September-October 2002 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society

8/9/2019 September-October 2002 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society

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Big Bluestem Flyer

Volume 38, Number 1 September/October 2002

ProgramsSeptember

19 - Jim Dinsmore, "Costa Rica: A Paradise forBirders" Jim will describe his experiences in severalregions of Costa Rica, including the people, the country's

natural areas, and the opportunities for Iowans to have a

great travel experience in the tropics.

October

17 - Mike Freiberg, "Flora and Fauna of theOregon Sagebrush Steppe" The endangeredSagebrush Steppe has much more to offer than what may

be seen at the surface. Mike will discuss his research on

the breeding birds of the Sage, conducted while working

for Point Reyes Bird Observatory. He will also discuss the

habitat of that region.

November

21 - Diane Debinski, "Butterflies of Iowa: TheWinged Jewels of the Prairie"

December

12 - BBAS Holiday for the Birds and BBASMember slideshow, Story County ConservationBuilding, McFarland Park__________________________________________________

Program meetings are held monthly, September -May

(except December) on the third Thursday of the month

at 7 :30 pm , R oom 2226 Ve te r ina ry M ed ic ine

B ui ld in g , Iow a S t a t e U nive r s i ty , Am es , Iow a .

If you would like to meet and dine with th e speaker a nd

the BBAS Board before the monthly meeting, please

cont act J ohn S nyd er, 515-232-8824 or jesnyder@ix.

net com.com , to confirm spa ce an d locat ion.

Field TripsSeptember

13-15 FY IIowa Orn i thologists Union

meeting at Boone Y Camp. Field trips Sat ur day

and Su nday mornings leaving from t he Y camp.

15 P e l ic a n F e s t i va l a t J e s t e r P a r k meet

at 9:00 am behind WBU t o car pool.

21 Pete r son P i t s . Confus ing Fa ll Warbler

Fest

October5 Rar e B ird Ale r t Weekend Well go where

the birds are.

19 S n y d e r F a r m s /E r r i n g t on Ma r s h . Meet a t

WBU at 7:30 to car pool to the a rea .November

2 Ames Quarry, Doolittle Prairie, Little Wall Lake,

and other birding hotspots of Story and Hamilton

Counties.

16 Saylorville Lake, Jester Par k, Big Creek Sta te

Pa rk , Big Creek Wildlife Area for m igrat ing wat erfowl

and sh orebirds.

December14 Ames Christmas Bird Count.

15 Saylorville Christm as Bird Count.

January 20031 Boone Christ mas Bird Count .

_________________________________________________

Unless otherwise indicated, all field trips leave

p r o m p t l y at 8:00 a m from the public parking lot west

of (behind) the Ames Wild Birds Un limited (WBU),

located south of th e railroad t ra cks at 213 Duff Ave.

Trip destinat ions are subject to cha nge based on r ecent

rar e bird sightings and th e desires of the pa rticipant s.

Cont act J eff Nichols (515-795-4176 or

jnichols1961@hotma il.com) for more informa t ion.

Page 2 - Presidents GreetingsPage 3 - Birds Around the Area

View From Wolfs DenKarls Backyard

Page 4 - Conservation Corner

Page 5 - Mid Month Birding EventsPage 5 - Spring Field Trip ReportsPage - BBAS Annual Report for 2001-2002Page 7 - New MembersPage 8 - Years Ago In Ames Audubon

In This Issue

Newsletter of the Big Bluestem Audubon Society


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2 Big Bluestem Flyer September/October 2002

Presidents Greetings

I knew last spring that the time to write this column

would be here too quickly. And it most certainly is. Where did

the summer go? Please let me introduce myself. I am John

Pohlman, your new president of Big Bluestem Audubon Soci-

ety. My day job is superintendent at the City of Ames Re-

source Recovery System. My wife, Lynette, is director of Un i-

versity Museums at ISU, and our daughter, Jessica, is a seniorat Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, majoring in

fine arts photography. We all enjoy art and outdoor activities

to varying degrees. I am a person who likes to get involved.

Here is a list of some of the groups in which I am active; Story

County Conservation, IOWATER, REAP, Story County De-

mocrats, and Big Bluestem Audubon. So here I am, being in-

volved.

