President's Message
Bill Rowe
State of the organization: St. Louis Audubon Society (SLAS from here on) has had a quiet month, at least outwardly—everyone busy with holidays or recuperating from them, kids and grandkids off school, and so forth. But our dedicated staff are still at work, with Dan Pearson and Shannon Callahan continuing to set up a productive new season of Bring Conservation Home and locate sponsorships that help support it, and Amy Weeks keeping the whole organization on track. The process of drawing up a new strategic plan is moving along, with the aim of presenting it to the membership for their comments in April. The five subcommittees that we named in November—Membership and Finance, BCH, Conservation, Education and Outreach, and Management (Board and Staff)—have all had their meetings to analyze SLAS’s strengths and weaknesses in those areas. The steering group that is organizing the whole effort will be reviewing these reports and planning a Board meeting on Saturday, February 17, which we expect will clarify the goals we want to adopt for the coming five years.
Volunteers: Our volunteer habitat advisers and birding trip leaders have had some time off and are now gearing up for a new season of BCH home consultations as well as beginner bird walks and full-length field trips, with the first beginner walk last weekend (check the website). Besides these trips of our own, we have agreed to provide help for the short bird walks that the Audubon Center at Riverlands offers on weekend mornings over the coming two months.
We remind you that volunteering can take these two forms but also more. If you have interests that align with other SLAS activities, such as conservation work or development, please get in touch with Amy or simply submit our volunteer application form, found here. And for one special form of volunteering, please see the next paragraph.
Board membership: Remember that some Board members reach the end of their terms on April 30 and will be rolling off the Board at that point, although they may remain active in committee or volunteer work if they choose to. These departing members have skills and interests that may be hard to replace, but several who just joined us over the past year are already having a positive impact on the organization. We are focused on finding additional new candidates, and you can help! If you know of anyone (including yourself) who would be a good prospective Board member, please get in touch with Amy or with me to discuss. The future of SLAS depends on an annual infusion of good people to serve as members of its guiding body.
Birding tours: As mentioned before, we are planning two out-of-state tours in conjunction with Naturalist Journeys, the company that Pat Lueders works with. One of these covers important parts of southern Arizona, August 7-14, and is already virtually full; but if you’re interested, please contact Amy and see there is still an open spot. The other, coming up much sooner, will be to New Mexico, March 5-10; as of this writing, there are several open spots, and we would like to hear from you ASAP about that one. We can provide you with a tentative itinerary and an idea of what birds you might see.
CBC’s: Many of our members have taken part in this year’s Christmas Bird Counts, of which there are seven in the St. Louis region (Missouri and Illinois). Of the ones that draw a lot of volunteers from around the area, we are aware of specific results from two at this point. The Weldon Spring CBC on December 17 (covering Weldon and Busch Conservation Areas, Babler SP, and more) had a total of 81 species, recorded by 37 observers in 14 parties in the field, plus five people at their feeders. And the Confluence CBC on January 1 (covering Riverlands, Columbia Bottom, Dresser Island, and more) found a tentative total of 103 species. The difference between the two counts lies partly in the diversity of waterfowl and other water-related birds that can be found in the Confluence circle.
(Photo above: Canvasback)
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Ornithological forecast for January
January is here, with plenty of birds but probably more stability and lower turnover (i.e., less migratory movement) than in any other month except June. Much of what you will find throughout the countryside is as we described for December: a full set of winter-resident sparrows, woodland species, open-field species, raptors, and waterfowl, many of which arrived in November or early December and will stay through February and into March, perhaps longer. There is one big variable, however: the weather. As it gets more persistently cold to the north of us, and cold fronts push down our way, the really “northern” birds that are prized finds around here are more likely to show up. This can mean a bigger influx of our common Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, and along with them the more unusual ones that we scan the flocks for, like Glaucous, Iceland, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Their continued presence depends on what the weather does. The same effect applies to other scarce cold-weather birds from the north, such as Snow Buntings, Northern Shrikes, Rough-legged Hawks, Common Redpolls, and a whole lot more. Even though January is the main stable midwinter month, it is still unpredictable what will come our way, and it’s never the same in any two years.
