Nov 2000 CAWS Newsletter Madison Audubon Society

8/9/2019 Nov 2000 CAWS Newsletter Madison Audubon Society

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Tru m pet er Sw ans:The Big Whi t e Bird Ret ur ns!

The Trumpeter Swan is the largest water-

fowl species native to North America. Most

Trumpeters weigh 21-30 pounds, although

large males may exceed 35 pounds. With a

wingspan over 7 feet, stand ing 4 feet tall,

these snow-white birds are tru ly spectacu-

lar.

Trumpeter swans were fairly common in

Wisconsin u ntil the 1880s. The bird was

thought to be extinct by about 1900, but

small populations were red iscovered in the

western U.S. and Alaska. In the late 1960s

the swans were reintroduced in Minnesota.Wisconsin began trying to restore trum-

peter swans in 1987. In 1989 the first pair in

over one hund red years successfully nested

in the wild in Wisconsin.

Patricia Manthey of the WI Departm ent

of Natural Resources will present a slide-

illustrated program about why Trump eters

disappeared from Wisconsin and how we

got them back using innovative techniques.

Learn why John James Audu bon especially

valued the Trumpeter. Discover how large

and small airplanes, a zoo, huge cages at the

Free Pub lic ProgramWhat: Patricia M. Manthey, on theTrump eter Swan p rogram

When: Tuesday, N ov. 21, 2000

7:00 p.m. - Refreshments

7:30 p.m. - Program

Where: Bolz Aud itorium, Meriter

Hospital, 124 Brooks St. Madison

Parking: Meriter Hospital paid p ark-

ing ram p across the street, on the

street, or Lot 51 north of Regent and

Mills St.

THE AUDUBON

NEWSLETTER

OF THE

MADISON

AUDUBONSOCIETY

222 S. Hamilton St. / Madison, WI 53703 / 255-BIRD / http://madisonaudubon.org NOVEMBER 2000

MAS invites the pu blic for a

presentation and discussion

about th e on-going reu se process

that w ill determine the future of

in Sauk Cou nty.The fate of the 7350-acre

Badger Arm y Amm un ition Plant

is now being d ecided . The Badger

lands, situated at the foot of the

Baraboo H ills, were once part of a

larger p rairie ecosystem called

Sauk Prairie. The area supported

a thriving farming commun ity

until it was taken over by the US

Army at th e outset of World War

II, and a v ast mu nitions factory

Free Pu blic ProgramWhat: Reuse of the Badger

Army Am mu nition Plant: An

Update

When: Wed ., Nov .15, 2000

7:00 p.m. - Refreshments

7:30 p.m. - Program

Where: Bolz Au ditorium,Meriter Hospital, 124 Brooks St.

Madison

Parking: Meriter Hospital paid

parking ram p across the street,

on the street, or Lot 51 north of

Regent and Mills St.

Badger Arm yAmmun i t i on

Plant:A chance to make conser-vation history

in southern Wisconsin!

Special Meet ingRegular Mont hly Meet ing

continued on a e 2

edges of ponds, and stud ent interns dis-guised as floating muskrat houses worked

in concert to return th is magnificent bird to

Wisconsin. Find out about Swan

Round ups and hear firsthand how DN R

manages to get those collars on the necks of

the largest waterfowl in North America!

Have your Trumpeter questions answered

by a biologist who has been right there in

the marshes with the swans.

Ms. Manthey has been an avian ecologist

with the DNR, Bureau of Endangered

Resources since 1991. Her undergraduate

degree is in chemistry from the University

of Missouri. Her graduate work is in

Biology at UW-La Crosse. Her first work

with DN R was d oing Peregrine releases in

La Crosse. She followed that w ith bald

eagle winter roost surveys. She now coordi-

nates statewide p opulation surveys of pere-

grines, eagles, osprey and trumpeters and

the eagle and osprey translocation pro-

gram s. She is field coordinator for trum-

peter swan restoration and for the mu te

swan control program. She also chairs the

Wisconsin peregrine recovery team. She is aformer wildlife rehabilitator.

This program is co-sponsored by the

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Department of Wildlife Ecology.

You are invited to m eet with Madison

Audu bon board members and friends at

the pre-program dinner with our speaker at

Paisans Restaurant beginning at 5:15 p.m.

Please call the office at 608/ 255-BIRD (255-

2473) if you have qu estions.

There will be no general meeting in

December.


