| Birding the Piney Tract |
| Field Trips |
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Piney Tract Grassland Trip Overview: This trip to old strip mine sites in Clarion County, Pennsylvania should provide an excellent birding experience for both grassland and edge-habitat birds. The area is one of several managed by the Seneca Rocks Audubon Society. A portion of this outing goes through the nationally recognized Important Bird Area (IBA) #21 (Mount Zion/Piney Tract) which includes Pennsylvania State Game Land 330. Details: Birding possibilities include a field across from a parking area that has been good for grassland birds (especially Henslow’s and Grasshopper Sparrows and, at dusk, Short-eared Owl). Walking along a short gated road leads to a nearby recently scraped area on top of a hill that was good for Horned Lark and Savannah Sparrow in 2009. Vesper Sparrow was noted at the far eastern end of the field to the left. Several nesting pairs of Clay-colored Sparrows have been observed in a 1 mile section beginning about 0.5 mi from the gate. There is a pine stand near the parking area that provides good general birding. Down the road a short distance to another parking area is another field where Henslow’s Sparrows have been seen. Other areas can provide sightings of Vesper Sparrow, Upland Sandpiper and Short-eared Owl, but Vesper Sparrows are becoming less common as the habitat matures.
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