CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Ice Cream Social and Members Show & Tell
Sunday, February 21, 2010
1:00 pm
Oshkosh Seniors Center - Oasis Room
200 N. Campbell Rd. , Oshkosh
This annual event is always fun, free and open to the public! The Audubon board will treat you to ice cream and a variety of toppings. We invite you to share your photos, slides, videos, DVD slide shows, and stories of your outdoor adventures, flowers, birds, nature, etc. To allow everyone an opportunity to share, please keep your presentation to around 10-15 minutes. A slide projector, VCR, and LCD projector with a laptop/dvd drive will be provided. Please join us for an enjoyable "sundae" afternoon with friends and family - old and new!
Annual Midwest Crane Count
Orienation: Wed., April 7, 6:30 pm., Oshkosh Public Library
Attend this orientation meeting to choose your count site, pick up survey materials, learn to recognize the different crane calls and other important information. If you are unable to attend this meeting, but want to participate, contact Evelyn Meuret at 920-426-1656 or meuret@uwosh.edu.
Count Day: Saturday, April 17, 2010
5:30-7:30 am
The Annual Midwest Crane Count is a citizen science tradition created by the International Crane Foundation (ICF) of Baraboo, WI. We invite you to help gather valuable data to further ICF research. Volunteer counters of all ages can enjoy this early morning activity. Winnebago Audubon coordinates the count in Winnebago County which has 45 designated sites to be surveyed. After the count, join us for breakfast (Dutch Treat) at the Fin 'n Feather in Winneconne.
May Birdathon: Help Audubon Continue To Sponsor Programs and Activities in our Schools and Community! May is the perfect time for bird watching during the spring migration. And, so it is a great time for our Birdathon. You are invited to help us count! Give us a call to join one of our bird watching teams. We have a wonderful time visiting our favorite bird haunts to see, hear, count and record as many birds as we can in a 24 hour period. Spend an hour with us or the whole day. The Birdathon would not be a success without the generous contributions of our members and friends. Please sponsor our birders by pledging a per bird amount or fixed dollar amount. Your support allows us to continue providing quality events and programs in our community.
Watch for details on these events:
Spring Banquet - Sat., April 17
Bird Walks at WILD Center/Wild Ones Spring Plant Sale -
Sat., May 8
Waukau Creek Family Adventure Day - Sat., May 15
Frog Night Hike - Sat., May 22
Canoe/Kayak on Rush Lake - Sat., June 26
PAST PROGRAMS
Bird Watching & Great Backyard Bird Count Workshop
Saturday, February 6, 2010
9:45 am - 11:30 am
Oshkosh Public Library (lower level meeting room)
106 Washington Ave. , Oshkosh
Learn about common birds in our area, bird feeding tips, some great birding areas, optics and how to participate in the citizen science program called the Great Backyard Bird Count. All ages and skill levels are welcome to attend.
Steve Easterly, DNR Wildlife Technician, will give a presentation on eagles and ospreys in our area. Steve is involved with the annual aerial survey of active nests.
The workshop is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not necessary, but would be helpful in planning handouts. To register contact Janet Wissink at 920-589-2602 or wiss@centurytel.net
Take a Mid-Winter Nature Break With the Great Backyard Bird Count
February 12-15, 2010
Bird watchers coast to coast are invited to take part in the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, Friday, February 12, through Monday, February 15, 2010. Participants in the free event will join tens of thousands of volunteers of all levels of birding experience to count birds in their own backyards, local parks or wildlife refuges.
Each checklist submitted by these "citizen scientists" helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how the birds are doing—and how to protect them. Last year, participants turned in more than 93,600 checklists online, creating the continent's largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.
“Taking part in the Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way to get outside with family and friends, have fun, and help birds—all at the same time. Anyone who can identify even a few species can provide important information that enables scientists to learn more about how the environment is changing and how that affects our conservation priorities,” said Audubon Education Vice President, Judy Braus. “Everyone who participates in the GBBC—families, teachers, and young people—will get a chance to hone their observation skills, learn more about birds, and make a great contribution to the future!”
Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org. One 2009 participant said, “Thank you for the opportunity to participate in citizen science. I have had my eyes opened to a whole new interest and I love it!”
“The GBBC is a perfect first step towards the sort of intensive monitoring needed to discover how birds are responding to environmental change,” said Janis Dickinson, the director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab. “Winter is such a vulnerable period for birds, so winter bird distributions are likely to be very sensitive to change. There is only one way—citizen science—to gather data on private lands where people live and doing this across the continent over many years. GBBC has enormous potential both as an early warning system and in capturing and engaging people in more intensive sampling of birds across the landscape.”
Bird populations are always shifting and changing. For example, 2009 GBBC data highlighted a huge southern invasion of Pine Siskins across much of the eastern United States. Participants counted 279,469 Pine Siskins on 18,528 checklists, as compared to the previous high of 38,977 birds on 4,069 checklists in 2005. Failure of seed crops farther north caused the siskins to move south to find their favorite food.
On the www.birdcount.org website, participants can explore real-time maps and charts that show what others are reporting during the count. The site has tips to help identify birds and special materials for educators. Participants may also enter the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count. Many images will be featured in the GBBC website’s photo gallery. All participants are entered in a drawing for prizes that include bird feeders, binoculars, books, CDs, and many other great birding products.
May 2, 2009 Spring Banquet featured Anita Carpenter speaking about her original nature quilts and a treasure hunt for items found in the quilts.
Anita's Amanita quilt