One of the first things I need to do is say thanks to Karl

Jungbluth for all of the work and leadership he has given to

Big Bluestem these past two years. One of the many things he

has done is help get us all involved through his implementing

and promoting of the annual Birdathon event. That raised

money for environmental education and habitat that are im-portant to us all. He has also represented us very well through

his involvement with Audubon Iowa. THANKS KARL for

those and everything else that you have done to keep Big

Bluestem moving forward. I only hope that I can do as well,

and I look forward to working with you as we transition into

the next year.

I also need to thank to Mary Doud who has been Secre-

tary for the Big Bluestem Audubon Society board for many

years and has done a great job. We are still looking for some-

one to take over those duties. Meanwhile we will rotate that

duty among the board members. Thanks also goes to Al

Ravenscroft for his time and involvement on the board. Wel-

come to our new board members: Wolf Oesterreich, Matt

Wettrich and Maridel Jackson.Another thanks goes to Rebecca Shivvers for doing such

a great job with the "Big Bluestem Flyer" as our newsletter

editor. In fact she did such a great job that she made it an

award winning newsletter. She is turning over the newsletter

responsibilities to David Edwards. Dave has had experience as

our editor previously and is ready to do it again. Please con-

tact Dave if you have any news or art icles for the newsletter.

John Snyder, our Program Chair, helped us put together

some great diverse programs again this year. Jeff Nichols, our

Field Trip Chair, is planning some great field trips for Big

Bluestem Audubon as well.

The board has some challenges to look forward to this

year. One of them will be how to adjust our budget plan ac-

cording to reduced membership revenues and reduced income

from Birdathon. It looks like we will have things to do; it

should be an interesting year for us all. I hope everyone was

able to do some great birding this summer, and I hope to see

you all in September.

John Pohlman

Big Bluestem Audubon SocietyOfficers and Committees

OfficersPresident: John Pohlman 232-6816 [email protected]: Linda Thomas 292-7534 [email protected]: [vacant]Treasurer: Donna Flanagan 268-0458 [email protected]

Board Members

Bruce Ehresman 296 -2995 [email protected]: Nichols [email protected] Jackson 515-964-0140 [email protected] Oesterreich 515-232-3285 (h) [email protected] Wetrich 956-4299 [email protected]

Committee ChairsArchivist: Hank Zaletel 382-427 [email protected] Co-chairs: Karl and Carmen Jungbluth, 432-5057 weather-bird.opencominc.comConservation Chair: Bruce EhresmanEducation Chair: Ida Johnson 233-4831 iwindj@aoLcomField Trip Chair: Jeff NicholsMembership Chair: Al Johnson 233-4831 awindj@aol. comProgram Chair: John Snyder 232-8824 [email protected]

Publicity Chair: Linda Thomas 292-7534 [email protected] & Electronic Media Co-Chairs: David Edwards [email protected] and Joyce Bahrenfus 432-3396

BBAS Web Site:http://www.wyalusing.org/BBAS.htm

Iowa Bird Sightings Hotline 319-338-9881Wildlife Care Clinic 515-294-4900

The mission of the Big Bluestem Audubon Society to

enjoy the observation and study of birds and natural

ecosystems, contribute to their conservation and

restoration, engage in educational activities to benefit

humanity, and gain a broader understanding and deeper

appreciation of the world we live in.

Redhead Artist Daniel S. Kilby


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September/October 2002 Big Bluestem Flyer 3

View From Wolfs DenS outh of Hayd en Heritage Park (nee Hallett's Qua rry)

In Ma y, the city divert ed flow of the sma ll creek a long th esouthwestern bounda ry into a soybean/plann ed wetland.Shorebirds arrived: fourteen species including SemipalmatedPlover, Killdeer, Gr eater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary, Sp otted,Semipalmated, Least, White-rumped, Stilt , and P ectoralSandpipers, Dun lin, Common Snipe, and Wilson's P halar ope. I

