18 Things That You Can Do to Help the Birds This Year

18 Things That You Can Do to Help the Birds This Year

“Oh, my goodness! It’s the Year of the Bird!!! I have to do something for the birds!” This (gif within the post) was probably your reaction to finding out about the Year of the Bird campaign which celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. I know it was definitely mine.

Luckily, Madison Audubon was thoughtful enough to put together a list of some things that bird lovers can do to help make a difference in 2018, at least in the bird world. How do you bird your world? Let us know with #birdyourworld on social media!

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February 2018 Keystone Volunteer: Drew Cashman

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Drew Cashman is Madison Audubon's keystone volunteer this month. In this photo, Drew is leading a training for Bald Eagle Nest Watch with volunteers who will observe bald eagle nests this winter, spring, and summer. MAS Photo

Drew Cashman is Madison Audubon's keystone volunteer this month. In this photo, Drew is leading a training for Bald Eagle Nest Watch with volunteers who will observe bald eagle nests this winter, spring, and summer. MAS Photo

Drew Cashman is a go-getter. While still living in New York state -- not even in Central time zone yet -- Drew submitted a Madison Audubon volunteer interest form saying he wanted to initiate a new citizen science program when he and his family moved to Madison in July.

Drew caught the bald eagle "bug" while living outside of Denver, Colorado, where he got his first experience with a bald eagle watch program with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. Upon moving to eastern New York, Drew launched a similar bald eagle watching program in that area, which includes the eagle-haven Hudson River. He also helped organize the area's Raptor Fest, coordinated numerous bald eagle talks, and led the Mid-winter Bald Eagle Survey. He said, "My main interest is raptors." Ha! No kidding!

A bald eagle nest at Cherokee Marsh will now be monitored by BENW volunteers, thanks to Drew's work. MAS Photo

A bald eagle nest at Cherokee Marsh will now be monitored by BENW volunteers, thanks to Drew's work. MAS Photo

Then his wife got a job in Madison, and Drew approached Madison Audubon to work with him on setting up the program here too. We now call it Bald Eagle Nest Watch. MAS connected Drew with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, a major partner in the project, and did some advertising, and Drew ran with the rest of it. He scouted out bald eagle nests, coordinates 50 volunteers, organizes and runs training sessions, creates datasheets, spearheads communications, troubleshoots problems, collates and organizes data, and much more. Madison Audubon just tries to keep up!

Drew says the reason he gets his kicks out of volunteering with Madison Audubon is because "I enjoy interacting with all the MAS eagle lovers and helping to protect our local Bald Eagle nesting pairs."

Did we also mention he's incredibly humble?

In summary, Madison Audubon is honored to work with Drew Cashman, who is critical to the formation and success of a thriving citizen science program, Bald Eagle Nest Watch. Thank you, Drew, for going above and beyond for your love of eagles! We truly appreciate your time, talents, energy, and enthusiasm!

To learn how you can volunteer with Madison Audubon, visit our volunteer page.

Written by Brenna Marsicek, Director of Communications

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Winter Update at Faville Grove

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It's been a busy time here at Faville Grove, as always. We finished collecting seed in November, with over 300 species collected! On November 25th we burned 110+ acres on Martin and Tillotson prairies; a very successful burn. With the help with lots of volunteers, we mixed the seed into dry-mesic, wet, wet-mesic, and woodland/savanna mixes. The day before planting we conducted a good burn on the woods north of Hwy 89. And on December 2nd we planted 22.75 acres, a huge undertaking with about 50 volunteers, on a gorgeous and sunny day.

Photo by Drew Harry

Deck the Halls with Bird Counters

The 118th Christmas Bird Count period is officially over, and the Madison CBC data has been submitted! Huzzah and thank goodness! It was an awesome year in many ways: over 100 participants, a record 97 species observed (previous record was 95 in 1997 and 1998), 60,151 individual birds counted, 9 species high-counts, and some cool and unusual birds for this time of year (like an ovenbird and Iceland gull!).

Photo by Carolyn Byers

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From the Educators: Vera Court Creates a Field Guide

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The elementary school kids at Vera Court Neighborhood Center are excited about a brand-new project they’re working on- their very own Field Guide! This semester they’re building their literacy and art skills by creating pages for their field guide. Each week the kids head off to a new park with a MAS educator and focus on exploring different subjects like birds, mammals, plants, and macroinvertibrates. They keep a careful list of everything they encounter, and the following week each student selects one organism to enter into their field guide.

Madison Audubon photo

 
 
 
 
 
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