Greetings Willistown Parks & Recreation Friends,

COVID-19 is "for the birds," hence this edition of your Willistown Parks & Recreation Enews is all about the birds! 

Did you know that Willistown Township is located in the Upper Ridley-Crum Important Bird Area? This designation is part of a global initiative of BirdLife International and Audubon in an effort to identify and conserve areas critical to birds and other biodiversity. So, if you're a Willistowner, your yard is an Important Bird Area!

Visit the Upper Ridley Crum Important Bird Area page here and view a virtual field guide of birds you'll see in and around Willistown.

Find out how to feed our feathery friends in your back yard from the PA Game Commission here.

Play the Bird Academy's Bird Song Hero: The Song Learning Game for Everyone here. Learn to recognize over 50 bird songs!

Our friends at the Willistown Conservation Trust have an impressive Bird Conservation Program at their Rushton Woods  Preserve. Find out all about the bird banding, migration tracking and research they do here. Also, check out the Nature Keepers program for kids aged 7-12 that we hope will be back in swing soon.

Although birds are not big food crop pollinators, find out about the important role they do play as pollinators at Birds.com. Stay tuned for more on our Willistown People Pollinate program, #peopleneedpollinators!

I hope you have enjoyed finding out more about our feathered friends. On a more solemn note, the Great Valley School District has cancelled all of their facilities use agreements due to the pandemic. This means that we will not be hosting any of our summer camps at Sugartown or General Wayne Elementary School. I am sorry for the disappointing news.

Please know that I am working on creative ways to keep you and yours entertained this summer. There is always good news and ours is that GO WilMa! 2020, our award-winning outdoor adventure program, is coming together quite well! I'll be filling you in on the details soon, so stay tuned.

As always, I am happy to hear from you: ideas, constructive criticism, and even jokes. Speaking of, did you hear about the crow on the telephone pole? He wanted to make a long distance caw. On that note, hope to see you on the trail!


Yours in the out of doors,

Mary

Willistown Township's Fox Hollow and Duffryn Trails and Okehocking, Serpentine, and Sugartown Preserves remain open. Please abide by our signage! 
Regular use of hand sanitizer is recommended along with avoiding touching your face, eyes and nose; covering your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing with a tissue or flexed elbow; and if you are sick, staying at home. (Note: Greentree, Rita Reves, and Mill Parks and playgrounds are closed.) 

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. It's easy to have fun outside and be safe too! 
Follow the Tick Prevention Tips above and find out more from the PA Department of Health. You can receive free basic testing on ticks found on you and your pets from The Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab. 

The invasive Spotted Lanternfly looks like this right now. Please notify Mary of any sightings on Township lands! 
The Spotted Lanternfly has spread throughout Pennsylvania since its discovery in Berks County in 2014. It feeds on the sap of many different plants including grapevines, maples, black walnut, and more. If you see a Spotted Lanternfly on any Willistown trails or in our preserves, please email Mary the location on the property and if you were able to kill the insect. Check out our Stewardship Bulletin for more information including a monthly management calendar. For questions about the lanternfly, info, and to report sightings, contact Penn State Extension at 1-888-422-3359.

BE IN THE KNOW!

The Willistown Township website has loads of info & news about your township!

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