ended up recording 102 avian species in Ma y, the highest m onthlytotal in the 5 years I've lived a t t his location, including 2 grebespecies, 3 her on sp ecies, 8 wat erfowl species, 4 woodpeckerspecies, 5 flycat cher sp ecies (includ ing th e Alder Flycatcher , a Lifespecies for me), 4 vireo species, 6 swallow species, 10 wa rblerspecies, and 8 spar row species. The 9 Ea red Grebes foun d on th e25th, th e female Red-breasted Merganser on the 17th, and t heSolitary Sand pipers on th e 29th may all break th e cur rent St oryCounty late Spring records. Ju ne an d J uly only had 55 an d 47species, resp ectively. A Western Grebe, foun d by J im Dinsm ore on29 Ju ne, may represent only the 6th record for Story Coun ty. The8 Pied-billed Grebes foun d on 22 J uly may r epresent ear ly Fallmigran ts. Two Great E grets (14 J uly) are only the 7th Su mmerrecord for St ory Count y. A female Grea t-tailed Gra ckle visited myfeeders on 4 J uly.

Wolfgang Oesterreich

Karls BackyardNorth edge of Ledges SP Boone Coun ty

At times our backyar d looks like Iowas bus iest birdairport, but things typically slow down a bit in August.Most of th e fledgling birds can fend for th emselves now,but they still make frequen t at tempt s at begging for food.The young Ha iry Woodpecker is m aking qu ite a r acketright n ow. The par ent woodpeckers car ried off many a

peanu t th is summer, all lined up in their beaks for th enestlings.As I write, the Wren an d Catbird are st ill feeding their

youn g at t he n est, or close by. An island of na tive shru bstha t we planted several years ago ha s become theCatbirds favorite haunt . Cardina ls and juvenile Rufous -sided Towhees have been seen t her e as well. ColorfulGoldfinches, an d Rose-brea sted Grosbea ks in allplumages, are da ily visitors to the feeders and yard.

The weeds, poison ivy, an d yes the hu midity, have keptme from exploring th e woods behind the house in r ecentdays. The beaver pond on t he creek near by was washedout on Birdath on day in May, and ha snt been r ebuilt. Wehear the Bar red Owls and Great -crested F lycatcherfrequently, and just last week a P ileated Woodpecker

called as I headed out the d oor for work. Ph oebes andPeewees stop by the yard to catch insects, andinfrequently Ive hear d t he Scarlet Tana ger singing.

The Bluebirds an d Tree Swallows ha ve had a goodnesting year in th e boxes I ma intain. Bluebirds fledgedfrom one box, then Tr ee Swallows, and now it hosts 4more Blu ebird eggs. Ha ve you ever noticed how long itta kes for Tree Swa llows to fledge? The babies were in th ebox for about 3 week s, an d some of th eir first flights werein our back yard.

Summ er highlights include 2 successful Ba ltimoreOriole nests in t he yard , one right over th e front steps.And, in m id-Ju ly, I watched a baby Bluebird ta ke its firstflight from th e box just out side our front window.

Karl Jungbluth

Meetz Prairie WindsNortheast of Am es a few m iles

P r a i r i e Wi n d s is th at portion of our back forty Linda a nd Iwill be sharing with you in futu re n ewsletters. Since settlement,this par cel has been farmed or used as open pastu re for cattle andswine. A three-acre par cel along the south border ha s escaped thecut of the plow and su rvived as an un-drained pr airie pothole forat least the last 50 years, according to a neighboring farmer . Some

years th e pothole is dry by midsummer but u sua lly holds waterthrough fall.After two prepar ation years this 36-acre prairie reconstr uction

is in its third growing season. It ha s at tra cted a variety of water-fowl, shorebird, an d gra ssland sp ecies. A rar e tr eat included aWhite-Faced Ibis that stopped for five days earlier this su mmer .

We will let you kn ow what stops by for a visit or d ecides t o

make i t a h ome.Mike Meetz

Oak Forest FeedersS outhwest edge of Ames

Like Karls yard, our feeder stations an d sur roundshave ha d very heavy use this summ er from waves ofyoung bird s being int rodu ced to the fast food an dpesticide-free environment. F rom t he ear liest St arlings intheir t raditional holes in h igh oak limbs to the second a ndth ird(?) fledges of Robins an d Car dina ls just n owappearing, the show has pr ogressed without let-up.Included have been all the usu als: Blue J ays, Grosbeaks,Chickadees, Titmice, Nut hat ches, Downy, Ha iry, an d Red-

bellied Woodpeckers, Wr ens, Mour nin g Doves, Swifts,Flickers, Bluebirds (our first ), Grea t-crested Flycatchers,Indigo Bunt ings, Catbirds, Thrash ers, Humm ingbirds,Peewees, House Finches, and House Spar rows. Regularfly-bys included Can ada Geese, Great Blu e Heron s, WoodDucks, Turkey Vultur es, Red-tails, and Crows.

