We’re taking a break for the summer. No scheduled field trips or programs during June, July, and August. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be sitting on the beach, eating chocolate bonbons and watching the clouds float by. Well…maybe one of us will be sitting on the beach. Even die-hard birders need a break every now and then.

So, come back soon and browse our galleries. We’ll be adding new pictures from time to time and be watching this spot for the time and place of our September meeting. See you in the field or at the beach!

Do you know what this wildflower is? Or how about this tree…do you know what it is?

Me neither. Until I met Dr. Herb Grover, the most knowledgeable plant person around the Big Country. Dr. Grover, professor of Biology and Environmental Management at Hardin-Simmons University will speak to us on the flora of Taylor County at our April 3 meeting. He has lots of beautiful photos of flowers and plants and he’ll give us names to those plants. Herb Grover received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Rider University, 1974; his master’s in botany (Plant Ecophysiology) from Rutgers University, 1977; and his doctorate in biology (Ecosystems Ecology) from the University of New Mexico, 1982.

For all the time we spend outdoors looking for birds, isn’t it time we put some names to the wildflowers we see?

Please join us April 3, 2008, at 7 p.m. at Rose Park Activity Center, Room A, South 7th and Barrow Streets. Our meetings are free and open to the public.

And we hope you can join us for one or more of our other April activities:

April 12, Saturday: Birding and Work Day at Abilene State Park. Bring your binoculars and your work gloves. We’ll work on the bird blind fence and enjoy returning spring migrants in the park. We’ll meet at the park with work to start around 8:00. Call a fellow birder if you’d like to carpool. Stay as long as your schedule allows. Pack a lunch or enjoy one of the eating establishments in Buffalo Gap.

April 19, Saturday: Spring Festival at Abilene State Park—More information to follow.

Big Country Audubon is pleased to announce that our bird blind at the Abilene State Park is now ready for birders, wildlife watchers, and birds! In September, 2007, the blind was delivered to the State Park. Over the next few months our eager volunteers painted the inside, hung feeders, and constructed a water feature. Immediately the birds found the food and water; cameras found the birds; and we hope you find the Bird Blind Photos!

And now I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful TPWD personnel for helping us with our project: Paul, Okie, Bobby, and Cody. Big Country Audubon volunteers who helped make this dream a reality: John, Lorie, Kathy, Joan, Charline, Carolyn, W.K, Steve, Heidi, Dan, Bera, and Peggy. Special thanks to Earth Share of Texas, and Texas Audubon for helping us achieve our goals.

There’ll be a few more improvements in the near future and we look forward to seeing all at our grand opening during the Abilene State Park Spring Festival, April 19. Stay tuned; I’m sure there will be more birds-from-the-blind photos to come.

March 6, Thursday, 7pm. General Meeting. Lorie Black, past President of Big Country Audubon Society, will present a program on dragonflies. For the past year Lorie has been studying and photographing the area’s dragonflies and damselflies. She will share her pictures and knowledge of Odonata. Lorie is a native Abilenian and a graduate of ACU with a BS degree in Range Science and Agronomy. A long-time birder and member of Big Country Audubon Society for over 20 years, she is employed by Lone Star Transportation as Billing Manager. Other volunteer activities include Friends of Abilene State Park and Region I Director for TOS.

Please join us March 6, 2008, at 7 p.m. at Rose Park Activity Center, Room A, South 7th and Barrow Streets. Our meetings are free and open to the public.

And we hope you can join us for one or more of our other March activities:

March 11, Tuesday, 7 pm. Board Meeting, at Mezamiz Coffee Shop, South 7th. . Members are welcome to attend. Come early (6:30) for super.

March 15, Saturday 7:30 am. Trip to Jones County and Lake Hamlin. Leave from Towne Crier on Business 20. Come early for breakfast. We will eat lunch in Hamlin. Target birds: Sandhill Cranes, Common Yellowthroat, and Burrowing Owl.

March 29, Field Trip: To Be Announced. Please check back soon for more information.

Join us February 7, 2008 for our general meeting when Dr. William L. Hohman, Wildlife Biologist of the Fort Worth USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Services will present a program on Bird Responses to Grassland and Wetland Restorations in the Northern Plains. He’ll focus on restorations accomplished under USDA conservation programs.

Dr. Hohman serves as the agency’s expert in wildlife assessments and documenting agency progress in meeting its goals for wildlife. He has nationwide responsibility for the development and delivery of science-based products that advance conservation of natural resources on private lands. His clients are agencies and groups that monitor government performance, agricultural policy makers, program managers, planners, and field staffs as well as conservation partners.

Dr. Hohman received his Ph.D. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN; his MS in Zoology from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND; and his undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences from St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN. In addition to managing a field station on the Iowa State University campus, Dr. Hohman also was Collaborating Assistant Professor (1998-2006) in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University where he taught Restoration Ecology, Wildlife in Agriculture, and Natural Resources Ecology and Management Orientation. From 1988 to 2001 he was Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries at Louisiana State University where he taught Ecology and Management of Waterfowl.

Current Scientific and Professional Memberships: American Ornithologists’ Union, Association of Field Ornithologists, Cooper Ornithological Society, Louisiana Biologists Association, Society of Wetland Scientists, Society for Ecological Restoration, Wildlife Society, and Wilson Ornithological Society.

Please join us February 7, 2008, at 7 p.m. at Rose Park Activity Center, Room A, South 7th and Barrow Streets. Our meetings are free and open to the public.

