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Archived news from 2014
Monarch Tagging at Quarry Hill August 26, 2014 We had a lot of fun tagging monarchs at Quarry Hill on August 26, 2014. A large crowd of kids and adults learned about the monarch's life cycle, their annual migration to Mexico, and about how important it is to plant milkweed! Special thanks to our speaker Pam Meyer and to Joel Dunnette for organizing the extra activities. And we couldn't have done it without our butterfly wranglers Dave Moehnke and De Cansler, plus tagging assistants Lance Vrieze and Alice Laudon.
Swifts are nesting in the Preston Tower! On August 1, 2014 Terry Grier was working on a design for an access door to the demonstration chimney in Preston when he noticed some bird droppings on one side of the chimney floor. Crawling inside, he was amazed to find a nest of twigs glued together with Swift saliva attached to the wall about 8 feet off the ground. Above that, clinging to the rough mortar, were 4 young Chimney Swifts. They were fairly large and well feathered, too big and too curious to stay in the nest, and soon to fledge. They showed no sign of panic, but moved very little, and were totally quiet as Grier quietly watched, took some pictures, and then slipped out, excited to have seen a sight that few have ever seen. When the parents or helper birds came with food, the young ones could be heard chirping and begging from 20 feet away, but when the adults were gone they were silent again. Photos here.
2014 Butterfly Count Results - July 26, 2014: Several Audubon volunteers under the leadership of Joel Dunnette conducted a butterfly count in the Rochester, MN area. The official details are being tabulated and will be posted soon. For now, here are some photos to enjoy
Damsels & Dragons program June 24, 2014: About 30 kids and adults had a fun time catching and learning about dragonflies at Chester Woods Park with the help of expert Dan Jackson from Wisconsin. Dan told us about the life cycle of these fascinating creatures and showed us how to catch and hold them for observation. He even found a couple species that were not previously known to be in this area!
June 7, 2014 Quarry Hill Bird Walk: Eight people, including 2 young boys who had a great time, participating in this month's guided walk at Quarry Hill. We walked around the pond and then headed up the hill to the Oak Savannah. It was a beautiful day and we were out for about 1 3/4 hours. We saw, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Chickadee, White Breasted Nuthatches, Bluebirds, Gold Finch, Rough Winged Swallows, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Cedar Waxwings, Chimney Swifts, Chipping Sparrows (mating), got good looks at an Eastern Wood Peewee, and heard some Great Crested Flycatchers and Field Sparrows. We also got a good look at a House Wren's nest and heard then scolding us for intruding. Flowering plants we noticed included; Golden Alexanders, Sweet Cicely, Wild Geraniums, and Virginia Waterleaf.
Two new banners and $100 cash donation from Think Mutual Bank: Many thanks to Think Mutual Bank who recently presented us with a check for $100 along with an "in-kind" donation of two new ZVAS banners. They are also allowing us to use their color printer for producing our monthly meeting posters and handouts. Thanks also to Sandy Hokanson - our new Vice President - who arranged for the donation through an employee program at Think (Sandy works in Think's Marketing Dept.).
Bluebird Box monitoring: Dave Moenke reported at the April meeting that the first nest of the season has appeared at Quarry Hill. Let's hope for warm weather now! Dave continues to monitor the bluebird population at several locations around Rochester, MN.
International Owlfest 2014 Many thanks go to the Audubon members who volunteered to staff our booth at the International Owl Festival in Houston, MN on March 7-9, 2014. They had a great time talking with all sorts of folks about birds of all kinds and the environment.
Swifts are nesting in the Preston Tower! On August 1, 2014 Terry Grier was working on a design for an access door to the demonstration chimney in Preston when he noticed some bird droppings on one side of the chimney floor. Crawling inside, he was amazed to find a nest of twigs glued together with Swift saliva attached to the wall about 8 feet off the ground. Above that, clinging to the rough mortar, were 4 young Chimney Swifts. They were fairly large and well feathered, too big and too curious to stay in the nest, and soon to fledge. They showed no sign of panic, but moved very little, and were totally quiet as Grier quietly watched, took some pictures, and then slipped out, excited to have seen a sight that few have ever seen. When the parents or helper birds came with food, the young ones could be heard chirping and begging from 20 feet away, but when the adults were gone they were silent again. Photos here.
2014 Butterfly Count Results - July 26, 2014: Several Audubon volunteers under the leadership of Joel Dunnette conducted a butterfly count in the Rochester, MN area. The official details are being tabulated and will be posted soon. For now, here are some photos to enjoy
Damsels & Dragons program June 24, 2014: About 30 kids and adults had a fun time catching and learning about dragonflies at Chester Woods Park with the help of expert Dan Jackson from Wisconsin. Dan told us about the life cycle of these fascinating creatures and showed us how to catch and hold them for observation. He even found a couple species that were not previously known to be in this area!
June 7, 2014 Quarry Hill Bird Walk: Eight people, including 2 young boys who had a great time, participating in this month's guided walk at Quarry Hill. We walked around the pond and then headed up the hill to the Oak Savannah. It was a beautiful day and we were out for about 1 3/4 hours. We saw, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Chickadee, White Breasted Nuthatches, Bluebirds, Gold Finch, Rough Winged Swallows, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Cedar Waxwings, Chimney Swifts, Chipping Sparrows (mating), got good looks at an Eastern Wood Peewee, and heard some Great Crested Flycatchers and Field Sparrows. We also got a good look at a House Wren's nest and heard then scolding us for intruding. Flowering plants we noticed included; Golden Alexanders, Sweet Cicely, Wild Geraniums, and Virginia Waterleaf.
Two new banners and $100 cash donation from Think Mutual Bank: Many thanks to Think Mutual Bank who recently presented us with a check for $100 along with an "in-kind" donation of two new ZVAS banners. They are also allowing us to use their color printer for producing our monthly meeting posters and handouts. Thanks also to Sandy Hokanson - our new Vice President - who arranged for the donation through an employee program at Think (Sandy works in Think's Marketing Dept.).
Bluebird Box monitoring: Dave Moenke reported at the April meeting that the first nest of the season has appeared at Quarry Hill. Let's hope for warm weather now! Dave continues to monitor the bluebird population at several locations around Rochester, MN.
International Owlfest 2014 Many thanks go to the Audubon members who volunteered to staff our booth at the International Owl Festival in Houston, MN on March 7-9, 2014. They had a great time talking with all sorts of folks about birds of all kinds and the environment.
