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Volunteer to Help Fill Bird Feeders @ George Wyth State Park - Canfield
- To see the weeks that we need assistance, click this link to our spreadsheet.
- Email PRAS at praudubon@gmail.com to let us know you want to help. We will contact you and share pertinent details.
In the Sky - January 2025
The highlights this month will be Mars at its brightest for the year and the full moon moving over and hiding Mars on the night of January 13th. Enjoy. Happy New Year. - David Voigts
"When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."
- Aldo Leopold
"When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."
- Aldo Leopold
Photos by David Voigts of the recent Mars occultation.
Backyard Syruping 101
Fontana Interpretive Nature Center
1883 125 th St
Hazleton, IA 50641
Jan 27, 2025 – 6:30 pm
$15/Family gives participants 1 tap and bag collecting device
Register at https://www.mycountyparks.com/County/Buchanan/Park/Fontana-
Park/Events/25855/Backyard-Maple-Syruping-101.aspx
Critical Bird Habitat Under Threat
By David Voigts
By David Voigts
Alaska’s Izembek National Wildlife Refuge – one of the world’s most important migratory bird staging and wintering habitats - is under attack. For many years, a way to connect the remote community of King Cove to Cold Bay, a larger town with an all-weather airport and better medical care has been sought. A 19-mile road through the heart of the refuge’s wilderness area has consistently been rejected in favor of other alternatives. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has come up with a new plan of swapping some of the refuge’s wilderness land for other lands that could be turned into a new wildlife refuge. If this happens, for the first time ever, land designated as wilderness would be declassified.
Beyond this precedent, the Izembek refuge provides a unique and vital habitat. Its lagoons have large eelgrass beds that provide food for essentially the entire Pacific Brant migratory population, almost all of the world population of Emperor Geese, and a significant percentage of the threatened Steller’s Eider and other waterfowl. Also, because of our warming climate, about 30% of the Brant are remaining at Izembek for the winter, making the eelgrass beds even more important.
If you care about wilderness and waterfowl, you can provide comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement before the February 13, 2025, deadline. Additional information is available at https://ak.audubon.org/news/izembek-at-risk? Included is a sample letter of comment that can be submitted with one click or modified before submittal.
Good Environmental News
By David Voigts
By David Voigts
As the new year begins, it is good to remember that positive things happened during the past year that benefited birds and the environment. Following is a summary of a few examples reported by national Audubon.
In South Carolina, Audubon pioneered state-of-the-art tracking technology to gain unprecedented insight into the migratory journeys of the Prothonotary Warbler. In another study, Least Terns in Maine were outfitted with prototype miniature tags to obtain the first GPS quality tracking of the species.
Also, the 1000th captive-bred Florida Grasshopper Sparrow was released into the wild by Audubon and their partners. This marks a hopeful turnaround for the most endangered bird in the continental United States. Also, the federally threatened Eastern Black Rail benefitted when Audubon partnered with Ducks Unlimited and the US. Fish and Wildlife Service to create nesting habitat in South Carolina’s Francis Marion National Forest.
Closer to home, Audubon expanded its Conservation Ranching Program with a new initiative in Wisconsin. The program will certify as bird-friendly those farmers and ranchers who manage their lands for birds and biodiversity. In addition, the first bison version of the certification was awarded recently to South Dakota’s Cheyenne River Buffalo Ranch, who will display the certification on their packaging. Overall, the program has certified over 100 ranches in 14 states.
