Image by Jeanne Church, picturewalks.org – Blue Jay
Events in November 2024
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October 27, 2024
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October 28, 2024(1 event) – Why are we having a presentation on butterflies? Granted – they have wings, they fly, you can look at them through binoculars, and many of them are colorful. But, what does that have to do with birds? To us, butterflies are usually welcome visitors to our flowerbeds and fun to watch. To a bird, they are food factories. Birds rely on the caterpillars of butterfly and moth species as a major food source. Many birds will also consume the flying adult stages of butterflies. Even seed-eating and fruit-eating birds rely on nutritious protein-filled caterpillars for their nestlings. Without that food source, the youngsters will not survive. Environmental effects on butterflies, therefore, have an effect on birds. Unfortunately, many butterflies and various other groups of insects are in steep decline. This decline is occurring across ecosystems worldwide and may have grave future implications for species that depend on them – including humans. Our October speaker, Stephanie Clark, is a fifth-year graduate student at Michigan State University / Kellogg Biological Station and is studying the effects of various factors, such as drought, insecticides, and temperature, on butterflies. Her primary species of study has been the Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) which she fell in love with after working in an insect lab after college. She works with the butterflies both in the field and in controlled laboratory settings. Stephanie has also studied how ant communities in farming plots with and without pesticides are impacted by the presence of native Michigan prairie plants. Please come and hear about this important topic and find out how you can support insect diversity in your local ecosystem. We hope you'll join us on Monday, October 28, at People's Church, 1758 North 10th Street, Kalamazoo. Come at 7:00 PM for some refreshments and socializing. Snacks and beverages will be provided. The one-hour program will start at 7:30. Masks are recommended but not required in the church. Handicap parking and access is at either the front or the rear entrance. We have a simultaneous Zoom meeting link for those who can’t attend or feel uncomfortable attending in person. Topic: October Program: The Effect of Global Change on Butterflies
Join Zoom Meeting - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81643660569 Meeting ID: 816 4366 0569 This link will also be included in the November member newsletter. We will record the meeting for later viewing. |
October 29, 2024(1 event) – Continuing the years’ long tradition of Tuesday morning trail walks, our weekly Kal-Haven Trail walks will be on Tuesdays at 9:00 AM in September and October, starting September 3. We will meet and start at the trailhead on North 10th Street between G and H Avenues. A few of us walk 2.5 miles to the usually very birdy marsh at 8th Street and then back for a total of 5 miles, but anyone can cut that short and turn around at any time. There will not be a “leader,” although someone will be keeping a species list. If you are interested in a bird walk with a leader (or leaders) please consider joining us for our Monthly Beginning Birding Walks held at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery the first Saturday of every month. More information about this program can be found here. No spotting or shuttling of cars will be available unless you arrange your own. The Kal-Haven Trail walks are handicap accessible. If you would like to be in an email group to be notified of the latest status of the walks or to discuss weather conditions, please send an email to Joyce Leppard at joyceannleppard@nullgmail.com. Kal-Haven Trailhead |
October 30, 2024
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October 31, 2024
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November 1, 2024
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November 2, 2024(1 event) – Please join us the first Saturday of each month at 9 AM (barring special events or bad weather which will be announced on our Facebook page), for "Beginning Birding Walks," led by experienced birders from the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo. This event is free and open to the public. Meet at the second parking lot at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan, just off SR 43. All skill levels are welcome. We will enjoy nature while typically identifying 20-40 species of birds, plus butterflies, frogs, etc. Over 200 bird species have been sighted at Wolf Lake, which offers a variety of habitats and easy walking trails. Annual highlights include colorful songbirds like orioles, warblers, tanagers, hawks and eagles, kingfishers, Great Blue and Green Herons, and over 20 species of waterfowl. Eastern Bluebirds can be found year-round! Children accompanying adults are welcome. The focus is on birding fundamentals, and extra binoculars are always available. The walk typically takes about 2 hours (but feel free to arrive late or leave early). Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery |
November 3, 2024
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November 4, 2024
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November 5, 2024
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November 6, 2024
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November 7, 2024
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November 8, 2024
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November 9, 2024
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November 10, 2024
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November 11, 2024
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November 12, 2024
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November 13, 2024
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November 14, 2024
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November 15, 2024
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November 16, 2024(1 event) – In recent years, the gathering of Sandhill Cranes around Schoolcraft has become quite a spectacle, fueled by grain crops in the farm fields and desirable roosting areas. Watch and listen to them as they gather to roost around sunset. Courtship displays are common, and the calling of thousands of cranes can be breathtaking. No hiking will be required – we will bird from our vehicles. Meet at the Park ‘n Ride lot on Angling Road off of Centre Avenue, next to highway US-131, to caravan to the location. If you like, join us afterward at Latitude 42 Brewing Company, 7842 Portage Road, Portage, for refreshments. Leaders: Susan Creager (269) 716-7988 and Kent Martin (256) 751-3358 See field trip description. |
November 17, 2024
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November 18, 2024
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November 19, 2024
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November 20, 2024
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November 21, 2024
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November 22, 2024
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November 23, 2024
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November 24, 2024
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November 25, 2024(1 event) – On November 25, Dr. Steve Roels will be presenting on what could be argued is truly a “State Bird” of Michigan, the Kirtland’s Warbler. The Kirtland’s Warbler is a Great Lakes endemic species that summers and breeds in young jack pine forests, primarily in Michigan’s Northern Lower Peninsula. It winters in scrub forests in the Bahamas. This species was nearly lost to extinction due to fire suppression in its very limited breeding habitat and nest parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds. The removal of the Kirtland’s Warbler from the Federal endangered species list as a result of sustained conservation efforts is a victory for the bird and its champions. Yet threats to the species’ future, including climate change and human development, persist. Examining the deep history of Kirtland’s Warbler and its instinctive behaviors offers hope that the bird, despite its fussy reputation, can adapt to a changing planet. Unprecedented research projects are revealing how the warbler’s movement ecology has enabled its survival across millennia and what we must do to support the warbler as it navigates the new millennium. Dr. Steve Roels is a conservation biologist with American Bird Conservancy, currently serving as the Kirtland’s Warbler Program Director and Conservation Team Coordinator. He earned his MA from the University of Kansas in 2011, studying population restoration of a rare prairie plant. He earned his PhD from Michigan State University in 2018, studying bird ecology in tropical forest restorations. He has conducted field research in Michigan, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Vietnam, and Panama. His scientific work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Avian Conservation and Ecology; Restoration Ecology; and Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment. We hope you'll join us on Monday, November 25, at People's Church, 1758 North 10th Street, Kalamazoo. Come at 7:00 PM for some refreshments and socializing. Snacks and beverages will be provided. The one-hour program will start at 7:30. Masks are recommended but not required in the church. Handicap parking and access is at either the front or the rear entrance. We have a simultaneous Zoom link to the meeting for those who can’t make it or feel uncomfortable as yet to attend in person. We will also be recording the meeting for later viewing. The zoom link can be found here. |
November 26, 2024
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November 27, 2024
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November 28, 2024
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November 29, 2024
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November 30, 2024
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