Kiwanis Lake is an wildlife maternity ward

Last week, a York middle school student was fascinated by my spotting scope that was sitting on a tripod. He walks through past Kiwanis Lake on his way to and from school, he said, and never noticed anything out of the ordinary.

But if he'd look, the feathered creatures here are extraordinary. Kiwanis Lake is only one of two sites in Pennsylvania where great egrets are nesting. And the only site in the state where great egrets, black crowned night herons and yellow crowned night herons birds are nesting together.

That the young man never saw the birds is surprising. Great egrets are pure, solid white, more than three feet tall, with wingspans of nearly five feet. Seems they'd be hard to miss against the dark evergreens. Add to that the constant squawking of the 80 nests of neighbor black-crowned night herons. Add a few yellow-crowned night herons and it's an impressive crowd of beautiful, majestic birds.

About 90 heron nests and a half dozen egret nests are scattered about, according to Bird Refuge of York County. The refuge plays a big part in keeping these orphaned or injured birds healthy, and its operating budget is in need of financial transfusions. To donate to the Bird Rescue of York, click here.

The York Audubon Society has a lot of information about Kiwanis Lake.

Some facts from the Bird Refuge web site--

 In 1992, black-crowned night heron was discovered nesting at Kiwanis Lake in York City.

• Yellow-crowned night heron pair nested at Kiwanis Lake.
• In 2000, a great egret, and yellow-crowned night heron nest was discovered among the black-crowned night heron colony at Kiwanis Lake.
• Great egret pair first nested May 26, 2000 but by June 12 nest was damaged and abandoned. Yellow-crowned night heron pair also nested. The egret was observed to have snatched a black-crowned night heron from the nest for dinner.
• During the breeding season of 2004, there were well over 40 black-crowned night heron nests surveyed (numbers were believed to be at least double the above amount however were not documented), three great egret nests, and 1 yellow-crowned night heron nest.
• Kiwanis Lake is currently the only known area in Pennsylvania where all three of these species nest together.
• Kiwanis Lake is currently only one of the two areas in Pennsylvania where the great egret is known to nest.

Voices of terror during Joplin, Mo., tornado

A remarkable 'audio' more than video, the sounds of the F5 tornado that destroyed Joplin, Mo. Listen to the voices of people  as it happened.  Listen here, and then see the damage from a video shot the next day. Pretty remarkable.

Photos of Joplin, Missouri, tornado damage

To put the destruction in perspective, Joplin is a little larger than York. How would this disaster change us? To see photos from the Kansas City Star's coverage, click here.

Barb Gregory wants to play golf

Do not attempt to keep the wild animal - It is against the law to keep wild animals without the proper permits, even if you plan to release them. Wild animals NEVER make good pets. Injured animals need to be given proper medical attention. Orphaned wild animals have specific nutritional, behavioral, and social requirements that need to be met so this animal can have a successful release to the wild.


Barb Gregory has been caring for wild animals longer than she likes to remember. Of course, she counted 80 candles on her latest birthday cake, so maybe that's understandable.

 She stills takes care of chipmunks, otters, deer, beaver, an occasional turtle and she's even sewn up a few black snakes.  Groundhogs, racoons, coyotes, bats, skunks and squirrels? Sorry, you'll have to find another wildlife rehabilator. Find one here at the Pennsylvania Association of Wildlife Rehabilators.

Barb lives in a big, beautiful, old and high-maintenance stone home on 12 acres of Newberry Township woodland. It takes a small army-- certainly someone of younger years, she says-- and a bucket of dollars to care for the house, pond,  lawn and trees. In a spare minute, she sits on the back porch watching all the birds-- towhees, orioles, bluebirds, cardinals and woodpeckers and dozens more.


But usually, she cares for her animals. At one time, a pet mountain lion roamed her house. Her river otter named Emmitt was the model for the state's wildlife resource license plate.  She bought great horned owls when it was still legal.

If it was an injured wild animal, Barb might have cared for it or nursed it back to health.

But last year, she gave up caring for many of the wild critters-- groundhogs, racoons, etc.,-- that are rabies-carrying species. Wildlife laws dictate that she create a whole new facility for taking care of those animals, she said, and also get a rabies shot.

Barb says she wants to learn to relax with her golf game, but Barb's been saying she's retiring for decades. Maybe this time, she's serious.


That would leave York without an all-species rehabber. There are others close by, including Beth Carricato in Harrisburg, but how many folks are going to trek to the capital for an injured groundhog or squirrel?

Was thinking of Barb on Sunday when I spotted a baby groundhog trying to cross a country road in Manheim Township, Lancaster County. The rule of thumb I've always heard is that if there's fur on it, it'll be OK, and it's best to leave it alone. Mother Nature will care for it-- one way or another.  I left it, much to my rider's dismay, and Barb endorsed the move.

"For rabbits, if they are half the size of a dollar bill, they'll be OK," Barb said. "Groundhog babies are pretty resilient too. They'll be fine."

To make a donation, send checks to Otter Habitat, PO Box 40, York Haven, Pa. 17370

Looking for Lancaster Airport runway

A mother mallard duck and her dozen or so ducklings were causing a mild stir at the Airport Diner on Lititz Pike in Lancaster County Friday morning.  It was one of those "Awwww!" moments.


