Advocacy

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Thank You's and More

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The votes are in. The turnout in the Madison Audubon region renders the odds that just about every reader of this blog (all 6 of you, bless your hearts) voted along with just about every Madison Audubon member and the vast majority of our neighbors. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. It might seem that voting is an important and obviously right thing to do, but at a time of great anger, pain, cynicism, and complications, one could think of lots of reasons not to. More on the results in a moment but a couple of more thank you's.

Photo by Monica Hall

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Mom, Mike, Moon, and Mallards

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Many of you reading this have fond memories of being introduced to birding, hiking, gardening, hunting, or fishing by your parents and those must be fond memories. But many of us had parents who had no interest in outdoor activities, physically could not participate in them, or were working so hard they had no time for them. Some of those parents, though, recognized that, for Lord knows what reason, their child wanted to watch birds or fish or camp, etc. They'd make special arrangements so their children could have those opportunities. I will always remember and cherish the memories of my Mom giving up afternoons to take me fishing.

Photo by Arlene Koziol

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Harvesting the Goodness

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So you've voted or made plans to do so; you've reached out to a few friends or relatives to remind them to do and offer to help. As a modest thank you from Madison Audubon, how about some good news? As far as I'm concerned good news these days has the status of cold water in the midst of a desert hike. And the news concerns a righteous Madison Audubon act this summer.

As summer approached Madison Audubon had to decide if we were going to employ ecological restoration interns at our Goose Pond and Faville Grove Sanctuaries, as we have each year for many years. COVID presented challenges in ensuring that our interns and sanctuary staff had safe working conditions.

Photo by Drew Harry

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Begging, pleading, cajoling, and back to begging: Please Vote!

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If you have to choose between donating to MAS and voting, VOTE.

If you have to choose between seeding collecting at one of our sanctuaries and voting, VOTE.

If you have to choose between birding for the rest of the fall migration and voting, VOTE.

Of course, you don't have to make those choices, but, in my opinion, you do have to VOTE.

Graphic provided by National Audubon

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How and Why to Help Birds: Plants, Bugs, Food, and Money

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The Natural Heritage Conservation wing of the DNR just published a report on the state of Wisconsin birds with a combination of bad news, good news, and ideas for creating more good news for birds and those of us who cherish them. Please use this link to read the full report: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/wnrmag/2020/Fall/Bird

Photo by Patrick Ready