Quittapahilla Audubon Society

Program meetings are held in the Chapel of the Lebanon Valley Home at 550 East Main Street (Route 422) in Annville, PA. The Home is one-half mile east of the intersection of Routes 422 and 934. Limited parking is available in front of the Home. Additional parking is available behind the home on the adjacent streets. Please use the main entrance at the front of the Home, which is at the end of the covered walkway. The Chapel is handicap accessible.

Programs start at 7:30PM unless otherwise noted below. Our programs are open to the general public. The programs are designed for a general audience and children are welcome when accompanied by an adult.

Programs 2011-2012

September 28, 2011, 7:30 pm
Adventures of Our QAS Campers
  Our campers will report on their experiences at
their respective camps.  This is a great program to witness QAS at work.

October 22, 2011, 10:00 am
Native Pennsylvania Species
  Bring your children and grandchildren to this special program for the WHOLE FAMILY with animals from ZooAmerica!
**Note: this program meeting will be held at an alternate site and time–10:00 am at the Salvation Army Gymnasium, 1031 Guilford Street, Lebanon.
  Pennsylvania’s wildlife heritage is presented in this
program. Both the common, as well as the uncommon native species of our forests, fields and towns, are highlighted by the staff of ZooAmerica! 

October 26, 2011, 7:30 pm
Trout in the Classroom - Gina Mason
  Gina Mason, an educator in the Palmyra Area School District, will talk about the Trout in the Classroom project conducted by the 7th grade students in the middle school.
  QAS was proud to be a sponsor of this project which provided an educational experience in which students established and maintained a trout hatchery in the classroom. In doing so, students learned about environmental conditions needed to sustain trout as well as the complexities of the trout life cycle.

November 16, 2011, 7:30 pm
Vernal Pools - Dr. Tim Maret
  Vernal pools are unique aquatic habitats that host an incredible diversity of species. Because they do not contain water year round, they lack fish, and  therefore provide a home to creatures that are vulnerable to fish predation. Organisms that live in  these ponds must complete the aquatic portion of their life cycle before the ponds dry in the summer. Amphibians, including a variety of salamanders and frogs, are among the most conspicuous residents of vernal pools, especially during their spring breeding migrations.  We will examine the amphibians and other  fascinating organisms that inhabit and use vernal pools over the course of a year.
  Tim Maret is a professor of biology at Shippensburg University, where he has been teaching and  conducting research on vernal pools for the last 15  years. He particularly enjoys bringing students to  vernal pools on rainy evenings in the spring to  observe the migration and courtship of salamanders  and frogs. Tim has a strong interest in the conservation of amphibians and reptiles, and  promotes their protection through his involvement  in the Pennsylvania Biological Survey

December 14, 2011, 7:30 pm
Members’ Nature Slides and Digitals
  Join us as members share their favorite slides and digital photos with the group this evening. This is our holiday social so please bring a plate of holiday treats to enjoy after the program. Drinks will be provided.

January 25, 2012, 7:30 PM
Migration Ecology of North American Turkey Vultures - David Barber
  Turkey Vultures are the most widespread and abundant new world vulture.  Despite this, very little is known about them, particularly their migration ecology.  As part of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s ongoing project on Turkey Vulture migration, how, when and where vultures migrate will be revealed using high tech and not so high tech methods.
  David R. Barber, research biologist, will be presenting this program.  David has studied the ecology and behavior of birds for over 20 years. Field work has taken him from Texas to Ecuador to Australia before ending up in Pennsylvania.  He is a Research Biologist for Hawk Mountain Sanctuary where he coordinates field research on Turkey Vulture migration, monitors songbirds and butterflies, and counts hawks from North Lookout in the fall.   David received his Masters of Science degree from the University of Arkansas where he studied cowbird parasitism in Black-capped Vireos.

February 22, 2012, 7:30 pm
Managing Pennsylvania's Bats - Aura Stauffer
  White Nose Syndrome (WNS) was first reported in New York four years ago, and has quickly spread to Pennsylvania and several other states. The mortality rate is more than 90 percent. The  syndrome causes bats to wake during hibernation,  when there are no food sources available, and as a  result, the bats use up their energy stores.
  Aura Stauffer, Wildlife Biologist for Pa DCNR Bureau of Forestry will provide an update on WNS, including the latest research and how the disease is spread. She will also discuss bat management on state forest lands.
  Aura has B.S. and M.S. degrees from the  Pennsylvania State University in Wildlife and  Fisheries Science. She has worked with the  Environmental Protection Agency, Office of  Wetlands and Waterways in Washington, DC, and for  the Audubon Society at the Audubon Camp in  Maine as a marine biology instructor.

March 28, 2012, 7:30 pm
Timberdoodle Nesting and Foraging Habitat Selection - Eric Miller
  The presentation will report the results of a two year research project studying the relationship of  invasive shrubs and American woodcock (Scolopax  minor) nesting success and habitat selection in  southeastern Pennsylvania. Several QAS members  assisted with this research!
  Eric got his Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife  Management from Delaware State University and  his Master’s Degree in Conservation Biology from  Green Mountain College. He is currently employed as  a Wildlife Biologist and Public Lands Habitat  Section Chief by the Pennsylvania Game  Commission.

April 25, 2012, 7:30 pm
Energy Development and the Associated Threats to PA Wildlife - Kim Van Fleet
  Kim Van Fleet, a staff biologist and an IBA  Coordinator with Audubon Pennsylvania, will  discuss natural gas drilling, industrial wind  turbines, and the siting of power transmission and  gas pipelines within our state as well as the  implications that these developments are having and  potentially will have on the birds, other wildlife, their habitats and water resources within the Commonwealth and beyond. Do not miss this  opportunity to gain further insight into these rapidly developing industries, their impacts, what  other individuals or groups are doing and some ideas  on how we, on a grassroots level, can help to affect  change!

May 23, 2012, 6:00 pm
ANNUAL BANQUET (Reservations Required)
Slow Down!  You're Going Too Fast!
Fred Habeggar
  This video presentation will go through a year's four seasons, and show them in a way that makes the  ordinary seem a bit more than that. Slow motion  footage will reveal nuances easily missed in the field.  This program invites you to appreciate the little  things in our world as well as the dramatic.
  Fred got his first 35mm camera at age 15, and has been shooting ever since. He enjoys the natural  history of Lancaster and Lebanon counties. Our State Game Lands have been an important way for him to access interesting features of that natural world. He has had digital cameras for eight years and the slow motion camera that he used to create this program is his latest acquisition. Fred has a degree in Biology.

  The banquet location is the Friendship Firehall,
610 S. Second Street, Lebanon.

  A reservation form with all of the details for our Annual Banquet will be included in our Spring 2012 Newsletter and will also be available on this website.

 For a listing of all of our programs  for 2011-2012, click here.  This is a PDF file and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view/print the file.  Adobe Acrobat Reader is available as a free download here.

 Photo:  S.Hostetter

  Photo:  S.Hostetter