From Our President: All Animals Are Smart, But in Different Ways
Posted on Sunday, March 31st, 2019
A recent article published in The Atlantic prompted a good discussion among LCAS Board members. The article, “A Journey Into the Animal Mind,” can be seen at: tinyurl.com/y2mwpbdo
It is only partially about crows, but includes many examples of animal consciousness and learning. It is a story of the Jain sect in India, which is an ancient religion whose highest commandment forbids violence not only against humans, but also against animals. The Jains run a Birds Hospital in Delhi, India.
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The Lane Audubon phone receives many calls from residents who ask that question. We also receive similar questions from our website contact page asking about usual backyard birds that are missing from their feeders.
We need to share that our own survival as a species depends upon how we care for the earth we inhabit. If we nurture, protect and preserve the earth’s natural places, it will be our own species we save, as well as other species with whom we coexist. 
My travels this summer took me to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology near Ithaca, New York, where I was able to bird in renowned Sapsucker Woods near the lab. I also took a behind-the-scenes tour of the research facility itself, technically known as the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity. The center houses classrooms, a DNA sequencing lab, and a library containing the world’s largest collection of recorded natural sounds, including the songs, sounds, and calls of more than 5,600 species of birds! 
We have a small and committed Board that steers our various projects and lends a hand when needed. The Board will help 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.
By September, bird migration is in full swing. We can find shorebirds and ducks arriving at Fern Ridge and other waterways. We can see the Vaux’s Swifts at Agate Hall, as well as other chimneys around the area. A little farther from home, the raptor migration can be observed from atop Bonney Butte in the Mount Hood National Forest. 
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My first encounter with a wetland ecosystem was in the springtime, on a vacant lot where the frogs’ chorus drew me like a magnet to the ponds in the flooded field. The hidden frogs lured me with their songs, compelling me to explore the elusive source of the sound. I was a young girl then, and I have been searching the water’s edge ever since. Many towns’ sewage ponds are their only marshy area and are frequently the local birding hot spot. The combination of water, abundant organic material, and few people lets the wildness spill into these unique areas.
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