Volunteers needed for nest monitoring at Hutton Lake NWR

Brian Waitkus repairing older nest boxes at Hutton.

Laramie Audubon Society has installed 21 nest boxes at Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuge. These boxes will be used by Tree Swallows and possibly Mountain Bluebirds or House Wrens. We need volunteers for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Citizen Science Project NestWatch. This will involve checking nest boxes every 3-4 days (or once per week) in the mid-afternoon and completing a data sheet online. You must be certified as a nest-watcher. This is easy to do by going online to NestWatch's nest monitoring protocol. LAS will be numbering and mapping the boxes prior to monitoring for easy identification on the data sheets.

If you would like to volunteer, you may sign up for one week or many weeks. You may sign up for a few, many or all of the nest boxes. Hopefully, we can get enough people involved to make it less time consuming for the observers. This will require quite a bit of walking since the refuge is now closed to vehicular traffic except along designated roadways. You will also need a mirror attached to a long handle (back-scratchers at Dollar Tree are one dollar!) to see inside the boxes to count the eggs. The nest boxes are located along the perimeter fencing of the refuge. The refuge is located about 7.5 miles southwest of Laramie. We would like to begin monitoring in mid-May.

Please call Vicki Henry at 307-760-9518 or email her at vickis@uwyo.edu with your interest or questions. Vicki will be coordinating volunteers for the scheduling of observation dates.

One of the many nest boxes built by Eagle Scout Bradley Wahlgren and installed at Hutton last fall.

Upcoming talk: UW Raccoon Project

Photo by Flickr user Triker-Sticks CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

University of Wyoming Raccoon Project: Ecology and Behavior of a Misunderstood Species

Please join us on Wednesday, April 27 to learn about a highly adaptable urban carnivore found right in your own backyard – the raccoon! Sarah Daniels, a graduate student in the Animal Behavior and Cognition Lab, will give an overview of the University of Wyoming Raccoon Project (UWRP), raccoon natural history, and ongoing/upcoming local research with these critters. You may think you know the raccoon, but Sarah will show you there is much more going on with these guys than their trash-eating abilities!

Please note that we will meet in a different location than usual, Classroom Building 215. You can park along 9th Street, but space is often limited. We recommend parking near the Berry Center as usual and walking south to the Classroom Building.

Bird chat with refreshments will begin at 6:30 pm and the talk will begin at 7:00 pm.

The talk is free and open to the public!

Upcoming field trip: Hutton Lake NWR

Yellow-headed Blackbird. Photo (c) Shawn Billerman.

Libby Megna will lead us to Hutton Lake NWR once again this Saturday, April 23. We should see waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, and songbirds.We will also take some time to monitor the swallow nest boxes on the fences around Hutton.

Meet at Coal Creek at 8 am to fuel up on coffee. We should be back to Laramie by noon or so, but of course you can leave early if you drive your own vehicle or arrange with carpool buddies. Bring binoculars, a spotting scope if you have one, snacks/drinks and dress for the weather.

CANCELLED field trip: Sage-Grouse lek

Dawn at the lek. Photo by Libby Megna.

UPDATE: Due to the forecasted inclement weather through the weekend, and the winter conditions that have already started, we have decided to CANCEL our trip to the sage-grouse trip on Saturday, April 16. We have decided not to reschedule the trip this time. Hopefully we have better luck next year.

UPDATE: The trip has been postponed to April 2 due to the snowstorm and resulting poor road conditions.

This Saturday, March 26 On April 16, weather permitting, we will head out to a Greater Sage-Grouse lek. Come and watch these iconic birds strut their stuff on their display ground. Meet at 6 am at the Eppson Senior Center parking lot, at Curtis St. and 3rd St. We will carpool to the lek at 6:10 am sharp.  The early start is totally worth it--there's nothing like being audience to dozens of male Sage-Grouse calling and dancing to attract mates.

Female Greater Sage-Grouse. Photo © Shawn Billerman.

April Board Meeting

We will hold a board meeting this Thursday, April 14 at 6:30 pm in room 227 of the Berry Center. Our board meetings are open to the public, so if you are interested in the behind-the-scenes of the Laramie Audubon Society, feel free to join us.

Upcoming field trip: Hutton Lake NWR

Western Meadowlark. Photo (c) Shawn Billerman.

Yours truly (Libby Megna) will lead a trip to my favorite Laramie Plains birding spot, Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, on Saturday, April 9. The refuge is one of the best places to bird this time of year--we should see lingering ducks, shorebirds, grebes, raptors, and recently arrived songbirds. Migration is in full swing, so we are likely to find some surprises.

We will meet at Coal Creek Coffee at 8 am to preemptively caffeinate and carpool. Please bring binoculars, a spotting scope if you have one, field guides, and snacks and drinks. Be prepared for windy conditions. Our trips to Hutton usually last a few hours, but anyone is free to leave early if they bring their own vehicle.

Hutton and Hoge Lakes. Photo by Libby Megna.

Upcoming talk: Hummingbirds by Holly Ernest

Photos courtesy of Holly Ernest.

On Wednesday, March 30, Dr. Holly Ernest will give a talk entitled Hummingbird Health Program in Wyoming and Colorado--DNA, disease, field research, and how you can help! As usual, we meet in the Berry Center; bird chat with refreshments will start at 6:30 pm, and the talk will begin at 7:00 pm. 

