Western Prairie Audubon

The 4th of July butterfly count program has been held annually since 1975, when only 29 counts were held. Volunteers around North American select a count area with a 15-mile diameter and conduct a 1-day census of all butterflies observed within the circle. The counts are usually held in the few weeks before or after the 4th of July, but the best timing for butterfly observation in each count circle varies. The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) organizes the counts and publishes an annual report.

Once again there will be 3 Fourth of July Butterfly Counts held in Western Illinois. An additional seasonal count centered at Warsaw, will be held in mid-August; date yet to be determined. The 4th of July counts are scheduled for the following dates:

Mason County (Revis) – Sunday, June 21st
Beardstown – Tuesday, June 23rd Monday June 29th (moved due to excess heat)
McDonough County – Saturday, July 11th

For each count we will meet at the K-Mart parking lot (north side, near the garden center) in Macomb to share rides for the counts. For the Mason County Count we plan to meet at 8:45am. For the Beardstown and McDonough County counts we will meet at 8:15am. Everyone is welcome to join in on these counts regardless of experience level. Wear comfortable shoes, lightweight long pants and bring sunscreen and water. A butterfly net and butterfly identification book is useful but not essential – some participants will have these. We’ll stop for lunch on the Beardstown and McDonough County counts, bring a sack lunch for the Mason County count and we’ll stop for supper in Havana at the end. The counts generally last until about 3-4pm.

If you are interested in participating in these counts please contact Dan or Angella (217) 256-4732 so we know to wait for you at the K-Mart parking lot and so we may notify you should there be any last minute changes.

June 9th (Tuesday evening) – Field Trip to Wigwam Hollow, Macomb.  Instead of a chapter meeting for June we will have a field trip to the IAS property at Wigwam Hollow to check the property and clean out the nest boxes.  We will meet at 6pm along the Wigwam Hollow Road near the bridge over the La Moine River.  Wear comfortable shoes and long pants (to avoid nettle stings).  Bring bug repellent.  We will provide refreshments, garbage bags for litter clean-up and ladders/tools for cleaning/repairing nest boxes.

Once again we’ve planned our annual summer picnic for our May meeting.  The picnic will be held on MONDAY evening, May 11th at Everly Park in Macomb (across from the State Police Offices and Days Inn) at the shelter near the lake starting at 6pm.  Bring a side dish and table settings for your party.  We’ll supply grilled chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs, condiments and lemon-aid.  Dave Benson will be compiling the results of the Spring Bird Count at the picnic so hopefully we’ll know how well we did for McDonough County at the end of the picnic.  After our picnic dinner we’ll take a short hike in the park to look for birds.  (The date was changed to Monday, May 11 to accommodate our Count Compilers Schedule)

Mark your calendars, this year’s Spring Bird Count will be held on Saturday, May 9th.  David & Heidi Benson will once again serve as the coordinator for the McDonough County count.  Everyone, experts and amateurs alike, are invited to assist with the count.  New participants are asked to contact Dave or Heidi at 836-6233.  All of those wishing to participate in the count will be asked to attend a minimum of one of two warm-up field trips.  These trips will be held at local parks and are intended to give everyone a chance to go over designated count areas and counting procedures as well as to practice bird identification.

The following warm-up trips are listed below.  Please try to attend at least one of the two warm-up trips if you plan to participant in the Spring Bird Count.

Bird Count Warm-up Dates:

Saturday, morning 8 am on April 18th at Gerald White’s, 8am Meet at Ball-4 Macomb, 8:15am at Gerald’s
Friday, Evening 6 pm on April 24th at Glenwood Park, Macomb at the shelter next to the pine trees.
Sunday evening, 6 pm on May 3 at Spring Lake Park at the shelter overlooking lake.

Our next program will be  “Calls of Frogs and Toads” by Dr. Mike Romano on WEDNESDAY April 15th 7pm at the Macomb City Hall Community Room.

As the spring thaw begins tiny shallow water pools will soon be filled with the chirps and croaks of several species of frogs and toads.  Often we these frogs and toads are hard to see as they remain hidden in the water under dead grass and leaves.  The best way to tell which species is singing is by learning to identify them by their calls.  Dr. Romano, herpetology professor at WIU, will share will us some tips on learning the call of frogs and toads.  The Talk is Free and everyone is welcome to attend.

On March 14 (Saturday morning) - Field Trip to Illinois River (Anderson Lake, Chautauqua Refuge, Spring Lake, maybe Sand Ridge State Forest etc.). We are planning to head east to view late winter birds and early migrating waterbirds on the Illinois River backwaters. We plan to break for lunch at Havana or another location. We plan to meet at 9 am at the (Western Illinois Credit Union Parking Lot - Former Hy-Vee parking lot to share rides. Dress appropriately for cold weather. We don’t plan to do much walking. Viewing will be primarily through spotting scopes and with binoculars from the car.  Everyone is welcome and the trip is free.

For our next meeting Dr Brian Peer of WIU will present a talk about his work on Redheaded Woodpeckers in Spring Lake Park.  The meeting will start at 7:00pm at the Macomb City Hall Community Room with the talk starting at about 7:20 after a short business meeting and introductions.   As always our talks/meeting are free and open to the public.

At our next meeting we will polish our bird ID skills with a video entitled birds birds birds.  The meeting will be held at the community room in Macomb City Hall.  Our Meetings begin at 7 pm.   As always everyone is welcome to attend.

This year’s Bald Eagle Appreciation Days in Keokuk, Iowa will be held on the weekend of January 17-18.  This annual event offers the public a close-up view of Bald Eagles foraging at the Keokuk Lock and Dam.  The Keosippi Mall also hosts government conservation agencies (Iowa DNR, Lee County Conservation Board, Illinois DNR, Army Corps of Engineers), Live Bird Raptor Programs, and Arts and Craft vendors.  We plan to meet at the entrance of the Keosippi Mall at 10am.  Those wishing to carpool to Keokuk can call Dan at 217-256-4732  so we can work out arrangements.   We can spend time viewing eagles at the riverfront and dam, followed by time spent at the Keosippi Mall to view the Raptor Program, visit conservation agency stations, and vendors.  Trip will likely conclude with lunch in Keokuk.  We encourage carpooling however if you need to be back early we suggest driving yourself.

Our annual meeting for 2009 is January 13th 7pm at the Macomb City Hall Community Room. For this meeting we will be electing officers, board members and our IAS representative. Officers and Board Members serve one year terms, except for IAS Board Representative which serves a 2 year term. If you have any suggestions to how we can improve Western Prairie Audubon Society please share your ideas at the annual meeting.

Our program for the evening will be “Creating Habitat Connections in West-Central Illinois” by Angella Moorehouse. The Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, whom Angella works for, and it’s partners in land protection and management have recently initiated a greater focus on connecting wildlife habitats in areas which have large blocks of forests, grasslands and/or wetlands. One of the most important areas identified by the state in west-central Illinois is Siloam Springs State Park and the surrounding landscape. Angella will share with us the importance of this area as well as some of the projects taking place to improve habitat in this area.