Join us on Monday, May 20, for the eighth annual Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge. Teams from each of the five Grosse Pointes will be spreading out across their communities to count as many bird species as possible. The team that gets the most points at the end of the competition wins!
The rules are pretty simple:
1. The competition starts at 5 a.m.
2. The Ford House is off limits -- too easy.
3. We're on the honor system. Nevertheless, claims of extremely rare birds will likely be challenged by the other competitors. You may be asked to provide proof.
4. The bonus bird this year is the Warbling Vireo.
5. Meet at Panera Bread in the Village in Grosse Pointe at noon sharp to tabulate. Each team will receive one point for every species it sees. The bonus bird is worth five points.
6. Be on time for the tabulation. One point will be deducted for each minute you are late.
7. All decisions of the Commissioner of the Grosse Pointe Birding Challenge are final and are not reviewable by a court of law or by congressional committee.
Non-Grosse Pointe residents are welcome.
Good luck!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
References for natural plant phenotypes
Our March 18 meeting with John DeLisle of Southeast Michigan Chapter of Wild Ones was a great success. However, many people wanted the list of references that DeLisle posted at the end of his presentation.
Here are the references DeLisle cited:
Nursery catalogs: Prairie Nursery, www.prairienursery.com
Native Connections, www.nativeconnections.net
Packard Stephen, and Cornelia Mutel, eds. 1997. The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook for Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands. This book is the bible of restorationists, but it's accessible to beginners.
Prairies and Savannas of Michigan, Cohen, et.al
WOODLANDS
Darke, Rick. 2002. The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest
WETLANDS
Cwikiel, Wilfred. 1996. Living with Michigan's Wetlands: A Landowner's Guide.
WILDLIFE
Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy and Birdscaping for the Midwest, by Mariette Nowak.
Resources on the web
How to:
Restoringthelandscape.com
Michigan Native Plant Producers: http://www.mnppa.org
Michigan Butterfly Association: sembabutterfly.com
Detroit Audubon: http://detroitaudubon.org/media/landscaping-for_birds.pdf
Rain gardens -- SOCWA: http://www.socwa.org/documents/nature/RainGardenBrochure'09.pdf
Native Plants at Home: Wildones.org
Michigan Natural Features Inventory: mnfi.anr.msu.edu
Native Plant Profiles, University of Michigan Herbarium: wildflower.org or michiganflora.net
Native Plants for Pollinators, Ecosystem System Services and Sustainable Sites: native plants.msu.edu
Let's spread the word about the benefits of planting natives!
Here are the references DeLisle cited:
Nursery catalogs: Prairie Nursery, www.prairienursery.com
Native Connections, www.nativeconnections.net
Packard Stephen, and Cornelia Mutel, eds. 1997. The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook for Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands. This book is the bible of restorationists, but it's accessible to beginners.
Prairies and Savannas of Michigan, Cohen, et.al
WOODLANDS
Darke, Rick. 2002. The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest
WETLANDS
Cwikiel, Wilfred. 1996. Living with Michigan's Wetlands: A Landowner's Guide.
WILDLIFE
Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy and Birdscaping for the Midwest, by Mariette Nowak.
Resources on the web
How to:
Restoringthelandscape.com
Michigan Native Plant Producers: http://www.mnppa.org
Michigan Butterfly Association: sembabutterfly.com
Detroit Audubon: http://detroitaudubon.org/media/landscaping-for_birds.pdf
Rain gardens -- SOCWA: http://www.socwa.org/documents/nature/RainGardenBrochure'09.pdf
Native Plants at Home: Wildones.org
Michigan Natural Features Inventory: mnfi.anr.msu.edu
Native Plant Profiles, University of Michigan Herbarium: wildflower.org or michiganflora.net
Native Plants for Pollinators, Ecosystem System Services and Sustainable Sites: native plants.msu.edu
Let's spread the word about the benefits of planting natives!
Friday, January 18, 2013
The Young Birders Club is up and running!
As 2013 begins Michigan Audubon announces the launch of a Michigan Young Birders Club (MYBC). With the assistance of Sarah Toner and advice from the staff at Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO), MYBC joins 12 other state and five regional Young Birder Clubs in the country.
MYBC membership is for youth ages 12 – 18. It is a club run by young birders, for young birders, and focuses on educating young birders about birds and conservation. An Advisory Board, who will decide on the schedule of programs and the division of tasks amongst the members is currently being created. Meeting dates will be announced soon.
Members will create their own online newsletter and administer the club’s social networking sites. Planning a conference with presentations given by members and other young birders will also be on their agenda in the near future. The Club will be overseen by Program Coordinator Wendy Tatar.
MYBC membership is $15 and $10 for additional members of the same family.
For more information or to join, go to http://www.michiganaudubon.org/about/mybc/
MYBC membership is for youth ages 12 – 18. It is a club run by young birders, for young birders, and focuses on educating young birders about birds and conservation. An Advisory Board, who will decide on the schedule of programs and the division of tasks amongst the members is currently being created. Meeting dates will be announced soon.
