Conservancy Land Protection Manager Ann Sand says one of the most rewarding aspects of her job for the past 35 years has been working with landowners and partners to protect the land and waters within the French Creek watershed. But after more than three decades, she’s ready to trade in her reading glasses for binoculars, so she’s retiring April 1.
“The French Creek watershed is one of the most ecologically important places in our region,” Ann shares. “The varied landscape consists of forest, farmland, creeks and wetlands, which provide abundant habitat for birds, other wildlife and rare plants. It truly is a birder’s paradise!”
Pennsylvania’s French Creek watershed, located in Erie, Crawford and Venango counties, has the highest level of aquatic biodiversity of any stream of its size in the northeastern United States and its tributaries provide habitat for six species of federally endangered and threatened freshwater mussels, as well as for numerous fish species of greatest conservation need. Thus, it has been a focus of ecological research and a priority conservation area for the Conservancy for decades.
French Creek has been identified as a Natural Heritage Area, which is an area of high biodiversity, rare species and unique natural communities. Ann has worked diligently to permanently protect more than 60 properties, most of which are on French Creek and its tributaries.
Birdwatching is a favorite pastime of Ann’s. She suggests a visit to one or all of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s 16 French Creek preserves to see several interesting bird species.
At more than 1,000 acres, the Conservancy’s West Branch French Creek Conservation Area is one of her favorite places for birding. “Our preserves in the northwest region offer a good stop-over during migration. Pennsylvania is an important state for breeding, migrating and wintering birds,” she adds.
Ann is honored to have helped protect important wildlife habitat in the watershed, but knows that French Creek faces many environmental challenges, including aggressive invasive species, such as Japanese knotweed, narrow-leaf cattail and reed canary grass that outcompete and displace native vegetation.
“Forested riparian buffers along streams and connected forests are great habitats for birds and other wildlife, for nesting and for food,” she explains. “The continued protection of land in the watershed is one way to ensure that important land and aquatic habitat remain for birds.”
Ann says she is looking forward to doing more birding and enjoying nature in her retirement. Also, she encourages people who are new to birding to participate in local bird clubs to learn from experienced birders and expand opportunities to explore new places.
“You don’t have to be a scientist or travel far from home to enjoy watching birds.” She shares that it can be done from your own backyard or a local park, “but if you can enjoy birds and take in the beauty of nature on one of our preserves, fully encourage that experience, too.”
Tom and Janet Kuehl, Conservancy members since 1989, agree that taking birding "on the road" is a great way to spread one's wings. They enjoy traveling throughout Western Pennsylvania and serving as citizen scientists during bird migration times and participating in yearround bird counts. Their interest in birding was piqued in 1997 when partaking in an owl and raptor program at the Jennings Environmental Center in Butler County.
“We are examples that you can enjoy birds wherever you are, whether close to home or out in nature,” Janet shared during a recent Conservancy member hike. “Our favorite birds to observe are owls, raptors and cardinals.”
Ann, who is also a Conservancy member, says working at the Conservancy and understanding conservation has made her a better birder and given her an appreciation for the natural world.
“Nature is always giving us something to see and learn,” she adds.
“I’m looking forward to new adventures in retirement and expanding my bird life list!”
EDITORS’ NOTE ON BEHALF OF THE CONSERVANCY BOARD AND STAFF
Ann Sand began her career at the Conservancy in 1991 and is the longest-serving member of the land conservation and stewardship team. Over the past 35 years, Ann has leveraged her passion for nature and easy-going tack with landowners and partners to develop conservation strategies and manage land protection projects across Western Pennsylvania, primarily in the French Creek watershed. Because of Ann’s good work and tireless dedication, hundreds of acres of land are now protected in perpetuity, including large forests and cold-water streams, to help native terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and biodiversity thrive. We extend our deepest gratitude to Ann and send the very best wishes for a happy and well-deserved retirement!
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exceptional places to provide our region with clean waters and
forests, wildlife and natural areas for the benefit of present and future generations. The Conservancy creates green spaces and gardens, contributing to the vitality of our cities and towns, and preserves Fallingwater, a symbol of people living in harmony with nature. 800 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
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Join WPC for Members’ Day!
YOUR DAY!
We love meeting our members and we want to show our gratitude! Join us at The Barn at Fallingwater at Bear Run Nature Reserve for WPC’s Members’ Day and Annual Meeting. It’s a day full of fun activities for everyone. Start with a complimentary continental breakfast from 8:30-10:30 a.m. and plan your day, which can include hikes, information sessions, children’s activities and free tours of Fallingwater*.
