The Meadowlark Messenger - Champaign County Audubon...

March Program State of the Parks: Restoration Projects at the Urbana Park DistrictThursday, March 1, 7pmUrbana Free Library

Presenter: Matthew Balk, Natural Areas Coordinator, Urbana Park DistrictOver the years, various restoration projects have come and go in the natural areas of the Urbana Park District (UPD). Come hear about the “State of the Parks” and the successes and challenges faced through stewardship of our urban natural areas. Matthew Balk of the UPD will walk us through some of the past, ongoing, and future projects we can look forward to, as well as inform us on ways we can all give back to our parks. Light refreshments will be served.

March 2018 • Vol. 35, No. 2

ChampaignCountyAudubon.org

Champaign County Audubon Society • A Chapter of the National Audubon Society

The Meadowlark Messenger

In This Issue:Kendeigh Grant RFP ............................... Page 3

Thank You Donors! .................................. Page 3

Great Backyard Bird Count Results ..... Page 4

Conservation News ................................. Page 4

Why We Bird ............................................ Page 5

Calendar of Events ................................. Page 8

Champaign County Audubon Society • A Chapter of the National Audubon Society Page | 1

Field Trip to Emiquon Preserve Saturday, March 17, 7:30amIn the spring of 2007, the Nature Conservancy turned off pumps that had dried out the land since the 1920’s. The now restored lake is host to large flocks of waterfowl and much more. It is just across the Illinois River from Havanna.

Meet at Anita Purves Nature Center parking lot at 7:30am. Bring lunch if you like, or eat in Havanna.

Photo: Deanna Uphoff

Photo: Robin Scholz

10% discount for CCAS members! Monday–Saturday, 9am–4pm Anita Purves Nature Center 1505 N. Broadway, Urbana, IL

Newly restocked inventory. Come check it out. Think spring, binoculars, bird and wildflower guides to learn ahead. Also the usual selection of children’s books and nature related toys. As always proceeds support environmental education or research.

Champaign County Audubon SocietyP.O. Box 882, Urbana, IL [email protected]

Officers• President: Sara Johnson• Vice President: Brody Dunn• Secretary: Charlene Anchor• Treasurer: Allan Penwell

Members at Large, 2017-2018• Beth Chato • Carie Nixon

Members at Large, 2018-2019• Janet Jokela • Christina Ruiz

Committee Chairs• Bylaws: vacant• Conservation: Jeff Peyton• Education: Pam Leiter• Field Trip: Beth Chato• Finance: Astrid Berkson• Hospitality: vacant• Membership: Rachel Vinsel• Nature Shop: Beth Chato• Program: Sara Johnson• Publications: vacant• Publicity: Carie Nixon

Newsletter editor, Webmaster, BirdNotes listserve manager: Pam Leiter

Champaign County Audubon publishes The Meadowlark Messenger nine times per year. Comments regarding the newsletter, or articles for submission, are welcome.

Get this newsletter delivered right to your inbox—in color!

Would you like to go paperless and help our funds go further? Please visit the Newsletter page on our website and enter

your name and email address.



Field Notes Submitted by: Beth Chato Spring is on the way. Large flocks of Snow and White-fronted geese reported from various locations, Red-winged Blackbirds at MeadowBrook, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler near Homer.

Winter Common Redpolls along with Pine Siskins have been hanging out at Woodlawn Cemetery.

A Saw-whet Owl was at Homer Lake Preserve. A Snowy Owl seen near Homer may be the same one seen in January. A Short-eared Owl was seen in the southern county.

A Eurasian Tree Sparrow and Brewer’s Blackbirds were reported from feeders.

Birdnotes ListserveJoin our Birdnotes listserve to get the latest local bird sightings in your inbox! Here’s how: go to ChampaignCountyAudubon.org and click on ‘Join Birdnotes.’ Enter your info, then click ‘Subscribe.’

Common Redpoll, Photo: Jeff Bryant



Kendeigh Grant: Request for Proposals Deadline: March 25Each year we offer grants for research in ornithology in Illinois for a maximum of $1000. Applications must contain:

1. The applicant’s name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address

2. Description of the research to be carried out3. Proposed budget4. Evidence of your qualifications to do the

research, including a brief CV and at least two references

Submit to: Champaign County Audubon Society, Attn: Kendeigh Grant CommitteeP.O. Box 882, Urbana, IL 61803jbpeyton2 -at- gmail.comApplications must be received by March 25, 2018. Notification of awards will be made in April.After the completion of the research, grantees must present the results in writing to CCAS. He/she will also be asked to give a presentation at a CCAS general meeting (typically the first Thursday in May, the year following grant award).