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MADISON AUDUBON SOCIETYPresid ent: Joanne H erfel, 241-8009

Vice-president: Amy McDaniel, 238-

0450

Goose Pond Resident Natu ralists:

Mark and Sue Martin, 635-4160

Editors: Pat & Deb Read y, 873-1703

pr eady@ku .com

Graph ic design: Pat Ready

Printed by Roemer Printing

The mission of the Madison Aud ubon

Society is to edu cate our mem bers and

the public about the natural world an d

the threats that natu ral systems are fac-

ing, to engage in advocacy to preserve

and protect these systems, and to d evel-

op and maintain sanctuaries to save and

restore natural habitat.

JOIN M ADISON AUDUBONStudent/ Senior: $15

Introductory membership: $20

Basic: $35

Foreign: Add $10 in US fund s.

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

STATE Z IP

____I do not w ish to receive AUDUBON maga-zine

____The National Audubon Society occasional-

ly makes its mem bership list available to care-

fully selected organizations w hose mailings

you might find of interest. To have your n ame

omitted from this list, please check here.

P lease en c lo se y o u r ch eck p ay ab le to

Nat io n a l Au d u b o n So c ie ty an d mai l to

Madison Audubon Society, 222 S. Hamilton St.

#1 , Madison , WI 53703. Memb ership s are

shared with National Audubon and all mem-

bers receive Audubon magazine.

THE AUDUBON CAWS is published

September through July by:

Madison Audubon Society,

222 S. Ha milton St.,Mad ison, WI 53703,

(608) 255-BIRD (2473).

Bird ing hotline, 255-BIRM.

Madison Audu bon Web Page:

http:/ / madisonaudubon.org

E-mail: masoffice@mailbag .com

E-mail services d onated by Berbee

The December CAWS is the Special

Sanctuaries issue.Contribution deadline

is December 11 for the January issue, for

wh ich items may be sent to Pat Ready,

1210 Oakwood Ct., Stoughton, WI

53589. p read y@ku .com

was bu ilt. Declared 'surplus p roperty'

in 1998, the land s include significant

popu lations of rare and en dangered

grassland birds, many p rairie rem-

nan ts and a 1300-acre prairie restora-

tion p roject. USDA's Dairy Forage

Research Center, and th e Ho Ch unk

Nation have submitted claims for

par ts of Badger, wh ile Wisconsin's

DNR and various industrial and agri-

cultural entities are also interested.

The Conservation Comm unity

Coalition for th e Sauk Prairie

(CCCSP), of which MAS is a mem ber,

has p ut forth a v ision statement for

Badger w hich ad vocates that any reuse

plan accommodate activities compati-

ble with the ru ral and ecological char-

acter of the area, and that the land be

man aged collectively to protect andenhance the lands natural resources.

Sauk Cou nty, with funding secured by

US Rep. Tamm y Baldw in, has assem-

bled a committee to develop a reuse

plan . Meanw hile, the General Services

Adm inistration h as been slowly d evel-

oping their own reuse plan w hich bar-

ring commu nity consensus, will be

implemented.

The evening's presenta tion will be

given jointly by several individ uals

from CCCSPs constituent organiza-

tions. It will include a slide show tourof the Badger land s, a history of

Badger Arm y Amm un ition Plant and

of the reuse process and a d escription

of CCCSPs vision for Badger. The pre-

sentation w ill be followed by a d iscus-

sion of the issues, challenges and pro-

spects facing those seeking a conserva-

tion-friendly reu se of the Badger

lands.

This pr ogram is co-sponsored by the

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Depa rtmen t of Wildlife Ecology,Wisconsin Wetland s Association, 1000

Friends of Wisconsin, the Society of

Conservation Biology, Wisconsin

Chapter.

You ar e invited to meet with

Madison Aud ubon board m embers

and friends at the pre-program d inner

with ou r speakers at Paisan's

Restauran t beginning at 5:15 p.m.

Please call the office at 608/ 255-BIRD

(255-2473) if you hav e questions.

Badger Meet ing . . .continued from page 1

Audubon invitesbirders to take part inChristmas bird count

This year marks the 101st anniver-

sary of the Christmas Bird Cou nt-

and the beginning of the second cen

tur y- since 27 conservationists in 25

localities, led by or nithologist Frank

Chapm an, changed the course of his

tory. On Christmas Day 1900, the

group initiated an alternative to the

traditional holiday 'side hunt,' in

wh ich teams competed to see who

could shoot the m ost birds. Instead o

hu nting, the group counted the bird

they saw and found ed a century-old

institution.

