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Keeping you informed about cool bird stuff in & near central Kentucky.                                  March 2019

Managing Fields for Bobolinks and Grassland Birds
Last October, Camp Nelson (located in CKAS-represented Jessamine County) was designated as a National Monument, making it the 418th site that the National Park Service (NPS) oversees.  As with other National Monuments, NPS first elicits public comment to develop a foundation document to govern management of the land. NPS will hold a public open house on March 19th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm when the puclic can share ideas in person with NPS staff. CKAS plans to be there to advocate for protecting birds and bird habitat.
 
Camp Nelson is one of the most reliable places to view Bobolinks on public property; CKAS tries to host a walk there annually. Bobolinks, along with many other grassland species, are in sharp decline primarily due to habitat loss and hayfield mowing during the weeks they are actively nesting. Grassland birds typically need a 75-day window to build nests, hatch eggs, and fledge young; but for the best quality hay, farmers often mow with a shorter window, harvesting one crop of hay in the spring and another in the early summer. Shorter mowing cycles disrupt grassland nests, often killing the whole hatched brood. So it is important to us—and to the Bobolinks—that the Camp Nelson foundation document takes bird-friendly mowing practices into account.
 
CKAS will be carpooling to the meeting from Lexington, leaving from the parking lot of Palomar Center near Wild Eggs at 5:30pm. Please join us. If you can't make it to the open house, please submit your comments to the National Park Service by April 1st.
 
Male Bobolink keeping watch over his nest in Camp Nelson National Monument fields.

Science Fair Does Not Disappoint
Attendees of last month's Fayette County Science Fair at Frederick Douglass High were entertained by several Raptor Rehabilitation (RROKI) education birds. Since our scheduled CKAS owl prowls have been so popular, RROKI suggested bringing all their owls (and a few other birds just for variety). Though this is the 11th time we've sponsored teh birds, it's the first time the Science Fair has been held at Frederick Douglass. We were concerned when we found that the CKAS table had been tucked into a far corner, but our fans quickly found us.

     Glamour shots of RROKI education birds taken during the last Science Fair.

