THE ADVENT OF A BLUEBIRDER Many people ask me "Ray, why do you spend so much time building, installing and monitoring Bluebird nest boxes?" I would have thought that question needed no response, but sometimes I think maybe when people are too close to a subject and other people are not, a few words of explanation are necessary. So here is a bit of Bluebird 101. In the summer of 1947, I was 10 years old and spent it on my grandparent's farm in rural Virginia. Almost every waking hour I was out and about in the field woods and wetlands poking around It was there I saw my first Eastern Bluebird in our orchard nesting in a dead snag of an old apple tree. I was totally hooked, it was beautiful. Both the male and female built the nest; she laid her eggs; they both fed the young. Four baby bluebirds successfully fledged. The soft call and graceful flight, dedication to their young were great! When I returned home to New York State in the fall to return to school I read every book I could find (there were not many in those days). A few bits of information did impress me: 1. Unlike Cardinals, Doves, Catbirds, Orioles and the like that might nest in your very own backyard in a tree, bush or shrub - Bluebirds only nest in a cavity which they do not excavate themselves. They must rely on Woodpeckers or weather conditions to break off the limb of a tree that would expose the wood and let nature expose the hole in the wood. 2. Bluebirds must compete with two of the toughest competitors for an available cavity. The Starling and the House Sparrow tend to be the "bullies" of the bird world. The composure of the mild Bluebird is often no match. 3. During these years from 1947 to 1957 DDT and other pesticides were being sprayed in ever increasing amounts in the environment. We were not aware of the danger to come. The population of Bluebirds and well as many other species ( Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons and more) went into a nose dive and disappeared from most of the previous territory. During the 1960's I hardly ever saw a Bluebird. One evening I read about a gentleman in Ohio who was building wooden nest boxes with specific dimensions of the entrance hole, depth and width and putting them up around his neighborhood. They were successful, Bluebirds were using them. In the spring of 1972 I build four boxes and installed them on my property. One evening after work my wife told me she had seen a blue colored bird sitting on top of one the boxes, I thought to myself "yeah, right". That weekend while working in my garden I heard the softest warblering call of a Bluebird and to my amazement a male bluebird came flying in to one of my boxes. That summer the first young fledged, twenty five years from the first I had seen fledge in Virginia. That stoked the fire and since then I have been putting them up in areas throughout the Delaware Valley with increasingly positive results. Timing is everything and most people do not realize that adult bluebirds are looking for next sites by late winter. Boxes should be up and cleaned out by February 1. Old boxes if left alone and not maintained will in most cases be avoided. Deer mice winter nests, House Wren nests, wasp nests and the like will remain unoccupied, and more bluebird potential is lost. With your help and some effort on your part, I hope you will join me in helping secure the future for this beautiful creature. You all have an opportunity during the upcoming Bluebird Nest Box program to create more Bluebird habitat so sign up early, I look forward to another great Bluebird Year in 2008. Ray "The Bluebird Guy"` Hendrick NATURE CENTER NOTES WE PROFIT FROM YOUR GROCERY SHOPPING! Peace Valley Nature Center receives a percentage of purchases you make at these two stores: Acme- Save your register tapes and put them in the bluebird box in the building foyer. Thank you Marianna Hoffman for adding and preparing these tapes for redemption. Genuardi's- register your Genuardi's Club Card - Call us or register online at www.escrip.com, or in the store. Designate the Friends of Peace Valley Nature Center, Group ID # 150301483. We'll receive a donation automatically each time you shop and use your card. If you've registered in the past a renewal is now necessary to keep it active. Call Denise for information. INKJET CARTRIDGE RECYCLING The nature center is continuing its ongoing project to recycle inkjet cartridges. Deposit your used cartridges from home or work in the foyer of the solar building. Make sure you check the list for acceptable brands. Thank you Chris Minnich for overseeing this earth friendly fundraiser! WISH LIST Donation of any of the following items would be greatly appreciated. Binoculars (in excellent condition) Hand Tools -- pick, shovels, rakes, and such (always needed) Wheelbarrows -- good condition New Electric Hand Mixer (for children-- educational crafts) FACTOIDS Did you Know? 1.) The original name for a butterfly was flutterby. 2.) How do reindeers survive in the extreme cold? Most animals don't eat moss. It's hard to digest, and it has little nutritional value. But reindeer fill up with lots of moss. Why? The moss contains a special chemical that helps reindeer keep their body fluids warm. When the reindeer make their yearly journey across the icy Arctic region, the chemical keeps them from freezing - much as antifreeze keeps a car from freezing up in winter. 3.) Lightening strikes about 6,000 times per minute on this planet. 4.) Ants don't sleep.