Members will create their own online newsletter and administer the club’s social networking sites. Planning a conference with presentations given by members and other young birders will also be on their agenda in the near future. The Club will be overseen by Program Coordinator Wendy Tatar.
MYBC membership is $15 and $10 for additional members of the same family.
For more information or to join, go to http://www.michiganaudubon.org/about/mybc/
Friday, January 11, 2013
Grosse Pointe Audubon Winter Newsletter
Here is our winter newsletter. Hope to see you at our next meeting on Jan. 28!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
New resource for young birders.
This email came over the transom today. All I can say is we old folks wish we could have had something this cool when we were young!
New Young Birders Network Aims to Fledge Teen Birders
Online info hub connects young birders with peers and resources across country
For release: January 8, 2013
Ithaca, NY—Teen birders now have a place to go online to connect with peers and drill down into a wealth of birding resources, as well as explore college and career opportunities. The Young Birders Network (www.youngbirdersnetwork.net), launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Ohio’s Black Swamp Bird Observatory, serves as a hub for the many young birding clubs sprouting up across the country, while providing an online community for teens to share information and learn more about birding. "Teen birders are often unsure of how to turn their hobby into a meaningful career," said Cornell University biology junior Hope Batcheller, who is also a Young Birders Network coordinator. "This site answers many of their frequently asked questions." The Young Birders Network aggregates everything a teen needs to plug into their local birding scene, meet their birding peers, and delve deeper into the world of birding: A directory of young birding clubs, blogs and Facebook groups, events, and conferences across the country; Articles and links to resources about the many ways a passion for birding can turn into a college major and career, from ornithology and conservation biology to art and computer science; and, A custom eBird portal for easy online management of birding checklists and access to all the birding tools eBird offers. Articles on the Young Birders Network home page are written by a mix of middle school and high school students, Cornell University students, and eBird and Black Swamp Observatory professionals, creating a forum for teens to interact with college and adult birders. And for teens who don’t find a birding club near them, the Young Birders Network offers a toolkit for starting their own club. "Since Black Swamp Bird Observatory launched the Ohio Young Birders Club in 2006, much of our efforts have focused on providing information and assistance to other groups interested in starting a similar program for youth," said Kimberly Kaufman, executive director of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. "The opportunity to work with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on the Young Birders Network (YBN) is a dream come true. Our combined knowledge, enthusiasm, and additional resources will allow us to encourage, educate, and empower more young people than we could have ever reached on our own. These are exciting times for anyone with an interest in getting more young people outside and connected with birds!" "I certainly wish I had a central resource hub like this during high school. Until now there was really nowhere to find all this information about young birder happenings in one place," said Batcheller. "I’m excited to share this site with new birders and introduce them to the awesome world of birding and ornithology."
p.s.: Michigan Audubon will soon be announcing that they are joining the Young Birders Network, as it is in the process of forming a group. Expect an official announcement soon.
New Young Birders Network Aims to Fledge Teen Birders
Online info hub connects young birders with peers and resources across country
For release: January 8, 2013
Ithaca, NY—Teen birders now have a place to go online to connect with peers and drill down into a wealth of birding resources, as well as explore college and career opportunities. The Young Birders Network (www.youngbirdersnetwork.net), launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Ohio’s Black Swamp Bird Observatory, serves as a hub for the many young birding clubs sprouting up across the country, while providing an online community for teens to share information and learn more about birding. "Teen birders are often unsure of how to turn their hobby into a meaningful career," said Cornell University biology junior Hope Batcheller, who is also a Young Birders Network coordinator. "This site answers many of their frequently asked questions." The Young Birders Network aggregates everything a teen needs to plug into their local birding scene, meet their birding peers, and delve deeper into the world of birding: A directory of young birding clubs, blogs and Facebook groups, events, and conferences across the country; Articles and links to resources about the many ways a passion for birding can turn into a college major and career, from ornithology and conservation biology to art and computer science; and, A custom eBird portal for easy online management of birding checklists and access to all the birding tools eBird offers. Articles on the Young Birders Network home page are written by a mix of middle school and high school students, Cornell University students, and eBird and Black Swamp Observatory professionals, creating a forum for teens to interact with college and adult birders. And for teens who don’t find a birding club near them, the Young Birders Network offers a toolkit for starting their own club. "Since Black Swamp Bird Observatory launched the Ohio Young Birders Club in 2006, much of our efforts have focused on providing information and assistance to other groups interested in starting a similar program for youth," said Kimberly Kaufman, executive director of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. "The opportunity to work with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on the Young Birders Network (YBN) is a dream come true. Our combined knowledge, enthusiasm, and additional resources will allow us to encourage, educate, and empower more young people than we could have ever reached on our own. These are exciting times for anyone with an interest in getting more young people outside and connected with birds!" "I certainly wish I had a central resource hub like this during high school. Until now there was really nowhere to find all this information about young birder happenings in one place," said Batcheller. "I’m excited to share this site with new birders and introduce them to the awesome world of birding and ornithology."
p.s.: Michigan Audubon will soon be announcing that they are joining the Young Birders Network, as it is in the process of forming a group. Expect an official announcement soon.
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