From Our President: April Brings Vaux’s Swifts Back to Agate Hall

Posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014

As most of you know, the chimney of Agate Hall on the University of Oregon campus is an ecologically significant migratory stopover for tens of thousands of Vaux’s Swifts during the spring and fall months. During last year’s fall migration, over 45,000 birds were counted entering the chimney. The number is not a total of the birds that might have used it, because counts were done only weekly and sporadically.

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President's Page

Hummingbirds at Home

Posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014

Would you like to help hummingbirds? Would you like to be a citizen scientist and contribute to a national database? Then the National Audubon Society’s Hummingbirds at Home program is for you. This project was launched in April 2013 to help uncover how hummingbirds are affected by climate change.

Conservation Column Apr 2014: The Birds and the Bees (and the Flowers and the Trees)

Posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014

Spring is in the air—time to talk about the birds and the bees. Perhaps not “the talk” that first springs to mind, but rather the one about pollinators and how important they are to life on earth (not to mention their financial impact worth over $15 billion in crop value each year). It’s also time to consider why so many populations of bees and birds are in serious decline.

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Conservation Column

Program Meeting: "Bird World: Insights for Humans from the Amazing Lives of Birds" with Noah Strycker

Posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014

Birds aren’t people, but just how different from us are they? They have the same basic requirements we do: food, shelter, reproduction. And they can do some amazing things!

Date: 
Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - 7:30pm
Location: 
Eugene Garden Club, 1645 High St.

Welcome Back Vaux's Swifts at Agate Hall - April 25 & May 2

Posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014

Lane County Audubon Society will hold its annual spring Swift Event outside Agate Hall on two consecutive Fridays, April 25 and May 2, at sunset. We hope to see early arrivals by mid-April and the numbers will increase over the next three to four weeks.

Date: 
Friday, April 25, 2014 - 7:30pm
Location: 
Chimney outside Agate Hall on the University of Oregon campus

Thanks to Our Volunteers

Posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014
Herb Wisner has spent many hours every year for many, many years doing volunteer work for LCAS. He has served on the Board, and he has been Program Chair for decades—so long that we can’t pin down just how long. He has kept an ear and eye out for prospective speakers and has magically filled the program calendar eight times each year.

Have Some Fun—Volunteer!

Lane County Audubon Society is an all-volunteer organization, and our members are very proud of the energy and diverse talents that volunteers bring to our cause—we couldn’t do it without them! Volunteering with Lane Audubon is a great way to meet new people, give back to the community, and best of all, have fun!
 
If you’re interested in volunteering for one of the opportunities below, or if you have other ideas about ways you can help, contact Maeve Sowles at 541.343.8664 or president (at) laneaudubon.org.

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Booth Coordinator - Lane County Audubon is looking for one or two volunteers to help with our booth appearances at local events and festivals. This opportunity involves setting up and taking down the booth four or five times a year and scheduling other volunteers to staff the booth at events. One or two people could share or split these duties. We will provide orientation and training. If you enjoy coordinating activities and working with people, this could be the opportunity for you. For more information, call Ron Renchler at 541.345.0834, or email christyandron (at) qwest.net.
 
Membership Renewal - Prepare mailings to Lane County Audubon members whose local memberships have expired. You can do this from home; no technology needed! This opportunity requires a couple of hours, four or five times a year.
 
Bike Path Cleanup Coordinator - Coordinate cleanup of our stretch of the West Eugene bike path.
 
Audubon in the Schools Program Coordinator - The Audubon in the Schools (AITS) curriculum, developed by Kris Kirkeby, our former Education Chair, comprises five fun-filled lessons that combine bird biology and basic art techniques. It is designed to provide elementary students with a solid introduction to core aspects of bird biology, including bird feather anatomy and function, bird identification techniques, bird field marks, and habitat. The lessons are excellent examples of participatory education. The coordinator keeps all facets of the program going, including classroom scheduling and volunteer training, and also teaches lessons to students along with the other volunteers. We hope to find a new coordinator who can take this wonderful education program to new heights!
 
Program Chair - No one can remember the last time we wrote a Program Chair description, because no one can remember the last time the position was vacant! (See “Thanks to Our Volunteers” here for the reason.) The Program Chair recruits speakers for the chapter Program Meetings that are scheduled eight times a year. This person
seeks new programs that will enhance our members’ awareness of birding, habitats, natural history, conservation, and other issues, and he or she must be able to engage speakers and organize publicity and other logistics well in advance of each meeting.