News, ideas, questions, and observations from Willistown Conservation Trust Staff as we use local conservation to make a broad impact.

Watershed Co-ops Independent Projects

Watershed Protection Team / September 27, 2023

As we look back on the summer, we are so proud of the independent projects that Sarah and Sally have...

Uncategorized

Lose the Lawn

Andrew Kirkpatrick / August 24, 2023

Earlier this year, the Trust received the exciting news that we had received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of...

Plastic Free July Watershed

PolyGone Systems | Eliminating Plastic from our Waterways at Ashbridge Preserve

Watershed Protection Team / July 25, 2023

By Daelin Brown, PolyGone SystemsThere are somewhere between 83 and 358 trillion plastic particles floating around the world in our...

Native Plants Nature Plastic Free July

How to Make Your Own Native Terrarium

Watershed Protection Team / July 18, 2023

By Sarah Barker Terrariums are a fun and easy way to engage with the environment. It only takes one afternoon...

Plastic Free July Watershed

Let’s Go Plastic Free — In Community

Watershed Protection Team / July 5, 2023

By Pam Kosty Most of us know: plastic, especially single-use plastic, is a big problem in our world today. And...

Education Interns, Co-Ops

Meet WCT’s 2023 Seasonal Interns

Communications Team / June 29, 2023

Internships are an integral part of Willistown Conservation Trust’s (WCT) work. Each year, hardworking students join our team and bring...

Watershed

The Tale of Charlie Woodscomb: a True Beaver Pioneer

Watershed Protection Team / June 29, 2023

By Watershed Protection Program Co-op Sarah Barker Deep in the sleepy haze of a deciduous forest dawn, between bowing black...

Watershed

Northern Snakehead: A Voracious Predatory Invasive

Watershed Protection Team / June 28, 2023

By Watershed Protection Program Co-op Sally Ehlers The northern snakehead (Channa argus) is a type of fish that is originally...

Bird Banding Bird Conservation Conservation Motus Nature Preserves

Willistown Conservation Trust and Natural Lands Receive $25,000 from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to Reverse the Decline of Grassland Birds in Chester County

CommIntern / June 28, 2023

The land trusts will promote land management practices that benefit the Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, and Grasshopper Sparrow Eastern Meadowlark captured...

Watershed

The Tiny Invader: New Zealand Mudsnails in Pennsylvania

Watershed Protection Team / June 27, 2023

By Watershed Protection Program Co-op Sally Ehlers Have you ever heard of the New Zealand mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum)? These tiny...

Watershed

Biofilms: Underdog Ecosystem Engineers

Watershed Protection Team / June 26, 2023

By Watershed Protection Program Co-op Sarah Barker Biofilms are all around us! Often thought of as pests in any environment...

Watershed

A Microcosm of Macroinvertebrates

Anna Willig / June 25, 2023

By Watershed Conservation Research and Data Specialist Anna Willig Aquatic macroinvertebrates — animals without a backbone that are visible to...

Watershed

Taking the Temperature of Local Streams

Anna Willig / June 24, 2023

By Watershed Conservation Research and Data Specialist Anna Willig One of the most basic, yet most critical, aspects of stream...

Watershed

Welcome to Creek Week 2023!

Lauren McGrath / June 23, 2023

By Watershed Protection Program Director Lauren McGrath Welcome to Willistown Conservation Trust’s 2023 Creek Week! We are so excited to...

Conservation Land Protection

Willistown Conservation Trust to Establish a Public Preserve on Recently Sold Kirkwood Farm Property

Communications Team / June 7, 2023

A conservation outcome for Kirkwood Farm has been guaranteed, thanks to Willistown Conservation Trust who — with support from conservation...

Land Protection Stewardship

An Intro to Easement Monitoring

Andrew Kirkpatrick / May 30, 2023

By Stewardship Director Andrew Kirkpatrick Every fall, the Stewardship Team heads out to monitor all of our conservation easements. In...

Nature Preserves Stewardship Trails Tree Planting Volunteers

Rushton Woods Preserve Improvements: A Bioretention Basin, New Trails, and More to Come

Andrew Kirkpatrick / March 27, 2023

By Andrew Kirkpatrick, Director of Stewardship If you’ve recently been out to Rushton Woods Preserve, you likely noticed some new...

Bird Banding Bird Conservation Bird ecology Motus

Rushton Woods Banding Station Annual Songbird Banding Report 2022

Bird Conservation Team / March 27, 2023

By Alison Fetterman, Bird Conservation Associate and Northeast Motus Project Managerand Blake Goll, Education Programs Manager Hooded Warbler. Photo by...

General Volunteers

Meet our Corporate Partner: Veritable

Communications Team / March 27, 2023

By Wesley Yamamoto, Veritable Partner With a long-shared history of preserving the natural beauty and fostering a sense of community...

Volunteers Watershed

Insights from Two Years of Community Science Monitoring in Darby Creek

Anna Willig / March 27, 2023

By Anna Willig, Watershed Conservation Research and Data Specialist This March, the Darby Creek Community Science Monitoring Program (DCCS) —...

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Bird Banding Owls

Spring Songbird Banding Kicks Off this Week plus Beauty in the Brambles Workshops

Communications Team / April 17, 2013

WAIT! If you're a subscriber reading this in email format, before reading any further, please click on the title of...

Owl banding, Rushton Farm, Saw-whet owl, songbird banding, successional shrub habitat, Together Green

Bird Banding Bird Events

They’re Back….

Communications Team / April 12, 2013

Spring Songbird Banding at Rushton Woods Preserve Begins Tuesday April 16!!Stay tuned... LOTS more information to follow about banding and...

