On behalf of our Board and staff, we wish you all
a joyful, safe and happy holiday season.
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Director's Message
Amy Weeks
Every day we are reminded of how important our mission is. You are among the thousands
of people, of all ages and from all across the region, who seek us out to learn about nature.
Continuing our vital work depends on generosity from people like you. As a result, every year St. Louis Audubon Society (SLAS) reaches out to our friends to ask for support through our Annual Appeal. The dollars that are donated to SLAS through the Annual Appeal represent the most important funds we receive all year-operating dollars that will help us focus on our priorities:
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Your generosity ensures that on-the-ground conservation and education efforts are focused right here in our own community. Any amount will help us engage our community in the protection of birds, wildlife, and their habitats!
We are very grateful for your help.
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Please consider making a gift today. You can visit our giving site here.
The St. Louis Audubon Society is an independent 501(c)(3) charity.
Your contribution is tax-deductible as allowed by law.
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Ornithological Forecast & Christmas Bird Count
December 2023
Bill Rowe
December is winter, without a doubt, but that doesn’t mean that the birds are static. Many of them are still very much on the move—waterfowl in particular, which continue to come south and accumulate wherever there are wetlands that remain unfrozen (as is often the case in early winter). Riverlands is now seeing increasing numbers of Trumpeter Swans, accompanied by their less numerous relative, the Tundra Swan, and by a wide assortment of ducks and geese. Gulls, too, are accumulating here and there, wherever conditions are good for flock formation (namely, plenty of fish and places to rest); as the weeks go by and it gets colder to the north, chances increase of seeing the first Iceland or Glaucous Gulls among the Ring-bills and Herrings. The woodland birds are now settled into their winter pattern of moving about in loose multi-species groups, with lots of titmice, chickadees, woodpeckers, and maybe Yellow-rumped Warblers, plus some kinglets, creepers, wrens, and Purple Finches. Meanwhile, brushy and weedy areas are best for sparrow diversity, with ten or more species possible through the winter, and open fields are always worth checking for lark and longspur flocks, for raptors soaring around or posted in an isolated tree, or for the possibility of a rare visitor like a Snowy Owl or a Northern Shrike. And December also brings us a group of special birding events, namely…
Christmas Bird Counts, probably the first and the longest-running citizen-science project in the world. They were started in 1900 by the ornithologist Frank Chapman as an alternative to a Christmas tradition called the “side hunt,” his idea being that instead of hunting birds, you would find and count as many as you could in one day within a defined area. The process was standardized long ago and now involves around 80,000 participants on over 2600 counts, each taking place within a 15-mile-diameter circle somewhere in the Western Hemisphere. One person, the “compiler,” organizes the count circle by assigning individuals or small groups to cover various subsections of it. They count, or estimate, the numbers of every bird species they can find within their section and report the results to the compiler, who adds everything up and enters the data on a website run by National Audubon. In the aggregate, these data can reveal a lot about trends in bird populations in the early-winter period of December 14 to January 5 (the “count period” within which all of them occur).
There is a lot more to explain about CBC’s, but the bottom line is that they are among the outstanding birding events of the year: fun, exhilarating, and useful as well. Here at St. Louis, there are CBC’s covering traditional circles in various parts of the area. If you have never taken part in one but might like to try, the key thing is to contact the compiler well ahead of time to see where your help may be needed. And if you are unsure about covering an area by yourself, the compiler may be able to set you up with more experienced birders.
We have a handy electronic document that explains more about procedures and provides basic information about several of the St. Louis area CBC’s, including date, location, and the name and email of the compiler. If you would like to have this information, please send your request to [email protected]. If you still have questions after reading the document, feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Photo above: Tufted Titmouse
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At Home Ecology, Curated Conservation
December 2023
Shannon Callahan
December is a time to appreciate those “winter-interest” species. Native prairie grasses, such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), switch grass (Panicum virgatum), and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), are attractive additions to a winter garden despite being dormant this time of year. Shrubs like ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) and American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) have interesting bark and berries that add color and texture. If you took advantage of fall planting, be sure to add a layer of straw or leaves/leaf mulch to help insulate newly planted root systems, decreasing the likelihood of winter damage. Keep an eye on those seed heads for hungry songbirds visiting your yard for a winter buffet!
