Pennsylvania Game News - September 2018 - 45

SEPTEMBER 2018

Tracy Graziano

(DCNR), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS), and the Army Corps of
Engineers, paved the way for breeding
piping plovers and common terns to
consider once again nesting on Gull Point.
"It's always gratifying when
conservation partners team up for and
bring back nesting birds that had been
almost wiped out or lost in Pennsylvania's
past," noted Game Commission Executive
Director Bryan Burhans. "It's why
we have more nesting bald eagles and
ospreys, and more former nesters, such
as the peregrine falcon.
"The investment we made to bring
back piping plovers and common terns is
starting to pay off," Burhans said. "Now
we just have to keep that momentum
moving in the right direction."
The plover pair that nested at Presque
Isle last year was identified by leg bands
as the pair that returned this year. In 2017,
those birds nested, hatched three piping
plover chicks and ultimately raised two,
the first Pennsylvania-hatched plovers
since the 1950s.
A second plover nest on the same
beach in 2017 had four eggs rescued when
strong waves threatened to carry them into
Lake Erie.
Those eggs hatched two more chicks
that were released last August on
Lake Superior after being raised at the
University of Michigan Biological Station
piping plover captive-rearing facility.
Mary Birdsong, assistant director
and lead shorebird monitor for Erie Bird
Observatory, reported the nesting female
plover was first observed May 3. The male
was first seen on April 21. She discovered
common terns were nesting on the beach
May 31.
"It's extraordinary that both common
terns and piping plovers have nested
at Presque Isle this year," said Dan

The investment the Game Commission and its
partners have made to eliminate vegetative
cover on Gull Point's shores has paved the way
for piping plovers, above, and common terns
to nest there once again.

NHFD CELEBRATION PLANNED
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is
hosting a National Hunting and Fishing Day
(NHFD) celebration at the agency's Middle
Creek Wildlife Management Area Visitors
Center to help promote the Commonwealth's
rich outdoor heritage. The event is scheduled
for Sunday Sept. 23, 2018, from 11 a.m. to 5
p.m. rain or shine.
In 1972, Congress passed legislation
authorizing NHFD to heighten awareness
of the role sportsmen and women play in
wildlife conservation. NHFD events also enable people unfamiliar with outdoor pursuits
to experience hunting, fishing and shooting
sports in a safe, controlled environment.
The Game Commission Southeast Region is
excited to team with local sportsmen's clubs
and conservation groups to host a celebration of NHFD at Middle Creek.
The Middle Creek Wildlife Management
Area is located 2 miles south of Kleinfeltersville, near the Lancaster and Lebanon county
lines. The address for the Visitors Center is
100 Museum Road, Stevens, PA 17578. For
more information, call 717-733-1512.
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Pennsylvania Game News - September 2018

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