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The
Raven's
Nest
March
2022
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Birding Events
Join us for one of
Blue Ridge Audubon's Saturday field trips. Free and open to all.
Note earlier start time in April!
for leading our outings.
March 12, 9 a.m.
March 19, 9 a.m.
April 2, 8 a.m.
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Programs/Events
March Program
Tuesday, March 15 at 7 p.m.
Jay Leutze
Protecting the Lands We Love
Join us in person at the
April Program
Tuesday, April 19 at 7 p.m.
Board of Directors Meeting
Tuesday, April 5 at 6:30 p.m.
Open to everyone. Contact us to attend
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Dear friend,
In case you missed the big news last month, Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter, working with the UNCA Audubon Chapter, has recorded a great conservation success with our Lights Out Asheville Initiative. Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer signed a Proclamation supporting Bird Migration Awareness Months and committing to aid migratory birds (and save energy costs!) by turning off the lights in over 150 city-operated buildings throughout Asheville during migration season. Our work has just begun, however, as we now are performing vital community outreach to encourage local businesses and organizations also to commit to make their buildings safe for migratory birds. Follow our progress at https://www.blueridgeaudubon.org/lights-out-asheville. We'd also appreciate your clicking on this link to send a pre-written thanks via Audubon to the Mayor and City Council for helping birds with this proclamation.
As spring approaches, I am excited about what lies ahead. As of late February, COVID-19 cases are over 90% below their early January highs, and I am optimistic that we will be able to resume our in-person Audubon gathering and events, and just in time! We have a great speaker from the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy for our March Presentation at the Reuter Center this month; in April, the Audubon North Carolina Summit will be held in person (with appropriate COVID protocols as needed) in Charlotte; and in May I am looking forward to a highly competitive and entertaining Birdathon that we hope will raise substantial funding to go towards migratory warbler breeding habitat preservation here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Details for all these events are below in the newsletter.
I look forward to seeing you at one of these upcoming events, or at one of our organized Bird Outings, or perhaps just walking around the boardwalk in Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary this spring.
John Koon
President, Blue Ridge Audubon
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Protecting the Lands We Love
Jay Leutze
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Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter Program
Tuesday, March 15, 7 p.m.
Reuter Center, UNCAsheville
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Land conservation is more important than ever for birds in Western North Carolina. With populations of warblers like the Cerulean and Golden-winged dropping to precipitous levels, preserving land for nesting habitats is absolutely crucial to the survival of many bird species. That’s why Blue Ridge Audubon is proud to welcome Jay Leutze, author and conservationist, to our March program. Jay will discuss conservation from our Appalachian backyard to the global effort to protect 30% of the earth's land and water by 2030. He will share stories of securing threatened tracts of land in Western North Carolina over the last 20 years and will discuss the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, the significant conservation legislation he helped craft.
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Trained as an attorney, Jay has become a leading voice for state and federal conservation funding of public lands. He is the senior board advisor and former president of the board for Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC). He has served as chair of their land protection committee, directs their government relations program, and has been president of the SAHC board. Jay is the author of Stand Up that Mountain, an award-winning book that tells the story of how our treasured Roan Mountain was saved from becoming a rock-crushing mine. In a testament to all he has done for conservation, Jay was awarded North Carolina's highest civilian honor, The Order of the Longleaf Pine, for his contribution to the conservation of land and water in his home state.
All Blue Ridge Audubon programs are free and open to the public. Please note that by attending a program at the Reuter Center, you attest to being fully vaccinated and are required to wear a mask or face covering.
Cerulean warbler by Alan Lenk
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Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter News |
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Blue Ridge Audubon Board Nominations
The Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter’s Board of Directors will hold elections for officers and at-large board members at the 2022 June board meeting. The Nominating Committee, consisting of board members Jay Wherley, Douglas Rao, and Kelley Coleman, is seeking qualified candidates for at-large board member positions. The Blue Ridge Audubon board meets 9 times a year, and board members are required to sit on at least one committee, and to help facilitate the annual plan. If you’re interested in joining the board, please send an enquiry email to blueridgeaudubon@gmail.com.
