This is RTS for Thursday, Nov. 2, 2006

BIRDERS WANTED: This was one for the record books: the “first”
sighting in Pennsylvania of a pair of breeding merlins this summer
near Callahan Park in Bradford.

That “record book,” in particular, was the Pennsylvania Breeding
Bird Atlas. And, if you’re a backyard birder, here’s your chance to
find your way into the record book, too.

But first, back to those merlins.

This past May, Lynn Ostrander of Bradford spotted what he
thought were a pair of merlins nesting in a tree not far from
Callahan – an observation later confirmed by an official from the
Atlas project. The pair of merlins eventually produced two
offspring.

The sighting of Pennsylvania’s first-ever breeding pair of
merlins is considered “one of the more interesting highlights” in
this year’s fieldwork being conducted as part of the Atlas
project.

A member of the falcon family, merlins have nested historically
in Canadian boreal forests and typically are an extraordinary find
for summertime Pennsylvania birders.

“It’s such a surprising discovery,” said Dan Brauning, wildlife
diversity program supervisor for the Pennsylvania Game
Commission.

“We had no idea. Interestingly, there also was a nesting pair of
merlins in an adjacent atlas block, and a third pair was nesting in
Warren. Several sightings of adult merlins also were noted
elsewhere in the state.”

“This important discovery underscores the atlas’ need for more
eyes and ears to help collect information on the more than 200 wild
bird species that frequent Pennsylvania during the nesting season,”
he added.

“Birds that use urban and suburban environs are every bit as
important to the atlas as those nesting on the forested slopes of
the Alleghenies or the backwaters along the Lake Erie shoreline.
Every record matters!”

The second Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas has been under way
for three years now and is on course to be completed in 2008.
Nearly 2,100 Pennsylvanians have volunteered to participate in this
massive summer undertaking; 400 volunteers joined this year.

This ongoing survey – the largest ever – is of wild birds that
nest over the Commonwealth’s more than 46,000-square-mile
landscape.

“We’ve come a long way since the atlas begin in 2004,” Brauning
said, “but, with two years to go, and some substantial holes to
fill in this important work, the Atlas surely could use help from
more interested individuals, particularly along the New York and
Maryland borders and in the mid-state area.”

More tomorrow.