(Photo above: Iceland Gull by Doug Hommert)
Hot off the presses: As stated above, birds seem somewhat settled into their winter patterns in January, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t find the occasional unexpected treat. To state the obvious, “birds have wings,” and they do wander away from their normal ranges at times. Case in point: While many of us were covering our areas on the Confluence CBC the morning of New Year’s Day, a keen observer named Jian Xu went to the Blue Grosbeak Trail in Weldon Spring Conservation Area and discovered a Common Ground Dove, a southern bird that had been seen in Missouri only eight times before, starting in 1938. Many birders raced over that afternoon and found the little guy (or more likely little gal, as it appeared to be female), followed by more folks in subsequent days. Oddly, this was the same spot where a ground dove was found previously, the fall and winter of 2011-12. A good start to 2024!
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Common Ground Dove, Weldon Spring CA, Jan. 2, 2024
Photo Credit: Bill Rowe
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At Home Ecology, Curated Conservation
January 2024
Shannon Callahan
It may be a new year, but our gardens are still snoozing for a couple of months! Our few native evergreens are especially standouts at this time of year. Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and American Holly (Ilex opaca) are common sights in many naturalized woodland areas. However, they can be a striking winter focal point when used in a native garden. A landscaping favorite and our state tree, the Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida), has distinct dusty purple twigs that add a touch of color amidst winter browns and greys. January is a good time to start planning early spring additions, especially shrubs and trees, which may be able to be planted as early as next month!
Photo above: Tufted Titmouse checking out the berries on an Eastern Red Cedar
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St. Louis Audubon Society & Webster Groves Nature Study Society invite you to join us for a Winter Party! |
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This is an in-person event.
Space is limited so register early!
Parker's Table at Oakland & Yale is located at
7118 Oakland Ave, Richmond Heights, MO 63117
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Attend in person or by Zoom. To receive a Zoom link, contact Lisa Nansteel on or after January 31.
Dr. Chris Barnhart is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Missouri State University. He studies the conservation-related biology of freshwater mussels and butterflies. Chris collaborates with state, federal, and private agencies concerned with endangered species restoration and aquatic toxicology. He and his wife Debra curate the Dr. Bill Roston Native Butterfly House at the Springfield-Green County Botanical Center.
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Photo Credit: Ryan Haggarty |
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Photo Credit: Chris Barnhart |
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On the bottom of most healthy streams and lakes lie some of the most surprising animals in the world. They live for decades to over a century, often remaining in the same spot their entire lives. They lure fish with sophisticated tackle in order to complete the most incredible life history of any mollusk. They range in size from microscopic larvae up to dinner plate-sized ‘washboards’ tipping the scale at 10 pounds each. Some species are abundant enough to shape aquatic ecology, while many others are in danger of extinction, and their protection concerns industries and resource agencies in every state. These are the native freshwater mussels, also known as pearly mussels or naiades. I look forward to sharing some insights with you about these marvelous mollusks! |
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Mark your calendars for the
2024 Partners for Native Landscaping Spring Series!
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The 2024 Series has three parts:
Part 1: From February 20th to March 20th there is a series of ten webinars in collaboration with St. Louis County Library. Registration is now open and filling up fast. See the full listing and links to register here: bit.ly/PNL2024Webinars
Part 2: On March 23rd is an In-Person Workshop and Native Plant Sale at Maryland Heights Community Center. Stay tuned for registration.
Part 3: The spring series wraps up on April 28th with a Native Plant Fair at Beyond Housing.
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Join others who share your interests in nature, birds and wildlife!
More Beginner Bird Walks and Field Trips
will be added to the calendar soon!
Winter Party with WGNSS - January 28 - Riverlands
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Photo Credit: Elaine Collins |
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ST. LOUIS AUDUBON SOCIETY BOARD MEETINGS
Next meeting: Saturday, February 17
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Please Note: Board meetings will be held by Zoom and will not meet in person until further notice. If you have an interest in joining our volunteer Board, please contact one of the officers or staff members. |
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Officers & Staff
Bill Rowe, President
Michael Meredith, VP Conservation
Stephanie Schroeder, VP Education
Gail Saxton, Secretary
Nick Eaton, Treasurer
Amy Weeks, Executive Director
Dan Pearson, Director, BCH
Shannon Callahan, Outreach Specialist, BCH
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