E-mail your "Community Events" to us: susqtran@epix.net; no phone-ins, please. We will publish events in the two issues prior to the event, free of charge for nonprofit or community events.

We regret that we cannot be responsible for keeping track of regular monthly events. Each must be submitted separately and are listed as space permits.

MAY 3 - 6

Spring Rummage Sale: Wednesday, May 3, Thursday, May 4 and Friday May 5 from 9AM – 5PM and Saturday, May 6 (BAG DAY) from 9AM – Noon at the Susquehanna United Methodist Church. Rummage sale will be open for customers, please use rear entrance by Dollar General.

MAY 4

CHICKEN AND BISCUIT DINNER: Thursday, May 4 from 5PM until gone at the VFW Auxiliary 386 Main St. Great Bend. Take out available.

MAY 6

PARK ROADSIDE CLEAN UP: Saturday, May 6 at 9:00AM at Salt Springs Park in Franklin Forks. We split into groups and pick up trash along the roads in the park and along Silver Creek at the park entrance. We provide bags and gloves.

BOOK SIGNING: Sunday, May 6 from 11-2PM in front of Schneider’s Market in the Susquehanna Depot, Mary Pat Kelly-Upright will be signing copies of her new book “Tell Them For Me”. Come down to get your copy and say hello to our newest local author!

CRAFT AND VENDOR SHOW: Saturday, May 6 from 10AM-4PM ath 129 Canton Street in Troy. Western Alliance Emergency Services is sponsoring their first annual Craft and Vendor Show. Food and drink will be available from Rocky’s Hot Dog Cart. This event is being held inside and will benefit the Emergency Services Training Fund. Vendor space is available by calling 570-297-1761.

Independent Democratic Women of Susquehanna County Meeting. Interested women are encouraged to attend this newly formed group on May 6th at 2 p.m. at the Montrose United Methodist Church at  526 Church St. in Montrose. (Entrance to meeting hall is on parking lot side of the building). Childcare is available with adequate notice. Questions, contact Barbara Scott at rasprise@epix.net

MAY 6 & 7

CLEAN UP 171: Saturday and Sunday, May 6 and 7, starting at 8AM with check in at MXM Motorsports, 28731 State Route 171. We will be cleaning up litter and debris along the 171 from Oakland to Hallstead. Gloves and Vests will be provided as well as a generously donated meal from Oakland Corner Pub. Please wear comfortable walking shoes!

MAY 7

HEARSAY A CAPELLA: Sunday, May 7 at 1:00PM at the Historical Society Concert hall on the corner of Dundaff and Main Street in Forest City. The Forest City Area Historical Society is proud to open their 2017 Music Concert Series with the premier all-female a capella group “Hearsay A Capella” of Cornell University. Hearsay a Capella performed for the Forest City  Area Historical Society in 2015 and 2016 to rave reviews. The group’s director, Katie O’Neill, a native of Pleasant Mount, noted the group covers an eclectic mix of songs and styles, all of which are arranged by the members.

MAY 13

NORTH AMERICAN MIGRATION COUNT: Saturday, May 13 at 7am at Salt Springs Park. Evan Mann will lead a birding walk to record as many species for the annual spring migration count as we can see or hear. Free

SPRING DINNERS: Saturday, May 13 at the South Creek Lions Club, Route 14, Gillett. Enjoy roast beef and turkey dinners of “real” mashed potatoes, vegetables, baked beans and home baked bread.

MAY 14

ANNUAL MOTHERS DAY BBQ: Sunday, May 14 from 11:00AM – 12:00PM at the Thompson Hose Co. Includes ½ chicken, baked potatoe, baked beans, roll, dessert and drinks. Take-outs available. Pre order 570-442-1107 or 570-442-1208.

MAY 15

THOMPSON CEMETERY MEETING: Monday, May 15 at 7:00PM at the home of Jeanette Saulo, 296 Main Street, Thompson, PA, the Thompson Cemetery Association will be holding their annual meeting. If you are a lot owner, family of someone buried there or are interested in the cemetery, you are invited to attend. If you have any questions, please call 570-727-2179.

MAY 16

CHICKEN AND BISCUIT DINNER: Tuesday, May 16 from 4-6PM at the Clifford United Methodist Church in Clifford. Take out or dine in, includes dinner, dessert and drink.

MONDAY: Fish Piccata, Italian green beans, tomato bisque, crackers, fresh fruit salad.

TUESDAY: Open face hot pork sandwich, garden vegetables, soup, mashed potatoes, whole wheat bread, cherry cobbler.

WEDNESDAY: Spaghetti and meatballs, tossed salad, steamed broccoli with garlic, whole wheat spaghetti, chocolate-vanilla swirl pudding.

THURSDAY: Chicken Verona, savory spinach, herbed potatoes, whole wheat dinner roll, sorbet.

FRIDAY: Pepper steak with gravy, glazed carrots, steamed brown rice, pineapple dream.

Spring 2017 has taken its time to arrive in Northeastern Pennsylvania and has only recently straggled in after a winter of late and heavy snowfalls. Finally, though, the flowers are blooming, the hills are misted with greening foliage—and migrating birds are returning. For dedicated birders and curious amateurs alike, spring heralds a popular tradition at Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve in Thompson, PA—our two annual bird walks. In the company of experienced naturalists, walk participants identify birds by sight and song as they ramble through the 400-acre nature preserve that is deservedly known as a “birder’s paradise.”

On Saturday, May 6 at 6:00 AM, Ron Milliken will guide his twenty-sixth annual walk in the preserve. Especially popular among experienced birders, this walk covers a wide area of the preserve and most of its diverse habitats: woodland, glacial pond, wetlands, open meadows, and swampland. You can expect to locate between 60 and 65 bird species during the morning. An enthusiastic and tireless naturalist, Milliken himself typically arrives at the preserve before daybreak and keeps trekking throughout the morning, though you are free to leave the group at any time you wish.

Two weeks later, on Saturday, May 20, at 7:30 AM Evan Mann, a local birder and walk leader, will conduct a leisurely walk around the preserve, providing an excellent education about the birds that are both migrating through the area and staying to nest. Information about the location and distribution of breeding birds is valuable in understanding which species are rare, threatened or endangered. Besides identifying birds the group encounters through sound and sight, Mr. Mann will discuss the habits of the various species and offer helpful pneumonic tricks for identifying them by their songs.

On both walks you can expect to discover tree swallows, wrens, and sparrows in the brushy meadows. The deep boreal bog, Weir’s Pond, attracts eastern bluebirds nesting in dead snags, swamp sparrows, and belted kingfishers. Warblers—small, vocal, and earth-colored—show up in a number of different habitats. Hawks can be spied hunting in open areas, while the preserve’s pristine brook and dense woodlands offer ideal habitats for the northern water thrush, Baltimore orioles, scarlet tanagers and least flycatchers. Plews Swamp, on the northern end of the preserve, is  the preferred habitat for families of wood ducks, mallards, and red-winged blackbirds.

The walks are free, and you do not need to make reservations. Both walks begin at the Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve parking lot one mile north of Thompson on Route 171, opposite Stack Road. The terrain is mostly flat, but be advised that the trails are narrow and uneven, with stones and tree roots poking through the ground. If it’s rained recently, wear waterproof footwear. Bring your binoculars, and come prepared to spend a morning, or mornings, exploring the fascinating world of birds. For further information, contact Trebbe Johnson, 570/396-0293.

For more information about bird walks in other natural areas around northeastern Pennsylvania, call Evan Mann at 570/663-2621.