Program Meetings

Colombia is a dream destination for birders. Its avifaunal richness is partly due to the branching of the imposing Andes into three mountain ranges: the Eastern, Central and Western Andes. Two rivers, the Magdalena and Cauca, create the great valleys between these mountains. The altitude ranges from a few hundred feet to over 18,000.

Lane County Audubon Society Board elections will be held at the September program meeting. 

The slate of candidates are all incumbents: Ramiro Aragon, Rachael Friese, Jim Maloney, Ron Renchler, Debra Schlenoff, Maeve Sowles, and Rebecca Waterman.

In this slide show presentation, Eugene author and hiking guru William L. Sullivan will take us on a tour of a dozen new or dramatically changed trails in the area between Salem and Bend. All are featured in the newly released fifth edition of his guidebook, “100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades.” Included are a new path along the Deschutes River north of Bend, a new bird refuge trail at Salem, and several reopened trails to wildflowers in the Cascades. He’ll also discuss the effects of wildfires and the Forest Service’s new permit system. Along the way, expect anecdotes about local history, plants, and outdoor lore.

William L. Sullivan is the author of 22 books and numerous articles about Oregon, including an “Oregon Trails” feature column for the Eugene Register-Guard.

Although the program was cancelled, you can read the article on red knots and see Janet's paintings in this Orion magazine article: https://orionmagazine.org/article/flight-of-the-red-knot/

In a slide show of her original paintings, Janet Essley explores the fascinating life cycles of these long-distance migrants, their amazing physiology, and the conservation challenges they face. The Red Knot, Calidis canutus, a medium-sized sandpiper, is a regular guest along the Oregon Coast during its spring and fall migrations. Extremists among sandpipers, Red Knots migrate longer distances, breed farther north, display faster beach-probing feeding maneuvers, and ingest harder-shelled mollusks than other sandpipers. Recording scientific knowledge through art forms from around the world, Essley’s project Cultural Cartography of Red Knots (visit theredknotsproject.org), is a unique collage of human and avian natural history. Research for this project has immersed Essley in shorebird scientific studies and an astounding variety of human artistic expression from around the world.  If nothing else, she says, studying migrating birds teaches us that the world is one shared home. 

Please Note: 7 pm start time!

Alan Contreras is currently writing A History of Oregon Ornithology for OSU Press, with help from Vjera Thompson, Nolan Clements, Chip Jobanek, Herb Wisner, Larry McQueen, and others. This program will feature more people than birds, while illustrating how bird study has changed in Oregon from the early 1800s through the Internet age. You’ll hear about John Kirk Townsend (as in Warbler and Solitaire), whose bird specimens were eaten by hungry members of his team, and Henry Henshaw, who mistakenly let off his shotgun in front of the constable’s home. Another historical character was Olaus Murie, who banded the first Oregon bird and then nearly completed his life list at Three Arch Rocks. More fascinating characters will surely make their appearances as his remarks and anecdotes range over a hundred years of Lane County birding. 

Each year at the Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show, hundreds of vendors with earth-friendly products gather to promote their wares and provide information on environmental and sustainability topics. Lane County Audubon Society’s booth will be part of the action again this year. 

Each year at the Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show, hundreds of vendors with earth-friendly products gather to promote their wares and provide information on environmental and sustainability topics. Lane County Audubon Society’s booth will be part of the action again this year. 

Harry Fuller will give us a look at the rich and diverse bird populations of Harney County—the Great Basin species we never get on this side of the Cascades. This includes the birds that pass through during migration, and those that are year-round residents.