One of th e summ er high lights was sp ying a Woodcockwaddle down th e gully near t he h ouse; I nearly fell off themower.

Dave and Jeanne Edwards

Mortensen Mounds UpdateS outh of IS Us T ower Dorm s

More tha n 10 year s ago, Big Bluestem Audubon a cceptedman agement of a neglected ha lf-acre of Ames land , located on t hecorn er of Morten sen Rd. an d Ash Ave, in SW Ames. The Mound sare a rich chan ce to help sensitize the pu blic to nat ive plant s an dbirds. A sign helps explain the ar ea: Mortensen Mounds, NativeFlowers & Grass es, Big Bluest em Aud ubon. A flock of goldfinchvisits frequen tly, an d th e yellow pra irie coneflower, purple

monar da, an d blue Pitchers sage blossoms a re br ingingbutt erflies.. Come and see!

Jeanne Edwards


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September/October 20024 Big Bluestem Flyer

Conservation CornerIowans Vow to Fight for Resource Programs

Iowans who value th eir nat ura l and h istoric resources have promised to work t o re-

verse spending cuts t hat have gutted the sta te's award-winning Resources Enh an cement

and Protection (REAP) program. More th an 150 people meeting in Des Moines a t t he

2002 REAP Congress voted to call for full fun ding of th e program , which began in 1989.

The pr ogram, which has received nat ional recognition, ear mar ks m oney for conserva-

tion education, soil and water conservation, city and county parks, state land acquisitionand man agement, historic preservation and r oadside vegetat ion m ana gement. The origi-

na l legislation au th orized up to $30 million per yea r for 10 year s, with a formu la allocat-

ing funds t o each of th e program s. The REAP legislat ion lat er was extended t o allow $20

million a nnu ally, but th e Legislature h as never appr opriated t he full amount .

"Less than one penn y of our stat e tax dollar now goes to nat ura l and cultur al resource

protection," said Mark Ackelson, president of the Iowa Nat ura l Herita ge Foundat ion a nd

co-coordina tor of th e 30-mem ber REAP Alliance. "We ar e r obbing from our selves an d fu -

ture generations" when money is diverted from resource programs, Ackelson said.

The Big Bluestem Audubon, along with about 30 other organizations in the REAP Alli-

ance, helped draft th e REAP law and secure its passage in th e Iowa Legislatur e, and ha s

helped monitor th e program since 1989. Allian ce m embers were shocked t his year when

the Iowa legislature cut 80 per cent from the $10 million originally requested for the July

2002 to Jun e 2003 budget. Lawma kers a lready had cut $2.8 million from last year 's ap-propriations.

"This pr ogra m is in t rouble," war ned J eff Vonk, director of th e Iowa Depart men t of

Nat ura l Resources. In addition t o the budget cuts, the legislatur e restr icted use of the

rema ining $2 million to paying property taxes, cont ractua l obligations, and ma inten an ce

of sta te lan ds. "REAP as we've kn own it, is n on -existent th is year," Vonk conceded.

He called on REAP Congress delegates an d other Iowans t o speak out in support of r e-

sources protection, an d to lobby their legislators t o remind t hem of th e benefits of REAP

in their own communities.

Ackelson agreed t ha t RE AP cuts will have far -rea ching effects: "Regardless of wha t

your conser vation concern is--soil, wat er, hist orical sit es, agricultu ra l land , wildlife,

parks, trails, trees, prairies, or streams-you have lost important tools to do your work

and protect these resources."

Ackelson added t ha t RE AP cut s reflect a la rger t ren d of redu ced stat e fun ding for con-servat ion. "REAP was cut 80% from last year a nd is only at 10% of its au th orized level.

But this is not the only conservation cut. Lawmakers cut Iowa conservation by one third-

on ethird!