FROM THE GROUND UP Things Change! Improvements to the nature center grounds are ongoing, seasons change as do weather patterns. Maintaining and improvement for times to come can often be a challenging job. We are fortunate to have a bevy of great volunteers that help maintain trails and assist in new endeavors. In addition to trail keepers and those unwanted plant pulling garden tenders, many individuals and groups in the area are volunteering to help us with these tasks. Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, Church youth groups, Sierra Club, private companies, and school environmental clubs to name a few. Work crews are organized to carry out some of the daunting tasks that there seem to be "just not enough time for". We have many educational programs that study wetlands. To improve the water flow and overall health of the wetland area around Swamp Trail, a cadre of volunteers using picks, shovel and digging irons worked up the hardened trail surface to enable the water to flow downhill. Carl Wagner built walkways that were put in place to ensure the continued flow of water and nutrients throughout this section of wetlands. To help with the erosion problems on Habitat Trail, the trail was rerouted last year. This year to stabilize the old trail area, native trees and shrubs were planted and fenced. The use of native plants will help to maintain the natural beauty of Peace Valley Nature Center and, hopefully will provide an example to homeowners. A fallow field beyond bridge has been planted to provide a future "sugarbush" for maple sugaring. and other programs. The students and club sponsors from Central Bucks East's See Green environmental club chopped, toted, dug, watered and built barriers for these new residents on the ridge. To keep the deer from nibbling the tender branches of these tasty Sugar Maples, barriers were built from discarded branch waste. The "fences" (about three and one half feet in height) were assembled about four feet from the trunk of the tree. As these students can attest, it takes a lot of yard scrap to build this type of barrier for fifteen trees. These structures will serve well; the placement is just far enough out of reach of a hungry deer but close enough to the trunk and other side so that they do not feel safe in leaping in for a snack. As the wood decomposes, it enriches the soil and new branches can be placed on top. Our plan is to add to this future forest with other hardwoods and daringly, perhaps, some native shrubs and perennials. EDUCATOR PROFILE Donna DiMella "If you want to see something new, take the walk you took yesterday." Thoreau. This is one of my favorite quotes because it fits so well with what I do at Peace Valley. Whether I am teaching a sensory class to the Head Start pre-schoolers, or an ecology class to older kids, it is a joy to help them discover something new about the natural world. In every season and in all kinds of weather, we always find something memorable. One of my favorite jobs as a mom has been planning some wonderful vacations with my family; kayaking in the northwest, rafting the Grand Canyon, etc. Yet, I truly believe that the most amazing close encounters with wild things can happen right in your own backyard. So even if I long for that dream trip to Alaska some day, I know that the desire to explore new environments starts right in your own neck of the woods. I grew up in south Jersey, met my husband in college in Vermont, moved to the Shenandoah Valley where Peter worked for Merck for 14 years. I taught Biology for 10 years, and our daughter Nina was born in 87. We moved to Silverdale in 95 and as soon as we were half settled, I took the teacher naturalist training course and started working at the Nature Center. The biggest bonus with this job is that I work with a great bunch of gals (and a few guys), who share my passion. If I'm not at Peace Valley, I'm walking the dogs, gardening, or looking for some other excuse to get outdoors. We used to do some trail riding on our 3 horses. We recently bought a little house up in Vermont and hope to "early" retire to the