Today, ov er 50,000 volunteers from

all 50 states, every Canad ian

province, parts of Central and South

America, Bermu da , the West Ind ies

and Pacific island s will coun t andrecord every ind ividu al bird an d bir

species encountered d uring one cal-

endar day. About 1800 individual

Christmas Bird Cou nts will be held.

Christmas Bird Cou nt serves as an

up -to-the-minute bird census.

Counterscatalogue every bird an d

bird sp ecies they see over one calen-

dar d ay, fromm idnight to midnight.

Growing in pop ularity since its

inception, the countserves an impor

tant scientific function as well. Birds

are one of the firstgroups of animals

to be affected by environm ental

threats like pollution an dh abitat

destruction, and CBC data p rovide

indispensable information, not only

on long-term health of bird pop ula-

tions, but also the status of the

environment that birds share w ith a

living things.

Apart from its attraction as a socia

sporting, and competitive event, the

annu al count reveals interesting an d

scientifically useful information onthe early-winter distribution pattern

of various bird species and the

over-all health of the environm ent.

The Christmas Bird Cou nt is the

longest running ornithological data-

base. As we begin the second centur

of the Count, it continu es to grow in

importance as a means to monitor

the status of resident and migratory

bird p opu lations across the western

hem isphere. The CBC is 100% volun


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teer generated d ata that, over the

years, has become a crucial part of

the United States Government's nat-

ural history monitoring d atabase.

Coun t data from 1900 to the presen t

are currently available through

BirdSource ,

a cooperative p roject of the N ational

Aud ubon Society and the Cornell

Laboratory of Ornithology.All counts are op en to birders of

all skill levels. Anyon e interested in

birds is welcome to help, in a variety

of ways, at one or m ore of the

Madison area counts.

Each count is based on a circle

with a 7.5 mile radiu s, and is usua lly

named for the major comm unity

within the circle. The same circle is

surveyed each year. The count is

conducted d uring a 24-hour period

between 14 December an d 5 Janu ary.

Persons, or parties counting in thefield are assigned a p ortion of the

circle to survey on foot and/ or by

car, recording m iles and time walked

or driven, and species and nu mbers

of bird s seen. The Madison Cou nt

has a well-organized owl count, con-

du cted early on count d ay. Or, all

counts can use the help of feeder

watchers, birders w ho keep track of

birds at th eir feeding a reas for a

specified p eriod (usually an hour or

two) during count day.

Five Christmas Bird Cou nts are

conducted w ithin the Mad ison

Audubon service area. Listed below,

with this years count d ates and the

name an d contact num ber of their

coordinators, they are:

The Madison Count -Satur day 16

December 2000: Tony Kalenic and

Carol Anderson, 249-8836; (owl

coun t on ly, Al Shea 825-6232).

The Sauk City Count -

Saturday 23, December 2000:

Nancy Raffetto, 643-1274

The Baraboo Coun t -

Wedn esday 27, December 2000:

Ken Wood 767-3343

The Poynette Coun t -


Mark and Sue Foote Martin 635-4160

The Mt. Horeb Coun t -


Ken Wood 767-3343

Bird Conservat ion MovesForw ard in Wisconsinby Karen Etter Hale, Executive

Secretary and WBCI Chair

Bird conservation efforts throu gh-

out the nation and in Wisconsin

were the focus of a meeting in

Wausau September 29 attended by

more than 50 peop le from across the

state. After an over view of existing

national, regional, and state bird

conservation initiatives; natu ral com-

mun ity w orking groups w ere

formed to begin id entifying impor-

tant bird sites in Wisconsin.

Our keynote speaker was George

Fenwick, president of the Am erican

Bird Conservancy, an organ ization

begun in 1994 to link all of the vari-

ous bird conservation efforts. He

explained h ow the N orth American

Bird Con servation Initiative, a vastdisorganized partnership of group s

and agencies who all believe in com-

mon principles, arose over the last

coup le of years to un ify and inte-

grate the four major bird plans.

These are the North American

Waterfowl Man agement Plan, w hich

is well-established and accomplish-

ing a great d eal in restoring wet-

lands and associated u plands for pri-

mar ily waterfowl; Partners In Flight,

begun originally to address concerns

about neotropical migrants but sinceexpanded to include all birds n ot

covered by oth er plans; the U.S.

Shorebird Conservation Plan , recent-

ly comp leted; and the N orth

Am erican Colonial Waterbird

Conservation Plan.

