Annual Dinner and Silent Auction & Raffle
HELP US CELEBRATE OUR ORGANIZATION'S CENTENNIAL YEAR!
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Saturday, April 13 - 5:00 p.m.
UNITY VILLAGE HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTER, 1901 NW Blue Pkwy, Unity Village, MO
Registration form with details here. Please register as soon as possible. Call Elizabeth Stoakes at 816-554-1956 if you have any questions.
Celebrating the BAS centennial is a great reason to return to our “roots”. We've explored the character of one namesake (John Burroughs) but we cannot ignore the more famous man whose name we share with hundreds of other chapters and also with our National Audubon Society.
Guest speaker and noted Audubon Scholar Daniel Patterson will present a program entitled “Oh That We Had More Guns!” John James Audubon’s Missouri River Journals and His Hidden Conservation Ethic. Dr. Patterson, Emeritus Professor of English at Michigan State University will discuss John James Audubon’s writings with a special emphasis on Audubon’s journey up the Missouri River in the 1840s. According to the University of Nebraska Press, “Daniel Patterson is the first scholar to locate and assemble three important fragments of the 1843 Missouri River journals”, and he offers wonderful new insights into Audubon during his last journey through the American West in his newest book, The Missouri River Journals of John James Audubon. In 2011, Dr. Patterson also published John James Audubon’s Journal of 1826: The Voyage to the Birds of America. A book signing will follow the program.
Social time with cocktails and bidding on auction items will be followed by a delicious buffet dinner, the “Top Ten Bird Sightings of 2018”, and the program. Attendees will also enjoy exploring a display chronicling the history of our organization from its origin as Burroughs Nature Club in 1919 to our affiliation with National Audubon Society in 1972 and our present incarnation as Burroughs Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City.
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Fourth Annual Youth Birdathon
INTRODUCE A CHILD TO NATURE AND THE ENJOYMENT OF BIRDING
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Saturday, April 13 - 8:30-10:30 a.m.
BURR OAK WOODS NATURE CENTER, 1401 NW Park Rd. Blue Springs, MO 64015
The Youth Birdathon offers an introductory experience in birding! Come and join other kids, ages 18 and younger, who will be teamed with a birding mentor to hike the trails of Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area to find and identify as many birds as possible. Bring binoculars and a bird field guide, if you have them, comfortable shoes/clothes for walking, and water for hydration. Insect repellent is recommended. Click here for an event flyer with complete details.
The event is free, but space is limited. All children are required to have an adult sponsor accompany them during the event. Registration with contact information is required. Please send an email to: kcbirdathon@gmail.com and include the ages of your children. Please register by April 1. Contact Sara at (816) 356-6986 with any questions.
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Conservation News
BIRD STRIKE MONITOR TRAINING
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Saturday, April 13 - 10:30 a.m.
BURROUGHS NATURE CENTER & BIRD SANCTUARY. Help Make Kansas City Bird-safe! The Missouri River Bird Observatory (MRBO) and Burroughs Audubon Society (BAS) are joining forces to reduce bird mortality from building collisions in Kansas City! Our BirdSafeKC project is in the beginning stages which will involve identifying buildings with high avian collision rates and trying to engage the owners and managers in implementing collision-reduction measures. Building collisions are one of the primary causes of bird mortality, and every bit of mitigation that can be accomplished helps save birds.
MRBO and BAS are looking for volunteers to conduct regular surveys for bird carcasses around KC area buildings. To begin with, we simply ask volunteers to pick one or more buildings that are convenient to survey, then walk around the building two or more times per week from 15 April to 30 May and document any carcasses found by use of the mobile device app iNaturalist. Volunteers may choose to collect carcasses in good condition for preservation by Mark Robbins, Collection Manager, at KU's Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum in Lawrence, KS.
Volunteer training will be held on Saturday April 13th, from 10:30 a.m - Noon at the Burroughs Nature Center and Bird Sanctuary in Fleming Park, Blue Springs, MO. If you would like to participate in BirdSafeKC, please attend this training. Interested bird-lovers are welcome to attend this training session even if unable to commit to performing surveys this spring!
If you would like more information, please contact Dana Ripper, MRBO Director, at dana.ripper@mrbo.org or Mary Nemecek, President of BAS at msnemecek@aol.com.
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How to Learn Bird Vocalizations
EXPLORE THE FASCINATING LANGUAGE AND MUSIC OF BIRDS
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Tuesday, April 16 - 6:45 p.m.
THE KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION CONFERENCE CENTER, 4801 Rockhill Rd. KCMO 64110, in the Brookside Room - Social time from 6:00-6:45 p.m. Business and announcements will precede the meeting. Eric and Joanna Reuter of Columbia (MO) Audubon Society will explore the fascinating language of birds, with an emphasis on local species. This hour-long program will include an introduction to sonagrams (visual representations of bird vocalizations) and examples of how to listen to, describe, and learn bird vocalizations. They’ll also briefly address how to make your own recordings. This program is designed for beginners, but all skill levels are welcome.
Please feel welcome to join our host committee and the Reuters at the Sahara Mediterranean Restaurant before the meeting. Meet at 5:00 p.m., and ask to be seated with the Audubon party. Otherwise, join us at the Kauffman Foundation at 6:00 p.m. for socializing. Business and program begin at 6:45.