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Blue Ridge Audubon Birdathon Returns! |
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We’re excited to announce that Blue Ridge Audubon’s Birdathon returns this May. A Birdathon is a one-day (24 hour) birding event in which birders try to spot as many species as possible and raise money for conservation. It's fun to participate and do a "Big Day" here in the mountains and, at the same time, help us raise money to support bird conservation. We’re continuing our new tradition of having an “Everyone Can Birdathon” so you are welcome to do your own big day solo, or with family or friends. We also encourage folks to join us more formally and create your own Birdathon team. The rules are simple, use one car, bird together for 24 hours (or less!) and have a good time. We will add your team’s name to our flyers, and you can use the flyer to fundraise.
If you are interested in forming a team, please send an email to blueridgeaudubon@gmail.com. We can answer any questions you have and provide you with the Birdathon fundraising form and the Birdathon rules. Please act soon so we can add your team’s name to the Birdathon flyer.
We invite everyone to join in the fun, and the fundraising!
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North Carolina Audubon Summit
April 21-24 in Charlotte
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Mecklenburg Audubon Society members are pleased to welcome folks from around the state to Charlotte for the 2022 Audubon North Carolina Summit on April 21-24. Delayed from the original 2020 date, this Summit will be a great opportunity for all of us to be together, share our love of birds, and get inspired to take action for a brighter future for all. The weekend will feature an array of inspiring speakers, in-depth workshops, exciting field trips, and a Saturday-evening banquet and volunteer awards.
Charlotte is a vibrant, birdy place. We'll have fun getting together to learn, network, and go birding. The Summit will be based at the UNC Charlotte Marriott Hotel & Conference Center which has plenty of outdoor space for gatherings and workshops. Make your reservation for the special hotel rates available to attendees.
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The Joys of Springtime
Susan Richardson
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Waking up to birds singing in our backyard is heartwarming to me! In the past few days, I’ve heard Eastern Bluebirds and Mourning Doves singing just before sunrise. Soon they may be building nests inside a nest box and/or on the eaves of our home. For several years, I recorded nesting attempts by taking notes in a small notebook. However, a couple of years ago, I learned about Nest Watch from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Nest Watch is an online Community Science application that anyone can use to track and monitor nesting attempts across the country. A mobile app is also available for convenient use while outdoors or away from a computer. I have been recording my backyard nesting attempts online since April, 2020.
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If you are interested in participating in Nest Watch, simply visit the website NestWatch - Where Birds Come to Life, take a simple quiz based on a nest monitoring code of conduct, and begin entering data from the nests you are monitoring. You could also learn more about the construction of nest boxes and the identification of nests and eggs. Happy birding!
Robin on nest by Randy Richardson
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Beaver Bits
Text and photos by Jay Wherley
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Let’s take a look at some of the species coming and going during March at Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. The Common Mergansers that have been daily visitors will head North, but we will soon start seeing Chimney Swifts returning from the tropics.
Winter Wrens will get harder to find through the end of the month as they head to higher elevations for breeding. But House Wrens from further South in the U.S. will start appearing to make up for that loss.
The Bufflehead we’ve been sighting daily will soon depart for their Alaska/Canada breeding grounds. Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers will make seasonal movements through our area beginning at the end of March.
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The first arriving warbler will likely be the Yellow-throated, followed by Black-throated Green and Louisiana Waterthrush – all in March.
March is a transitional month for birders here – we pack away the scopes used for distant waterfowl and start re-training our ears for the warbler songs to come. Are you ready?
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Notable recent sightings at Beaver Lake include Ross’s Goose and Redhead
Images:
Yellow-throated Warbler, Beaver Lake, Spring 2020
Spotted Sandpiper, Beaver Lake, Spring 2018
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About the Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter |
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Blue Ridge Audubon is a chapter of the National Audubon Society, serving Buncombe, Henderson, and surrounding counties in western North Carolina.
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are
tax-deductible to the extent
allowed by law.
Raven's Nest Editor:
Marianne Mooney
mooney.marianne@gmail.com
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Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter
PO Box 18711
Asheville, NC 28814
Blue Ridge Audubon's mission is to protect birds and the places they depend on. We believe that a world in which birds thrive is a world that benefits all living things.
Our vision is a vibrant and just community where the protection of birds and our natural world is valued by everyone.
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For the latest information and schedule changes,
check our Website or Facebook/Instagram page.
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