Hummingbirds provide vital ecological functions, including pollination and eating insects. As ecosystem sentinels, as they travel among flowers and prey on thousands of tiny insects, they can also tell us a lot about the health of the environment. Even more special is that they are stunningly beautiful birds, with bright iridescent colors. We need to learn their population numbers, biology, and health status in order to better conserve them. There are currently very little information on their diseases, population health, genetic diversity and population structure for the hummingbird species breeding and migrating through Wyoming, Colorado, and the Rocky Mountain region, and the Hummingbird Health Program is helping to change that.

Dr. Holly Ernest will talk about the Hummingbird Health Program at University of Wyoming, her team’s research studies in the field and in the DNA lab, and how members of the interested public can help. She will have a demonstration of the field equipment they use to gently capture, examine, measure, sample, then release these special tiny birds that weigh less than a US nickel. Check out their work at http://www.wildlifegenetichealth.org/ and click on the hummingbird.

Upcoming field trip: Plains Lakes

Great-tailed Grackle

Update: This trip is still happening despite the weather!

This Saturday, March 26 we will head out to the Plains Lakes for some spring birding. Shawn Billerman will lead the search for waterfowl and other early spring migrants. This is a great opportunity to learn duck identification and visit some of the best birding spots in the Laramie Plains. We usually stop by Blake's Pond, Meeboer Lake, Gelatt Marsh, and Lake Hattie.

Meet at Coal Creek Coffee at 8 am to caffeinate and carpool. Bring binoculars and a spotting scope if you have one, dress for the weather, and bring water and snacks. We should be back in Laramie around noon, but if you drive yourself you are free to join us for any length of time.

Lake Hattie. Photo by Libby Megna.

Upcoming field trip: Winter birds at Happy Jack

Northern Pygmy-Owl in the Laramie Range. Photo © Cody Porter.

Doug Eddy and Cody Porter will kick off our birding field trips with an expedition to the Happy Jack area for winter birds on March 5.

As usual, we will meet at Coal Creek downtown at 8 am to caffeinate and carpool up to Happy Jack. Cody and Doug will scout out the best locations beforehand; if you'd like to meet us up in the Happy Jack area, you can get last-minute info on where we'll be by emailing us: laramie.audubon@gmail.com

Cody and Doug are excited to try to find the Northern Pygmy Owl, a species that has recently been documented for the first time in the Laramie Range! Also expected are breeding Red Crossbills, all three possible species of nuthatches, and other fun winter birds--especially ones that are taking advantage of the huge ponderosa cone crop this winter.

Appropriate winter clothes and footgear strongly advised; snowshoes not necessary, just good boots.

A view from Happy Jack. Photo by Libby Megna.

Upcoming talk: Shorebirds by Shawn Billerman

The Incredible Natural History of Wyoming's Shorebirds and How to Identify Them
Come join us for our monthly meeting of the Laramie Audubon Society to learn about shorebirds. Shawn Billerman will show us not only how to identify these sometimes challenging birds, but also discuss some of their fascinating natural history. Many species of shorebird that we see here in Wyoming only pass through, on their way too or from their far away breeding and wintering grounds. We will learn a little more about their fascinating journey and how to tell all of these beautiful species apart.

Please note that we will meet in a different location than usual, Classroom Building 222. You can park along 9th Street, but space is often limited. We recommend parking near the Berry Center as usual and walking south to the Classroom Building.

Bird chat with refreshments will begin at 6:30 pm and the talk will begin at 7:00 pm.

The talk is free and open to the public!

Wilson's Snipe. Photo © Shawn Billerman.

Snow Tracking Field Trip, Sat., Feb. 20, 8:00 a.m.

Photo by Julie Hart.

Join us for our annual snow tracking field trip on cross-country skis or snowshoes. Gary Beauvais, Director of Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, will lead us on a snow tracking trip to look for tracks made by mammals and birds. Dr. Beauvais will teach us how to identify what made the tracks while we learn about the behaviors of mammals during cold winter months.

Bring snow-shoes or cross-country skis, whichever you prefer.

Meet at 8:00 a.m. at Coal Creek Coffee, downtown Laramie, 110 Grand Ave., to caffeinate and carpool to Chimney Park Trailhead (USFS) near Fox Park on Hwy 230. Chimney Park is a fee area so bring $5 per carload to park.

This trip lasts several hours so bring plenty of water and snacks and warm outdoor clothes. You may leave at any time if you have your own vehicle. Otherwise, we should be back in Laramie by 1:00 pm.

Call 307-760-9518 for more information. Back-up date for the snow-tracking trip is Feb. 27, if weather is too harsh.

Great Backyard Bird Count - February 12-15, 2016

People all over the world will participate in the 19^th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, a citizen science project launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society.  This four-day count involves counting every bird you see in your backyard or recreation area.  Thousands of people participate each year.  The submitted checklists offer great insight into where birds are distributed during this short interval of time and how weather affects various species. 

Simply complete your checklists using the forms provided online, and enter your results electronically onto the e-bird website.  This is a great family, friends or individual project.  Count on all four days, or any of the four days.  The website provides real-time results of all checklists submitted.  Personal photos can be submitted for the Photo Contest.  See photo contest winners at http://gbbc.birdcount.org/ .

Download your forms now and get ready for the 19^th annual Great Backyard Bird Count on February 12-15, 2016.  Go to http://gbbc.birdcount.org/ for more information.