Bird Town
Bird Town Pennsylvania works in partnership with local municipalities and like-minded organizations to promote community-based conservation actions to create a healthier, more sustainable environment for birds, wildlife and people.
The program provides support to municipalities and their residents to assist in transforming landscapes to sustainable and life-supporting habitats for everyone. It promotes environmental awareness through engagement, birding activities and community involvement.
In Lower Gwynedd, we conduct bird walks (see schedule below), lectures and workshops, movie nights, and tie-ins to existing, bird-friendly programs such as the annual tree giveaway. We work in tandem with the Wyncote Audubon Society and Bird Town PA to promote our events.
Lower Gwynedd is part of the Montgomery County Bird Town Clutch which aims to unite efforts of neighboring Bird Town communities to conduct and promote outreach activities.
There are numerous resources available on the website: www.birdtownpa.org
As one of the original municipal programs in the country, Bird Town PA is a proud partner of the Bird City Network http://birdcity.org
Avian Influenza
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is continuing to address avian influenza (AI) in southeastern Pennsylvania with partner agencies Pennsylvania Department of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
Report sick or dead wild birds to the Game Commission by calling 1-833-PGC-WILD, emailing pgc-wildlifehealth@pa.gov, or online at https://www.pgcapps.pa.gov/WHS.
Avian influenza typically does not affect bird species that frequent backyard bird feeders. However, the Game Commission encourage exercising good hygiene when maintaining bird feeders and baths to prevent the spread of disease.
Every couple of weeks, feeders and baths should be emptied, washed with soapy water, rinsed, then a 10% household bleach solution should be applied to disinfect them before refilling (either allow a 10-minute contact time before rinsing or allow to air dry).
Any spilled seed should also be cleaned up to mitigate disease spread.
If you notice multiple sick or dead birds over a short period of time, you should strongly consider leaving feeders down and baths empty to not make any potential outbreak worse.
