have much room to gain speed, reducing the number of fatal collisions.
Hummingbird feeders: Hummingbirds need to double their body mass in order to store enough energy for migration. This fall keep your nectar feeders stocked with sugar water (four parts water to one part white sugar boiled for 1-2 minutes) and be sure to place them in the shade and clean them regularly.

Go Hiking!

Join veteran trail hikers Dave and Brenda Michener for a short hike up to Jefferson's Rock at Harpers Ferry on Saturday, October 20. Meet at the Harpers Ferry train station at 9:00 a.m.  There is no fee for the hike but parking in the train station lot will cost $5.  The date of this hike is only five days short of the 229th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's visit to the place now known as Jefferson's Rock, on October 25, 1783.  This hike will be relatively easy but it will include some steep steps. It will take about an hour. It will take place rain or shine.  Wear sturdy footwear and dress appropriately for the weather.  Pre-registration on the PVAS website is encouraged but not required.

Help With Boy Scout Merit Badges

PVAS members are invited to share expertise and passion for topics by being a merit badge counselor for local Boy Scout Troops. Counselors are needed for 130 merit badges. Topics include: Bird Study, Camping, Canoeing, Fish and Wildlife Management, Geology, Forestry, Mammal Study, Insect Study, Nature, Orienteering, Reptile and Amphibian Study, Soil and Water Conservation, Weather, Whitewater, Woodwork, Photography, Graphic Arts, Inventing...You get the idea, the list goes on. All 130 merit badge topics are available online at: scouting.org/meritbadges. Counselors may elect to present their topic at a Merit Badge University to be held at the Presbyterian Church in Charles Town, WV the first three Saturdays in March or volunteer to work with scouts on an ongoing basis. Have questions or want to volunteer? Please contact PVAS Youth Services Director, Jim Jenkins, at 571.209.7350 or jenkinsjim@vzw.blackberry.net. Scouts are sharp and superbly motivated. They will really appreciate your efforts.

Sky Rangers Workshop

Applications are now being accepted for the Sky Rangers Workshop from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, taking place January 21 - March 15, 2013. This free online workshop provides training and a toolkit of materials for interpreters and outdoor educators who want to learn how to tell the story of the sky and bring the excitement of astronomy to their audiences. Participants of the winter 2013 workshop will also receive the Our Magnetic Sun toolkit with activities focused on the Sun and solar observing.    http://www.afguonline.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=1857

Winged Planet Premieres This Sunday!

Premiering Saturday, October 6, at 8/7c on the Discovery Channel.

Experience the astonishing physical wonders of our world from a bird's eye view.  Really, they used spy cameras on the backs of birds to do the filming and from what I have seen, it will be extraordinary!

Eidolon Is Open!

The work at Eidolon Preserve has finished and the preserve is once again open to visitors.  October is a fabulous time to visit, so if you haven't been before, you should go.  If you have been, go again!

Ice Mountain

The Nature Conservancy purchased 159 acres of Ice Mountain in 1989 to protect the mountain's vents and plant species. The National Park Service last week recognized the conservancy's efforts in officially dedicating Ice Mountain as a National Natural Landmark.  But even with the conservancy's work, the unique features of Ice Mountain are in danger.  Prior to this year, the earliest the temperature from a vent had gone above 35 degrees Fahrenheit was May 16, 2011. This year, he recorded a temperature of about 2 degrees Celsius, or 35.5 degrees Fahrenheit, on April 25.  Warmer temperatures from the vents earlier in the year could affect the life cycle of many of the mountain's plants.  (All this borrowed from Martinsburg Journal, 10/1/2012)