Support LCAS—It’s Never Too Late!
Posted on Monday, November 30th, 2015
If you haven’t returned the donation envelope included in the November issue of The Quail or gone online to show your support for Lane County Audubon Society during our annual fund drive, you can still do so. Simply mail your tax-deductible gift to LCAS, PO Box 5086, Eugene, OR 97405. (Make checks payable to Lane County Audubon Society.) If you prefer to use your credit card through our online donation page, visit http://laneaudubon.org/support/donate to complete the transaction.
This year marks the 74th Eugene Christmas Bird Count (ECBC) and the 116th National Audubon Society (NAS) Christmas Bird Count. The ECBC this year will be on Sunday, January 3, 2016. Our 15-mile diameter count circle is centered in the Danebo area of Eugene and is divided into 27 areas, each with a Team Leader. The Team Leaders organize the teams, lead the groups through the area during the count day, and then submit the results to the ECBC Steering Committee.
Noah Stryker, Eugene/Creswell native and local bird nerd, is nearing the end of his year-long birding adventure. During his international big year, he has recorded sightings of well over 5,000 bird species, breaking the world record for species seen in one year, which was 4,341. Noah has documented his trip in his blog, Birding Without Borders, hosted by National Audubon. Check it out at 
One of the highlights of my summer was participating in a bird walk in New York City’s Central Park. After temporarily losing my way in the maze of lanes and paths that make up the park, I finally found the Boathouse, where Robert DeCandido, or “Birder Bob” as he is known locally, always begins his Sunday morning walks. Predictably, it was an international group, including birders from South Africa, Greenland, Turkey, China, and Oregon (me), all eager to see East Coast birds in the sanctuary that Central Park provides in the midst of the great metropolis.
Sara Lee Higgins has served as LCAS webmaster since April 2013. She brought our new webpage from a basic shell into a fully functional web presence, made online donations and membership payments possible, built in new features to provide easier access to information, and created visual improvements. Just a few adjectives to describe Sara include creative, helpful, communicative, talented, skilled troubleshooter and problem solver, attentive to detail, and self-directed. In short, she is a most excellent webmaster!
Since May 2011, Joyce Trawle has served as Audubon Adventures Coordinator. She worked hard to grow the program, which now offers environmental education materials to over 40 classrooms in Lane County.
Volunteers are the “green energy” that drives the activities of the Lane County Audubon Society. The only way we keep our projects running is with the help of folks who have some time, talent, and initiative to help. We have a small and committed Board that steers our various projects and lends a hand when needed. The Board helps new volunteers with advice, support, and experience. We want to see everyone succeed in forwarding our mission. We care about wildlife and their habitats and we also care about people.
We recently had to put our 13-year-old dog, Kahu, to sleep. He had been part of our family his whole life and was a source of fun, companionship, love, and loyalty that whole time. My grieving makes me think of the valuable lessons we learn from animals if we are lucky enough to hold them close in our lives.
Audubon Adventures combines the best of all worlds for participating teachers and their students for the 2015–2016 school year—the new materials are available as printed newsletters with exciting online components. This award-winning environmental educational program introduces students to the fundamental principles by which the natural world functions. This year’s topics focus on protecting Earth’s natural resources: