Kids and Families Flock to Wings in Winter

Laramie Audubon Society and Wyoming State Parks teamed up to bring "Wings in Winter" to the Albany County Public Library from 9 to 11am on Saturday, November 18. Nearly 40 kids and their parents and grandparents came out to enjoy a morning of crafts, snacks and learning and talking about birds. Families enjoyed roaming from station to station to make pine cone winter bird feeders, bird house and bird craft ornaments, color nature pages and eat snacks and try rose hips tea. They learned that birds eat rose hips in winter, and why it's important for birds and other wild animals to eat good hearty foods like the nutrient-packed birdseed and shortening used to make pine cone bird feeders. All enjoyed making their own ornaments, too. Some glued colorful feathers, felt, pipe cleaners and googly eyes onto pine cones. One participant even put a Santa hat on her bird! Another made a crossbill, and those gathered around enjoyed looking at a photo of a crossbill to compare. Wow! Same beak! Some stuck holiday-themed and animal- even dinosaurs!- stickers onto tiny birdhouses to hang on their Christmas trees or elsewhere in the home. And many enjoyed making both, then taking a break to relax with coloring pages from "Hidden Feathers" and other nature-inspired coloring books. LAS and WSP look forward to teaming up again to bring more Kids and Families activities to Laramie after the holidays. Keep an eye out on our website Events page, on the Laramie Audubon Society and Wyoming State Parks Facebook pages, at school and at the public library for upcoming events in 2024.

Wings in Winter - Arts, Crafts, and Activities (Indoors)

 We've teamed up with the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources to present a morning of free family fun at the Albany County Public Library (310 S. 8th Street in Laramie).  Join us on Saturday, November 18 from 9 to 11 a.m. for arts, crafts, and activities to help you and your family care for local birds throughout the winter.

124th Annual Christmas Bird Count - Albany County Date Announced!

The Albany County Christmas Bird Count will be conducted on Saturday, December 16, beginning at 8 a.m.  Volunteers are needed to join our effort to count every bird in a 15-mile diameter circle around Laramie.  

This will be the 46th count of the Albany County circle.   All levels of bird watchers, including feeder watchers, are welcome.  Although this international event was named the Christmas Bird Count more than 100 years ago, the event is secular, with Christmas denoting the season of the annual count.  Information regarding this international event is available on the National Audubon Society website: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count.  

Volunteers are the backbone of the Christmas Bird Count!  Some teams walk, while others drive through the territory.  Volunteers should wear warm, layered clothing and boots, and bring water, snacks and binoculars (if available).  Feeder watchers are also welcome.  The event typically concludes with a evening potluck where the results are tallied - potluck information will be provided to participants when they register. 

Volunteers for the Albany County circle must register to receive a route assignment.  Check-in will be conducted at Coal Creek Coffee (downtown location) on the morning of the Count.  Contact Shay (307-286-1972; wolfhowlin@gmail.com) for information, to pre-register, or to get Zoom call-in information. 

2023 Election

 The Laramie Audubon Society election for board members will take place later this month (beginning November 15, 2023, with voting open for seven days).  In order to vote, you must be a current member (i.e., membership received since August 2023).  

We will provide biographies of all who are running as part of the election materials.  If you are interested in serving on our Board of Directors, please send a brief biography - explaining why you are interested - to us at laramie.audubon@gmail.com so that we can include your name and bio on the ballot.  We encourage participation by people of any background who have interest in birds and time to devote to the organization.