Upcoming CKAS (& Other) Events    
These and other events can be found on our new CKAS Web Page Calendar and in our CKAS Facebook Calendar. Know of any bird-themed events we missed?  Use our submit events link.
Mar 7th (Thur) 6:30pm-9:00pm: Who's Nesting in My Plant? St. Michael's Church 2025 Bellefonte Drive, Lexington. Join Wild Ones in welcoming Dr. Becky Fox answering questions about birds in Spring.
* CANCELLED * Mar 9th (Sat) 7:45am-2:00pm: Bird Walk Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery * CANCELLED * Sorry. Conflicts. Will reschedule.
Mar 9th (Sat) 7:00pm-9:45pm: Birds, Words & Wine The Plonski Residence 172 Blue Heron Place, Lexington. Join CKAS for our next book club evening where we'll be discussing The Man Who Loved Birds by Fenton Johnson (copies from $6 at AmazonSmile). Must bring beverage or snack with a bird on it. Please RSVP.
Mar 15th (Fri) 7:00pm-9:00pm: Woodcock Watch Raven Run Nature Sanctuary 3990 Raven Run Way, Lexington. An after-hours evening walk to look and listen for the peenting aerial display of the elusive American Woodcock. Please RSVP by calling (859) 272-6105.
Mar 16th (Sat) 9:00am-? PROW Tube Installation Day Still not sure where we're headed (via carpool(s)), but let's initially meet at Jacobson Park where we'll install at least one tube by the swampy area back behind the big lake. If you can help (may include using waders and venturing into cold water to hammer in posts), contact president@ckas.org to be kept in the loop.
Mar 19th (Tue) 5:30pm-9:00pm Camp Nelson NPS Foundation Document Meeting Camp Nelson National Monument Join CKAS in advocating for land management practices that benefit Bobolinks and other grassland species. CKAS Carpools leaving from the parking lot of Palomar Center near Wild Eggs at 5:30pm. DO NOT BE LATE! Or meet at 6:30pm at Camp Nelson's Barracks Building.
Mar 23rd (Sat) 10:00am-3:00pm Bluebird Nest Box Build The Brusate/Hollis Residence 524 Rosemont Garden, Lexington. Help CKAS build a bunch of bluebird boxes to install a "bluebird trail" at Masterson Station Park. All skill level craftspeople welcome.
Mar 30th (Sat) 8:00am-11:00am: Winery Bird Walk Harkness Edwards Vineyards 5199 Combs Ferry Road, Winchester. Join CKAS for a morning bird walk through the winery fields. Then stick around to kick off your Barrel Tasting Run and join our caravan ot other wineries.
Mar 30th (Sat) 11:00am-5:00pm: Barrel Tasting Run Various central Kentucky wineries. Join CKAS as we survey several wineries for potential Barn Owl nest box placement during the Tasting for the Springs. $20 per person. For info about carpool/caravan, e-mail winetour@ckas.org (or just show up to the morning bird walk).
Mar 30th (Sat) 8:30pm-9:300pm: Earth Hour Everywhere. Take a step toward changing climate change. Join millions of people across the world in celebrating Earth Hour.
Apr 2nd (Tue) 10:00am-11:30pm: What's in a Wetland? McConnell Springs Park 416 Rebmann Land, Lexington. For Youth K-5th. Learn all about wetlands! Please RSVP by calling (859) 225-4073.
Apr 3rd (Wed) 10:00am-12:00pm: Birds, Birds, Birds! Raven Run Nature Sanctuary 3990 Raven Run Way, Lexington. For Youth K-5th. Learn all about birds! Please RSVP by calling (859) 272-6105.
Apr 6th (Sat) 7:30am-1:00pm: Bird Walk Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill 3501 Lexington Road, Harrodsburg KY. Join CKAS for a guided walk at Shaker Village. Carpools leaving from the parking lot of Palomar Center near Wild Eggs at 7:30 prompt. DO NOT BE LATE! Or meet at 8:15 at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in the parking area immediately to the left of the entrance by the pond.
Apr 8th (Mon) Draw a Bird Day Just what it sound like and more.
Apr 10th (Wed) 6:45pm-9:00pm: General Meeting Lexington Public Library, Northside Branch , Lexington. Medium Conference Room. Join CKAS for updates on current projects, walks, advocacy, and fundraising. All members welcome! We usually go to dinner after the meeting.
Apr 11th (Thur) 6:00pm-7:00pm: Caterpillars: Beyond Monarchs and Woolly Worms J&H Lanmark Outdoor Store , Lexington. Join J&H to learn about the caterpillars that no-one ever talks about but that are still critical to the survival of many bird species.
Apr 13th (Sat) 9:00am-1:00pm: Reforest the Bluegrass Masterson Station Park 3051 Leestown Road, Lexington. Join Reforest the Bluegrass and help replant the pre-settlement forests once common in central Kentucky. CKAS will be both tabling and setting out a new bluebird trail. Volunteers needed: e-mail CKAS to help.
Apr 14th (Sat) 8:00am-11:00am: Kentucky Audubon Council Meeting NW Ky location (Daviess Co.) TBA. Spring meeting of the Kentucky Audubon Council. CKAS can send four delegates. Interested? E-mail president@ckas.org.
Apr 20th (Sat) 8:00am-11:30am: Bird Walk Lexington Cemetery 833 W. Main St., Lexington. Join CKAS to look for migrating warblers. Meet/park around the first right turn after coming in the gate. Do NOT park in the gatehouse spaces!
Apr 25th (Thur) All day: World Penguin Day Yes, a real holiday which coincides with the annual northward migration of penguins. Find out more about penguins at NothingButPenguins.com.
Apr 26th (Fri) John James Audubon's Birthday Everywhere. Take a quick (or long) bird count and submit it to eBird to celebrate.
Apr 26th to 28th (Fri-Sun) Kentucky Ornithological Society Spring Meeting John James Audubon State Park, Henderson KY. Join KOS for their Spring Meeting. Keynote speaker: Andrew Rothman of American Bird Conservancy. More info at birdky.org.
Apr 27th (Sat.) 1:00pm-4:00pm: Arbor Day @ The Arboretum The Arboretum Alumni Drive, Lexington. More info here.
May 4th (Sat) all day: Global Big Day Every Fayette County hotspot. Help CKAS "win" Global Big Day. Morning walks planned for every major Fayette birding hotspot. To participate, just show up at sunrise (roughly 8am) at Jacobson, Lexington Cemetery, Raven Run, Veterans Park, or whichever hotspot you prefer (even your own yard). Birders of all skill levels welcome; look for folks with binoculars. E-mail bigday@ckas.org to be kept in the loop.