Less than one penny of our stat e tax dollar now goes to natu ral a nd cultur al resour ce

protection," Ackelson noted. "Do not a ccept a s fact t ha t t his is th e resu lt of sta te bu dget

problems. Support for conservation has eroded over the last 5-6 years. Dedicated funds

have been diverted at the sam e time there h as been deliberate actions to weaken pr o-

gram effectiveness."

After some discussion, participants voted near unanimously in support of the following

resolution: "REAP funding be r estored t o $20 million for F Y 04 an d su bsequent years."

The sma ll group discussions r eaffirmed st rong support of REAP an d ident ified importa nt

stra tegies to better commu nicate within th e REAP Alliance, with the public and with our

elected officials.

"REAP was creat ed with n early un an imous bi-part isan su pport of the legislators. Polls

indicate that a strong majority of Republican an d Democra t voters support conservat ion

and environmental protection," said Ackelson. "We must ask ourselves, "Why has sup-

port er oded?" We must not a llow ourselves to fight over th e scraps of conser vation fun d-

ing, but we must find ways t o determine what needs to be done to rebuild support."

REAP. Invest in Iowa. Our Outdoors. Our Heritage. Our People.

Bruce Ehresman

Feeling the cutsIowa's Resour ce En-

hancement and Pro-

tection (REAP) fund -

ing was cut from $10

million to $2 millionin F Y-03. Her e's just

a sa mpling of th e ef-

fects of those cuts:

Wa t e r s h e d P r o t e c -

t i on P r o g r a m s pr o-

tected Iowa's drink -

ing water, beaches

an d fisheries. Ten

lakes and s treams

must wait for pollu-

tion contr ol projects.

E n v i r o n m e n t a l

E d u c a t i on G r a n t sfunded 99% of the

professionally ac-

credited conserva-

tion education

cour ses for Iowa's

teachers. Now zero.

C o u n t y C o n s e r va -

t i on B oa r d s r e-

ceived $2 million in

REAP funding an d

grant s for environ -

mental education,

equipment and park

operations. Grants

help fund 4-8 county

parks per year .

Gone. Meanwhile,

cities won't get fun d-

ing for 17-20 park s.

H i s t o r i c a l R e -

s o u r c e P r o g r a m s

lost funding to pr o-

tect an d conserve 46

projects, such as st a-

bilization an d r esto-ra tion of the count ry

schoolhouse at-

tended by Iowa na -

tive and Nobel Peace

Pr ize winner, Norm

Borlaug.


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Mid-Month Birding EventsYou should have received a letter from Iowa Audubon in mid August detailing these events.

Sept. 13-15, 2002 Fall Birding Conference Iowa Ornithologistss UnionTheme:B r in g ing P eop le to B i rd in g , M ov ing B i rd ers to Conserva t ion A c t i on

Two Outst anding, Na tionally Known Speakers plus four Speakers from Iowa

Two Half-day F ield Trips t o Excellent Bir ding Locat ions

Conferen ce hea dqua rt ers is t he newly refurbish ed Des Moines YMCA Cam p 1192 166th Dr ., Boone.

September 15, 2002 Pelican FestivalAt the third ann ual P elican Festival we will watch th e incredible gath ering of the American White P elicans atJ ester P ar k at th e north end of Saylorville Reservoir. The event will ta ke place from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. at

Cam p Area #4 in J ester P ar k, which is just eas t of Gran ger, Iowa, and ea sily accessed from HWY 141.

September 16, 2002 Pelican GalaThe Fir st Annu al Pelican Gala will be at th e J ester Pa rk Lodge overlooking Saylorville Reservoir. The pr ice of

th e Gala is $75 per person or $125 per couple. Gala a tt endees will be able to use th e viewing deck to see th e won-

derful display of pelicans. Mr. Kenn Kaufman will be the featured speaker.For everyone inter ested in birds an d

habitat, this will be a wonderful evening to enjoy the camaraderie of other birders, the spectacular migration of

Pelicans a nd th e opportu nity to support birds an d habitat in Iowa.

The Gala will be Audu bon Iowas biggest fun dra ising event th is year.

Big Bluestem FlyerSeptember/October 2002 5

Mothers Day Warbler Walk,Peterson Pits, 12 May 2002

Several Ceru lean Warblers were

the first birds we found upon our

arrival at the east trailhead. The

birds were browsing low (!) in the

trees along the banks of the Sku nk

River, permitt ing all six trip

par ticipant s to get nice long looks.

