Bird & Nature Blog
A clutch of the latest stories from Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance
The next couple of blogs, you faithful 6 readers, will focus on reasons to be thankful in this dismal year.
One is Wildlife. The DNR just released an absolutely delightful report on Snapshot Wisconsin and a great wildlife photo from each of Wisconsin's counties. Many of the photos have additional links so you can learn more about different species.
Photo courtesy of WDNR
In a recent blog, I opined that some conservation issues could serve as the basis for finding common ground in legislative arenas. No sooner had I written that, then, lo and behold, such an issue plopped in my in-box.
Conservation easements are a standard tool land trusts use in their business of preserving land and habitat. Madison Audubon has used them on occasion. A conservation easement is a legally binding and usually permanent restriction that prevents the landowner from developing a parcel of land or imposes strict limits on certain types of development.
Madison Audubon photo
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
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
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
