Shreve Migration Sensation

Whenever kids are outside, learning, and having this much fun- someone is getting it right! Thanks to Carrie Elvey and her crew from The Wilderness Center, the wetland dip-net portion of the Shreve Migration event is a sensation in every way!

Greater Mohican Audubon partners on many events each year and Shreve has become one of my favorites. It is not about the big names, not much flash or pizazz here, it is all about families. Kids garner much of the attention.

The highlight of my day? After adjusting my scope to half its normal height, I stood back to watch this young birder hone in on a Ruddy Duck. As he scanned across Wright Marsh, this polite young man quietly confirmed the waterfowl ids with his nearby father. Next, his brother stepped up to the scope and gave his hand a try. It is a privilege to bird with these young Amish birders, and share our respect and awe for the natural world. Their quiet lives make more sense to me than most of this troubled world.

It was shoulder to shoulder on the observation platform at Funk Bottoms, and as always we shared our sightings and compared good finds.

Shreve is a wonderful event for meeting up and sharing time with our many birding friends. Long distance travelers Nina and Anton Harfmann even won the prize for the longest drive! A few of my favorite characters are pictured here, slurping up gummy worms after a "tough" morning of birding! Greg Miller and Janet Creamer flaunt their snacks, while Jason Larson is looking stunned to be caught with his hand in the "worm bag." Hard to believe, but compared to these three (and a few others seated nearby), the Weedpicker almost seems normal!

Speakers, speakers, speakers... a full compliment of educational programing included a few of my friends: Laura Jones, Kim and Kenn Kaufmann, and of course, Jim McCormac- seen here being "wired" for sound by Joe Edinger. Joe is the man behind the scenes in Shreve for this wonderful event. He coordinates all the programs and volunteers and the million details to make this show go on. This is no small feat, as over 1022 people were in attendance at this "Sensation!"

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And a special "thank you" to all of our wonderful GMAS volunteers who work so hard at these events! Bianca Davis, Bob Hopp, Roger Troutman, Dick Stoffer and especially Su Snyder for arranging for our spotters at the various locations. And on the inside- thanks to: Sally Deems-Mogyordy, Sue Olive, Su Snyder, Bianca Davis, Jim Sloan and Janet Creamer for setting up and working our booth. Thank you all- it couldn't be done without you! Hope to see you again next year