Friends of Harrison Hills Park

08/29/2026

07/05/2026

RECORD YEAR!
Ken reports that he has 47 occupied nest with nestlings. That’s an 87% occupancy rate.
With each nest having a minimum of four hatchlings plus their parents, the sky will be filled with over 300 Purple Martins around the end of July.

07/01/2026

Ken lowered one of the houses to show the nest trays. He has at least 45 nests with eggs or hatchlings at last check. Each nest has 4 to 7 eggs so later this month there will be hundreds of Purple Martins here.

06/27/2026

Ken Kostka demonstrated his supplemental feeding method during our Purple Martin presentation today. Purple Martins feed on insects in flight. If there is a prolonged cold spell or rain event, insects don’t fly so Martins don’t have food and can starve to death. Ken developed this method decades ago by first, flinging crickets, then mealworms, before trying the cheaper and readily available scrambled eggs.
Thank to everyone who came out our program today.

06/23/2026

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/faces-of-the-valley-harrisons-ken-kostka-calls-birds-back-to-region/

Ken Kostka is largely responsible for the Alle-Kiski Valley’s resurgence of purple martins — a bird species all but wiped out after Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972. The Harrison Township native discovered a passion for the birds after constructing a birdhouse during woodshop at Highlands Hi...

06/14/2026

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/tarentum-bridge-peregrine-falcon-chicks-expected-to-fledge-next-week/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSbsvtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe22UKBpHYQbdsz-DA052h3qO1RgucozC1gi4ysfvxm_9_LA0GdTgAMMrcFHc_aem_mg3cLdKGQ9L31WkXDu8WWw

Four baby peregrine falcons are expected to fledge from their nest under the Tarentum Bridge by the end of next week. It brings the number of hatchlings to 31 for the mama bird which makes its home in a man-made box installed by the state game commission in 2015 on

04/19/2026

Seven or more trees were leveled by likely straight line winds this week near the rainbow bridge along the Carson train. Park maintenance staff were hard at work Thursday morning clearing the trail.

04/14/2026

The Virginia Bluebells are blooming! Go down the road to the soccer fields and you’ll see them on both sides of the road. Just remember, look don’t touch😉