Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Bird Atlas Steering Committee, selected Amber Wiewel, Boalsburg, to serve as the coordinator of the 3rd Pennsylvania Bird Atlas.
“The Atlas will provide a snapshot of the population status and distribution of birds in the Commonwealth. No other bird surveys are as comprehensive, and for that reason, the results are critical to the establishment of conservation priorities for Pennsylvania birds,” said PGC State Ornithologist Sean Murphy in the release.
Hawk Mountain, located in Albany Township, will provide oversight for Wiewel who will partner with birdwatchers and ornithologists in every county across the state to survey bird species’ status and distribution from 2024 through 2028. Her first order of business will be to develop survey protocols and outreach materials for the public and birding communities, identify regional coordinators, and then to promote the Atlas and recruit volunteers, with surveying to begin in 2024.
The Atlas will be open to all volunteer birders, regardless of skill level, primarily by using the popular eBird online database to record observations. It also will be the first time a Pennsylvania Bird Atlas will incorporate winter surveys in addition to breeding season surveys, which will help refine the understanding of the year-round distribution and relative abundance of Pennsylvania’s bird populations.
“I am excited to join Hawk Mountain and coordinate efforts for Pennsylvania’s 3rd Bird Atlas. Pennsylvania is home to a large population of birders, and the tremendous effort required to execute the Atlas would not be possible without these enthusiastic volunteers. I look forward to connecting with birders across the state over the next few years,” said Wiewel in the release.
Wiewel will report directly to Dr. Laurie Goodrich, director of conservation science at the Sanctuary, and Sean Murphy, while working closely with the steering committee. The five-year project will be headquartered at Hawk Mountain with much work occurring remotely and using a vast network of volunteer birders statewide.
“Hawk Mountain has a long history of working with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to study state birds and is proud to partner with them to implement this important project,” said Sanctuary President Sean Grace in the release.
Wiewel has more than 15 years of experience in avian and wildlife conservation, having directed wildlife monitoring throughout the Northeast through various positions with Penn State University and USGS.
“Having experience with developing survey protocols, training volunteer field crews, and coordinating surveys makes Amber ideal for the job,” said Goodrich in the release.
Wiewel also has worked on forest bird research, assisting PSU faculty with field work examining how songbirds use forested landscapes in Pennsylvania.
She earned her master’s in ecology and evolutionary biology in 2011 from Iowa State University, having studied the breeding-season ecology of the Puerto Rican Bullfinch. In Puerto Rico, she also led field crews surveying birds for a large collaborative research project. Her bachelor’s degree research examined winter ecology of the black-and-white warbler in Puerto Rico.
In addition to her professional pursuits, Wiewel also participates in the USGS annual breeding bird surveys and volunteers as a Penn State Master Gardener, helping landowners with garden plans.
Andrew Wilson, a professor of environmental studies at Gettysburg University and member of the Atlas steering committee, is equally pleased and notes the importance of the Atlas.
“It’s wonderful to have Amber in place to ramp up efforts, and we’re excited to have a capable and experienced project organizer to lead the charge. Like many other birders in Pennsylvania, I’ve been looking forward to this since the last project ended 15 years ago. We know there have been lots of changes in the Commonwealth’s bird life, but we are sure to find surprises, too,” Wilson said in the release.
For more information and for updates visit hawkmountain.org/3rdpabirdatlas.
The 2,500-acre Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is the world’s first refuge for birds of prey and is open to the public year-round by trail-fee or membership, which in turn supports the non-profit organization’s raptor conservation mission and local-to-global research, training, and education programs. To learn more about Hawk Mountain or other programs, please call 610-756-6961 or visit www.hawkmountain.org.
Source: Berkshire mont
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