2017-2018 Meetings and Events
Our chapter holds a general meting each month, September through June, We have a guest speaker at our regular meetings. Themeetings are open to the public, and provide a good introduction to our group for prospective members. We meet the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Lutheran Church of the Master on the NE corner of Kathleen and Ramsey. Please check our website for any last-minute changes. Our June meeting is a picnic, the location announced in the May Newsletter. Our board meeting are held the first Tuesday of each month at 4:00 p.m. (same location as our general meetings), everyone is welcome. See board meeting minutes
Next meetings will be May 8, Tuesday
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Lutheran Church of the Master, 4800 N. Ramsey, CDA
Speakers: Jeanne Dammarell, a member of the Spokane Audubon Society and a photographer
Program: “I am not an expert photographer, birder or bug enthusiast. I photograph birds and I have developed a keen love for photographing insects as they go about their business in the habitats we frequent. My favorite habitat in recent years has been the sagebrush landscapes of the arid scablands of eastern Washington. Much of photography of plant material, insects and birds that I use in the program will be citizens of these dry places. The principles we will look at apply to the wetter mountain habitats and our own yards as well. We will examine how we can improve the habitat in our own yards and make a real difference for butterflies, bees and birds. A few simple principles are all we need to improve habitat in our yards.” See page 2 in the newsletter for more information about Jeanne and her program
Audubon Chapter Picnic
Date: June 12 Time: 5:00 p.m.
Where: City Park – covered pavilion
What to bring: Your own something to BBQ and to drink (no alcohol allowed in the park) and a salad, casserole, appetizer, or dessert for the potluck.
Program: Talk about our accomplishments this year and future goals
Yard Lists
January 1st - Time to turn in your personal Yard List totals for 2017 to: Doug Ward, dougward@frontier.com and to start your 2018 list.
Great Backyard Bird Count
February 16-19, 2018 - http://gbbc.birdcount.org/
John James Audubon Birthday April 26Cuban Birds
2018 Migratory Bird Day
At Blackwell Island!
Coeur d’Alene Audubon will be co-hosting International Migratory Bird Day with the Bureau of Land Management on May 19th from 9am-2pm this year! This fun family event includes activity stations like:Normally Blackwell Island is closed to the public during this time in May. But the gates are opened just for this event which means lots of room to spread out and no traffic! It is a perfect place for all of the different stations and activities. The location next to the river and amongst the cottonwoods guarantees birds for the bird walk and habitat scavenger hunt. Stations all have picnic tables and many have shade. The covered pavilion is where the live bird presentation occurs and also where you can find the Sweet Tween Café! Kids that participate go home with passports, bird journals, stickers, tattoos and bird band bracelets! The theme this year is “2018 The Year of the Bird”. In 2017 Bird Day had to be cancelled due to rain, but the previous event in 2015 attracted well over 300 people! This event has lots of potential to grow and to become a community tradition, much like Eagle Watch, BUT we need your help! Each station needs the help of volunteers. So there are lots of ways you can help:
- A Migration Obstacle Course
- Pinecone feeder Stations
- Hummingbird Feeder Stations
- Nests and Eggs
- Live Birds
- Fill The Bill Station
- Join the Flock Coloring Station
- Bird Song DJ Station
- Get Banded at our Banding Station
- Guided Bird Walk and Scavenger Hunt
Bird Day could not happen without the help of the CdA Audubon! So please consider lending your time and/or expertise to this worthwhile effort. It is a great way to connect Birds and Communities and it’s one of the best ways to nurture the appreciation of Nature and Birds in our younger generations!
- Getting outreach to the local community through posting flyers, advertising to churches and local community groups, writing letters to the paper, and spreading the word to schools and local kid’s organizations (Scouts, 4-H, etc.).
- Helping with set-up and take-down on the day of the event.
- Providing baked goods.
- Working at a Station on the day of the Event.
- Helping with preparing supplies and organizing prior to the Event.
- Helping out at the Sweet Tweet Café, which serves bird friendly coffee and baked goods.
To help out please contact Carrie Hugo at 208-769-5048 or at chugo@blm.gov. To donate to this event, please give your donation to CdA Audubon with a note to please provide funds in support of Bird Day at Blackwell Island!
- Kootenai Environmental Aliance
information http://www.kealliance.org
Or call the office at 667-9093, or email KEA at kea@kealliance.org
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Following is a copy of the letter that the Coeur d'Alene Audubon sent to the BLM in response to their proposal of a Bike trail system and building of a trail across an Important Bird Area east of Coeur d'Alene at the Wallace L. Forest Conservation Area. It will probably be a few months or more until we hear of an updated draft. I will keep everyone informed.
I am President/Conservation Chair of the Coeur d'Alene Audubon Society and, representing the views of many within our group, I write this letter in response to information received about the Wallace L. Forest Conservation Area at Blue Creek Bay, Vegetation Treatment and Trails Proposal. We on the Board realize that the window for official comments on the draft is closed, but have been assured that our views can still be submitted and taken into consideration.
There are two specific areas which are disconcerting to our group: 1) the creation of a trail across a wetland meadow/riparian area connecting the west and east sides of the Project, and 2) development of a "skills area" off of Bonnell Road.
We request that the concept of any trail through the wetland meadow area be abandoned. This land is within an Audubon Important Bird Area where bird counts have occurred every month for the past fourteen years. A trail here would cause serious negative impact on the nesting places and habitat of passerines. If a trail is absolutely necessary, consider, please, instead, a trail adjacent to the already present roadway.
The development of a "skills area" is also worrisome because of the destruction of the vegetation and bird habitat it would cause. (Perhaps moving this skills area to the Canfield Biking Area - Nettleton Gulch Site- which has less potential for negative effects on residents and already has significant bicycle use and damage.) If a "skills area" is allowed at Wallace Forest Conservation Area, we request a "no sporting events" clause be written-in; these would undoubtedly lead to a larger number of bikers during a concentrated time, and would cause greater upset to the wildlife/birds/plants in that area.
Thank you for reading our concerns and taking them to heart. Please think of the birds of the area as important as each of the other groups affected by this Proposal.
Sincerely,
Midge A. Marcy-Brennan