We are run ning ou t of time, said

Fenwick, But there is a tremendous

energy out there right now and

everything is hap pening very q uick-

ly. He explained how u nprecedent-

ed p artnerships are forming between

traditional conservation group s su chas Ducks Unlimited and environ-

mental organizations; and how

needed fun ding m ight be acquired

with the combined efforts of the 1000

or mor e organizations in the U.S.

ded icated to bird interests. He

encouraged us to w ork together, to

go for chan ges, to take chances.

Wisconsin is on e of the first states

to develop a comprehensive bird

plan. Since an initial meeting last

year, a comm ittee has met to d raft a

Wisconsin Bird Con servation

Initiative (WBCI), complete with

goals and an implementation plan.

We hope to have this plan formally

adop ted and signed on International

Migratory Bird Day next May.

Meanwh ile, due to a sense of

urgency and a strong commitment

to bird conservation in the state,working grou ps w ere established.

These groups (northern forests,

southern forests, wetlands, grass-

lands, urban areas, and an informa-

tion and education committee)

began by identifying important bird

sites in the state. There clearly is a

lot more work to do, but the meet-

ing gave u s an excellent look at

wh at has already been accom-

plished . By all wor king together, we

can be greater than the sum of the

parts.If anyon e is interested in serving

on any of these comm ittees, or

wou ld like a copy of the draft plan,

please contact Karen Etter Hale, 255-

BIRD, or [email protected]


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Volunteers honored atspecial luncheon

On October 8, twelve individuals

received awards for their exceptional

volunteer contributions to Madison

Aud ubon Society (MAS) at the fifth

annu al Volunteer/ Donor Recognition

Event. The lun cheon took place at the

UW Extensions Arlington

Agricultura l Research Stations PublicEvents Building p receding Prairies

Jubilee. Attendees en joyed a luncheon

catered by Schultzs in DeForest,

speeches by Joanne H erfel, Marsha

Cannon an d Am y McDaniel, and

award s presentations.

Volu nt eer-of-the-Year 2000: Keith

Hulsebos. Keith Hu lsebos was hon -

ored with the 2000 Volun teer-of-the-

Year Award for his many years of

tireless serv ice to MAS. Keiths history

with MAS goes back to the d ays of the

meetings in th e UW Biochemistry

building in th e early 1980s. He initial-

ly volunteered to be on the Seed Sale

committee and learned all there is to

know about parking lots (and quite a

few other things). Keith then h elped

MAS set up the MAS90 accoun ting

package, and took over as Treasurer, a

position he ha s filled w ith a high level

of organ ization, perfection and exper-

tise over the many years. As

Treasurer, Keith manages payroll and

all the federal and state tax paperworkthat comes w ith it, rou tine invoice

paym ent, and d epositing revenue,

sales tax and pr operty taxes. He also

enters all of the accoun ting data into

the software and provides regularly

accoun ting repor ts to the Board of

Directors. He also pa rticipates in ou r

annu al audit. Keith has served as the

central repository for or iginals of land

docum entation, w hich h e scans into

electronic versions as backu ps. As if

all of this werent enough, Keith is a

faithful and h ardy volunteer at theArt Fair, the seed sale, Prairies Jubilee,

and often spend s many hours provid-

ing us w ith mailing lists/ labels for

special bulk mailings.

Keith is a kind, generou s-hearted

and ever-optimistic person w ho is

precious to MAS and his many friends

with in the organization. It is with

great honor and sincerity that w e pre-

sent him w ith this prestigious award !

Eleven individualsreceived OutstandingVolunt eer Aw ardsPeggy Schm idt. Peggy has been

actively involved w ith the Art Fair

Comm ittee for the last 6 years, serv-ing as main coord inator of food for

the last four years, an event attend ed

by up to 3,000 peop le. Over the

years, Peggy has also volunteered at

Prairies Jubilee, the seed sale, and

the farmers market. Peggy served

on the Board of Directors as

Membership Chair for one year.

Peggys cheerful presence brighten s

our meetings, and her reliability and

hard-work ethic help to bring suc-

cess to all events in w hich she partic-

ipates.Paul Noeldner. Paul has been the

Chair of the Membership Comm ittee

for the last five years. He also pro-

vides invaluable comp uter trou-

bleshooting at th e office, and has

worked h ard to perfect our database

and networking p otential. He initiat-

ed, designed and set up ou r website,

and even ran it off of his hom e com-

pu ter for the first few years. He is the

innovator of Birds on a Stick, a p op-

ular childr ens activity, as well as the

prize drawing at general meetings.Pau l has also taken an active role on

issues concerning the Wisconsin

Aud ubon Cou ncil. He has represent-

ed MAS at outsid e events, as well as

volun teered at the Art Fair, Prairies

Jub ilee, the seed sale and the

farmers market. Paul is a kind-

hearted person w hose enthusiasm

and eagerness to help M AS are infec-

tious an d inspiring.