Meet Conservancy staff and learn how your valued support is being put to work at the Annual Meeting, then enjoy an optional catered lunch buffet at the Barn ($23 for adults, free for children 10 and under) or join us with your own lunch.
Attend the entire day, or just a portion. Activities are free, but you must purchase lunch reservations in advance by Friday, April 25. Register for the day and/or purchase lunch online through one of the following ways:
Visit WaterLandLife.org/MembersDay2025 for a detailed schedule and to register
Scan the QR code below
Call 1-866-564-6972 or return the coupon below (with check payment if you wish to purchase lunch)
Scan this QR code to register
ON MEMBERS'
DAY
you and your family can:
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Meet our staff and learn about the work you support throughout the region during information sessions and the Annual Meeting, which will include program highlight presentations.
Experience Bear Run Nature Reserve and beyond on morning or afternoon guided hikes, including a hike for families with young children
Sign up for free tours* of Fallingwater or stroll the grounds at your own pace. Shop the Museum Store and visit the Speyer Gallery.
Shop a selection of items from the Museum Store at the Barn and purchase plants for your yard that support native species and wildlife.
*Your free tour of Fallingwater must be scheduled in advance for Members’ Day. Call Visitor Services at 724-329-8501 for reservations.
Perspectives
Better Habitat Benefits Birds (and Birders)
From their distinctive calls to their graceful flight, birds captivate our imagination while sparking inspiration from the many ways they acquire food to how they raise their young, among other attributes. In Western Pennsylvania, we are fortunate to have a variety of these warm-blooded feathered vertebrates to appreciate in and around our forests, woodlands, waterways and grasslands.
As one of the most visible types of wildlife, birds can be observed by people of all ages and walks of life in urban or rural settings, across a variety of landscapes and habitats. According to a recent report from the Outdoor Industry Association, approximately 15 million people annually across the U.S., ages six and older, participate in birdwatching a quarter mile from their homes.
Debbie Atkins, a retired social worker in Pittsburgh, is one of those birders. She enjoys going to local parks and nature preserves throughout the region on cool spring mornings and warm summer nights to see hummingbirds and hear woodpeckers. Her favorite bird is the northern cardinal. With its red body and black masked face, this year-round species is one of the most recognizable birds as a frequent visitor to backyard feeders and wooded habitats.
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“I’m new to birding, but not new to enjoying the outdoors and nature,” shares Debbie. “I enjoy how feel when I’m outdoors, less stressed and more energized, especially when hear a variety of birds chirping and see them in their natural habitat. It’s magical to witness.”
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy-owned preserves provide nearly 15,000 acres of habitat for birds to nest, forage, breed and thrive. Several of our preserves have eBird Hotspots, too, where birders share observations via the eBird app or website, and reveal what bird species are observed at a particular location.
(Read more on Page 4.)
While the popularity of birding is increasing, unfortunately, many bird populations are not. According to a 2019 study by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and American Bird Conservancy, bird populations in North America have declined by nearly three billion breeding birds since 1970. That number includes forest bird population loss of one billion, the decline of grassland birds by 720 million, and a loss of 160 million aerial insectivores, such as swallows, swifts and flycatchers.
Scientists and conservationists from across the country are working to increase bird populations, by implementing a variety of strategies including establishing and improving bird habitat, says David Yeany II, an avian ecologist with the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. David and fellow Conservancy colleague, Ephraim Zimmerman, the PNHP science director, recently completed a four-year project funded by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that provides habitat conservation recommendations for five sites across Allegheny County. In conjunction with the Allegheny Bird Conservation Alliance (ABCA), a partnership of conservation organizations committed
A newsletter highlighting experiences of our members, partners and volunteers
Ann Sand at the West Branch French Creek Conservation Area, a Conservancy-owned preserve she helped create by protecting the land and streams of this natural area.
to protecting bird populations, bird surveys were conducted during spring migration and breeding seasons in 2022, at Churchill Valley Greenway, Dead Man’s Hollow Conservation Area, Frick Park, Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve and the Conservancy’s Toms Run Nature Reserve near Sewickley.
“We needed to establish a measurable baseline for bird populations at each of these urban settings and determine how habitat type and condition contributed to the bird observed, their numbers and locations,” David explains.