Thank You Donors! Thank you to all who have donated beyond membership dues:Tom Anderson, Doris Andrechak, Nate Beccue, Stephanie Bennett, Astrid Berkson, Van & Kathy Bowersox, Phyllis Brussel, Roger Digges, L. Brody Dunn, Darcy Gentner, Robin Hall, Laura Hartman, Joyce Hofman, Rob Kanter, Susan Kiddoo, Todd Kinney & Peggy Patten, Curtis Krock, Betsy & Peter Kuchinke, Derek Liebert, Marvin Lukasik, Rick McElmurry, Bruce & Theresa Michelson, Dorothy Neumann, Belinda Porter, Melissa Records & Greg Walburg, Brock Price, Dennis Prinn, Mary Jean Sattazahn, Kathleen Weibel & Albert Willms

Thanks!

Since its beginning in 1982, the Charles S. Kendeigh Research Grant project has funded over $30,000 of research on Illinois birds. Many grant recipients have gone on to prestigious careers in the natural history field.

Who Was Dr. Kendeigh?Dr. Charles S. Kendeigh, eminent ornithologist, was a renowned professor of zoology at the University of Illinois.

He was a charter member, president, and board member of CCAS, president of the Wilson Ornithological Society, and the Ecological Society of America, vice-president of the American Ornithologists Union, and co-founder of the Nature Conservancy and Animal Behavior Society.

Perhaps Dr. Kendeigh’s most enduring contribution was a standard method for censusing birds.



Great Backyard Bird Count Report As part of the Great Backyard Bird Count sponsored by National Audubon, Cornell Ornithological Lab, and Bird Studies of Canada, Champaign County Audubon members spent from 9am to 4pm on Saturday, Feb 17 at Anita Purves Nature Center counting the birds at the feeders. The weather was not great, ranging from rain showers to snow flakes. We tallied 21 species of birds. Last year we had 27. Most unusual were 2 Tree Sparrows and a Song Sparrow. There were also 2 short hikes through the woods. The morning hike added a Great Blue Heron to the list. The afternoon hike found a very quiet woods with the only birds seen 2 Chickadees. We enjoyed spending time with the visitors to the Center including enthusiastic young birders.

Conservation News: Federal Protections for Birds Are Under Attack Submitted by: Jeff PeytonFor 100 years, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has been in place to protect birds from people. Spurred by recent extinctions and near-extinctions caused by human activity – the last known passenger pigeon had just died in 1914 – the Audubon Society was instrumental in urging Congress to pass the MBTA in 1918. Now, a century later, key elements in the act’s protections are in danger of removal.The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects birds in a number of ways. First, it forbids killing or capturing birds intentionally. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the act makes it illegal to harm or possess protected birds or their eggs or nests. These rules also cover activities that harm birds unintentionally, called “incidental take”. Most incidental take is a result of industrial activity, with the energy sector accounting for the greatest proportion. The MBTA puts pressure on industry to minimize harm to birds, and to offset harm with projects like habitat restoration.It is this protection against incidental take that is now under threat from Congress and the current presidential administration. An amendment introduced by Congresswoman Liz Cheney to H.R. 4239 would change the MBTA so that it “not be construed to prohibit any activity . . . that is accidental or incidental to the presence or operation of an otherwise lawful activity.” That is, it would end any enforcement of incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and give industry free reign to kill birds. Additionally, a legal memo from the Department of the Interior in December, M-37050, concludes that the act only applies to “affirmative and purposeful actions”, not incidental take.These are only the latest in a series of legislative and executive actions taken to erode environmental protections. Champaign County Audubon Society has already written to our representatives in Congress urging them to reject HR 4239, and to Governor Rauner and others, urging them to contact Interior secretary Ryan Zinke and ask him to suspend the legal opinion stated in the memorandum, and we encourage you to do the same. More information on the MBTA, as well as instructions for contacting your representatives, can be found here: http://www.audubon.org/news/the-migratory-bird-treaty-act-explainedPlease join us in taking action on this important issue.

