The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove (JJAC) celebrates the all things maple sugar on Saturday, March 3, 2012, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Maple Sugar Festival is a FREE family-friendly event. This event takes place on our 175 acre historic grounds. Throughout the grounds, JJAC staff and volunteers guide festival visitors to different stations where they can discover maple sugars past and present.

Indigenous legends and techniques come alive at the Native American & Colonial Sugar-Making station. The Sugarbush station explains the science of the sap run and methods for tapping trees. JJAC staff will educate guests at the evaporator station on present day maple sugar. Visitors arriving at the Tasting Area get to compare real maple syrup to typical store bought syrups. They also have the opportunity to sample jack wax, a taffy-like treat made by drizzling hot syrup onto snow. There is plenty for children to experience at the Kids’ Corner which includes crafts and games. We also have a new addition to the Kids’ Corner, The Lara & Joe Show. From 12:00-1:00 pm, The Lara & Joe Show will be playing everything from the ABC's to the Rolling Stones. Come enjoy a great performance for all ages. Finally, walk down the hill and get a chance to meet our non-releasable owls!

This year’s festival will once again feature a pancake breakfast held in Mill Grove’s 240-year-old barn. Starting at 9 am and lasting until 2 pm, visitors may pay a nominal fee of $6 for adults and $4 for children to enjoy all-you-can-eat pancakes and two sausage links. Proceeds from the pancake breakfast benefit JJAC and the Audubon-Oaks Lions Club. The pancakes and sausage are being donated by Bob Evans Restaurant in Oaks. Coffee, tea, and (of course) maple syrup are included in the fee. Pennsylvania-made maple syrup and maple sugar products will be available for purchase. The JJAC museum and gift shop will be open from 10 am to 4 pm. The Maple Sugar Festival itself is FREE of charge, and admission to the museum is also free during the festival day. Maple Sugar Festival is an outdoor rain or shine event, so guests are encouraged to dress appropriately.

The John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove is located at 1201 Pawlings Road, Audubon, PA 19403. You can find additional information on our website.

On Oct. 15, 2011, Audubon Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society hosted the autumn Chapter Assembly at Muhlenberg College. The day was filled with learning, sharing, fellowship and lots of fun. We had chapter representatives from as far west as Bartramian and Presque Isle Audubon societies, to Valley Forge Audubon Society in the southeastern end of the state. We discussed topics such as statewide energy threats, education and stewardship projects, and sessions included time for people to share their chapter’s success stories and challenges. We also enjoyed a tour of the Muhlenberg ornithology department with Peter Saenger, Lehigh Valley Audubon Society chapter president and college faculty member.

During our gathering, we honored Fritz Brock and Bernie Morris with the Great Egret Award for their years of dedicated service to Lehigh Valley Audubon Society. The Great Egret Award is given to individuals who have made significant long-term contributions (more than 20 years) to Audubon and conservation. Together they have given 68 years of uninterrupted service to the chapter, with Fritz volunteering 29 and Bernie 39 years.

Our next chapter gathering will be in the spring 2012. Don’t miss it!

Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park is a premier site for birdwatching, especially during spring and fall migration.  Audubon Pennsylvania’s Keith Russell has authored a new checklist detailing the distribution and abundance of birds within the Fairmount Park Important Bird Area, which also includes Benjamin Rush State Park.  The checklist includes information about the status of 231 regularly-occurring species in the city’s park system, and highlights the portions of the park that are likely to host each species.  For a copy of the checklist, click here. For more information on Fairmount Park, click here.

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Pennsylvania has become the epicenter of the energy industry - notably Marcellus shale natural gas. You have heard about both the economic opportunity and what can go wrong - scarring of Pennsylvania's lands, polluting waters and seriously reducing wildlife. Audubon joined with other conservation organizations to lead a scientific impact analysis of energy infrastructure on wildlife to frame values and issues for the new administration. That potential risk to habitat led Audubon Pennsylvania to provide data and staff time to help The Nature Conservancy produce this report, said Audubon Executive Director Phil Wallis.

“Pennsylvania’s deep forests provide breeding habitat for many songbirds that depend upon the health of Penn’s Woods, including the scarlet tanager, wood thrush and black-throated blue warbler,” Wallis said. “This analysis gives us a glimpse of how substantial the loss of our forests may be as a result of new energy development activities. We need to actively work to maintain the resilience and health of our wild forests at the same time that we find new energy solutions for our nation.”

For more informations click here and here.

The Kittatinny Ridge is one of Pennsylvania’s largest Important Bird Areas and the site of a world-famous autumn raptor migration. Audubon Pennsylvania and many partner organizations have been working for years to conserve this critical landscape. A recent report details the current status of the ridge based on a series of measurements indicating some of the area’s great successes and largest remaining challenges. Click here for the report.