She was leading her brood between the shrubs and the sidewalk to keep them safe from predators like crows, foxes, raccoons, skunks, and snapping turtles-- and from cars in the parking lot. The Lancaster Airport is across the street from the diner.

At home in the dogwood tree

Male cardinals are spectacular with their bright red plumage, but the females tend to blend into the scenery-- the better to protect their nesting babies.  One of the most popular birds in America, the cardinal is the state bird of seven eastern states-- Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia.

The bird’s family is named for their red plumage which is similar to the vestment of a Catholic cardinal.

Lightning over the Susquehanna River

Recent storms powered their way over southern York County, the Susquehanna River and into Lancaster County. Lightning seemed to be taking aim on the wind turbines.

"The windmills are operated by the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA) in partnership with PPL Renewable Energy (PPLRE) and Turkey Hill Dairy. 

This dedicated 3.2 MW wind project opened in October 2010 at the Frey Farm Landfill in Manor Township. The project includes two 1.6 MW GE wind turbines that will generate about 7.7 million Kwh of electricity, or approximately 25 percent of Turkey Hill's electricity demand." From the Penn State Cooperative Extension about a tour to the mills. For more on that, click here.

Photo taken from Knights View Road, (the road that cuts between Lauxmont Farms and Highpoint Scenic Vista & Recreation Area) in Lower Windsor Township.

New York's Erie Canal for bikes, boats and buffs

The historic Erie Canal stretches from Buffalo, New York, all the way to the New York state capital of Albany and the Hudson River, about 360 miles to the east. Bike trails parallel much of the legendary waterway, and the smooth, level paths offer a great way to take the entire family outdoors for exercise and sight seeing.

"Proposed in 1808 and completed in 1825, the canal links the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. An engineering marvel when it was built, some called it the Eighth Wonder of the World. In order to open the country west of the Appalachian Mountains to settlers and to offer a cheap and safe way to carry produce to a market, the construction of a canal was proposed as early as 1768." From The Erie Canal web site.  Most of the canal traffic in the early years was commercial, but now is mostly tourist-oriented. Excursions depart daily from cities along the canal, including Lockport. The canal is living history at its finest.

At Lockport, visit the museum there and see pleasure boats and tourist sight seeing boats move up and down the locks. This archived photo shows the locks being built.






At Rochester, and off the canal, check the Lilac Festival that continues until May 22. The lilacs were just short of peak bloom May 12, but there were plenty of other brilliant flowers to keep a photographer busy.

Biking the Erie Canal

Will be out of town for a week, biking parts of the Erie Canal trail in New York. 

Another bald eagle in York County

Spotted at least one eaglet Friday at one of York County's newest bald eagle nests.  There might be more, but I only saw one at a time.

The nest is tucked in a sycamore tree on the east side of the Codorus Creek just a short golf shot north of route 30.  The location is somewhat surprising, since it's so close to railroad tracks, heavy car traffic and thousands of people.

Watch CBS television's "The Early Show" video about a family of eagles in Iowa hatching here. 

You can't see much of anything from the east side of the creek (and it's been posted 'no trespassing' to protect the eagles) , so the best vantage point is with good binoculars or a spotting scope from the west side.  Enjoy dinner at San Carlos "The Hop", then walk about 25 yards north along the fence toward the water treatment plant. In a group of tall sycamores, the nest is in the highest tree on the left.

By the way, I suggest the Sante Fe chicken or the crabcake sandwich at San Carlos "The Hop", and on a warm evening, take advantage of its outside patio and deck.

More important things to worry about

Kids were having a grand time playing in Roosevelt Park's Willis Run Thursday.  Some even managed to keep their feet dry, but it didn't seem they were concerned much about that.

We have a perfect Revolution

Because of an hour-long rain delay, students who attended Wednesday's York Revolution game had to return to school before all the ninth-inning heroics began.  That's a shame. The Revs roared back for an 8-7 win.

The Revs' thrilling five-run ninth inning comeback kept the home team undefeated at 4-0. The stands were loaded with students as part of the Baseball in Education Day.

Is this the newest catch phrase?

What better place than the Newseum, a Washington D.C. museum featuring news and news gathering, to check world opinion and reaction to Osama bin Laden's death on Sunday.  Front pages  screamed the news.

Editors nearly everywhere saw bin Laden's being killed as front page headlines  (for some papers, it was too late for Monday editions). It's interesting to see another nation's point of view.

Most newspapers showed remarkable restraint in announcing bin Laden's death, saying simply, "bin Laden Dead" or "Justice".  Some suggested he "rot in hell" or "burn in hell".
The Tampa Bay Times in Florida gets my vote for having the catchiest headline of all-- "Got Him (shot him)".

A soggy but successful sweep for Revs

 A forecast of light rain scared away a lot of  York Revolution fans Sunday, and they missed the club's three-game sweep of Camden, winning the final game, 6-5. Littlestown's Robert Rohrbaugh started for Camden and had the lead when he left the mound, but York rallied to win.

Julie Patton brought her three daughters-- Ellie, Audrey, and Madeline-- to the park and huddled under the umbrella.



Val Majewski joined the fans in running the bases after the game, and helped his son navigate the diamond.

Green grass of home

Look around, and it won't take long for the world to amaze you in bits and pieces. While it's handy having a continents to explore, sometimes all you need is a blade of grass and a raindrop right outside your door.