Red Cliffs Audubon in St. George, Utah

Field Trips, Meetings, CBC dates, Newsletter and Reports	News & Events	Bird Articles, Art and Photography
MARK YOUR CALENDAR Field Trips & Meetings Meeting: More info here. Field Trip: Cedar Breaks National Monument, June 15, 2013 - We should see many good high elevation species as well; highlights have been Pine Grosbeak, Northern Goshawk, Clark's Nutcracker, and Peregrine Falcon. More information here. Meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month. Everyone is welcome! Details. Field Trips Reports *Field trip to Grafton, Springdale 5/11/13* Christmas Bird Count 2012 CBC dates Report & photos Spring Retreat 2012 Newsletter 2011 Field trip report archives 2013 Winter Bird Festival Photos: 6 pages by Jerry and Janice Vander Molen 7 pages of 2013 WBF photos 2011 Winter Bird Festival - Photos 2012 Winter Bird Festival - Photos Post-festival Fanfare *Thanks to all who participated in the 2012 St. George Winter Bird Festival.* *We had a great time!* *Check out all the species we saw.* Be sure to browse photos sent in by John Woodyard and Melissa Renfro and other participants in the field trips. If you wish to have some of your photos included, email them to the webmaster:(birdbrain@amazingnature.us) ~~~ ~ The Red Cliffs Organization We would love to have you as a new Audubon member. We promise fun and informative field trips in the company of "old birds", "new birds", and "snowbirds." All are welcome! See you there!	We Need Your Input We would love for you to take a minute to complete a brief survey. We would like to hear how we are doing and if you have any suggestions for improving your experience with Red Cliffs Audubon. Thank you for your time! Click Here to take the Red Cliffs Audubon Survey Great Salt Lake Bird Festival Enjoy the 15th Annual Great Salt Lake Bird Festival from May 16 "- May 20, 2013. Audubon Launches Hummingbird Citizen Science Project New Mobile App to ID Birds & the Blooms that Feed Them "As flowers bloom earlier because of warming temperatures, the impact on hummingbirds which rely on nectar could be severe. The National Audubon Society has launched a new Citizen Science project to document hummingbird sightings across the country, using a free mobile app that identifies bird species as well as the plants that feed them." More information here. Funky Nests in Funky Places Cornell Lab of Ornithology Hosts Creative Competition "Celebrate birds this Spring! Have you noticed any bird nests in your neighborhood? Peek in a hanging flower basket, a street light, a store sign, your barbecue grill, an old boot, or under a bridge! Birds build nests in the strangest places! Be creative! Take a photo, create some artwork, shoot video, write a story or a poem, or create a sculpture. Just show a bird’s nest built in some out-of-the-way or out-of-this-world place. Contest Dates: May 1 – June 15! Prizes Prizes include binoculars, cameras, bird guides, bird feeders, bird apps, posters, books, bird sound CD's, and an iPad!" It's Nest Cam Season Again! Here are a few links to active nest cameras, hope you have fun watching the drama unfold! The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has two nest cameras active, one has a pair of red-tailed hawks who are actively nesting. Big Red and Ezra returned to this nest site after a successful season last year. The other camera currently active is focused on a great blue heron nest. Yesterday a heron alighted on the nest, inspected it, then left. Hopefully it will return with a mate, last year's family was fun to watch. A peregrine pair have been been in the area around the nest box located on the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, in Salt Lake City. If all goes well, the cameras may be turned on mid to late April. You can check back here in a few weeks. Two different barn owl nests are active at the Audubon Starr Ranch. Another Audubon nest cam has a red-shouldered hawk sitting on at least two eggs. The Raptor Resource Project has several live cameras on active nests, including a bald eagle and great horned owl currently incubating. (Click on individual nest cameras listed on the left side of the page). This is an active wood duck nest, with 21 eggs. One, maybe two, of the eggs are hooded merganser eggs. Expected hatching is around April 15th. Phoebe is a Channel Island Allen (S. s. sedentarius) hummingbird in Orange County, California. She has been laying 4 to 5 clutches each year for several years. It may be worth checking in on her through the summer. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has several live streaming cameras, including some of big brown bats and salmon! ~~~ Support Wildlife Research Keith Day very interested in any sightings of the following species: Crissal Thrasher, Bendire's Thrasher, Bell's Vireo Abert's Towhee, Virginia's Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo Notations of time, place (as detailed as possible) and numbers are very important. Records of gender, age, behavior, habitat, etc. would be helpful. His contact information follows, as well. Thank you. Keith Day, Wildlife Biologist Utah Division of Wildlife Resources 1470 N. Airport Rd., Cedar City, UT 84721 435-865-6100 (o), 435-691-3113 (c), 435-586-2457 (fx) keithday@utah.gov ~~~	Today's update 5-21-2013 Artists and Birds & Grafton, Springdale field trip report This week's Artists & Birds article "Bug Spray or Flycatchers" Young Artists & Birds Anonymous artist Updated 3-30-2013 Color Me Feathered Updated 4-11-2013 featuring Carol Lopacinski. Red Cliffs Photographers Win Heger ___ redcliffsaudubon@gmail.com Phone: 435 673-0996 Original Red Cliffs Audubon logo design by Phil Janney WBF drawing by Pam Wheeler (modeled from a photo by Patrick Williams) Webmaster: birdbrain@amazingnature.us ~~~ Our Favorite links: Prescott Audubon (Arizona) Condor Cliffs National Audubon Society Utahbirds.org Utah bird hotline Great Backyard Bird Count ABA Juniper Wind Designs Milne Jewelry - St. George