Date: 11/5/25 11:49 am From: Grove, Deborah Shuey <dsg4...> Subject: More State Park adventures
For those following my state park visits here is a description although no photos allowed on the listserve. All checklists are at the end. Two more state parks checked off! Friday I headed to Jennings Environmental Center near Slippery Rock first and was not disappointed! One thing I have enjoyed about visiting the state parks is how well-kept they are and good signage on the trails. Some have visitor centers with information, and I learned that Jennings is in what was once a prairie. It was established to preserve native flowers such as Liatris Blazing Star and the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake which is extremely rare and like other venomous snakes has been targeted by ignorance. Of course, no snakes today with the cold winds and in the 40s when I got there. In fact, not many birds were found the entire day with winds around 12 mph with stronger gusts. There was also a demonstration marsh showing how waterways damaged by strip mining can be remediated. I added a county bird to my list there, Brown Creeper.
BTW I walked on just a bit of the North Country trail and still recall how Carolyn Hoffman shared her experience as a Blog on FB. The North Country Trail extends through 8 states from Vermont to North Dakota, 4800 miles.
Moving on, I headed to Moraine State Park near Butler where I have been several times. I got a real stamp for the state park and also McConnells Mills SP. Be sure to always ask at the big state parks if they have stamps for other small ones nearby. Sometimes there are state forests stamps too. I found a few more birds there when I came upon a brushy area with birds feeding on poison ivy berries. Also added a county life bird there as well, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Next I headed to Beechwood Farms Nature Preserve NE of Pittsburgh. I had been there twice before and although it isn’t a state park, it is a great place to visit. I wandered a few trails. Very windy there as well but managed to list 17 birds. I added Black Vulture to my Allegheny list – surprised by that – but there were the white wingtips and flat wing spread. As I headed back to the car, I was surprised when I heard a Northern Mockingbird across the road. Not one that I expected to find.
Saturday morning brought some nervousness as I was meeting up to travel by boat to Allegheny Islands SP. It is undeveloped with no kiosks with stamps or sign to have a photo with. Ha Ha. No wind today like yesterday and I had probably not been in a boat like that for 50 years. My hosts were very understanding and helped me on and off. The Allegheny River was very quiet also. I learned that people do stop and camp there although I don’t think it is really permitted. And Boy Scouts used to have a camp there maybe 70 years ago or more. Knotweed has dominated parts of the area but surprising number of ordinary birds.
If you want a photo of me on the island, you will have to request it. No photos on the Listserv.
This leaves me with 8 parks and maybe 3 trips?
Jennings EEC (Jennings Prairie), Butler, Pennsylvania, US
Oct 31, 2025 10:58 AM - 11:41 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.521 mile(s)
8 species
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Blue Jay 2
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Brown Creeper 1
Dark-eyed Junco 8
Swamp Sparrow 1
Moraine SP--South Shore, Butler, Pennsylvania, US
Oct 31, 2025 12:12 PM - 1:14 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.902 mile(s)
12 species
Ring-billed Gull 70
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Blue Jay 9
American Crow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 1
American Robin 2
American Goldfinch 4
White-throated Sparrow 13
Song Sparrow 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4
Northern Cardinal 3
Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Oct 31, 2025 2:22 PM - 3:41 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.704 mile(s)
17 species
Mourning Dove 2
Black Vulture 2 White wing tips. Flat wings no dihedral.
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Northern Mockingbird 1 Across the road.
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 10
Dark-eyed Junco 2
White-throated Sparrow 10 Undercounted.
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 3
Allegheny Islands SP, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Nov 1, 2025 9:25 AM - 9:28 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.074 mile(s)
13 species
Canada Goose 5
Mallard 10
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Blue Jay 3
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 1
American Robin 1
White-throated Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