David M usolf & Roger Packard. In

recent years, Roger and David have

become the nucleus of Faville Grove

Sanctuary, a comp lex of restored

and/ or protected lands along the

Craw fish River basin in Jefferson

Coun ty (near Lake Mills). This

includes Faville Grove Sanctuary

and Roger and Davids land, on

wh ich MAS holds and adm inisters a

conservation easement. Their volun-teer activities focus on establishing,

developing and restoring th ese sanc-

tuaries. Specific activities include

weed control, seed collecting, mow -

ing new pr airie seedings, seed clean-

ing, creating a seed d rying facility,

seeding at Faville Grove and Goose

Pond, chain saw work in the w inter,

conducting controlled bu rns, orga-

nizing volun teers for the above sanc-

tury activities, overseeing bu lldoz-

ing on the new MAS land , leading

field trip s at Faville GroveSanctuary, building p artnerships

with land own ers near Faville Grove,

serving on the Sanctuaries

Committee, and interviewing intern

candidates. Roger and David clearly

must have Energizer Bunny genes

in them: Their energy and ded ica-

tion to these sanctuaries is boun dless

and awe-inspiring, and their pres-

ence at Faville is crucial to its ongo-

ing success.

Ken Barmore. On May 13, 2000, the

first ann ual Big Birding Day tookplace. Six teams wer e competing to

see as many sp ecies as they could in

14 hours in Dane Coun ty. The count-

ing began at 4 a.m. in ord er to add

night birds to their checklists. By

days end at 6 p.m., all the teams

had gathered at Imperial Gardens

for the dinner and aw ards banqu et.

A totaling of all the team s fieldcards

revealed th at they had seen 164

species within Dan e County, an

excellent number considering the

windy conditions. The six compet-

ing teams raised $200 for MAS. Ken

initiated and organized this new

event in the Mad ison Area, and

deserves special acknowledgement

for taking the initiative to organ ize

this event and motivate local bird-

ers. He p lans to continue organizing

and bu ilding the Big Birding Day

into the futu re. Ken has also served

as a leader for man y MAS field tr ips

over the years.

Keith Hulsebos displaying his

Volunteer-of-the-Year Award


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Ann & Bob DeMars.

Ann and Bob became

involved about 10

years ago with the Art

Fair w hen they h elped

Eleanor Jones w ith

food p reparation,

both before and du r-

ing the event. In ad di-

tion to being faithfulvolunteers at the Art

Fair over the years,

they have also helped

with Prairies Jubilee,

the seed sale, the con-

servation referendu m

phone bank, and the

Volunteer/ Donor

Recognition Event.

Their unfailing w illingness to help,

especially with last-minute emergen-

cies, is vital to continuing functioning

of our organization; Anns friendlyand cheerful attitude and Bobs

wacky sense of hu mor often bolster

other volunteers during shared activ-

ities.

The Population and Hab itat

Comm ittee: Rhon da D ix, Carla

Corwith, Carolin e Beckett, Vajoya

Dasgupta. The human population,

curren tly estimated at 6 billion,

increases by 95 million each year, or

abou t 260,000 each day. This poses an

ever-increasing threat to both our

ecosystems and our social structure.Rhonda Dix recognized the need for

MAS to add ress this pressing yet con-

troversial issue in an organ ized fash-

ion, and found ed the Popu lation and

Habitat Comm ittee. With the help of

Carla Corw ith, Caroline Beckett,

Vijoya Dasgupta and others, this

committee has p ushed this issue to

the forefront, and MAS now h as an

established repu tation for p romoting

edu cation on th e issue of hum an

population growth throughout the

Madison area. The committee has

prom oted edu cation on this issue by

organizing two N ational Audu bon

speakers to present at Madisons gen-

eral meeting, at local schools, and on

Public Radio; by participating in

Earth Day, World Popu lation Week,

and the farmers market; by comp os-

ing press releases, app earing on cable

TV, talking w ith the med ia and con-

sequently having p opu lation related

articles pub lished in the Isthmus an d

Outstanding Volunteers: Back L>R- Paul Noelter,

Caroline Beckett, David Musolf, Rhonda Dix, Roger

Packard, Ken Barmore, Levi Wood (Backyard Hero).Front L>R- Carla Corwith, Bob DeMars, Ann DeMars,Keith Hulsebos (Volunteer-of-the-Year)

the Capital Times; by establishing a

speakers bureau; by accumu lating a

series of Video tapes for free check

out at th e Aud ubon office; by arrang-ing for high school speakers on p op-

ulation and habitat; by prod ucing

educational materials; by attending

Natl Audu bon advocacy workshops

in DC; by involvem ent in legislative

issues p ertaining to p opu lation and

habitat; and by w riting m onthly arti-

cles in CAWS and occasional letters

to the editor. Kudos to the four insti-

gators and th e other active members

of the Committee for promoting

edu ction on this issue in so m any cre-

ative and effective w ays!

