Lemoyne Bird Town

09/03/2026

Fall Migration Is Underway in Central Pennsylvania!

The seasons are changing, and the skies are getting busy.

Fall bird migration is underway across Central PA, and September brings some of the most exciting bird movement of the year. Warblers, vireos, thrushes, flycatchers, and other songbirds are making their way south, while hawks and other raptors are beginning their fall journeys along Pennsylvania’s ridges.

And we’re just getting started. The weeks ahead can bring incredible migration days, including the spectacular September movement of Broad-winged Hawks.

It’s a wonderful time to get outside and pay attention to what’s happening around us. Check the treetops in the morning, listen for unfamiliar calls, watch for activity along woodland edges, and remember to look up.

Each day can bring new arrivals and departures as millions of birds continue remarkable journeys that may span thousands of miles.

Over the coming days, we’ll share some simple ways we here in Lemoyne can help migrating birds on their long journey south. Small actions at our homes, businesses, and community spaces can make a real difference.

Grab your binoculars, step outside, and see who might be passing through the area!

Comic by the hilarious False Knees

08/31/2026

08/29/2026

Bluebird on a bluebird day!

08/25/2026

Thank you, Dolly. Your songs, philanthropy, and spirit lifted so many. You were a voice for the Smoky Mountains, the environment, wildlife, and people everywhere—not to mention the host of a raptor sanctuary and animal rescue efforts. Though we know we'll be singing your songs forever, you'll still be deeply missed.

08/24/2026

Over the weekend, LBT committee member Eli Huebner came across an injured Northern Flicker near his home. The poor thing was struggling to fly, so Eli carefully got the bird to West Shore Wildlife Center, where it can receive the medical care it needs.

Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery!

If you find an injured bird or wild animal: Keep children and pets away, don't give the animal food or water, and contact a wildlife professional for guidance before attempting to handle or transport it.

West Shore Wildlife Center
Wildlife Emergency Hotline — call or text: 717-268-9574

Heather Mulhollan — Fairhaven Healing
Wildlife Capture & Transport Permittee

A little compassion and knowing who to call can make a big difference for wildlife in need.

08/24/2026

Does anyone have any information about this poor pup that was found on the 700 Block of Market Street, Lemoyne three days ago? If so, please give West Shore Regional Police Department a call at 717-238-9676.

Still looking for this pup’s home, if you know their family give us a call at 717-238-9676.

08/21/2026

A Wildflower Meadow Is Coming to Schell Park

Something new is taking root at Schell Park! The Lemoyne Bird Town Committee is excited to share that work is underway to transform approximately 3,800 square feet of underutilized turfgrass into a pollinator-friendly wildflower meadow.

The Schell Park Wildflower Meadow Project will create valuable habitat for bees, butterflies, birds, and other beneficial insects while increasing biodiversity and reducing the amount of turfgrass that requires regular mowing. Once established, the meadow will also serve as an educational community resource and an example of how portions of traditional lawn can be transformed into more ecologically valuable landscapes.

The location was selected intentionally. The site receives full sun, is highly visible to park visitors, and allows an underutilized portion of maintained turfgrass to be converted to habitat without affecting the park’s existing recreational amenities.

The meadow will also complement another exciting conservation project coming to Schell Park: the future Pennsylvania Game Commission Chimney Swift Tower. By providing habitat for insects, including the flying insects Chimney Swifts rely on for food, the meadow and tower will work together to create a small but meaningful habitat area within the park.

What’s Happening at the Park Right Now?

Visitors to Schell Park may notice that the future meadow site looks a little unusual over the next several weeks. That’s intentional and it’s an important part of preparing the site for wildflowers.

The project is currently in Phase 2: Solarization, an approximately eight-week process that uses the sun’s heat to suppress the existing grass, w**ds, and w**d seeds before planting. Solarization allows us to prepare the site without using herbicides, an approach that aligns with Bird Town’s conservation goals and is especially appropriate for a neighborhood park. The Bird Town Committee will regularly inspect the site throughout this period and make repairs to the covering as needed.

This preparation is critical. Simply scattering wildflower seed over an established lawn would leave the young plants competing with existing turfgrass and w**ds. By clearing that competition first, we can give the new meadow a much better opportunity to become successfully established.

Following approximately eight weeks of solarization, we expect to move into Phase 3: Fall “Dormant” Seeding in November. Dormant seeding is especially important for some of the perennial species in the Northeast Annual & Perennial Wildflower Mix because exposure to winter’s natural cold and moisture helps break seed dormancy and prepares those seeds to germinate when conditions are right in the spring. The project is timed to take advantage of fall dormant seeding and natural precipitation as the meadow begins the establishment process.