north country in a few years. In the meantime. I hope to continue to be a part of a wonderful organization with a most important mission! FRIENDS AND FAMILY FUN DAY DONOR / SUPPORTERS PLEASE PATRONIZE THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES! A Special Gift, Doylestown Avalon Hair Designs, Doylestown Bagel Barrel, Doylestown Bucks County Auto Care, Dublin Carlow Cookery, Doylestown Chambers 19, Doylestown Cote & Co., Doylestown County Theater, Doylestown Crossroads Baker Shop, Doylestown Diana Nails & Spa, Doylestown Doylestown Dairy Queen Dublin Agway Dublin Dairy Queen Dublin Star Diner Edible Arrangements, Warrington Genuardi's, Doylestown Greenshire Art Consortium, Quakertown Herb's Hobbies & Crafts, Doylestown Jules Thin Crust, Doylestown Luberto's Trattoria, Dublin Manhattan Barkery Café Bucks Co. Parks & Recreation Miller Tire & Auto, Blooming Glen Monkey Business, Doylestown Ooka, Doylestown Planet Smoothie, Doylestown Professional Massage Therapy, Fountainville Roman Delight, Doylestown Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Seraphim Gifts, Dublin Square One Futon Furniture, Doylestown Sundial Studio, Dublin The Larder, Doylestown The Night Kitchen Bakery, Doylestown The Paper Unicorn, Doylestown INDIVIDUAL / FAMILY CONTRIBUTORS / SUPPORTERS Carolyn Schaupp Debbie Risko Donna & Pete DiMella Ellen Boucher Joan Bitzer Leah Hill Leda Manfre Leonard Knapp Mark Cooper Mike Kozempel Rena Thompson Robin Folkerts Susan Sandberg The Bowes The Longs The Nangeronis VOLUNTEERS Cindy Long Cody Garges Donna DiMella Sondra Gulian Dottie Ritter Dylan Garges Jane Vacca Bob Rutt Janet Moyer Kerrie Garges Lynn Gulla Pat Witek MaryJo May Mike Kozempel Sharon Brauer Mike Line Steve Berkson Trish Harrington Sallie Nangeroni Leah Hill Grace Gotschall Carolyn Schaupp Dick Lehman Betsy Moore Cliff Cole Kate Thompson Andy Young August Mirabella 2007 RUN FOR THE DOVE Race / Walk Fundraiser Has Best Year The Friends of the Dove 10K Run and 2 Mile Health Walk had its best attendance ever with 310 registered runners and 30 walkers! Beautiful weather and good publicity helped bring in these numbers. Antonio De Vido of Doylestown was the men's winner for the third straight year and cruised around the course with a time of 37:23 minutes. Jen Alderfer of Lansdale was the women's winner with a fast time of 42:43 minutes. The funds raised from the race support Peace Valley Nature Center's education programs. Thank you to all who helped and participated! OSPREY SPONCERS ($500 and above) MacAuley -Brown Inc. Barnes Chiropractic & Nutrition Center KINGFISHER SPONCERS ($250 and above) Advanced Health & Performance Center CHI Systems Advanced Avionics Inc. Navmar Applied Science Corp. Kempf Co. HUMMINGBIRD SPONCERS ($125 and above) Fulton Bank S&S Resources MVP Interiors Eugene Gladston Krempa Associates, Inc. Eastern Mountain Sports Linda Gelcius, State Farm Agent Hall Family Chiropractic Diane Szwajkowski, Massage Therapist/USUI Reiki Master OTHER FINANCIAL SPONCERS Dr. Louis Vida Stanley Cooper, Inc. SPECIAL THANKS TO: R F Hill Amateur Radio Club North Wales Water Authority Staff B101 Radio Station Smith Prints Runner's World DOOR PRIZE DONATIONS: Training Zone Sports Bucks County Outfitters Southern Living at Home-Lori Mason Kelly Greaney Diane & Joe Szwajkowski One Village Coffee Hatfield Floral and Gift The Friends of Peace Valley Nature Center FOOD DONERS: Vermont Bread and Charter Baking Dennis Burns Annie's Water Ice Power Bar VOLUNTEERS: Betsey Moore Betsy Simmons Boyd Taylor Cody Crooke Dan Berg Donna Rhein Eastern Mountain Sports Employees George Francois Heather Mueller John Morrell and the R F Hill Amatuer Radio Club Jane Mauer Jeffery Bruni Jim Krick Joan Kovar Joe Steindl Karen Bizzaro Melissa Taragna Melissa Mauer Mike Gimpel Mitch Sturn Nick Medaglio Paul Dworakivsky Patrick O'Connor Paul Bogar Perry Beem Sharon Brauer Sonia Patterson Terri Tryens RACE DIRECTORS: Diane Szwajkowski Craig Olsen RACE COMMITY: Joseph Szwajkowski Kelly Greaney Floyd Glenn Bill Strunk Vicki Olsen well done! 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