 
Birds, Words, & Wine
Saturday, March 9th

 
Join us for Birds, Words, & Wine as we discuss Fenton Johnson's The Man Who Loved Birds, available at AmazonSmile (you still have time to get a copy). This edition will again be held at the Plonski residence, 172 Blue Heron Place, Lexington. Haven't finished the book? We'll let you in but you must bring something to pass "with a bird on it." Our discussion will also address how often and where we'd like to meet as well as how to select future books.


PROW Tube Installation Day

March 16th

 
Join CKAS as we set out Prothonotary Warbler nest tubes along lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. We'll meet at Jacobson Park at 9:00 am and set the first in the boggy area beyond the lake.

Over the next few weeks, we plan to contact everyone who had inquired about hosting tubes to check that they are still interested and to warn them that we plan on coming. So we're not yet sure exactly where all we're headed. If you have "swampy" or "lakeside" property and would like to host a tube, contact PROWs@CKAS.org and we'll plan to see you on the 16th.

 
KOS Young Birders
Camp Scholarships
 
We encourage Kentucky birders between the ages of 13 and 18 to apply for the Virginia and Wendell Kingsolver Scholarship from the Kentucky Ornithological Society. This scholarship funds tuition to one of the young birder summer camps offered by the American Birding Association. More information can be found on KOS's website. Applications due April 1st.

 
Birding by Ear Class
June 7-11th
Highlands  Sancturary Bainbridge, OH
Looking to brush up on your bird song ID skills? This 4-day class at Highlands Nature Sanctuary in Bainebridge, Ohio, will do just that. (We realize it's not central Ky, but it's only 2.5 hours from Lexington and some CKASers are likely interested). $450 per person, includes meals. Lodging at the Sanctuary available.
Your Kroger Plus card can helps you help CKAS and our local birds every time you shop. CKAS participates in Community Rewards. Just select Central Kentucky Audubon Society (Org. #65224) as your Reward Charity of choice. Doing so will NOT affect your fuel point savings, but will help CKAS increase its share of Kroger's quaerterly donations. We currently earn about $200 a year with this program; more families linking their Kroger Plus cards to our cause would greatly help us help birds. Check the bottom of your next Kroger receipt to make sure it says: "At your request we are donating to Central Kentucky Audubon Society."
 
Need to buy anything online? CKAS is supported by Amazon Smile. If you #StartWithaSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of your purchase price to the Central Kentucky Audubon Society, at no cost to you! Please bookmark this link to support CKAS every time you shop the net.
What if you don't receive Audubon Magazine? Then you're probably not an official member of the National Audubon Society. You don't have to be to get our newsletter or attend CKAS events, but you can join NAS for only $20 annually and help support CKAS in the process by following his link. Please select "KY | Central Kentucky Audubon (J51)" under the Chapter Designation menu to automatically return your first year's dues directly to our chapter so we can do that much more to help local birds.
     
"If you take care of the birds, you will take care of most of the problems of the world."   — Dr. Thomas Lovejoy
www.centralkentuckyaudubon.org
524 Rosemont Garden | Lexington KY 40503
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