$15K gift from Garden Club of Allegheny County to help grow native plant center at Beechwood Farms
Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania
614 Dorseyville Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
412-963-6100
e: info@aswp.org
It was a pleasure hosting Rep. Mandy Steele of the 33rd District, this morning, for a Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve bird walk, alongside Tess Wilson of Audubon Mid-Atlantic. Executive Director Chris Bason, as well as some of our Master Birders and Volunteer Naturalists joined in a quest to find our nesting Scarlet Tanagers. During the walk, we had a great discussion about the importance of Pennsylvania’s forests, along with Rep. Steele’s legislation, House Bill 2316, that would designate the Scarlet Tanager as Pennsylvania’s official state migratory bird. Did you know that Pennsylvania has more nesting Scarlet Tanagers than any other state? This long-distance migrant winters in South America, but returns to Pennsylvania in late April and early May to nest. While Scarlet Tanagers nest in a variety of forest types, both deciduous and mixed coniferous, they do require continuous forest to thrive. House Bill 2316 aims to recognize Scarlet Tanagers as a great symbol of our efforts to conserve and maintain Pennsylvania’s forests. This morning’s group had awesome views of a male Scarlet Tanager singing in the upper meadow, at the intersection of Spring Hollow and Meadowview Trail (pictured). A female was also sighted nearby. The male is a bright red bird with black wings and tail, while the female is olive-green and yellow with a gray wings and tail. If you would like to catch a glimpse of this striking bird, Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve’s trails are free and open to the public, from sunrise to sunset, 365 days of the year.
© 2026 Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
