Welcome to the latest issue of the Sycamore Warbler! We hope that you are having a wonderful holiday season.
Thursday, Jan 2. – Willow Slough-Iroquois Preserves CBC. Ed Hopkins, compiler. This count covers Willow Slough in Indiana and the Iroquois Preserves in Illinois. Contact Ed (see p. 1) to get information on where to meet and what area to cover. Maps, instructions, bird forms provided.
Thursday, Jan 9. – PROGRAM: Humans and Birds: Can’t We All Just Get Along? Judy Loven. As state director of USDA Wildlife Services in Indiana, Judy has the task of bringing disparate stakeholders together to create shared solutions to conflicts involving the interests of humans, birds, and other wildlife. She will discuss past and current highlights impacting our great state’s avifauna, and how Wildlife Services works to better the lives of citizens and critters alike. 7:15 p.m. Lilly Nature Center, Celery Bog Park, WL. Free parking and refreshments.
Saturday, Jan 25. – Winter Birds. For several years we haven’t had a January field trip because they kept getting snowed out. Throwing caution to the wind (squalls?), we are planning a winter bird foray this year. Meet at 8:30 a.m at the gravel parking lot at Celery Bog. We will drive around the area looking for longspurs, Snow Buntings, Rough-legged Hawks and whatever else is being reported. Half day trip.
Thursday, Feb 13. – PROGRAM: Birds and Other Wildlife in a Forested Landscape. Andrew Meier of Purdue’s Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE). This is a century long project in Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood State Forests with multiple objectives: one is to understand the impact of forest management on populations and diversity of plans and animals. Andrew will discuss the background and impetus for HEE, the forest management context, and wildlife responses to that management. Although a number of wildlife communities wil be discussed, the focus will be on changes in breeding bird dynamics. 7:15 p.m. Lilly Nature Center, Celery Bog Park, WL. Free parking and refreshments.
Saturday, Feb 22. – Waterfowl and Eagles. This trip is scheduled to intercept the first of the migrating waterfowl in the region, plus look for Bald Eagles along the Wabash River. The local breeding eagle pairs should be on eggs already. Meet at 8 a.m. at the gravel parking lot, Celery Bog Park, to caravan.
Sunday, March 9. – Woodcock Display. Meet at 6 p.m. at the Purdue Wildlife Area on Route 26 in the western part of the county to listen and look for displaying American Woodcock. If you don’t know where the Purdue Wildlife Area is, meet at 5:45 p.m at the gravel parking lot, Celery Bog Park, to caravan.
Thursday, March 13. – PROGRAM: Update on Local Youth in Nature. Zonda Bryant, SAS board member. Did you know our community has a Junior Nature Club? Or that soon it will be home to an incredibly exciting and innovative outdoor space known as a Children’s Forest? See story page 1, picture p.2. Zonda will tell us all about these and remind us how special and important it is to connect with nature whether you’re a kid or a kid at heart. 7:15 p.m Lilly Nature Center, Celery Bog Park, WL. Free parking and refreshments.
Saturday, March 29. – Lakeshore Trip. A trip to the Lake Michigan shore to visit Dunes State Park and the National Lakeshore looking for migrating waterfowl, gulls, loons and other species that are hard to see in the West Lafayette area. Meet at 6:30 a.m in the gravel parking lot at Celery Bog Park to carpool.