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CKAS Makes Pitch for Natives at Camp Nelson
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Central Kentucky Audubon Society members were the voice for the birds at last month's Camp Nelson Foundation Document meeting. We advocated for a replanting of native forbs with at least a 75-day non-mowing/non-grazing schedule as part of the field management plans for the newly established National Monument. A 75-day window would allow Bobolinks, a species of concern, to build nests, hatch eggs, and raise and fledge broods. Bobolinks, along with many other grassland species, are in sharp decline primarily due to habitat loss and hayfield mowing during the weeks when they actively nest; adopting our recommendations could help these birds' populations rebound. Additionally, providing better bird habitat can create economic boon for the local community; since Perryville Battlefield Park underwent a full conversion back to natives, the manager there (who was also at the Foundation Document meeting) is proud to report that Perryville tourism and donations from out-of-state visitors have increased significantly. Birders now come from afar to see the Bobolinks, Henslow's Sparrows, and Loggerhead Shrike that have moved back into the area since the fields were replanted in natives. Win, win.
 We know we published this same picture last month, but Bobolinks are cool.
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Three CKY Counties, Three New PROW Tubes in Each
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Last month a gaggle of CKAS volunteers ventured out to central Kentucky lakes and streams to put up new PROW tubes in anticipation of the Prothonotary Warblers' return in mid April. We put on waders and mucked into shallows and streams to place three nest tubes in the waters at Jacobson Park (Fayette County), three along the edges of Lake Reba (Madison County), and three alongside Hickman Creek (Jessamine County). We also sent a few off to non-central-Kentucky counties since we had (and still have) extras to spare. If you have some "swampy" property you'd like to put to better use as habitat by hosting a Prothonotary Warbler nest tube—there's still time to get them placed before the birds get back!—please contact prows@ckas.org for details.
 Newly placed PROW tube (Hickman Creek) awaits sweet sweet sweet yellow birds.
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Newsletter Considers Bi-Monthly Shift, Guest Editors
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Some Central Kentucky Audubon Society members may recall the days of mailed paper newsletters that came out three times a year. Dan and Ruth, who generously devoted their time and energy to producing, printing, addressing and mailing those four-page fliers did a great job with filling the pages and getting the word out. Then some years back, CKAS switched from mailing our news to e-mailing our news. This both saved the chapter money (over $1,000 per year, plus that many trees!) and allowed us to provide our supporters more timely information about events, projects, and general goings-on. Though the shift from tri-annual mailed newsletters to monthly e-news dismayed a few long-term members who still preferred the printed word, we've gotten more compliments and thanks about the current newsletter format as even the "old-timers" have begun to come around. We'd like to continue as a monthly publication, but right now CKAS News publication is handled by a small group of individuals—OK, really it's just one individual whose wife says he needs to either share the load or move it to bi-monthly... So we're considering moving the CKAS news to bi-monthly and inviting guest editors. We'd like your opinion on this and we'd like your guest-editorship as well. If you care to comment or if you would like to learn what it takes to put together a MailChimp e-newsletter, please contact news@ckas.org. PS: We could also use some web page help.
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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.
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Apr 10th (Wed) 6:45pm-9:00pm: General Meeting Lexington Public Library, Northside Branch 1733 Russell Cave Road, 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. * NOTE * We have not had a chance to hold our regular Steering Committee meeting, so we hope that part of this meeting will include setting dates for upcoming (May through summer) walks/events.
Apr 11th (Thur) 6:00pm-7:00pm: Caterpillars: Beyond Monarchs and Woolly Worms J&H Lanmark Outdoor Store 189 Moore Drive, 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 & Bluebird Nest Box Install 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 tabling, finishing a half-dozen Peterson bluebird next boxes, and setting out a new bluebird trail. Volunteers needed: e-mail CKAS to help.
Apr 14th (Sun) 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 15th (Mon) 6:30pm+: Big Day Planning Meeting Goodfellas 1228 Manchester Street, Lexington. Help CKAS "win" Global Big Day by joining us for a bit of planning and shooting the breeze. Everyone is invited. Bringing a laptop with wifi might be helpful.
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 22nd (Mon) All day: EARTH DAY! Everywhere. Celebrate the 49th anniversary of Earth Day by getting outdoors and doing something green! Going birding counts.
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. NOTE: NEW TIME. More info here.
May 4th (Sat) all day: Global Big Day Every Fayette County hotspot. Help CKAS "win" Global Big Day. Morning bird 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.
May 4th (Sat) 8:30pm-9:30pm: Owl Prowl (A Shaker Village Event) Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill 3501 Lexington Road, Harrodsburg KY. Join Shaker Village naturalists for an evening walk at Shaker Village to call in—and listen for—owls. Fee included with general admission ticket; minors must be accompanied by an adult. Preregistration strongly recommended.
May 10th to 12th (Fri-Sun): Bluegrass Birding Festival McConnell Spring 416 Rebmann Lane, Lexington. Two day festival dedicated to all things birdy: guided walks, arts and crafts, vendors, presenters and more. More information in next month's news or at the Festival's Web or Facebook pages. Volunteers needed; e-mail birdfest@ckas.org to get yourself on the list to help table, ticket, or lead activities.
May 11th (Sat) All Day: International Migratory Bird Day Everywhere. Celebrate one of the most important and spectacular events in the Americas - bird migration. migratorybirdday.org.
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