Dear friends,
I, along with the rest of the Columbus Audubon Board, am returning from a busy few months. As we lean into a new season of field trips, monthly programs, work days, and more, I’d like to mention some of the things we’ve been up to while we were “gone.”
You may have heard that Plain City is considering doubling the size of a wastewater treatment plant that discharges into the Big Darby, which would increase the proportion of flow in the creek to over 90% wastewater effluent during low-flow conditions. Columbus Audubon submitted comments on this proposal and Board Trustee Kori Sedmak provided moving testimony during the public hearing on July 11 th.
Our Outreach Committee, spearheaded by CA Outreach Coordinator Sheila Fagan, has been actively promoting Columbus Audubon and bird conservation at well-attended events like Outdoor Adventure, hosted by 10TV and the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks. Sheila has also been leading combined yoga and bird walks geared toward the LBGTQ community, and helped Board Trustee Nicole Jackson and GIAC Wild Indigo Coordinator David Helm celebrate Black Birders Week at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.
We are also excited to have the Motus tower installed atop the Grange Insurance Audubon Center’s roof officially showing up in the Motus network. You can view it for yourself here. Keep an eye on it as it begins recording tagged birds over the next several months.
Finally, we mourn the loss of two long-time friends of Columbus Audubon: Dick Tuttle and Doreene Linzell. Dick leaves a massive legacy of work he’s done for Eastern Bluebirds and other cavity-nesting birds. Doreene was a leader of the Avid Birding group and herself an amazingly accomplished birder.
As we look to the year ahead, keep an eye on our website, social media, emails, and newsletter for upcoming events and an announcement for our in-person September program. I look forward to seeing you there.
Cheers,
Jim Palus, President
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Field Trip: Aug 28: Early Fall Migrants
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Calamus Swamp 2022 Work Days Update
Many thanks to Pickaway County Parks employees and volunteers for helping us chip brush piles at our last, very hot, work day!
It’s time for fall work days!
We’ve got a work day scheduled for September 10, from 10 AM - 2 PM. We’re looking for a big group this time around, so please share with anyone you think might be interested. We’ve made some very noticeable progress with clearing large areas of invasive honeysuckle during past work days. This is the perfect time of year to get on top of these invasives, and really make a difference.
If you are interested in joining us, please visit Contact Us, select Conservation from the dropdown menu, and send us a message with the names of those attending. We’ll meet at 10 AM at the Calamus Swamp parking lot. Snacks and water will be provided.
What to bring: Please bring your own work gloves. We have some loppers and honeysuckle poppers, but feel free to bring your own if you have them.
Be sure to dress for the weather! Hiking or work boots should be fine, but bring muck boots just in case.
Save the Dates: We are planning another work day on October 15 th, so please save the date!
Directions: From Columbus, take route 315 S and follow the signs toward Cincinnati. This becomes I-71 S. Take the exit for SR 104/Frank Road and turn right onto Frank Road, then right onto SR 104 S/Jackson Pike. Follow SR 104 for just short of 24 miles and you will come to the intersection of SR 104 and US 22 (you will see the Goody Nook on your left). Continue through the intersection and the entrance to Calamus Swamp is just past a small stand of trees on your left; you will see a gravel parking lot.
Questions? Please visit our website at https://columbusaudubon.org/act-now/contact-us/ and select Conservation from the Topic Area dropdown.
We look forward to seeing you at Calamus Swamp!
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MOTUS Update
Regular readers of the Song Sparrow may recall that Columbus Audubon has helped to sponsor a MOTUS tower at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. (MOTUS is a system to track birds that are fitted with tiny radio tags.) We’re happy to report that the MOTUS tower has been installed on the roof of the Center, the electronics and wiring have been installed, and the system has been connected to the internet so that data from bird detections can be transmitted to a central MOTUS database.
The tower at the GIAC will be part of a large network of MOTUS installations across the state, which will help researchers track migrating birds in both spring and fall. In fact, we’re ready just in time for the early part of the fall migration as the “early birds” work their way south. We look forward to reporting in more detail on the results, and eventually to use the data being captured for educational programs at the Center.
Stay tuned!
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Field Trip
Early Fall Migrants:
Alum Creek Trail
When: Sun, August 28, 9am–10am
Where: 2600 Airport Dr, Columbus, OH 43219, USA ( map)
Description:
We will meet at 2600 Airport Drive. This location is a 15 minute (.8 mile) walk along a paved trail from the 7 bus. There is also a bike rack if you’d like to bike in from the Alum Creek trail. This is a great opportunity to bike or take public transport! This walk is on a mostly flat paved trail. We'll look for species of migrating Warblers and other songbirds that we might not have seen since spring! No pre-registration necessary.
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Planning for EcoWeekend 2023!
At long last, EcoWeekend is on the way back!
Safety considerations forced us to cancel EcoWeekend for the last couple of years, including 2022. But we are busily planning for EcoWeekend 2023, to be held Friday – Sunday, May 5 – 7.
Mark your calendar, and stay tuned for further announcements.
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In Memoriam:
Dick Tuttle and Doreene Linzell
Dick Tuttle
All of us at Columbus Audubon are saddened to learn of the passing of Richard (Dick) Tuttle. Dick was a conservation hero in central Ohio, responsible for the construction, placement, and maintenance of hundreds of nest boxes for Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and Prothonotary Warblers as well as nesting platforms and boxes for American Kestrels and Ospreys. He also was an educator, both for the general public and for those he inspired to engage in their own active conservation projects.
We invite you to learn more about Dick’s conservation work by looking through the Conservation Articles and News on this website. There you’ll see article after article that he authored to document the results of his efforts, articles and records that help us to record conservation progress.
Doreene Linzell
Columbus Audubon records with sadness the unexpected passing of Doreene Linzell. Doreene was a long-time CA member, a leader for the Avid Birders group, and one of Ohio’s most accomplished birders.
Her family has requested donations in lieu of flowers to Columbus Audubon or to the Ohio Ornithological Society. To donate to Columbus Audubon, please click here and be sure to add a note indicating that your donation is in memory of Doreene.
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