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Wings Over Weston Birding Festival
SAVE THE DATE!
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Ninth Annual Wings Over Weston Birding Festival on Sat., May 4 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. In 2010, Burroughs’ Important Bird Area (IBA) Committee held a one-time festival to introduce the Iatan/Weston River Corridor IBA to the general public and Burroughs members. Today, this festival is known as Wings Over Weston, and it's the largest one-day birding festival in the Midwest with a unique niche – children. A partnership between Burroughs Audubon and Missouri State Parks, Wings Over Weston’s mission is to introduce birds, migration, and the importance of conservation of habitat to children, the birders of tomorrow.
The festival has more than 30 stations including build a house or feeder, Bird Olympics, The Great Migration game, bird banding, live birds from Operation Wildlife and Raptor Rehab, hummingbirds, and more! Burroughs’ Christine Kline is co-chair of the festival and is seeking volunteers for the event. You can download a flyer to print or post to your Facebook Groups to help us spread the word about this great event. If you have an interest in volunteering, please call or email Christine at 816-540-3515/816-824-1074 and birdsecretary@comcast.net.
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Native Plant Sales in Our Area
BEAUTIFY YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND HELP BIRDS & WILDLIFE
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Kansas City area native plant sales supplied by Missouri Wildflowers Nursery (MWN) - Place your order by the Tuesday before a sale, and MWN will bring your order to the sale location. Sales tax and a small service charge are included. When ordering online, the service charge appears as shipping on your invoice. Payment at time of pick up is also an option. MWN contact info below.
- Saturdays, April 20 & May 18 - Missouri Prairie Foundation Native Plant Sales (9:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m.) / Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center - 4750 Troost Ave, KCMO 64110 / Grow Native! events
- Saturday, April 27 - Westport Garden Club Native Plant Sale - 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. / Kansas City Community Gardens (Swope Park) - 6917 Kensington Ave, KCMO 64132
- Saturday, April 27 - KCNPI/Deep Roots & Shawnee Indian Mission Foundation Native Plant Sale - 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. / Shawnee Indian Mission - 3403 W. 53rd St, Fairway, KS 66205
- Saturday, April 27 & Sunday April 28 - Best of Missouri Life Native Plant Sale - 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. / Powell Gardens - 1609 US-50, Kingsville, MO 64061
- Saturday, May 4 - Burroughs Audubon Society Native Plant Sale - 9:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. / Backyard Bird Center - 6212 NW Barry Rd, KCMO 64154
Missouri Wildflowers Nursery ships all year. Phone: 573-496-3492 / Fax: 573-496-3003 / Email: mowldflrs@socket.net / Website: mowildflowers.net / Address: 9814 Pleasant Hill Rd, Jefferson City, MO 65109
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Nature Programs at the Burroughs Library
WITH BONNIE THE BIOLOGIST
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PROGRAMS IN APRIL
Tuesday, April 16 @ 10:00 AM ~ Historical and Medicinal - Spring Wildflowers
Thursday, April 18 @ 10:00 AM ~ Missouri's Amphibians
Tuesday, April 23 @ 10:00 AM ~ Historical and Medicinal - Spring Wildflowers
Tuesday, April 30 @ 10:00 AM ~ Missouri's Amphibians
Bonnie Anderson is a true gem of Burroughs Audubon’s Nature Center and Bird Sanctuary. Her programs are fun and full of energy! People of all ages are welcome to participate and are free to come and go during the program time allotted. Programs are free and include free literature, and more! Visit our Bonnie the Biologist web page for a printable brochure and more information. Directions to the Library can be found here. For all other questions, please contact Clare Hollander at 816-701-3441 or clarehollander@kclibrary.org.
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April Field Trips
TO VARIOUS KANSAS AND MISSOURI LOCATIONS
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Everyone is invited to upcoming field trips, Audubon members and the public alike, and people of any age or level of experience are welcome to participate! Any trip may involve walking on a variety of terrain and surfaces, but some trips will be more strenuous than others. Trip leaders can advise you of the physical activity involved. Since we visit a number of wild areas and habitats, we respectfully ask that your pets not accompany us on the trail. If they're not given to vocal excitement, crated pets in vehicles are fine. Check the website for meeting time and location, as well as what to expect for individual trips.
Wednesdays in April, the 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th - 7:00 a.m.
Spring Morning Walk at KCP&L Wetlands
We'll walk the, roughly, one-mile long trail to look for shorebirds, waders, waterfowl, and migrants. Your leader for these walks is Malcolm Gold. Meet at the west parking lot off of Waverly at 7 am. For more information, contact Malcolm at malcolmgold@gmail.com or 608-807-6086.
Sunday, April 28 - 7:45 a.m. / 9:00 a.m.
Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge
Join us and Midland Empire Audubon of Saint Joseph on this mostly driving trip along the Refuge’s 10-mile auto loop. Meet at 7:45 a.m. at the Platte City commuter lot for carpooling, or meet at the Loess Bluffs Welcome Center at 9:00 a.m. RECENT FLOOD DAMAGE TO THE REFUGE'S AUTO LOOP MAY PRECLUDE US FROM HOLDING A TRIP HERE. WATCH THE WEBSITE FOR UPDATES.
Visit our Field Trips web page for trip description, meeting place, and leader contact info.
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