Category: Awards

Annual Meeting/Birding Festival Youth Scholarships Each year the PSO awards grants to one or two young birders to pay for their expenses to attend the Annual Meeting/Birding Festival. The grants cover all of the expenses (travel, lodging, meals) for the scholarship grantee and one responsible adult. See the Birding Festival pages for details and the…

Conservation Award The Conservation Award is presented periodically to an individual or organization that has had a positive impact on bird conservation in Pennsylvania. How to nominate a person for this award Send nominations to the PSO Vice President Winners of the Conservation Award 2023 Central Pennsylvania Conservancy and ClearWater Conservancy2022 Ned Smith Center for Nature and…

Scott Weidensaul The Earl Poole award is presented annually to a person or persons who have made significant contributions to Pennsylvania’s ornithology. This may be in the form of research, volunteer efforts, publications, field work, or any other pursuit that has increased our knowledge and understanding of the birdlife in Pennsylvania. This year’s recipient is…

Earl Poole Award The Earl Poole award is presented annually to a person or persons who have made significant contributions to Pennsylvania’s ornithology. This may be in the form of research, volunteer efforts, publications, field work, or any other pursuit that has increased our knowledge and understanding of the birdlife in Pennsylvania. How to nominate…

Jean Stull Cunnigham This year we presented the first Annual Earl L. Poole Award. This award, honoring a person who has made significant contributions to Pennsylvania s ornithology, was presented to Jean Stull Cunningham of Waterford. Any of you who have traveled to Presque Isle State Park in Erie know her. Not only has she…

Phillips B. Street Long before the days of atlasing and cyberbirding, some Pennsylvanians called themselves “birdwatchers” and pursued the gentlemanly hobby with their friends. A few wrote books or journal articles when inspired. Some reported on their rare finds. And some championed the sport of birding and the conservation of bird habitat in places others…

Dr. Scott Stoleson This year’s Earl Poole Award recipient is Dr. Scott Stoleson, a Research Biologist for the United States Forest Service’s Northern Research Station. Dr. Stoleson earned a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Dartmouth in 1979 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from Yale University. Before moving to Pennsylvania, Dr. Stoleson studied…

Somerset County Conservancy The 2016 Conservation Award winner is the Somerset County Conservancy. The conservancy’s mission includes preserving areas of natural and historical significance, as well as remediating damaged habitats. The organization has worked on five acid mine drainage treatment projects that are currently removing hundreds of tons of waste from aquatic systems, resulting in…

Paul Schwalbe The Earl Poole Award for Outstanding Contributions to Ornithology in Pennsylvania was given to Dr. Paul Schwalbe following the PSO annual banquet on May 18, 1997. Paul has contributed to bird conservation and knowledge in many ways during his career. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and spent most of…

Bill Reid Bill Reid has been the Dean of Wyoming Valley birding for several decades. Bill not only collected a ton of birding records but also coordinated bird data collection for various birding magazines and journals. He represented our state’s records in various versions of American Birds, diligently collecting data from a variety of sources.…