Though we knew t he birding would

be downhill from t her e, we

persevered nevertheless, and within

two hours had located 60 species,

including Chestnut -sided an d 9 other

war bler species; nine species of

sparrows; and Yellow-throated, Blue-

hea ded, an d Red-eyed Vireos.

Sweet Marsh, Bremer County,18 May 2002

Eight BBAS members a rrived at

the marsh early on a clear cool day

hoping to find the spring migration

in full swing. We werent

disap pointed. Usin g Fr an cis Moores

excellent Birding Sweet Marsh

article as our guide, we walked

slowly along th e road just west of th e

mar sh a nd a long th e old ra ilroad bed

to the south. Warblers and other

songbirds were swarm ing through

the trees like bees. We saw 22

war bler species, 5 flycat cher species

(including Olive-sided Flycatcher ), 5

swallow species, and 6 woodpecker

species. We also saw lots of kingletsand thr ush es, Bobolinks, and 7

species of waterfowl. We also heard

and then finally found a small group

of San dhill Cra nes. Best of all, we

didnt see ANY House Spa rr ows or

Eu ropean Sta rlings. After a n

enjoyable picnic lunch a t t he city

park in Tripoli (where we reluctantly

added the sparrows and star l ings to

our tr ip list), we hea ded back to the

mar sh. The last bird of the day was a

soaring Peregrine Falcon, which flew

high overhead for several m inutes

before finally dropping out of sight.

The species tota l for t he da y was

115. One of th e best field trips of the

year!

Birders Brunch, 1 June 2002The ever -popular combina tion of

birds an d food brought out 22

part icipants for th is years Birders

Bru nch. The food was good and so

was the birding. We tallied 63

species for t he m orning. Only seven

warbler species were seen, but th ese

included a Pr othonotar y Warbler in

th e willows a nd a n est ing Yellow-

throated Warbler (found earlier by

Karl Ju ngbluth) high in the tree

overhan ging th e stone ent ran ce gate.

Four vireo species were a lso

observed, including a very

cooperat ive Ph iladelphia Vireo (a life

bird for many participants), which

explored the trees a t close ra nge and

just a bit above eye level.Jeff Nichols

Spring Field Trip Reports

Newsletter Material DeadlinesBecause we would like to ha ve the n ewsletter to each mem ber before t he first da y of its scope, th e editor needs

to have mat erial at least two weeks before th at. H ence t h e d e a d l in e w i l l b e t h e fi ft e e n t h o f t h o s e m o n t h s :

October, December, February, and April.

David Edwards, Editor


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September/October 20026 Big Bluestem Flyer

Big Bluestem Audubon SocietyReport on Accomplishments towards the 2001-2002 Annual Plan

June 2002L o n g T e r m G o a ls

Continu e the t radition of field tr ips, month ly programs, Chr istmas Bird Count s an d th e newsletter.

Possibly expand va riety of activities: field t rips beyond birding, offer short er t rips, walkin g tours, work da ys,

workshops, etc.

S ee 1, 2, 3,4 below. Assisted the Wild Bird s Unlim ited store with a backyard bird s program , in conjun ctionwith the Great Backyard Bird Coun t (GBBC), a sm all step toward expandin g the variety of activities.

Condu ct yearly Chapter Birdat hon.

S ee 5 below.

Increase the visibility of both Big Bluestem and National Audubon.

Promote our presence and activities.

S ee 6 below.

Accomplish pr ojects t ha t m ake a differen ce for birds, oth er wildlife and t heir h abita ts.

S ee 7 below. Chapter is providing m onetary support for the shorebird ad dition to the DN Rs Harrier Marsh in

Boone County. Chapt er donated $1000 outright, solicited its m embers for add itional donations, and w ill con-

tribute one quarter of Birdat hon proceeds to the project, wh ich will be m anaged to attract sh orebirds an d w ill

focus on bird and wildlife viewing, rather than hunting.

Be an advocate for birds a nd t he environment at a local, state and nat ional level through grassroots efforts.

See 11 below.Part ner with the Audubon Sta te Program.

See 12 below.

An n u a l P l a n

1. Pr ovide a full slate of field trips in the spring and fall.

Hosted 17 field trips with over 180 total participants. Maxim um 22 participants, m inim um 5.