Several sightings of species identified as threatened or at risk of becoming extinct in Pennsylvania, such as wood thrush, gray catbird, Kentucky warbler and scarlet tanager, were detected at most of the sites. Also known as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN), these bird species are among nearly 100 in the state requiring proactive conservation efforts. Dead Man’s Hollow and Toms Run, where there is a large contiguous forest, had the highest abundance and diversity of forest interior birds, including Louisiana waterthrush, which breeds along streams in deciduous, hilly forests and nests in streambanks, under fallen logs or in crevices of upturned tree roots.
“This confirmed that even in an urban landscape, larger blocks of forest with native trees and shrubs improve the quality of biodiversity and ecosystem services by providing habitat for birds of greatest concern, insects and other wildlife,” says
David. “Our study outlines a number of habitat conservation recommendations, such as native tree and shrub plantings, at specific areas within each site and for specific bird species or natural plant communities.”
Using vegetation and habitat conditions data from the study, Conservancy staff planted more than 400 new trees at Toms Run. David says these are exactly the types of actions they hope the study will encourage.
“We are excited to continue working closely with our ABCA partners to help inform new or existing conservation goals and plans, such as controlling invasive species and managing the impacts of deer browsing,” he explains. “It will be important to continue monitoring these sites to track bird and habitat response to the implementation of these conservation actions over time.”
David shares that the communion between trees, birds, highquality habitat and partnerships is a hopeful correlation and a roadmap for continuing these actions beyond Allegheny County.
“Ensuring habitat decisions and community involvement in bird conservation strategies are at the forefront of conservation planning is important for this region—for the benefit of bird populations and human enjoyment."
BIRD SPECIES YOU’LL SEE AT WPC'S TOMS RUN NATURE RESERVE
Hope Takes Wing for Imperiled Bird Species
Since 1970, nearly three billion birds have been lost in North America. Birds worldwide face threats from habitat loss, building collisions, climate change, disease and more. Yet, some bird species, including bald eagle and peregrine falcon, have rebounded thanks to dedicated conservation efforts, including those by the Conservancy.
For example, in the 1980s the bald eagle faced extinction; only three nests remained in Pennsylvania. Federally delisted in 2007, bald eagles now nest at more than 300 sites in Pennsylvania, including locations on the nearly 33,000 acres of land protected by WPC along the Clarion River.
With the help of partners, volunteers and members, WPC continues to help protect imperiled birds by planting native trees, protecting land and water, connecting habitat and more.
Our Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program scientists are studying Swainson’s warbler, are part of a range-wide wood thrush study and lead a continent-wide project on evening grosbeak.
Wood Thrush
A common forest interior bird, wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) has suffered a 59% population decline across North America since 1970 and is now a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in Pennsylvania.
trail loop to observe a variety of birds. Due to the preserve’s high-quality mature forest, a variety of common and forest interior birds, some Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN*) in Pennsylvania, have been spotted there.
American Robin Red-eyed Vireo
Wood Thrush (SGCN)
Northern Cardinal
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush (SGCN)
Black-and-white Warbler
Tufted Titmouse Blue Jay
Kentucky Warbler (SGCN)
Red-bellied Woodpecker Scarlet Tanager (SGCN)
bird population trends. They use bird mist-nets to band birds and record measurements, age, health condition and reproductive status.
“Our first season resulted in 230 birds banded,” David says, including wood thrush and six other SGCN. "MAPS efforts at our reserves will directly contribute to the conservation of wood thrush.”
Swainson’s Warbler
The shy Swainson’s warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii) is often hidden by leaf litter as it forages on the forest floor. In 2023, David and Bird Lab Executive Director Nick Liadis discovered the first breeding occurrence of the species in Pennsylvania at Bear Run Nature Reserve—the species’ northernmost breeding record.
In 2024, WPC’s PNHP Avian Ecologist David Yeany, in collaboration with Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Bird Lab, fitted 25 wood thrush with radio nanotags, joining a range-wide migratory connectivity study of 560 wood thrushes across the eastern United States.
Thanks to funding from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the team established Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) bird banding stations at WPC’s Toms Run Nature Reserve in Allegheny County and our Bear Run Nature Reserve in Fayette County. “The contrasting landscape settings—urban/suburban Pittsburgh and forested Laurel Highlands—allow us to compare productivity across bird species found at both sites,” David says.
