Bartramian Audubon Society

Bartramian Audubon Society Furthering the Audubon cause of conservation and education in Butler, Lawrence, Mercer, and Venango

The Bartramian Audubon Society, a local chapter of the National Audubon Society since 1982, fulfills its mission of preserving the native plant and animal communities in our eco-region by monitoring and protecting vulnerable, rare, threatened, and endangered lifeforms. Recognizing that a large part of conservation is education, Bartramian Audubon Society reaches out to local schools and educators,

provides scholarship assistance for teachers and college students, offers nature-oriented presentations and discussions for the general public, and provides field trip opportunities for those who wish to experience first-hand the many natural wonders our area has to offer. Bartramian Audubon Society provides the opportunity for landowners to register their properties as nature sanctuaries and to receive guidance on how to create and sustain a natural environment on their fields, woodlots, or even backyards.
• The Wildlife Sanctuary Program, for properties of 20 acres or more, recognizes landowners who acknowledge not only their rights, but their responsibilities to the environment. Property qualifying as a Wildlife Sanctuary should be biologically diverse and/or possess significant natural qualities, and should be managed in a way compatible with natural processes.
• The Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary Program includes properties of any size, and in areas including urban and suburban settings. These sanctuaries should provide the four basic elements needed by wildlife to survive: food, water, cover/shelter, and breeding sites. Plantings of native shrubs, trees, flowers and other forms of vegetation serve the needs of birds and butterflies and enhance the natural aesthetic character of a property.

06/12/2026

Bank swallows are nesting in sand dunes at Presque Isle near beaches six and eight this summer, prompting a collaborative effort from the Erie Bird Observatory and the Pennsylvania Department of Co…

06/03/2026

POISON HEMLOCK: (Conium maculatum). (ALL PARTS OF THIS PLANT ARE HIGHLY TOXIC—EAT IT AND YOU WILL DIE.) This herbaceous species is a member of the Carrot Family. As its common name indicates, this is not a plant you want to include in your wild food diet. Poison Hemlock is an invasive import from Europe that is now widespread throughout the North America. It blooms in late spring or early summer.

The juices of this plant are highly poisonous and there is no specific antidote. It contains the alkaloids Coniine and Coniceine that cause paralysis of the respiratory system and birth defects in farm animals. This is probably the plant that was used to execute the Philosopher Socrates in Ancient Greece. The fatal dose for an adult human is 6-8 leaves of this plant. The toxin is more concentrated in the seeds and roots. Humans can also obtain the poison through cow’s milk and by eating fowl that have fed on the plant. Conium maculatum “extract” can be purchased on the Internet in the form of bottled “globules”, but it is a homeopathic medicine that is so heavily diluted that it is probably both harmless and ineffective for any medical purpose.

The Poison Hemlock plant is very common throughout this area. It is a large branching plant that grows on roadsides, in weedy or waste areas, in fields, or on the edges of woods. Although it tolerates poor dry soil, it can also grow in wetter and more fertile soils. It is a common to see it while driving on area roads. Poison Hemlock can grow as much as 10 feet high.

The plant has shiny dark green leaves that resemble parsley and a light grey-green, hairless, hollow, grooved stem with purple spots or streaks, especially on the bottom half of the stem. These spots and the finely divided leaves are the easiest way to distinguish this species from plants with a similar appearance. Poison Hemlock has an unpleasant smell that gets worse when the plant is damaged. That characteristic at least makes it less likely someone will harvest it and consume it.

The flowers are arranged in flat-topped clusters, each consisting of many tiny individual white flowers. Each flower is only 1/18 inches wide. It is not toxic to touch. A variety of insects obtain nectar from the flowers without suffering any harm.

Poison Hemlock is not related to the evergreen Hemlock Tree, but can be mistaken for other common wildflowers of the same family, some of which are not poisonous. One of these is Queen Anne’s Lace (Wild Carrot), but this is a much smaller plant with a few dark flowers in the center of an otherwise tight, white flower cluster. Queen Anne’s Lace also blooms later in the summer. Another very poisonous plant, the Water Hemlock also has a similar flower, but tends to grow in wetter places than the Poison Hemlock. Cow Parsnip also has a similar appearance but with Maple-like leaves.

I took these photographs of a Poison Hemlock in Center Township, Beaver County, PA, but it is common throughout the area. See less

What's blooming at Jennings State Park
05/09/2026

What's blooming at Jennings State Park

05/07/2026
05/07/2026

Upcoming BAS Programs
May 11, 2026-Monday-Annual Awards Night and Membership Meeting
Join us as we present this year’s awards. We will also hold
our annual meeting and elect officers for the upcoming term.
You don’t need to be a member to attend; all are welcome!
Our programs are held the second Monday of the month at
7:00 p.m. at the Jennings Environmental Education Center,
2961 Prospect Road, Slippery Rock, PA. The Education Center is located on Rt. 528 just west of its junction with Rt. 8-
about five miles south of Slippery Rock. The programs are
free and open to the public.

Local wildlife/ bird/ nature photographer Dot Monahan took these heavily cropped images of a bird rarely seen in western...
05/07/2026

Local wildlife/ bird/ nature photographer Dot Monahan took these heavily cropped images of a bird rarely seen in western PA, a breeding plumaged PACIFIC LOON on Kahle Lake in Venango/ Clarion Counties. Thanks Dot!

05/04/2026
What a creature!!
04/23/2026

What a creature!!

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Slippery Rock, PA

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