Bird Walks

Count Coordinator
Dick Lamster is the Count Coordinator and he will work with NAS on the administrative tasks of the count. He will also coordinate with the Team Leaders, handle publicity, co-write the post-count narrative, and assign new participants to teams. If you want to participate this year or change teams, call or email Dick. Otherwise, call your Team Leader from last year (although he or she might be calling you soon).

Birds
Dan Gleason is retiring as the Species Coordinator, and Vjera Thompson will be taking over those tasks. She will accept the bird checklists from the Team Leaders at the end of the count, hopefully at the chili feed. She will review rare and unusual bird sightings and then submit all the results to NAS. Vjera will also work with Dick to prepare the post-count narrative.

Home Counters
If you cannot participate on a count team but would like to count the birds that visit your yard, please call Herb Wisner at 541-344-3634. Herb is in charge of the Home Counters and will assist you in recording the birds you see and including them in the official count.

Thomas Meinzen will lead this walk. The walk site will be determined by interesting bird sightings posted to OBOL and other pertinent information available before the day of the walk. Details will be posted on the LCAS Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Lane-County-Audubon-Society/330177413824, and on the website: laneaudubon.org.

All ages and skill levels are welcome. Bring binoculars, if you have them. To carpool, meet at 8 a.m. at the South Eugene High School parking lot, corner of 19th and Patterson. We plan to return by noon. Remember that it’s not a good idea to leave valuables or your vehicle registration in your car if you leave it at the lot. A $3 donation is appreciated to help support Lane County Audubon’s activities.

FMI: Rebecca Waterman at 541.653.3354 or Rebecca.waterman@gmail.com.

Our walk leader will be Vjera Thompson. The location of the walk will be determined by interesting bird sightings posted to OBOL, along with other pertinent information available before the walk date. Details will be posted on the LCAS Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Lane-County-Audubon-Society/330177413824, and on our website: laneaudubon.org.

Please join us this Saturday morning for our monthly 3rd Saturday bird walk! This month's walk will be led by John Sullivan at Mt. Pisgah. Meet in the South Eugene High School parking lot (near 19th and Patterson) at 8am to carpool, or meet at the main parking lot at Pisgah around 8:20. There is a parking fee, $4 for the day, there is a pay box. See Mt Pisgah website for details. Feel free to call or text Rebecca at (541)653-3354 with any questions.

This will be the 76^th  ECBCand the 118^th National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. Dick Lamster is the Coordinator again this year, supported by the Steering Committee of Allison Mickel, Herb Wisner, Dan Gleason, Vjera Thompson, and Barbara Gleason. 

This month's 3rd Saturday Bird Walk will take place at Delta Ponds and will be led by Rebecca Waterman and Nick Paget, who bird there frequently. Forecast calls for lots of rain, so we'll stick close to cars in case people decide to escape. Delta Ponds is a great place to see the beginning arrivals of winter ducks.

Lane County Audubon Society hosts this annual fall swift event outside Agate Hall. Thousands of Vaux’s Swifts use Agate Hall’s big chimney to roost for the night as they gather prior to migration.
Last year the birds moved through in a big group early in the month, before we could celebrate their journey. This spring we were more fortunate. We were able to enjoy watching 2,500 birds disappear down the chimney the night of our swift event. So we may see several thousand birds entering the chimney, but there is no guarantee!
It is fun to observe the swifts before they fly off to Central and South America for the winter. Lane Audubon will provide handouts with information about the Vaux’s Swifts.

This Saturday’s Bird Walk will start at the Royal Avenue part of the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area. Local birder John Sullivan will be our leader. We will rendezvous at the parking lot at the end of Royal Avenue about 8:30.

Groundhog Mountain is a terrific place for roadside botanizing and butterfly watching. There are no trails and any hiking will be limited to walking along the road or into a wet meadow. Beginners are encouraged to participate in this outing as a learning experience in butterfly identification.