Cool f ield t rips lead youto cool birdsSat., Nov . 11: Birdin g Hot Sp ots

Carol Anderson an d Tony Kalenic

will lead th is trip. Our p lan is to call

local and state hotlines and then go

to the hottest bird ing location in

south ern Wisconsin. Bring a lun ch

as the trip will last into early after-noon. Depending on what birds are

around we m ay make this a local

trip, such as to Goose Pond or

Devils Lake, or to go as far as Lake

Michigan. If we d o go to Lake

Michigan, this will be an all day tr ip.

Possible late fall/ early winter

migrants at this time includ e Snowy

Ow l, Townsends Solitaire, Barrow s

Goldeneye or any of a nu mber of

other p ossibilities. To find out w here

we p lan to go you can call Tony or

Carol at 249-8836 the week p rior tothe trip although we reserve the

right to d ecide at m eeting time if

something good show s up at th e last

minute.

We will meet to carpool in the

middle of the parking lot of the east

side Cub Foods. From H wy. 30 take

51 (Stoughton Road) north an d then

turn right onto Nakoosa Trail and

pr oceed east to Cub Foods. We will

carpool and leave at 6:30 a.m. We

will return to Cub Foods anyw here

from m id-afternoon to 6:00 p.m. Wewill announce a return time once we

have d ecided w here were going.

Sat., Decemb er 2: Mad ison Lakes

As winter sets in, pond s and

smaller lakes of south-central

Wisconsin freeze, causing migrating

birds to become concentrated on

Mad isons large lakes, which rem ain

open longer. Al Shea, expert birder

and past president of the Wisconsin

Society for Ornithology, w ill lead u s

in observing waterfowl, gulls andwinter birds. This trip has p rodu ced

some un usual birds in the p ast, so

don t m iss it!

Well carpool and leave at 7:30

a.m. from the midd le of UW Parking

Lot #60 on Walnu t Street. The trip

will last about four h our s. Bring a

scope if you have one and dress

warmly. If you h ave questions, call

Al Shea at 825-6232.


6/8

Birders Dreams And RealityBy Jason Berry, Director, GBRC

Birders often d ream of birding far aw ay, exotic

destinations for vacation. After one realizes this

dream, and is blown away by th e birding, one starts

to dream about living in on e of these birding p ar-

ad ises. In 1999 all my d ream s came true!

In the United States I had enjoyed the supp ort of

the informal birdwatching infrastructure and com-

mu nity. I was stand ing in gorgeous Cloud forest,but w ith no one to debate the d ifferences between

the confusing female hum mers. I was knee-high in a

coastal marsh, but w ith no rarebird h otline to report

the first country record of Fulvou s wh istling Duck!

The lush mou ntain jun gles of the pacific foothills

teamed w ith resplendent Qu etzals, Azure-rump ed

Tanagers, and blue-tailed hum mingbirds, but wh o

was I going to share this birding excitemen t with?

In a word , the birding infrastructure comm un ity

was NO NEXISTENT! Then w hile looking at a par -

ticularly beautiful pink-headed warbler it came to

me. Why not open Gu atemala up to birding by cre-

ating an organization d edicated to catering to bird-ers need s?

Today no birder need v isit Guatemala and feel as

lost and disorientated as I d id. The Guatemala

Birding Resource Center now provides local (we

found a few!) and visiting birdwatchers resources

such a s checklists, field guid es, binoculars, a bird-

ers resource library, tours, and information! Tours

focus on Mu nd o Maya endemics, e.g. Horned Guan,

Azrue-rump ed Tanager, Rufous Saberwing, and

black-capped Sisikin. Proceeds from the tour s go to

supp ort the w ork of two recently hired GBRC

research associates who are researching life histories

of the many u nstud ied birds of the country. This

last high season saw m ore than three tours a w eek,

countless rare bird sightings, and sa tisfied birders

from all over th e world. GBRC is a success - the

dream came true!

