Please join us for a Christmas gathering, Thursday, December 7 at 7 p.m. at the Rose Park Senior Center at the corner of South 7th and Barrow. Bring your favorite finger food (chips, dip, sandwiches, cookies, or whatever goodie can be eaten with the fingers) and a wrapped bird-related under-ten-dollar Christmas gift. We’ll indulge our taste buds, exchange holiday gifts, and watch a few bird videos that Laura took this past birding season if technology cooperates. She will also show off Big Country Audubon’s web site for those that do not have access to computers or the web.

Our gift exchange is purely optional as is dressing like one of Santa’s elves. We’ll number the gifts as they arrive, put corresponding numbers in a “hat,” and draw numbers to determine who gets what gift. If you arrive sans gift; please refrain from drawing a number.

So come hang with your birding friends, eat a few goodies, hear the latest birding news, and enjoy the festive evening.

Join us this Saturday, December 2 for a field trip to Lake Baird in Callahan County, Texas. We will meet at the Towne Crier Restaurant at 818 E. Hwy. 80. We will leave at 7:30 a.m. The restaurant serves breakfast so if you’re hungry come early for breakfast and carpooling. The target birds for this trip will be: White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, duck species (mergansers and buffleheads are beginning to show on area lakes), Lark Bunting, and whatever else flies in front of us.

Please check our hotline at 325-691-8981 if weather appears problematic. Bring snacks if you like to munch before lunch. This field trip will last until noon at which time we will either go our separate ways or find a place to eat lunch.

We will leave from the Burger King at 1633 Antilley Road at 7:45 a.m. If you want breakfast, come early. Several of us will be there early for breakfast, 7:10ish. Check out the past weekend’s sightings to see what to expect. Target birds are Golden-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hermit Thrush, Brown Creeper, Spotted Towhee, White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and Marsh Wren. If time allows we will bird Lake Abilene. There have been over three hundred ducks on the lake. There’s always the possibility we’ll see Mountain and Western Bluebirds around the lake area.

Remember, there is a charge for entrance to the State Park unless you ride with some of us that have the Texas State Parks Pass. This field trip is rated “easy” requiring some walking and will last half a day. Bring snacks (or ask Bill to share), dress for the weather, and bring money for lunch if you want to join us for lunch. Remember to call our hotline at 325-691-8981 if weather conditions are questionable.

And by the way, we look at other wildlife like this armadillo (above) that was spotted last week while birding.

Kathy McGinty, Regulatory Wildlife Biologist, District 3, with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department will speak at our November 2nd General Meeting on the Black-capped Vireo and the Golden-cheeked Warbler. Kathy has a masters degree in Wildlife Science from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. She has worked for TPWD for 20 years, first on the Kerr Wildlife Management Area for 12 years and now in Abilene for the past 8 years. She will share her work with the Black-capped Vireos and Golden-cheeked Warblers while on the Kerr WMA. Both birds are on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Endangered Species List. Understanding their habitat requirements, breeding behaviors, and the effects of land-use practices in regards to the Brown-headed Cowbird will be presented.

Hope to see you Thursday, November 2, at 7 p.m. at the Rose Park Senior Center, Rm. C, at Barrow and South 7th.

Join us this Saturday, October 21, for our field trip to Lake Fort Phantom. We will meet at 7:45 a.m. at Alfredo’s at 1009 North Judge Ely Blvd. Come early for breakfast and carpooling. We’ve been scouting this week at the lake and there have been as many as two Ospreys still hanging around. Over 30 Redheads were sighted just recently and each day brings in more of our returning wintering ducks. Bring your binoculars and dress appropriately. If you need more information or have questions, please contact us through this web site or call our hotline at 691-8981.

Hope to see you in the field!

A few Big Country Audubon members met Saturday, September 23, 2006, to look for the Great Kiskadee and then bird the Old Fort Phantom area. The kiskadee did a fast fly by leaving many with dissatisfied looks. So off we went to the Old Fort Phantom area to see what was hopping or flying about. Finding the area dead birdless, we headed to Waste Water Treatment Plant in Jones County. There we found a variety of birds and some allowed us to snap their pictures. Hey, check out our fine taste in birding fashion. Did I hear someone complain about the lead car’s quick left turn? You can see a complete list of species recorded in our Sightings section, too.

Rodney Sturdivant will speak to us on his trip he took to the Galapagos Islands in 1989. The Galapagos Islands are largely desolate lava piles with little vegetation, except on the upper slopes, but are of special interest to naturalists for their large tortoises, land and marine iguanas, flightless cormorants, and other unusual wildlife. Tourism is now strictly regulated to protect the endangered species unknown outside the archipelago.

Rodney has a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Tennessee. He spent twenty years in the USAF as a navigator flying in the KC-135 (air-refueling tanker), the FB-111, and the B-1B. He is currently working as a civilian contractor conducting the systems training (ground school) and instructing the simulator training missions for the B-1B students at Dyess AFB.

Rodney’s also involved in several volunteer organizations:

• Bobwhite Brigade - Instructor, Steering Committee member and Treasurer
• Texas Youth Hunting Program (TYHP)
• Big Country Master Naturalists - President
• Friends of Abilene State Park - Board member
• Texas hunter safety instructor
• Big Country Master Gardener - intern

Rodney lives in Coleman County with his three German bird dogs and one wayward English Pointer.

Come hear Rodney speak and see his beautiful photos on the Galapagos Islands. We meet Thursday, October 5 at 7 p.m. at the Rose Park Senior Center, Room A, at Barrow and South 7th.

There will be a field trip to the Old Fort Phantom Area, Saturday morning, September 23, at 7:30 a.m. We will meet at Denny’s (before 7:30) on FM 600. Come early (6:45 a.m.) for breakfast and we can carpool from the restaurant. Recent sightings suggest Clay-colored Sparrow and warblers might be found. Previous field trips to this area have produced Cactus Wren, Pyrrhuloxia, Lark Bunting, Red-shouldered Hawk, and Curve-billed Thrasher. This will be a half day field trip.

Big Country Audubon had their Annual Meeting Thursday, September 7, at Oakwood Trails. We all had a great time visiting with each other, eating, birding, eating, electing new officers, eating, and well, you get the point. Thanks to all who brought food, drinks, and desserts! And thanks to all who’ve worked so hard to make the past year remarkable. Special thanks goes to Lorie for her three years of excellent leadership; to Dolores for her newsletter work; to Charline for keeping us in the black; to John for his ability to continually bring us closer to the birds; to Joan and Kathy for picking great birding spots; to Esta for keeping the public informed; and to Jay for creating this web site.

I’m looking forward to another great year.

You are cordially invited to the Big Country Audubon Society’s Annual Meeting on Thursday, September 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the lodge at Oakwood Trails. Bring a brown bag dinner. Soft drinks and dessert will be provided. We will walk the trails, bird around the lodge or just enjoy the air conditioning! In a brief business meeting we’ll vote on officers for the coming year. Hope to see you there!

Check out our directions to Oakwood Trails.