See the Field Trips page for details.
REAP Region 7 Assembly
OCT 26, 2021 6:30 pm-8:00 pm
Hartman Reserve Nature Center
657 Reserve Dr, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
Someone is needed to attend the Region 7 REAP Assembly. This is a great place to share your voice with others interested in conservation for Iowa's resources.
Birdability Week is a celebration of birders with disabilities and other health concerns, and an opportunity to share resources and ideas to help the birding community be accessible, inclusive and welcoming to everybody and every body.
From the Birdability website: "The Birdability Map is a crowdsourced map that describes in detail the accessibility features of birding locations all over the world. It is a work-in-progress, and anyone can contribute to it by submitting a Birdability Site Review (click the link to download a site checklist).
Driftless Region Ecology
by Larry Reis, Naturalist and Resource Manager
Winneshiek County Conservation
Watch recording - presentation starts around the 9:46 minute mark.
Article referenced in discussion after Mr. Reis's presentation:
NPR's Here and Now: Iowa Sierra Club Tries to Stop Massive Cattle Feedlot in Driftless Area
Concerned citizens should contact their local legislators at this point to try and put a hold on Supreme Beef’s CAFO in the Bloody Run headwaters.
About the program: Larry Reis will discuss what makes the Driftless Region different from the rest of Iowa and how its karst topography affects the landscape and the flora and fauna living there. Algific talus slopes, oak savannas, goat prairies, and fens are host to some special plants and animals that are adapted to those environments. Numerous springs feed into the area’s cold-water streams and scenic rivers, offering visitors to the area some attractive outdoor opportunities. Many people visit the Driftless Region every year to enjoy the fine deer hunting, trout fishing and kayaking found here. The autumn in particular provides enjoyment of spectacular fall colors. As part of the Mississippi Flyway, the Driftless Region affords birders the opportunity to observe the migratory species that make the round-trip each year as they pass through from their breeding grounds in Canada and the northern United States to their wintering grounds along the Gulf of Mexico and in Central and South America.
About our presenter: Larry Reis, Naturalist and Resource Manager with Winneshiek County Conservation, grew up in the Driftless Region and spent his younger years fishing for trout and smallmouth bass or hunting for fossils. He attended Luther College and UNI where he majored in Biology and Environmental Science. Larry has worked at Winneshiek County Conservation for 39 years. He continues to enjoy fishing for trout and hunting for fossils in his spare time. Larry is the author of Noting Nature: Observations and Lessons from the Midwest’s Metamorphosing Landscape, a 200+-page book based on his collecting of data and notes on nature over a period of many years. Check out the Winneshiek County Conservation YouTube channel to enjoy short episodes featuring Larry’s photography and commentary on all facets of nature in the habitat in which he lives and works. The series is appropriately titled “Noting Nature in Winneshiek County.” Larry also generously shares his photos on the PRAS Flickr account; see the Photos link on the PRAS website.
"Come, take a look at the Moon."
- John Dobson, originator of the first public star party
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| American Goldfinch with photobombing bee! Photo by John McCormick |
Get a printable Bird-A-Thon pledge form and return your pledges to:
Craig Rash 105 Woodland Springs Road, Denver Iowa 50622
Thank you again for your Bird-A-Thon donations; your support and efforts help PRAS in making a difference to our communities.
Donations accepted till October 15, 2021; any and all donations appreciated!
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| Song on a Wire - Wikimedia Commons |
You are now able to access the online concert video and curriculum (see link and password below-posted with permission by the copyright holder).
The link provides the full concert video and online curriculum with activities, lessons, extra musical performances, composer interviews and educational games. This resource will remain active through June 2022 (for one year), so utilize it for your programs, personal edification working with your children or grandchildren to teach them about music and birds!
Password: BFPMC (case sensitive)
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| Osprey at Greenbelt Lake - Waterloo Photo by John McCormick |
Find an injured bird or animal? Call Black Hawk Wildlife Rehabilitation Project 319-277-6511
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