Meet at Powdermill Avian Research Center Building 7:45AM. Tour starts at 8:00AM
Leader: Denny McCarthy dennymccarthy@comcast.net, 412-913-9064 / Annie Lindsay
Directions: Address is 1795 Route 381, Rector, PA 15677. From Ligonier, PA take Rt 711 south 3.3 miles to the Rector/Darlington intersection. Turn left toward Rector and go 1 mile. At the bottom of the hill, before going over the bridge, turn right on to Rt 381 South. Follow Rt 381 south for 3 miles to Powdermill Avian Research Center (near the intersection of Route 381 and Weavermill Road)
Description: Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC) will have an Open House event on September 23, and has invited WBNC to tour the bird banding lab and new research facility. Attendees should arrive at 8:00am. PARC's Open House events are behind-the-scenes experiences that allow people to visit the bird banding lab and see up-close how researchers safely capture and band birds, and learn about the data they gather. Visitors will also visit PARC's flight tunnel and hear about how PARC's ornithologists are studying avian perception of glass to provide glass manufacturers and building designers with important information that will help reduce bird-window collisions. During the Open House, WBNC members will have the opportunity to chat with the scientists on staff, and perhaps visiting researchers, about the other projects being conducted at PARC. This part of the outing is expected to last 60-90 minutes but is weather dependent and will be canceled due to heat (>78 degrees), strong winds, or inclement weather. After the Open House, there are options to hike some of the site trails (Sugar Camp, Porcupine Ridge, and Black Birch). The other option is tour the nature center and visit the gift shop, and visit each of the four distinct outdoor gardens, finding specific herbs, wildflowers, barrens plants, and pollinators. Finally, it would be nice to get together around Noon at the nature Center in the picnic area for a brown-bag lunch to review the day’s activities. Since we would like to pre-register, please RSVP to Denny McCarthy by September 11, 2023.