Bird Banding Bird Events

Valentine’s Day Fun: What Men Can Learn from Avian Romance

Communications Team / February 14, 2013 / 1 Reply

Male Hooded Merganser displaying (by http://www.flickr.com/photos/newfoundlander61/) The natural world is filled with romance, beauty and enchantment, and every day seems to be...

ABA, Emperor Penguin, Great Backyard Bird Count, Hooded Merganser, Red-capped manakin, Valentine's Day, Western Grebe

Bird Banding Bird Events

WCT Gives Thanks for a National Grant from Audubon and Toyota

Communications Team / November 20, 2012 / 1 Reply

Go to wctbirds.wordpress.com or click on the post's title above to view the blog post in your browser instead of through email....

Audubon, Early Successional, Long-eared Owl, Saw-whet owl, Shrub habitat, Together Green Innovation Grant, Toyota

Bird Banding Bird Events Owls

American Woodcocks at Songbird Banding, A Visit from American Birding Association and A New High for Saw-whet Owls Banded at Rushton!

Communications Team / November 5, 2012

Sandy set us back drastically last week with net lanes filled with water and debris, but public songbird migration banding...

American Birding Association, American Woodcock, Bird banding, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Saw-whet owl banding, Together Green Innovation Grant

Bird Banding Bird Events Owls

Songbird Banding Continues Full Speed Ahead and Owl Banding Off to a Roaring, Record-Shattering Start

Communications Team / October 17, 2012 / 1 Reply

Well, I have lots to report from the field, so I'll start with last week, which was an exciting one...

northern saw-whet owl banding, PA Young Birders, Palm warbler, Saw-whet Owls, Sharp-shinned hawk, songbird banding, White-throated sparrow

Bird Banding

Rushton Still Riddled with Warblers and Open for Birdness Monday!

Communications Team / October 5, 2012

This week we waited out a string of rainy mornings, finally opened nets on Thursday, got rained out after two...

Bird Banding

Banding Delayed this Week Due to Rain but Columbus Day Open to Public

Communications Team / October 4, 2012

We have not been able to band at all this week because of the rain every morning. Monday was a...

Bird Banding Owls

Mid-Morning Shower Yields a Pot of Avian Gold at the End of a Rainbow

Communications Team / October 1, 2012

The air was thick, sticky and unseasonably warm on Wednesday, not at all the kind of crisp air that brings...

Bird banding, Black-throated Blue warbler, Nashville warbler, northern saw-whet owl banding, rufous hummingbird migration, Tennessee warbler

Bird Banding

Three Connecticut Warblers, a Wilson’s Warbler, Gray-cheeked Thrush and More!

Communications Team / September 22, 2012 / 4 Replies

NOTE: For those of you viewing this post by email, please remember to click on the title to read the...

Bird banding, Connecticut Warbler, Gray-cheeked Thrush, White eyed Vireo, Wilson's warbler

Bird Banding Bird Events

Fall Banding Season Off to a Bright Start!

Communications Team / September 11, 2012 / 2 Replies

Last week was the first official week of Rushton's fall 2012 public banding season. The rain prevented us from banding on...

Bird banding, Connecticut Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Yellow-belied Flycatcher

Bird Banding Bird Events

Autumn Colors Are Flying Our Way, and Fall Banding Will Soon Begin

Communications Team / August 28, 2012 / 2 Replies

Are you looking for a great spot to observe fall migration? Since habitat is everything, the Willistown Conservation Trust invites...

Bird banding, fall migration, Monarch butterfly, PA Young Birders, Rushton Woods Preserve

Bird Banding Bird Events Owls

As Nesting Season Comes to a Close…

Communications Team / August 13, 2012

Nesting season is over, and fall migration is very near. We must soon say goodbye to migratory beauties, like...

Bird banding, fall migration, Hawk Mountain, kids poetry, MAPS, PA Young Birders, Red knot

Bird Banding Bird Events

Entertainment for Bird Lovers Tonight!

Communications Team / July 16, 2012 / 1 Reply

Don't miss the rare moment of fame for birds and birders tonight at 9pm as HBO premiers Jeffrey Kimball's new...

birding, Heron Cam, Purple Martin banding, The Central Park Effect

Bird Banding

Purple Martin Majesty

Communications Team / July 6, 2012 / 1 Reply

Last week we banded 713 baby Purple Martins, a member of the swallow family, at The Glenn Mills School, compared...

banding, Glen Mills School, Purple Martin, purple martin colony

Bird Banding

A Kentucky Warbler in the Net!

Communications Team / June 21, 2012

Ever since we heard a Kentucky Warbler singing in the woods, we were hoping that one would fly into the...

Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Kentucky Warbler, Urapygial Gland

Bird Banding Bird Events

Spring Migration Banding Is Done, Summer MAPS has Begun!

Communications Team / June 15, 2012

NOTE to SUBSCRIBERS: For best viewing results of this blog, please click on the post title to view in your...

Baby bird, Bird banding, Eastern bluebird, IBP, MAPS, Nests, PA Young Birders, Tree Swallow

Bird Banding

Last Day of Spring Migration Banding Tomorrow

Communications Team / May 23, 2012

Come visit the Rushton banding station and see the birds tomorrow morning if you haven't already! We will be banding...

Bird banding, Gray Catbird, Rushton

Bird Banding Bird Events

Past Two Weeks at Rushton Have Been Booming with Birds!

Communications Team / May 18, 2012

So much to report, and so little time! The banding highlights from last week include many Northern Waterthrush, Magnolia Warblers,...

Bird Banding

Warblers, Thrushes, and Orioles, Oh My!

Communications Team / May 4, 2012 / 1 Reply

We were rained out of the banding station every day this week until Thursday, but it was worth the...

Bird banding, Rushton Woods Preserve, warblers, Willistown Conservation Trust, wood thrush

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