Join us for our field trip to Lake Colorado City State Park, Saturday, January 19, 2008. We will leave from the What-a-Burger at South 1st and Pioneer at 7:30a.m. Come earlier to order breakfast and carpool. Dress for the weather, bring water, snacks, and money for lunch. CCSP charges an entrance fee but several of us have a TPWD pass and it will cover your entrance fee if you’re in the same car with us. Some target species are Western and Clark’s Grebe, wintering duck species, and Western and Mountain Bluebirds.

To see pictures of Lake Colorado City State Park and learn more about this birding place, visit the Lake Colorado City S.P. link.

Big Country Audubon had another wonderful Christmas Social this past December, 2007. And like the 2006 social, I got a little inventive on the captions. Thanks to everyone for making 2007 a great year! Pictures are up at Christmas Social 2007.

And, did you know Tom, Toni, Carolyn, and WK found THE rarest bird ever recorded on Christmas Bird Count? It was a very rare bird for the Abilene area and I’m pretty sure it’s the rarest seen in North America. Ornithologists are still trying to determine how to classify it. For a complete list of birds seen on our 2007 CBC, check out the Christmas Bird Count 2007 list. Anyone wanting a copy for their personal records, let me know and I’ll get one to you.

December 6, 2007: Christmas Party!

Who: All Big Country Audubon members and their families
What: Christmas Party
When: Thursday, December 6, at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Rose Park Activity Center located at S. 7th and Barrow, Room A
Bring: Your favorite finger foods, snacks, and a wrapped gift for the Christmas gift exchange (completely voluntary). Please limit your gift to $10.00.
BCAS will provide: Drinks, plates, and napkins. A very short program (15 to 20 minutes) will be presented!

Christmas Bird Count, Saturday, December 29!

This year’s 108th Christmas Bird Count will be conducted Saturday, December 29. If you have never been involved in a CBC or you are a die hard participant, now is the time to get involved. We divide into groups with each group responsible for a pre-selected area in and around Abilene. Each group leader determines the start time, when to take lunch breaks (or whether to bring a lunch), and when to call it quits. You do not have to know what birds you are observing. There will be someone in the group who can identify the species; you only need to know how to count. If you would like to stay home and watch your feeders and report the birds seen, we can use these results, too.

If you would like to help us count birds this year, please contact us through this web site. Leave your name and a contact e-mail or phone number and I will contact you and assign you to a group. That group’s leader will then contact you regarding time and place to meet. After a day of counting, we will all meet at 6:00 p.m. at Cracker Barrel to turn in the tally sheets, eat, and swap stories.

CBC counts are used as long-term population trends of winter birds. Conducted since 1900, National Audubon uses the data to determine which bird species are increasing, declining, or holding steady. A small fee of five dollars per person aged 19 and older is required for participation. Feeder watchers and those 18 years old and younger are not required to pay a fee. This fee helps offset the printing costs of the Summary of the CBC which every participant receives.

So join us this year. We always have lots of fun; someone usually finds a rarity; and you’ll be contributing to one of the most powerful conservation tools in use today!

Lynn Barber will tell us how she saw 522 bird species in 2005, creating a new Texas Big Year record! She will show pictures of some of the birds seen and the sites visited. During that year, she drove more than 90,000 miles from forest to canyons to grasslands and beaches in her quest to record as many birds as possible.

This Crimson-collared Grosbeak is one example of some of the rarer birds seen in 2005.

Lynn E. Barber was born in Wisconsin, and has lived in Alaska, Oregon, North Carolina and since 2000, Texas. She is a registered patent attorney in solo practice in Fort Worth. She has a Ph.D. in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a JD from Duke University Law School. Her avocations include bird-watching, nature-photography, church volunteer activities, playing the hammered dulcimer, and baking cookies. She is married to Rev. David Barber, pastor at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Fort Worth. She is past President of the Fort Worth Audubon Society, President-Elect of the Texas Ornithological Society, and in 2005, she broke the previous record for number of bird species seen in Texas in one year.

Please join us November 1, 2007, at 7 p.m. at Rose Park Activity Center, Room A, South 7th and Barrow Streets. Our meetings are free and open to the public.

Join us Thursday evening at 7 p.m., October 4, 2007 to hear Laura Packer talk about the Dyess Air Force Base Eastern Bluebird Nestbox Trail. For the past two years Laura has monitored the nestboxes at Dyess, and she will share her pictures, stories, and data with us. This is the same program she presented to the Texas Bluebird Symposium last month. Material will be available to help you get started with building nestboxes, creating a trail, and the ups and downs of being a monitor. Whether you put up one nest box or twenty to attract the bluebirds (or other cavity nesters), you will want to hear her program. It contains a wealth of information on attracting birds to boxes, how to monitor the boxes for success, and controlling predators.

Laura has always enjoyed birds but became an avid birder 14 years ago when her then 12-year-old son decided he needed a ride to BCAS field trips. Her birding journeys have taken her coast to coast, from Canada to Mexico, and overseas to Europe. Laura conducts spring and fall Northern Bobwhite counts with TPWD and Dyess, helps with the migratory bird surveys at Dyess, runs a breeding bird survey in Callahan County, and is developing a bird checklist for Dyess. She has led field trips and participated in and coordinated the local Christmas Bird Counts for many years. Laura is a member of the Texas Ornithological Society, the Texas Bluebird Society, the North American Bluebird Society, the Nature Conservancy, and the Big Country Audubon Society. She also enjoys photographing birds and their behavior and sharing what she has learned about birds with others.

Please join us October 4, 2007, at 7 p.m. at Rose Park Activity Center, Room A, South 7th and Barrow Streets. Our meetings are free and open to the public.