2. Provide 8 educational program s a year (monthly meetings) tha t ar e science-based, foster an appr eciation and

underst anding of the n atu ral world, and promote a conservat ion et hic.

Eight programs- average attendance 35-40.

3. Produce 5 newsletters a year to keep our m embers and commu nities informed of chapt er activities and pr o-

vide the knowledge and means to be effective environmental advocates.

Five newsletters pu blish ed, usua lly 8 or 12 pages. N ewslett ers also posted on the cha pter website. Cost of

printing an d m ailing $1927.71

4. Coordinat e and par ticipate in the Ames, Boone an d Saylorville Christm as Bird Count s.

Coun ts were held on Decem ber 15, 2001, J an ua ry 1, 2002, and December 16, 2001, respectively. Organ izers

were Dave Edwards, J im Dinsmore and Mark Widrlechner.

5. Condu ct a cha pter Birdat hon on May 11, 2002.

161 species, 25 Birda thoners, over 180 sponsors and at least $4200 raised. Fun ds w ill go toward t he DNR s

Harrier M arsh shorebird a dd ition (25%), Audu bon Iowas Im portant B ird A reas program (25%), 2 or 3 schol-

arships to Young N aturalists Camp, and Au dubon Ad ventu res.

6. Pu blicize our activities an d accomplishm ent s within th e local medi a and oth er publicat ions.

With t he h elp of oth ers, Linda Thomas will explore ideas t o publicize Big Bluestem Audu bon an d increase

our visibility.

A work in progress. Partnered with th e Am es Wild B irds Un lim ited store to prom ote the Great Backyard

Bird Count an d provide informa tion on backyard birds. Press releases were sent out for the GBBC, an d sev-

eral for Bird athon as well. Meeting and field trip ann ouncem ents go to several newspapers.

7. Select at least one Audubon signat ur e project.

a. Fir st idea t o be explored would be pra irie plan tin gs at scenic overlook close to I-35 or ISU College of Vet-

erinary Medicine.

b. Other ideas regarding habitat as noted in th e board m eeting minutes of August 14, 2001.

S till und er discussion. Did not go through w ith I-35 prairie plantin g idea due to the fact that v isibility is

low (despite being along I-35), and another group wa s workin g on it.

Voted t o Adopt a Pa rk, part of a new S tory Coun ty program. BB AS will leading cleanup of one or


7/8

Big Bluestem FlyerSeptember/October 2002 7

two county conservation areas.

Birdath on is really our chapt ers signatu re project, with w ide participation. Th e dollars raised allow

us to m ake significant contribu tions to a nu m ber of projects.

8. Par tner an d volunteer with other like-minded organizations when th ere are opportu nities.

S ee Adopt a Park a bove.

BBAS is helping to raise money for the DNR s Harrier Marsh ad dition .

BBAS m embers helped out w ith B oone County Conservations outdoor classroom in Ap ril, introducing 200

children to birds and birding .

9. Supp ort the Saylorville Osprey Intr oduction Project, both finan cially an d with volunt eers.

$1000 wa s dona ted to th e project, and several volun teers from th e chapt er helped w ith sp otting.

10. Continu e to fund Audubon Adventur es classroom mat erials at a level deemed a ppropriate by th e board (up

to 30 classrooms approved at the August 14, 2001 board meeting).

S ponsored 24 classrooms. Our E du cation Ch air also mad e contact with teachers twice during th e year, and

Help a H abitat CDs and education p ackets (from Au du bon Iowa) were distributed to all Aud ubon A dven-

tur es classroom s.

11. Be an advocate for birds a nd t he environment a t a local, state and nat ional level through the Conservation

Committ ee, ann ouncements a t meetings an d field trips, the newsletter a nd ema il lists.

Chapt er mem bers spoke out in su pport of CAR A, against in creased barge traffic on the Mississippi R iver, and

for the designation of Hallets Quarry as an Am es city park and natu ral area. Every newsletter contain s the

Conservat ion Corner to keep m emb ers up t o dat e on i ssues.