Low Mobility Bird Sit Saturday, March 10, 8-9am

Meet in Crystal Lake Park at the magic bridge parking lot.

Bring a comfortable chair and a pair of binoculars.

The best way to find the parking lot is to use the North Broadway entrance to Crystal Lake Park and drive until you see familiar faces!



Why We Bird: Roger DiggesSubmitted by: Brody Dunn

Why we bird is a new part of our newsletter. It’s meant to explore why birders do what they do and what keeps them coming back for more. CCAS has asked some local birders to share their stories and their motivations. Some will highlight the past and others the future, some will be short and others will be long. Taken as a whole, hopefully they’ll shine a light on why birds and birding is so important to us.

For our first story, we’ll find out why Roger Digges birds.

When I was a young child, I loved birds because they were brightly colorful (at least the ones I noticed), so graceful, and they flew! But, alas, I had no one to teach me their names (except for the most common) or where and how to look for the richness of bird life which, I’m sure, was never more than a bicycle ride away. I remained ignorant until well into adulthood.

Then some friends gave me a feeder for Christmas when I was 36 and a field guide. Attached to the railing of a deck which overlooked oak-hickory Ozark woods, the feeder drew in birds I’d never heard of, tufted titmouse, Carolina chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, downy, red-headed, and red-bellied woodpecker, and pine siskins. A friend took me birding at nearby Mingo National Wildlife Refuge and introduced me to waterfowl, wading birds, swallows, and a kingfisher perched only feet away. I was hooked.

For the next more than quarter of a century, I birded nearly every state in the lower 48 and several provinces in Canada as well as pelagic trips off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. I spent many of my days off exploring habitat on and around Clinton Lake and other area impoundments as well as the Illinois River and Lake Michigan. What motivated me was the same as when I was a child, their beauty and grace, but now there was something more, the challenge of finding “someone” new—an elegant trogon in southeast Arizona, a brown pelican at Clinton Lake, a purple gallinule in a local farmyard, and that glorious swallow-tailed kite in southwest Champaign. I’d hike or drive miles or stand bundled up on the frigid bow of a birding tour boat finding that next bird for my life list or state list or county list or year list.

At age 63, I was still going strong, birding the western Rockies on a 10 day spring trip to British Columbia. But that fall I developed myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, which made long hikes and whole days spent birding a thing of the past, and even shorter outings somewhat uncertain. So did I lose my zest for birding? Not at all. I’ve learned to value the community of birders I encounter on Sunday morning or other relatively brief outings much more than I had in the past. I pay much more attention to the birds outside my window or that I hear and see on my early morning walks at Meadowbrook Park. I have come to truly appreciate the expected “changing of the guard” through the seasons, and to treasure the unexpected.

This past January, Cathy and I ran the eagle monitoring route on the middle Illinois River which Helen Parker had so faithfully run for years. While impatiently dashing from one river access to another, Cathy noticed a speck of white which could have been a snowy owl. But, surprise, it was one of what turned out to be hundreds of trumpeter swans feeding in a harvested corn field. At a year shy of 70, I am learning to look forward both to “routine” birds as they come and go through the year, and the occasional wonder of spotting a bird I may never see again.



Mini-Grants for Educators We were able to fund ten educational projects this year! Thank you to all who make it poosible for us to directly support environmental education in our community.

Congratulations to our 2018 mini-grant recipients:

School/Agency Project Number Impacted Anita Purves Nature Center Teen Explorers Camp 16-45Anita Purves Nature Center Wild Child Survival Camp 24Centennial High School Observational Drawing of Birds and

Nature for Advanced High School Art10

Lincoln Trail Elementary Conservation Fair 600+Little Lamb Preschool Outdoor Garden Exploration 20ML King Elementary Pond as Inquiry Gateway to STEM 300Prairielands Boy Scout Council Pollinator Gardens as a Tool for

Environmental Education and Service Learning

50

Prairieview-Ogden Elementary Birding Awareness 150Preston Elementary Designing Space for Wellness, Inquiry

& Community through Our Outdoor Classroom

450

St John Lutheran School Field trip to Museum of the Grand Prairie

30

Each year, we offer mini-grants to educators in Champaign County to support environmental education. Educators can apply for up to $250 toward expenses for projects or activities that help enhance students’ learning about our natural world and environmental issues.

