The seventh in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Mary Birdsong

Mary Birdsong and her husband, Mike Plyler. HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News file photo

Age: 54

Family: Married to Mike Plyler, auxiliary mom to two wonderful daughters. Owned by two cats, Izadora and Sam.

Lives in: Erie

College degree: BA in History, MA in Art History

Profession: Freelance writer, artist and development professional.

Originally from: Erie (left, explored the world, came back).

I got into birding …: My husband started birding when we were dating.

Spark bird: Cedar waxwing.

Favorite birds: All the shorebirds.

Nemesis bird: Right now, purple sandpiper. There will be others!

Favorite places to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Presque Isle State Park, Scott Park, my backyard or anywhere there are a few good birds.

Strangest place I’ve gone birding: I saw my first Laughing Gull on top of the pile at the landfill, while on a tour.

Rarest bird I’ve seen: Here, a Kirtland’s Warbler. In Costa Rica, a three-wattled bell bird.

Usual birding partners: My husband, Michele Franz, Shawn Collins, or anybody who wants to go!

Birding gear and equipment I take everywhere: My binoculars, scope and iPhone.

Favorite birding field guide or app: Sibley and Peterson in the field. At home, The Shorebird Guide and other specialty guides for research and learning.

What I like most about birding: Seeing a new bird and just being out there.

The best birdwatching day I’ve ever had: Sitting at the mouth of the Kenai River in Alaska watching thousands of shore birds. I want to go back to that very spot again someday, now that I have better optics and more experience.

The worst birding day I’ve ever had: Well, there really aren’t any really bad birding days, but recently Mike and I went looking for the purple sandpiper at Gull Point twice and didn’t see it. And I lost my best gloves.

Dream birding destination: Too many to name here. Anywhere there are cool birds, and that is just about anywhere.

Best birding advice you ever got: Look at the bird while its there, you can look at your field guide later. And, describe out loud or to yourself what field marks on the bird you are seeing.

Your advice to beginning birders: Enjoy yourself and don’t worry about lists.

Should a sighting be counted if you’ve only heard an identifiable bird call but not seen the bird itself? Yes. But it’s always a more fulfilling experience to see the bird as well.

Do you keep a life list? Yes, but I don’t keep a running total in my head. About once a year Mike and I count just to see how many we have.

Do you approve of competitions such as a Big Year or Big Day? Sure, why not?

Previous entries in the NWPA Outdoors Birder Bio series:

No. 1: Shawn Collins

No. 2: Bonnie Ginader

No. 3: Michele Rundquist-Franz

No. 4: Lee Ann Reiners

No. 5: Julie Dell

No. 6: Lisa Danko

Interested in participating in the Birder Bio profiles series? It’s easy and free. Just e-mail matt.martin@timesnews.com for details.

The sixth in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Lisa Danko

Age: 56

Lisa Danko.

Family: Married 33 years, with two adult children, two grandchildren and a third on the way.

Lives in: Harborcreek Township.

College: Masters in Entomology from Pennsylvania State University.

Profession: Adjunct instructior of Biology,  Gannon University and Butler Community College.

Originally from: Buffalo, N.Y.

I got into birding …: I attended the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage over 30 years ago and was surrounded by families who loved and shared nature. That was back in my college days.  So once I married, my husband and I shared a love of nature. This led us to join Presque Isle Audubon Society. We became active there, holding many post including both of us as past presidents. Once we bought our house we started with backyard bird feeding and identification. Our travels always involve wild life watching.

Spark birds: Puffins in breeding plumage in Maine and veery  in the forest — sounds like a flute, and I remember hearing this when I was a child. Woodcocks and snipe  in my yard, they are a sure sign of spring returning.

Favorite bird: Colorful birds , but bluebirds are my favorites.

Favorite places to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Fields off all the back roads.

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The fifth in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Julie Dell

Age: 61

Julie Dell.

Family: Husband and three grown sons; three grandchildren

Lives in: Franklin Township

Profession: Reference assistant at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania library

Originally from: Erie

I got into birding ..: We moved to the country 34 years ago and there were birds here that I had never seen before. I was curious as to their names, so I bought a bird guide and resurrected an old set of binoculars. It grew from there to buying better binocs … putting up bluebird houses … feeding 600 pounds of seed all winter … taking the binocs when we would travel … taking trips JUST to bird … paying for birding classes … joining Audubon, etc. My latest venture is becoming a Purple Martin “landlord” this spring.