Although m ost birders will never have th e chance

to foun d th eir own birding organization, there are

many other w ays to deepen your birding experi-

ence. Taking your interest in birding on step farther

and volunteering for the Christmas, and Spring bird

counts can definitely enrich your birding . Taking on

a little bit more may find you with you r own

Summer Breeding Bird Survey area, or bandingbirds on a bird y weeken d in the fall. Volunteering

for national or international conservation organiza-

tions can afford unimaginable birding experiences!

My story isnt so mu ch about Gu atemala or

GBRC, but th at w e birders can make ou r birding

dream s come true if we if we take that next step!

Who know s maybe the next Hermit or Worming-

eating Warbler you band might be seen on one of

our tours!

For more information check out our w eb site at

http:/ / xelapages.com/ gbrc

International Family Planning isan Environmental Issue

John Flicker, National Audubon President, made it clear at a

press conference in July that population is the most important

environmental issue of our time.

Make no m istake about it: International Family Planning is

an environmental issue. It offers Americans an opportunity to

addr ess the root causes of the global environm ental crisis.The National Audu bon Society is proud to be a part of the

PLANet camp aign and to work w ith our partner organizations

on th is critically imp ortant effort. Achieving PLAN ets goals is

an essential step tow ard accomp lishing Au du bons ow n m ission

to conserve and restore natu ral ecosystems for the benefit of

humanity and earths biological diversity.

We know that the health and well-being of peop le is closely

linked to the well-being of wildlife and to th e environm ental

health of our p lanet. Every d ay, while more than a thou sand

wom en around the world d ie from p regnancy-related causes,

the threats to birds an d other wildlife are grow ing. This situa-

tion leaves both hu man families and the Earth itself greatly

impoverished.All you have to d o is watch the birds th at migrate to Latin

Amer ica each winter. As they retur n in the spring , fully half the

species have exhibited sign ificant d eclines in recent years, w hile

the human population has expanded and overwhelmed large

portions of their tropical forests and other natu ral habitats. This

rapid growth has also been accompan ied by considerable

hum an suffering, with particular hard ships for women an d chil-

dren.

But the good news is that we know how to solve these prob-

lems, and the PLANet campaign is all about carrying that good

news to the American public. Unlike so many global problems

that seem insoluble today, w e actually have the means at hand

to improve wom ens and childrens lives all around the w orld

and to reduce the impacts of our popu lation grow th on the p lan-

et. Both of these challenges can be addr essed effectively by the

same program: International Family Planning. This approach is

volun tary; its relatively inexpensive; and it emp owers peop le to

take respon sibility for their imp act on the other living creatures

of this planet. It is argu ably the m ost cost-effective pr ogram the

U.S. can provide for improving the global environment.

Most imp ortantly, it works. We know that w hen couples have

access to family planning services, they tend to choose to have

smaller, healthier families, which also imp roves the p rospects

for a healthy environment for both people and wildlife.

Using our leadership and skills in environmental edu cation,and draw ing upon our grassroots strength in comm unities all

across America, Audubon is committed to playing a major role

in carrying out the educational goals of PLANet. We wan t to

help all Americans und erstand w hy U.S. supp ort for

Internationa l Family Planning is crucial to imp roving the lives of

wom en and children and the survival of birds and other w ildlife

all around the world.

We invite people everywhere to join with Au du bon in the

PLANet network and learn how they can help to promote pro-

grams th at contribute to a better w orld for people and wildlife.

The above article was originally printed in Audubons Population &

Habitat Program newsletter in September of 2000.

POPULATIONAND HABITAT


7/8

YES, I want to make theGoose Pond vision a reali-ty. Here is my contributionto the Goose PondCampaign.

[ ] Acre Maker. $1,000 or more tobuy and restore another acre ofland at Goose Pond.

[ ] Half-Acre Maker. $500-$999 tobuy and restore another half-acre of land at Goose Pond.

[ ] Adopt An Acre. I pledge $100a year for three years ($300total) toward Goose Pondrestoration. Here is my firstinstallment.

[ ] Nest Egg. I pledge $50 a yearfor three years($150 total).Here is my first installment.

[ ] My Ow n Vision. $ tohelp as much as possible.

Name

Address

In Memory of

In Honor of

For Gifts Honoring Another: SendAcknowledgement to (name andaddress)

Contributions will be acknowledgednear the Goose Pond InformationBoard as follows: $1,000 or more-name to appear on a permanentplaque; $250-$999-name to appearon engraved paving brick.