Thank You New and Renewing Members!Welcome New Members: Nate Beccue, Melissa Records

Thank You Renewing Members: Tom Anderson, Doris Andrechak, Stephanie Bennett, Van & Kathy Bowersox, Phyllis Brussel, Beth Chato, Kirk Deen, Roger Digges, Maggie Dougherty-Roberts, Maggie Duncan-Flowers, L. Brody Dunn, Joyce Eisold, Melinda Febus, Darcy Gentner, Denise Green, Robin Hall, Laura Hartman, Susan Hesketh, Joyce Hofman, Philip Hult, Doug Jackson, Rob Kanter, Dwaine Keller, Jo Kibbee, Susan Kiddoo, Todd Kinney, Harold Knoll, Mark Remi Koster, Curtis Krock, Betsy & Peter Kuchinke, Derek Liebert, Ann Lowry, Marvin Lukasik, Elaine Lutz, Randi G. Lundstedt, Rick McElmurry, Bruce & Theresa Michelson, Dorothy Neumann, Barbara Opal, Peggy Patten, Belinda Porter, Brock Price, Dennis Prinn, Gail Rector, Malcomb & Ann Sargent, Mary Jean Sattazahn, David Skadden, Nathan Shipley, Karen Silver, Kim Smith, Sandy Volk, Greg Walburg, Shirley Walker, Kathleen Weibel & Albert Willms

Questions? Please contact our Membership Chair, Rachel Vinsel (Rachel.Vinsel -at- gmail.com)

Join Champaign County Audubon Society! Yes, I’d like to become a member!When you join the Champaign County Audubon Society, 100% of your dues and donations support our efforts (and they’re tax deductible!).

$ CCAS Membership ($15 due each January).

$ __________ Additional donation to CCAS

$ __________ TOTAL

I am a new member I am renewing my membership

Name: _________________________________________________________________________________

Email: __________________________________________________ Phone # (______)_______________

Address: _______________________________________________________________________________

City: _______________________________________ State: _______ Zip: ______________ - __________

CCAS members will be automatically enrolled to receive our newsletter by e-mail; check this box if you would prefer to receive a paper copy.

Checks should made payable to CCAS. Send this form and your payment to: CCAS Membership Chair, P.O. Box 882, Urbana, IL 61803-0882. Thank you!



The Champaign County Audubon Society is a Chapter of National

Audubon Society, Inc.

Join National Audubon Society!When you join National Audubon Society you receive one year of Audubon magazine. You also have the option to receive local birding and community events delivered to your inbox from CCAS.

• New members: Go online to http://bit.ly/nas-g50 or call 1-844-428-3826. Please tell them Champaign County Audubon Society sent you using our chapter code "G50."

• Renewing members: Go online to http://bit.ly/renew-nas or call 1-844-428-3826.

Our Mission:

Promote interest, enjoyment, and understanding of all aspects of our natural environment, and actively encourage the protection of wildlife and native habitats.

Thursday, March 1, 7pm Monthly Program: State of the Parks: Restoration projects at the Urbana Park District Urbana Free Library

Saturday, March 3, 7:30am CCAS Member’s Birdwalk: Meadowbrook Park Meet at the Race street parking lot.

Sundays, March 4 - May 27, 7:30-9am Sunday Morning Bird Walks Meet in Anita Purves Nature Center parking lot.

Saturday, March 10, 8-9am Low Mobility Bird Sit Meet in Crystal Lake Park at the magic bridge parking lot. Bring a comfortable chair and a pair of binoculars. The best way to find the parking lot is to use the North Broadway entrance to Crystal Lake Park and drive until you see familiar faces!

Monday, March 19, 7pm, CCAS Board Meeting Anita Purves Nature Center

Visit our website for more information! ChampaignCountyAudubon.org

Champaign County Audubon SocietyPO Box 882Urbana, IL 61803-0882

Calendar of EventsWoodcock Walks• Friday, March 9, 7-8pm

Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve All ages welcome. Free. For more info and to register: ccfpd.org

• Saturday, March 10, 7-8pm Homer Lake Interpretive Center All ages welcome. Free. For more info and to register: ccfpd.org

• Wednesday, March 21, 7-8pm Meadowbrook Park Interpretive Center Free. For more info and to register: urbanaparks.org

The Meadowlark Messenger - Champaign County Audubon...

Documents

Transcript of The Meadowlark Messenger - Champaign County Audubon...