The Lancaster County Bird Club (LCBC) will meet on Thursday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster. A short business meeting will precede the program.

Dan Brauning, now retired from the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) after 31 years, will present "Recovery of Our Nation's Symbol: The Iconic Bald Eagle." The presentation examines environmental initiatives, including Pennsylvania's role, that set the stage for the 20th-century population explosion of the bald eagle, which at one time had been nearly gone from the contiguous 48 states. Brauning was involved with the monitoring and conservation efforts. Since the 1980s, bald eagles have achieved population levels that no longer require federal and state endangered species listing.

Brauning was raised in Philadelphia and graduated from Geneva College and Penn State University; he holds a Master of Science. Brauning coordinated Pennsylvania's first "Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania" in 1983 and then edited the resulting book. He joined the PGC as an ornithologist in 1990 and there oversaw many bird projects, including the state's breeding bird survey and the "Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania." He and Gerald McWilliams co-authored the book "The Birds of Pennsylvania."

The public is invited to attend free of charge. For more details, call 717-856-3851 or 717-725-2717.

Additionally, the Lancaster County Bird Club will offer field trips in September. The trips are free and open to the public. Unless otherwise noted, participants must register with the trip leader no later than 6 p.m. the day before the trip.

On Saturday, Sept. 9, Vince Pantanella will lead two field trips to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Middle Creek's Outdoor Explorer Series. Participants should meet at the visitor center parking area at 7:30 a.m. or the Willow Point parking lot at 2 p.m. The purpose of the outings is to look for early fall migrants, including warblers, flycatchers, thrushes, and shorebirds. No registration is necessary.

On Sunday, Sept. 10, the destination will be State Game Lands 156 on Pumping Station Road off Route 322 west of Brickerville with a 7 a.m. start. This spot is popular among fall warblers. Those who plan to attend or who have questions should contact Carl Groff at 717-471-9969 or fledge19@verizon.net.

A field trip to Chestnut Grove Natural Area will take place on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 7 a.m. This area is an ideal place to view wildlife and observe nature due to habitat diversity, which includes stream corridors, wetlands, open water, grasslands, and forested uplands, as well as its location along the Susquehanna River migratory corridor. Participants will keep an eye out for migrating raptors and shorebirds, songbirds, and grassland birds. The trip leaders are Larry Bernhardt and Keith Leidich. To register, contact Bernhardt at 717-314-1461 or sjbernhardt@verizon.net.

The Ironville Community Park Raptor Watch will start at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17. Participants will look for broad-winged and sharp-shinned hawks, American kestrels, ospreys, and bald eagles. The viewing area is level, and restrooms and a pavilion are available. Attendees of this drop-in event may want to bring a chair and a lunch. No registration is necessary. For more details, contact Groff.

An outing will take place at Noel Dorwart Park in East Hempfield Township on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 7 a.m. Attendees will look for migrating birds. To learn more, contact John Lahr at 717-284-3497 or johnlahr324@gmail.com.

Roger Stoner will lead a Beginning Birder Field Trip on Saturday, Sept. 30, at 9 a.m. at Chestnut Grove Natural Area. Binoculars will be available to borrow. To register, call Stoner at 717-393-9030.

For more information about the trips and the club, visit http://www.lancasterbirdclub.org or http://www.facebook.com/lancasterbirdclub.