Acknowledge in MadisonAudubon Society Newsletter

Do not acknowledge in MadisonAudubon Society Newsletter

Make checks payable to MadisonAudubon Society and mail to:Madison Audubon Society, 222 S.Hamilton Street, Suite #1, Madison,WI 53703

Tax deductible to the extentallowed by law.

Madison Audubon Societysfinancial statement is availableupon request.

Prairie plant ing isNovember 11; help isneeded.A large amount of prairie seed has

been collected and is being cleaned .

Prairie planting will be conducted at

Goose Pond (20 acres) and at Faville

Grove (15 acres) on Saturd ay

November 11th. Contact Mark and

Sue Mar tin a t 608-635-4160 for ad di-

tional information (Goose Pond) or

Dav id and Roger 920-648-3313 for(Faville Grove). Many hand s will

make th e job go easier.

MAS has an

account at the

Madison

Recycling Center

on Fish Hatchery

Rd. Remember

MAS next time

you recycle.

Gary Eldred, at left, President of

Prairie Enthusiasts, making a NativeAmerican spear point. Just one ofmany demonstrations at Prairies

Jubilee!.

Marsha Cannon awards Duane Stiemke, a local resident, with the raffle grand

prize. The painting was donated by Poynette artist Stephen Ratcliffe.

Prairies Jubi lee follow up

CAWS Newslet ter Subscript ions AvailableI am not a m ember of National Audu bon, but am interested in receiving

The Aud ubon CAWS newsletter to stay informed of chap ter activities. Ive

enclosed $10.00 payable to Madison Au du bon Society to cover printing an d

mailing for one ann ual year.

Mail to: Mad ison Au du bon Soc., 222 S. Ham ilton St. Suite # 1, Madison,

WI 53703

Gif ts that keep usgrowingACRE MAKER

ADOPT AN ACRE

Dr. & Mrs. Steph en Dudiak

HALF-ACRE MAKER

MY OWN VISIO NIn memory of Dudley Etter

Evelyn Batchelor

In Honor of Veronica, Lucas, and Steve

Eicher

Cousteau, Sal, Pip and Palmer

Herfel


8/8

11/00

Madison Audubon Society, Inc.Joanne Herfel, President222 S. Hamilton St. Suite #1Madison, WI 53703

Non-profit organizationU.S. Postage PaidPermit No. 1831

Madison, Wisconsin

1321 E. Mifflin St.

Madison, WI 53703(608) 256-1066

MAS Calendarat a Glance

11 Nov.: Birding H ot Spots, p. 4

2 Dec.: Madison Lakes, p. 4

Christmas Bird Count Dates:

The Madison Count -Saturd ay 16

December 2000: Tony Kalenic and

Carol Anderson, 249-8836; (owl countonly, Al Shea 825-6232).

The Sauk City Count -


Na ncy Raffetto, 643-1274

The Baraboo Count -

Wedn esday 27, December 2000:

Ken Wood 767-3343

The Poynette Count -


Mark and Sue Foote Martin 635-4160

The Mt. Horeb Coun t -


Ken Wood 767-3343

Household Computer Round-up in MadisonSaturd ay, Novemb er 11th, 10 - 3

The City of Mad ison and Cascade Asset Managem ent are hosting its third

household Com pu ter Round-up . This is a low-cost way for individu als to

ensure that their comp uter equ ipment is recycled p roperly. The event w ill be

held at Cascad es Madison facility on Saturday,

November 11th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There will be a charge of $5.00 per

mon itor (all other items are free) and a limit of 2 computer system s per vehicle.

Collected equ ipm ent will be tested to determ ine the poten tial for

reuse in local non-profit organizations. Obsolete and damagedequipment will be de-manufactured by Cascade for recycling. Volunteers

are needed to assist people dropp ing off their compu ters. No kn owledge of

computers is required, and w e are suggesting a 2-hour time

commitm ent. To sign u p for a sh ift, please contact Neil or Jessica at the email

or phone nu mber below.

More information is available at their w ebsite:

http:/ / ww w.cascade-assets.com

Cascade Asset Managem ent, LLC

1009 Jonathon Drive

Madison, WI 53713

(608) 271-6181

[email protected]

Directions: Exit the Beltline sou th on Fish H atcheryRd. Take the first left at Greenway Cross. Take the second left at Latham Dr.

Take the first right at Jonathon Dr . Cascade Assets is in a large wareh ouse

about a block dow n on the right.

Documents

Nov 2000 CAWS Newsletter Madison Audubon Society