Spark bird: Bluebird

Favorite bird: Snowy Owl

Favorite place to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Presque Isle State Park

Strangest place I’ve gone birding: In Germany, while hiking up a hillside to view a historic grave site. I was not even thinking about “birding” but saw a “water dipper” working a stream. I had never seen this type of bird and was amazed. I had no idea what it was and tried to get an idea from a German couple. Needless to say, because I didn’t speak German and they didn’t speak English it was not too successful. We all had fun trying. They seemed pleased that I was excited about “their” bird.

Rarest birds I’ve seen: Snowy plover and piping plover

Birding gear and equipment I take everywhere: Binocs, spotting scope, birding guide (book and most recently birding app with calls). Insect repellent. 

Favorite birding field guide or app: Peterson field guide. Got a mini iPad for Christmas and am looking forward to using the Sibley birding book I downloaded for it this spring. It has the bird calls on it so you can check them when you are in the field!

What I like most about birding: The beauty of the birds! Time spent outdoors.   Meeting people that love the birds as much as I do.

The best bird watching day I’ve ever had: I went to Arizona expressly to see hummingbirds. Southeastern Arizona is the “hummingbird flyway” for almost all species of hummingbirds found in the United States. I planned a trip with my sister-in-law, who lives in Scottsdale, to drive to Miller Canyon. We stayed at Beatty’s Miller Canyon Guest Ranch and had an amazing time! Hummingbirds like fairies in the trees, everywhere! So many different species at one time that people were calling out the ones they saw and it was hard to keep track or now where to look first! In one day I saw 12 different species of hummingbirds ! 

The worst birding day I’ve ever had: No such thing.

Dream birding destination: The Monterey California Audubon birding festival. Four days of guided hikes and boat tours! 

Best birding advice you ever got: Don’t always reach for the binocs first. Watch the behavior, flight pattern, body shape. Sometimes the bird is gone before you can get the binocs to your eyes!

Your advice to beginning birders: Get out there! Meet other people who are birding too! You will meet some great people and learn a lot. Take a field class if you can. There is nothing better than having someone who knows for sure what bird you are seeing.

Should a sighting be counted if you’ve only heard an identifiable bird call but not seen the bird itself?: That is an individual thing. Personally I won’t count a life bird for myself unless I see it. If you were participating a “big year” competition I would think that it would depend on the rules for that competition.

Do you keep a life list? Yes, I keep a life list … sort of. I am not obsessive about it, and probably have not recorded everything. Best count is 276. 

Do you approve of the idea of competitions such as a Big Year or Big Day?     Sure … people can bird and have fun any way they want!

Previous entries in the NWPA Outdoors Birder Bio series:

No. 1: Shawn Collins

No. 2: Bonnie Ginader

No. 3: Michele Rundquist-Franz

No. 4: Lee Ann Reiners

Interested in participating in the Birder Bio profiles series? E-mail matt.martin@timesnews.com for details.

The second in a series of occasional profiles of birdwatchers who are from or spend a lot of time in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Bonnie Ginader

Bonnie Ginader/Contributed photo

Family: daughter, Aimee Gevirtz, and son, Geoff Ginader. Four grandchildren, one great-granddaughter.

Lives in: Millcreek Township

College: B.S., mathematics, Grove City College

Profession: Realtor^R, Pennington Lines Real Estate.

Originally from: Erie

Favorite bird: Woodcock

Favorite places to bird in northwestern Pennsylvania: Presque Isle State Park, Erie Bluffs State Park, Siegel Marsh, Pymatuning State Park.

Rarest bird I’ve seen: Piping Plover

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For all of its rich and well-known offerings to anglers and hunters, one of northwestern Pennsylvania’s other marvelous outdoors opportunities often is overlooked: Birdwatching.

Presque Isle State Park is an Audubon Important Bird Area where more than 320 bird species have been sighted. Spring migration is a wonder at the park, the final spit of land that colorful songbirds see before they head over Lake Erie and onto their summer grounds.

Erie Bluffs State Park, Erie National Wildlife Refuge, Pymatuning State Park, Allegheny National Forest, Oil Creek State Park, Cook Forest State Park and myriad other public places, let alone back yards, provide even more windows to the avian world.

And where there are birds, there are birders.

Many birdwatchers, experienced and novice alike, find their way to the Presque Isle Audubon Society. From time to time, NWPA Outdoors will profile a birder you might have seen out and about, neck craned to his or her binoculars, spotting scope or camera. You’ll learn a bit more about the birders, and hopefully a lot about the birds and ecology of the Erie region.

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