The IOU 2017 spring meeting will be held in Chariton on May 5-7.  We’re doing it a bit differently this year by partnering with the Lucas County tourism board for their inaugural Lucas County Birding Festival.  It will be open to the public, but the format will similar to our regular IOU meetings.  We’ll have field trips in the mornings and several presentations and workshops on Saturday afternoon, including a Trumpeter Swan release.  There will a banquet Saturday evening with a keynote speaker.  Our speaker this year is Heather Sanders from Ankeny.  She participated in an EarthWatch expedition last summer to study Flammulated Owls in northern Utah.  It should be a fun and informative program.

Lucas County has the second highest percentage of public land in Iowa and has two of Iowa’s Bird Conservation Areas (BCA’s) – Stephens Forest and 1000 Acre Forest.  The forests and grasslands host the typical southern Iowa specialties, including Northern Bobwhite, Northern Mockingbird and several resident warblers.  While not extensive, there are several nice wetlands in the county.  As always, who knows what spring migration will bring.  We’ll also do a night outing for Whip-poor-will and possible Chuck-will’s-widow.  There’s a good chance for staked out Barn Owl nests.

Mark your calendars and plan to join us for a fun and birdy weekend in Lucas County.  Registration will be available soon.