New birding club for beginners and experts
Looking for a more consistent way to engage in group birdwatching sessions near her home, Jen Balsiger founded a new club, with plans to organize more activities within the Butler area.
The Butler Birder’s Club hosted its first event, a bird feeder watch party, on Saturday, Jan. 31. Balsiger said, while Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas have birdwatching clubs and many events that cater to bird lovers, Butler has plenty of great places to find and observe birds of many species as well.
“I was looking for a birding club to join, but found that most of the existing clubs have events that are pretty far away — closer to Pittsburgh and beyond,” Balsiger said. “Butler has some really great habitat and I wanted to create more opportunity for people in this area to bird together.”
The new club will offer more activities and meetings throughout the year, she said, and people don’t have to become members to participate. Membership fees for the club are used to support its website and event costs, New members will receive a Butler Birder’s Club sticker when they sign up.
Balsiger emphasized people can become a member of the club without having any prior birdwatching experience or knowledge.
“We engage in conservation efforts within our community and support other organizations in our area that do the same,” Balsiger said. “The club welcomes people of all abilities and experience levels.”
Balsiger’s venture into leading a birding club is not her foray into birdwatching. She took a Master Birder course with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, which gives participants a comprehensive guide to identifying birds and information about species.
Her mentor through the course was Chris Kubiak, education director with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Kubiak is now a board member for the Butler Birder’s Club, and continues to support Balsiger and her efforts to promote birdwatching in the area.
According to Kubiak, birdwatching in a group is beneficial to everyone involved, because people notice different attributes about birds that can help everyone else grasp concepts about their biology. Kubiak said the Audubon Society is available to help people in the area learn more about birds, and supporting a club is its latest opportunity for it.
“We definitely support this kind of thing,” he said. “It’s a great way to learn, and everyone has different learning styles.”
“Butler County is a fantastic county for birds,” Kubiak said. He said the green areas of the county, the state parks in particular, are great stops for birds of all kinds, whether they migrate or spend the winters here.
“In some ways, I think it's highly underappreciated by people who are passive birders because we have a diverse amount of habitat in the county itself,” Kubiak said. “The jewel is Moraine, because you’ve got the lake and the wetlands for shore birds you’re not going to see anywhere else. It's a great place for migrations.”
The club’s first event on Saturday, Jan. 31, was a bird feeder watch party at the Birdwatchers Store in Slippery Rock Township. In addition to the shop staff, who are knowledgeable about birds and birdwatching, other experienced birdwatchers attended to offer insight into the flying visitors coming through the yard.
Hope Roberts, whose daughter, Jody Roberts, owns the Birdwatchers Store, said the shop draws visitors through its educational excursions.
The large window that looks out over the store’s backyard and back porch offers visitors a look into a habitat that can be populated by many types of birds. Roberts said the shop sets up different feeders and food sources in the backyard, so people can experience birdwatching and then buy the materials for the birds they want to attract.
“We have home school groups come in, some people with the Butler club,” Roberts said.
Balsiger said the club has events planned for the coming months, and people don’t need to become members to attend. The club is having another feeder watch party, set to take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, once again at the Birdwatchers Store.
“We are also hosting a book club for nature- and bird-themed books at Succop Nature Park; and that occurs every other month starting Feb. 28,” Balsiger said.
Kubiak said the Audubon Society will likely assist with more events alongside the Butler Birder’s Club and the Birdwatchers Store.
He added that birdwatching is more popular than ever. He said the more people that are involved in birding programs, the better, because everyone can share their observations with one another.
“I’ve been birding for 30 years — and I’m still learning new things all the time,” Kubiak said. “When you have people involved with intermediate birders, it helps get them involved and not be intimidated, as well.”
One of the attendees of the bird feeder watch party, Kathleen Wallace, of Vienna, Ohio, said she has met many people through birdwatching, and plans to attend more group outings in Butler now that the area has a club of its own. She works in New Castle, so it’s just a short drive over to Butler County for club events.
“We never would have known each other without these birdwatching events,” Wallace said.
Balsiger said it’s the goal of the Butler Birder’s Club to connect people with other bird lovers and birdwatching events.
“It is our hope to make a welcoming environment for anyone who wants to spend time in nature, meet new people and enjoy birds,” she said.
For more information on the Butler Birder’s Club, visit its website at butlerbirders.club.