12. Pa rt ner with t he Stat e Audubon Program by providing volunteer a nd financial support.Half of Birdath on proceeds w ent to the state office in 2001. Chapt er mem bers volun teered at th e Sa ylorville

Pelican W atch, and represented Aud ubon Iowa at th e Des Moines Flower, Lawn and Gard en show in M arch.

13. File the yearly Recertification Report with National Audubon. Done!

213 DUFF AVE.

AMES, IA 50010

(515) 956-3145

Your Backyard Birdfeeding Specialist

D o n a t e 10% o f y o u r N e x t P u r c h a s eT o Bi g Bl u e s t e m Au d u b o n S o c i e t y

& Rece ive 2 lb s . FREE o f ou r D e luxe B lend

Coupon must be presented at time of purchaseMay not be combined with any other offerNot valid on specially-priced merchandise

Monday Friday 9:30am 5:30pmSaturday 9am 5pmSunday Noon 4pm Offer Expires: 10/31/02

We Bring People and Nature Together

Present the coupons below at the time of your purchase and a donation will be given to BBAS.Donations will fund the various habitat restoration and educational projects undertaken by BBAS.

New MembersYvette Benton

Lou Corones

Ja mes Dahlke

Iva Johnson

Cath erine Kling

Judy Overbeck

Mark P eterson

J erry Poling

John Shierholz

Dennie Webb

Archie Wierson

Wierson Furn iture Inc.

D. Brookes

Pe te r Pa t tee

Mr. And Mrs. Stein er Silence

Mural i Subramanian

Lewis Berg

Brekke'sBrekke's TownTown && CountryCountry Store,Store, Inc.Inc.

1 1/2 miles east of I-35 on new U.S. 30 and 1/4 mile north

Hours: 8-6 M-F, 8-4 Sat. (515) 232-7906

Purchase DonationUp tp $15 $1.50$15 and over $3.00$35 and over $5.00

Over $70 $7.50

Brekkes offers Big Bluestem Audubon Society a donationwhen bird seed or other bird products are purchased.Present this coupon with your purchase and a donation will begiven to BBAS.

Offer good until December 31, 2002


8/8

If you have an X after your name on your mailing label,this will be your last issue of the Flyer unless you renew.

Non-Profit Org.U. S. Postage Paid

Permit No. 131

Ames, Iowa

Big Bluestem FlyerDavid C. Edwards, EditorBig Bluestem Audubon Society

2308 State AveAmes, IA 50014

Printed onRecycled paper

Years Ago In Ames AudubonFrom m ater ials Lotus Miller put into my care some years ago, I have gleaned some int eresting tidbits about our

past . The first n ewsletter was pu blished 35 years a go in J un e of 1968 as t he Ames Audu bon Newslet ter . (How

th is years newslet ter s got to be volume 38 I haven t a clue.) The th ree-page ditt o copy included a notice of the

J une meeting in wh ich a forma l organization an d constitu tion wa s to be settled. Included also was notice th at the

Ames City Coun cil had bann ed DDT from th e city upon r eceiving a resolution from th e Ames Audu bon.

Newslett ers from 30 years ago are m issing in my files, but th ese were times of fighting t wo wat er fronts: th e

Saylorville Reservoir which wa s expected t o periodically flood the Ledges Stat e Pa rk; a nd th e proposed Ames Res -

ervoir that would have flooded much of the Skunk River greenbelt. The Ames dam would have been just north of

Peterson Pits.

Twenty years ago Ames Audubon was in the throes of negotiating an affiliation with National Audubon Society.

That involved implementing a specific commit tee str ucture an d at tra cting 35 new members for t he n at ional a sso-

ciation. The September 1982 meeting was on Soil Conservation in Story County. The October newsletter marked

th e first u se of Bluestem Flyer. (We weren t Big yet!) Members wer e cooperatin g with th e Non -game DNR pr o-

gram to re-establish Barn owls in Iowa.

Ten years ago Maridel Jackson had just begun as BBAS President, and Sh erry Dragula began sha ring the

newsletter du ties with m e. The September m eeting was by Eu gene and Eloise Armst rong, Birding the F our Cor-

ner s of Iowa. October was Accident s H appen by Bob Myers on a ccidenta l bird species in Iowa.

David Edwards

We welcome new members!

September-October 2002 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society

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Transcript of September-October 2002 Big Bluesterm Flyer Big Bluestem Audubon Society