Photo above: American Beautyberry
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Bring Conservation Home
2023 Highlights
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2023 was filled with new energy, life and connections for the Bring Conservation Home program, all made possible by building on past efforts and contributions.
New developments for BCH in 2023
New Outreach Specialist: Shannon Callahan joined our staff in March as the first ever full-time BCH Outreach Specialist. She has been a phenomenal asset and we are grateful to the Missouri Department Conservation (MDC) and all of our sponsors for making this new position possible.
New Logo: After many months of revisions and feedback, a final version of the logo was selected and developed.
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New Certification sign: A task force of BCH stake-holders and volunteers collaborated on a redesign of the certification sign to include the updated logo, language, and QR code.
New Fee Structure: BCH announced a new site visit fee structure in February as a way to make the the service more accessible to people, regardless of ability to pay. Instead of a required fee, stewards are now suggested to pay what they feel is reasonable and affordable. For any residents in MDC's highest priority community conservation areas, site visits are entirely free.
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New Professional Sponsor and Individual Sustainer programs: These programs were launched as a way to help expand our capacity and reduce the wait-list for site visits without increasing costs.
New community relationships: BCH nearly quadrupled the number of site visits in underserved areas from previous years by building new relationships with amazing community partners like the City of Jennings and Beyond Housing.
New record for outreach with the Partners for Native Landscaping series: The webinar series alone received 6,050 combined live and recorded views. Thanks to St. Louis County Library, Beyond Housing and all of our partner organizations for making the 2023 Series a success.
New record for attendance at the St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour: With an estimated 2,800 total garden visits. Thanks to our partners in this event, St. Louis Wild Ones.
New record number of site visit requests: There were 350 requests for site visits in 2023. This is a 70% increase since 2021.
New Location for the BCH Native Plant Sale at Tower Grove Park.
A new BCH yard sign and web site are currently in development.
Other milestones and achievements for BCH in 2023
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Surpassed 2,000 total site visits, ending the year with 2,066 site visits in 115 zip codes since the launch of the BCH program in 2012.
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A total of 331 landscapes have now been certified as either Silver (54%), Gold (34%), or Platinum (12%).
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151 acres of native plants have been measured within BCH-certified landscapes.
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18 community presentations and 7 tabling events for a total of 2,231 attendees.
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Enhanced social media presence by reviving the Bring Conservation Home Facebook account and creating an all-new Instagram account, gaining hundreds of new, primarily younger followers.
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Over the last three years, BCH has provided counsel and tools to support 13 organizations and individuals nationwide who reached out for help to start similar programs. This includes the newly formed Nature Advisors program of Deep Roots in Kansas City, the Plant Advisors program in Detroit, the Arkansas Wild Spaces program, and most recently, the Nature in My Backyard program of the Cleveland Audubon Society. It bears mentioning that our own program was developed with support from the Backyard Habitat Certification program in Portland, Oregon.
For everything BCH was able to accomplish this year, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our team of dedicated volunteers. A special thanks to our All-Star volunteers in 2023:
Cathy Barnett, Margie Poppe, Paula Suda, Gail Saxton, Mechelle Minden, Pam Hass, Sara Gillette, Laura Yates, Lisa Picker, and Don Knobbe. We also want to thank Jack Hambene, Charlie Pitts, Tiffany Burgess, Rachel Odman, Karen Meyer, Jennifer Narang, Jennifer Holder, Erin Goss, Martha Hessler, Maria von Stamwitz, Marc Thuot, Kris Monahan, and Kelly Smith for helping with site visits in various ways this year. We would like to thank Andrea Melania Rodriguez and Jason Meador as well for their creativity, patience and graciousness while working with us on big design projects. Thanks also to Jean Ponzi and Dave Tylka for all of their guidance and advice. And, finally, thanks to Jodi Hertz Jones for her sensational tee shirt and logo design for the Native Plant Garden Tour.
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SAVE THE DATE
A Wine Tasting With Your Tweety is back!
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Saturday, February 10
Event will take place at
Parker's Table
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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: Tuesday, December 12
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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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