IA DNR: Avian Flu in Iowa
The Black Hawk County Wildlife Rehabilitation Project posted this on their Dec 21, 2024 Facebook page:
"It’s been a rough couple of weeks. Not a day goes by that we don’t get a call from someone regarding a sick or dead goose in the area and the surrounding counties. Today a call came in from the Cedar River near the San Souci bridge. Reports of 5 geese down and 3 more not looking good. The likely culprit is the avian influenza. We are not bringing in any waterfowl right now as suggested by the DNR and one of our avian vets, Dr Lori Cherney. It is highly contagious and we risk getting our several birds we have in rehab sick with it also. This illness has also been seen up at Sweet Marsh in Tripoli with the use of a drone and lots of dead geese and several trumpeter swans dead. The public is encouraged to call in what they see to Wildlife Rehabs closest to them. We are in turn letting the state biologist know as they are tracking where the illness is being seen. Again, Black Hawk Wildlife is not taking in any waterfowl and will be very cautious in taking in bald eagles and vultures during this time as they have been witnessed feeding on these affected birds. We have several birds in rehab and do not want this illness to affect them as it is highly contagious. Signs of avian influenza in birds are listed [here]. If you find a dead bird and want to remove it, we have listed...how to properly do it. Added note: The state biologist wants to know sites where there is 5 or more dead waterfowl."
See this document for a link to the Iowa DNR press release and the information provided by the BHWRP as noted above.
Your Help Is Needed!
Did you know that PRAS keeps bird feeders filled at George Wyth State Park, Cedar Valley Hospice, and other locations so that the public can enjoy bird watching? Cash donations that pay for bird seed is needed for this annual endeavor and our bird seed fund is very low - can you help? Any cash donation helps! Please issue and mail a check to Prairie Rapids Audubon Society, P.O. Box 682, Waterloo, IA 50704, or click here to make a donation with PayPal. Thank you!!
Did you know that PRAS keeps bird feeders filled at George Wyth State Park, Cedar Valley Hospice, and other locations so that the public can enjoy bird watching? Cash donations that pay for bird seed is needed for this annual endeavor and our bird seed fund is very low - can you help? Any cash donation helps! Please issue and mail a check to Prairie Rapids Audubon Society, P.O. Box 682, Waterloo, IA 50704, or click here to make a donation with PayPal. Thank you!!
Find an injured bird or animal? Call Black Hawk Wildlife Rehabilitation Project 319-939-4635
Note: As of Dec 2024 BHWRP is not accepting sick or injured waterfowl due to the avian influenza outbreak found in Iowa.
New to Birding?
Check out this great new brochure from Iowa Audubon that gives you all the information about enjoying the activity of watching birds!
Subscribe to our Online RedTail Newsletter
Bird Flight Patterns and Music Concert Program
You are now able to access the online concert video and curriculum (see link and password below-posted with permission by the copyright holder).
The link provides the full concert video and online curriculum with activities, lessons, extra musical performances, composer interviews and educational games. This resource will remain active through June 2022 (for one year), so utilize it for your programs, personal edification working with your children or grandchildren to teach them about music and birds!
You are now able to access the online concert video and curriculum (see link and password below-posted with permission by the copyright holder).
The link provides the full concert video and online curriculum with activities, lessons, extra musical performances, composer interviews and educational games. This resource will remain active through June 2022 (for one year), so utilize it for your programs, personal edification working with your children or grandchildren to teach them about music and birds!
Bird Flight Patterns and Music Link: https://nbsymphony.org/bird-
Password: BFPMC (case sensitive)
Subscribe to the PRAS YouTube Channel if you are interested in watching recordings of our past Zoom meetings for which we have permission to post for viewing.
Contribute to our Flickr Photo Stream
Go to this URL: https://www.flickr.com/
Click "Login"
Click "Login"
The email address associated with PRAS's account is: praudubon@gmail.com
Email praudubon@gmail.com to request password for email; we won't post it here online.
Save the UN and PWD so it is quick and easy the next time you upload photos.
Click the Upload icon (looks like cloud with an arrow) and follow prompts.
Here is Flick's help page for uploads.
Click the Photos link on the above navigation bar to see photos.
Find us on Facebook
We share information about field trips, local sightings, fun and interesting photos and stories about birds, nature, the environment, etc. on our Facebook page. Check it out and like us and "share" our posts.