And then comes the part that requires a little patience.

The meadow’s first growing season will be an establishment year, so it may not immediately look like a mature wildflower meadow. Volunteers will monitor the site, remove invasive w**ds before they can produce seed, and provide regular stewardship as the new plants become established. By the second and third growing seasons, the meadow is expected to become fuller and more colorful.
The seed mix, very generously donated by Ernst Conservation Seeds, combines Pennsylvania native perennials with selected annuals and naturalized species that will provide early color, help suppress w**ds, and support pollinators while the longer-lived native perennials establish. Over time, those native perennial species are expected to become increasingly dominant.

We are especially grateful that this project is being accomplished at no cost to Borough of Lemoyne, PA. Donated seed, community contributions, volunteer labor, and ongoing stewardship coordinated by the Lemoyne Bird Town Committee are making the meadow possible without requesting Borough funding.

Once established, the meadow is intended to be a long-term feature of Schell Park. Unlike turfgrass that requires regular mowing throughout the growing season, the established meadow will require only one annual mowing along with periodic monitoring and management of invasive species.

The Schell Park Wildflower Meadow is about more than planting flowers. It is about transforming an underutilized piece of the park into a lasting community asset, one that provides habitat for wildlife, supports pollinators and birds, offers opportunities for education, and improves the ecological value of one of Lemoyne’s neighborhood parks.

For the next several weeks, it may not look much like a meadow. But underneath that solarization covering, we’re preparing the ground for what we hope will become a beautiful and beneficial part of Schell Park for years to come.

Learn More

Schell Park Wildflower Meadow Project Plan:
https://lemoynepa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/LBT-Schell-Park-Wildflower-Meadow-Project-Plan_v2.pdf

Ernst Conservation Seeds — Northeast Annual & Perennial Wildflower Mix:
https://www.ernstseed.com/wp-content/uploads/mixsheets/ERNMX-168-MixSheet-20260821080139.pdf

08/20/2026

🐛 Monarch magic is happening in Bird Town! 🐛

Bird Town Co-Chair Angela shared these wonderful photos of monarch caterpillars happily munching away on butterfly w**d, and these little guys have quite a journey ahead of them!

These caterpillars are part of the generation that will become migrating monarchs, traveling more than 2,000 miles to overwinter in Mexico. Angela plans to tag 20 monarchs this year through Monarch Watch, helping contribute to efforts to track and study their incredible migration.

For now, they'll spend about two weeks as caterpillars before transforming into a chrysalis. Roughly 12 days later, a beautiful monarch butterfly will emerge.

Then comes the truly amazing part: guided by instinct, these tiny creatures will make their extraordinary journey south to Mexico, where they'll spend the winter. In the spring, they'll begin the journey north again, eventually mating and laying the next generation of eggs on milkw**d.

As Angela put it, “They begin life looking like an adorable balloon animal and travel 2,000 miles, all on instinct!”

Nature really is amazing. Keep planting native milkw**d and nectar plants. You never know who might stop by!

08/16/2026

White-tailed deer are known to opportunistically eat bird eggs and possibly even chicks--but camera traps in West Virginia showed some female birds are surprisingly fearless in fending them off.

08/14/2026

Something you wouldn’t normally expect to see up in a tree!

A large Eastern Ratsnake was recently spotted climbing a tree near Schell Park! While we usually think of snakes as creatures of the ground, Eastern Ratsnakes (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) are excellent climbers and will head up trees in search of prey, shelter, or a good place to rest.

But how does a snake climb a tree without legs?

Snakes use their powerful muscles, flexible bodies, and belly scales to grip the irregular surface of bark. An Eastern Ratsnake can bend its body around ridges and other rough spots, pressing against them to create the friction and leverage needed to push itself upward. On some surfaces, snakes may also use a concertina-like motion, anchoring part of the body while extending another part higher.

Eastern Ratsnakes are nonvenomous and play an important role in our local ecosystem. They help control populations of mice and other small animals, and their climbing ability can also bring them into trees in search of birds and eggs, a natural part of the food web, even here in our parks and neighborhoods.

And after seeing just how capable these snakes are at climbing, it looks like we’ll have to add a predator blocker to the Chimney Swift tower once it’s here!

So the next time you're walking near Schell Park, remember that wildlife isn't only beneath your feet or flying overhead. Sometimes it's slithering its way right up the trunk! 🐍

More pics in the comments.