PRAS Members featured in National Audubon webinar
Tom Schilke did a great job sharing our PRAS members' experience doing the Climate Watch surveys for the last 10 years. PRAS was featured as being a flagship chapter who does an exemplary job of participating. Thank you to Tom for his leadership as the point person for our Climate Watch efforts and thanks to all those PRAS members who survey 10 routes! Here is the comprehensive Climate Watch Report that has been compiled from the data garnered for the last decade. If you are interested in getting involved with the Climate Watch surveys which are completed in Jan & June, with the target species of Eastern Bluebirds, American Goldfinch & nuthatches, please email praudubon@gmail.com and we will connect you with others.
One Photographer’s African Adventure
PRAS Members featured in National Audubon webinar
Tom Schilke did a great job sharing our PRAS members' experience doing the Climate Watch surveys for the last 10 years. PRAS was featured as being a flagship chapter who does an exemplary job of participating. Thank you to Tom for his leadership as the point person for our Climate Watch efforts and thanks to all those PRAS members who survey 10 routes!
Tom Schilke did a great job sharing our PRAS members' experience doing the Climate Watch surveys for the last 10 years. PRAS was featured as being a flagship chapter who does an exemplary job of participating. Thank you to Tom for his leadership as the point person for our Climate Watch efforts and thanks to all those PRAS members who survey 10 routes!
Here is the comprehensive Climate Watch Report that has been compiled from the data garnered for the last decade. If you are interested in getting involved with the Climate Watch surveys which are completed in Jan & June, with the target species of Eastern Bluebirds, American Goldfinch & nuthatches, please email praudubon@gmail.com and we will connect you with others.
Craig Meyers
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| Photo of Craig Meyers |
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| Photo by Craig Meyers |
The next Prairie Rapids Audubon Society meeting on Tuesday, November 10, at 7:00 PM in the lower level of the First Presbyterian Church, 902 Main Street in Cedar Falls. The public is invited and refreshments will be served.
Click this Zoom link to connect to our virtual meetings. Meeting ID is 581 087 8571 and the passcode is 1999
Craig Meyers is a central Iowa wildlife photographer who grew up in Waterloo, attended college in Cedar Falls and spent his career working as a media specialist and technology coordinator. Since retiring, he has traveled from the Hudson Bay in the north to Antarctica photographing everything from penguins to polar bears, Alaska grizzly bears, and to the wilds of Africa for lions and elephants.
"Come join me for a photographic journey showcasing the amazing wildlife of eastern Africa. From savannas to marshes to river valleys, we’ll encounter species in their native habitats as we travel over Africa’s Great Rift Valley."
- Craig Meyers
Birdability Week October 19 - 26
Birdability Week is a celebration of birders with disabilities and other health concerns, as well as an opportunity to share resources and ideas to help the birding community become accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to everybody. For more information, please see this link: Birdability Week 2026
Supporting Reform
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 the has recently been introduced in the U.S. Senate. This bipartisan permitting-reform bill is aimed at speeding federal approvals for energy and infrastructure projects by imposing strict environmental review deadlines, limiting legal challenges, and requiring large data centers to cover full transmission-related costs. These provisions will lead to significant emissions reductions, a huge amount of clean energy deployment, and lower electricity costs. You are encouraged to write Senators Grassley and Ernst and tell them that you support this bill.
Special thanks...
Special thanks to Neil Hamilton for his presentation, Through Nature's Lens, to those present at the Prairie Rapids Audubon Society meeting on October 13th. His insights about natural resource conservation, local agriculture, and Iowans' concerns about cancer and public health were educational and well worth our attention. For those unable to attend in person, a zoom recording of Professor Hamilton's presentation can be accessed through the Newsletters and Zoom page of this website. Simply select and open the button for the recording to begin.
Go explore!
Wednesday Morning Birding is back! See details on our Field Trips page.
Plus, see details for field trips in Buchanan County on that page too!
In the Sky: October 2026
Of special interest is the reappearance of Saturn that will rise soon after sunset and pass through a dim part of the southern sky during the night.
Believe you can and you're halfway there.
-- Theodore Roosevelt (Seen recently at his new presidential library)
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| Photo by Emma Goliff. Look for Cassiopeia in the upper left, part of Perseus below Cassiopeia, and Andromeda in the upper left. |
Climate Predictions
Read David Voigt's (PRAS Board Member & Conservation Chair) latest column.
Read David Voigt's (PRAS Board Member & Conservation Chair) latest column.
Save the Dates & Join Us!
Our 2026-27 programs have been set for your enjoyment and edification!
Join us the 2nd Tuesday of each month, bring a friend & gather with others who enjoy nature & value conservation.
Our 2026-27 programs have been set for your enjoyment and edification!
Join us the 2nd Tuesday of each month, bring a friend & gather with others who enjoy nature & value conservation.
Sept 8th: DarkSky Iowa
Oct 13th: Neil Hamilton, Through Nature's Lens
Nov 10th: Craig Meyers - Africa!
No meeting in December but join us for Christmas Bird Counts!
Jan 12th: Alaska Wilderness League (Zoom only)
Feb 9th: Sandhill Cranes in Iowa
March 9th: Anna Buckardt Thomas - MOTUS towers & Osprey in Iowa
April 13th: Iowa Raptor Project with LIVE BIRDS!
May 11th: Annual potluck & program with fun interactive quiz
Click the Photos link on menu above to view.
Find us, like & share our posts on Facebook
Subscribe to the PRAS Audubon YouTube Channel to view past programs
Submit a proposal for our consideration via the PRAS Grant Application Form to help your organization secure funding for a project that supports our mission.
Consider donating to the PRAS Quasi or PRAS Permanent Endowment funds through the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa.
Call Black Hawk Wildlife Rehabilitation Project 319-939-4635
or if you are outside of our area, see other Iowa wildlife rehabilitators.