With more than 1,200 stations across North America, MAPS collect demographic data critical to tracking
Spots, COOL Birds
Since establishing the MAPS station at Bear Run, the scientists have standardized monitoring of Swainson’s warbler. “In 2024, we encountered 11 individuals, including six newly banded, and two recaptures of birds banded in 2022 and 2023,” David says. He emphasizes that scientists take seriously the importance of conserving Pennsylvania’s rarest breeding songbird, the only known population of which in the state is on a WPC preserve.
Evening Grosbeak
The Evening grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus), a nonbreeding population in Pennsylvania, has experienced a 90% decline across North America since 1970. Since 2021, PNHP, Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Avian Research Center and the Finch Research Network have partnered with the Road to Recovery initiative to lead an evening grosbeak migratory connectivity study, the first tracking project for the species, and coordinate the international evening grosbeak working group. They’re trying to understand the evening grosbeak’s decline through movement research using satellite transmitters—and to address conservation needs. The technology provides the potential to track the birds across their full annual cycle (FAC).
In 2024, the Evening Grosbeak project expanded to the western United States. PNHP scientists and collaborators partnered with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to band 51 birds, 12 of which were tagged and tracked via satellite and GPS. They also again partnered with an organization in Minnesota to deploy satellite tags on nine grosbeaks. Since 2021, they have collected 34 FAC tracks (winter to breeding), including 18 linking tracks from five states.
Thirty years ago, Kathy Saunders noticed a little gold bird frequenting the birdfeeder at her new home. That American goldfinch turned out to be the “spark bird” that ignited her passion for birding. “I took a class on birdwatching and was hooked,” she says.
Kathy often hikes at WPC’s Toms Run Nature Reserve near Pittsburgh. “There is an amazing amount of birds and plants,” she says. It’s one of 19 WPC preserves that are eBird hotspots— public locations worldwide that people regularly visit for birding.
eBird, a free mobile app, connects to an online database where birders document bird species, numbers and habitat that they observe at hotspots. Managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, eBird is the world’s largest community science-driven dataset for bird distribution and bird abundance. The data is available to scientists to help them implement science-based and data-driven conservation actions for many at-risk species.
Toms Run Nature Reserve “seems to be underreported on eBird,” says Kathy, so when there she enters information on the app.
A WPC member, Kathy shares eBird lists and a common love for our feathered friends with fellow birders. Her most exciting observation at the preserve? “A Connecticut warbler! Not many pass through Pennsylvania.”
To find birding locations, visit eBird.org go to Explore, then Explore Hotspots. The five WPC preserves below are eBird hotspots that feature habitats supporting numerous bird species.
Bear Run Nature Reserve, Fayette County
Observations of 135 bird species include osprey, green heron, Caspian tern and veery.
Lower Elk Creek Nature Reserve, Erie County
This 92-acre preserve features wetlands and a forested buffer along Elk Creek, providing important habitat for wildlife, including bald eagles. See a variety of migrant songbirds, including vireos, warblers and thrushes.
Toms Run Nature Reserve, Allegheny County
Featuring a three-mile loop trail, this 369-acre preserve hosts stands of maple, oak and American beech trees and several streams. American woodcock, white-eyed vireo and worm-eating warbler are some of the 110 species recorded.
BIRDING FOR BEGINNERS
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With more than 5,100 acres featuring mixed deciduous forest and 20 miles of hiking trails lined with rhododendron and mountain laurel thickets, this preserve is a wildlife observer’s paradise. eBird lists 123 species recorded, including Swainson’s warbler and red-shouldered hawk.
Helen B. Katz Natural Area, Crawford County
A northern hardwood forest, floodplain and high-quality wetlands provide habitat for a variety of wildlife and birds on this 552-acre preserve. Pileated woodpecker and yellow-bellied sapsucker are just two of the 99 bird species spotted there.
Lake Pleasant Conservation Area, Erie County
Unique habitats, including a glacier-formed lake, wetlands, forest and fields, support rare and unique plant communities.
• Plant native perennials and leave the stems in place during winter. Birds will rest and eat the seeds.
• Visit a WPC preserve or local park. Use eBird.org to find birding locations.
• Use the Merlin app on your smart phone to discover which birds you hear singing.
• Watch for bird movement, then follow the movement.
• Observe parts, details and patterns of groups of birds.
• Observe behavior and habitats.
• Take notes on size, colors and other details.
• Get a bird field guide such as “The Sibley Guide to Birds,” “National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America” or “Peterson Field Guides,” if possible.
