Spring is less than a week away, and many birds have already arrived!  Keep up to date with happenings through the Sycamore Audubon by marking your calendars with the following activities!  Volume 35, Issue 1 of the Sycamore Warbler newsletter is also available for download.  Warbler Vol 35 Iss 1

Saturday, March 20.  First day of Spring migrant trip.  Meet at 8:30 a.m at the Celery Bog gravel parking area.  We will look over the wetlands at Celery Bog for migrating water birds and move to other areas if birds are being reported elsewhere.

March 25 (Every Thursday) .  Early bird hikes start.  Barny Dunning 8 a.m. Purdue Horticultural Park.  These will be held every Thursday during the spring migration period.

March 26-28 (Friday-Sunday).  Spring Bake and Plant Sale.  Bring donations to the West Lafayette library.  Funds will help build a bird observation tower along the lake shore.  Donations are needed!  More info within the newsletter.

Thursday, April 8.  PROGRAM:  Chattering in the Chimney:  The mysterious Chimney Swift.  Shirley Needham, Wildlife Rehabilitator, Fulton County.  7:15 p.m.  Lilly Nature Center, West Lafayette.  Sign up for a Big Day in May Bird Count starting at 6:45 p.m.

Sunday, April 18.  Prophetstown State Park.  Meet at 6:30 p.m. (evening!) at the far end of the drive in Prophetstown.  We will walk the trails along the boundaries of the park and look at the prairie in spring, while watching for migrants passing through.  Contact Barny for directions.

Saturday, April 24.  Indiana Beach Campground.  Rick Read will lead a walk through the Indiana Beach Campground.  Habitats include riparian, lake/pond, field and forest.  The campground is located on the north side of Monticello, off West Shafer Drive.  At Indiana Beach Road, turn west (away from the amusement park).  Meet outside the campground registration office at 7:30 a.m. for a 2-3 hour walk.  We’ll enter the park together; participants can leave at any time.

April 30 – May 1.  IAS Spring Birding Festival.  At Indiana Audubon Society’s Mary Gray Sanctuary near Connersville.  Loads of activities.  Go to Indianaaudubon.org for more information.  Bill Cummings, who used to be on SAS’s board years ago, is organizing the event.

May 8.  Big Day in May bird count.  All day bird count.  See newsletter.

Thursday, May 13.  PROGRAM:  Birds and Wildlife of India.  Russ Mumford, former professor of Wildlife Science, will share his photos and paintings from his travels in the forest reserves of India.  7:15 Lilly Nature Center, W. L.

Saturday, May 15.  Tippecanoe River State Park and Winamac SF&WA.  Jon Chapman will take us to his favorite birding spots in two outstanding state refuges that straddle US-31, 4 miles north of Winamac.  Jon will lead us through various habitats to view resident and migrant waterfowl and passerines.  Carpools will depart from two locations.  Barny Dunning will lead one from the W. Lafayette Celery Bog gravel parking lot departing at 6 a.m.  Rick Read will lead another departing from the Monticello Public Library at 6:30 a.m.  We will meet Jon inside Tippecanoe River SP at the Waterfowl Area Parking Lot at 7:30 a.m.

Saturday, May 29.  Martell Forest trip.  Meet at 7 a.m. for a half day trip starting at the entrance to Purdue’s Martell Forest on the east side of County Road 725 West in Tippecanoe County (south of SR 26 and north of Division Rd).  We will be looking for birds of the mature forest, plus late spring migrants.  This is the time Connecticut Warblers migrate through Indiana.

Wednesday, June 9.  Grassland Birds at Prophetstown State Park.  Susan Ulrich 1-3 p.m.  A Wednesdays in the Wild program.  There is a charge for each car entering the park.  We will see what grassland birds and other interesting things we can find that might be around.