FeaturedMurie Audubon General Meeting and Program November 14, 2024

MURIE AUDUBON PRESENTS: NON-GAME BIRDS IN WYOMING

This month’s Speaker is Zach Wallace, the statewide Nongame Bird Biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, based in Lander. His presentation will cover the Department’s long-term monitoring programs for nongame birds, including Trumpeter Swans, Peregrine Falcons, Bald Eagles, and Harlequin Ducks, as well as current projects investigating the habitat needs of American Goshawks, sagebrush songbirds, and Pinyon Jays. He will highlight ongoing collaborations with academic researchers, community scientists, and other partners, all aimed at increasing our knowledge and ability to conserve Wyoming’s birds.

Wallace previously served as the Biometrician for the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database at the University of Wyoming, and he brings a strong background in research and coordination from leading projects on birds and other wildlife in Wyoming and across the western United States.

He received his master’s degree in wildlife science from Oregon State University in 2014, where his research focused on the nesting ecology of Ferruginous Hawks and Golden Eagles in Wyoming. Wallace’s graduate research was done in close collaboration with WY Game and Fish.

Murie Audubon members and the public are invited to this free talk on November 14, at 7 p.m., at the Izaak Walton Clubhouse, 4205 Fort Caspar Road.

Murie Audubon General Meeting and Program October 10, 2024

MURIE AUDUBON PRESENTS:

In Wyoming, 15% of all reported vehicle collisions involve big game wildlife. Over 6,000 deer, pronghorn, elk, and moose are hit by vehicles and killed on our roads every year. These collisions are costing nearly $50 million annually for damages to vehicles, human injury expenses, and loss of wildlife. Serving as a partner foundation to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, The WYldlife Fund is uniquely positioned to have a profound positive impact. Specializing in grant agreements, the Fund ensures precise and efficient allocation of resources on the ground to advance wildlife projects across Wyoming. The WYldlife Fund has helped raise $377,028.78 to send to the I-25 Wildlife Crossing Project. These contributions have been made possible by numerous partners throughout Wyoming and the United States! This stretch of highway between Buffalo and Kaycee is the second deadliest stretch of roadway for mule deer in the state. This cost effective project will act as a model for other projects like it across the west, as existing agriculture underpasses are being utilized to provide safe passage for wildlife crossing the busy highway.

Approximately 18 miles of fencing has been installed to funnel wildlife to these existing agriculture underpasses. A camera study has proven these existing underpasses to be successful currently, as wildlife already navigate them and by installing fencing this success rate should skyrocket even higher and virtually eliminate wildlife being hit on this stretch of highway. Chris McBarnes, President of the WYldlife Fund, will be our guest speaker for our next Murie Audubon meeting to tell us more about the WYldlife Fund and to update us on existing projects and projects being planned to benefit wildlife across Wyoming.

Murie Audubon members and the public are invited to this free talk on October 10, 7 p.m., at the Izaak Walton Clubhouse, 4205 Fort Caspar Road.

Bruce Walgren

EKW Birding

We will meet at 8:00 AM on Monday September 2 near the Platte River Shelter in Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park to look for migrants, and should finish before the Labor Day crowds.  This Shelter is the one nearest the Osprey Nest Pole.  Call Stacey Scott at 307-262-0055 for more information.

Murie Picnic at EKW

We will have our annual August Picnic at Eden’s Kimball Wilkins State Park on August 8 at the Centennial Shelter at 5:30 PM.  Please bring something to share with the fried chicken that Murie will provide.  In order to know how much chicken be buy, please call Stacey Scott at 262-0055.

Piggery Cleanup

The Platte River Trails is having the spring cleanup on Saturday, May 18.  We will cleanup the Piggery portion of the trail at the same time.  Please pickup bags and register at the Tate Pump House from 8:00 AM til noon.  We usually spend most of our time on the edge of the Piggery that is closest to Walmart.

Murie Audubon General Meeting and Program on May 9, 2024

Murie Audubon Presents

Murie Audubon invites members and the public for a talk May 9, 7 p.m., at the Izaak Walton Clubhouse, 4205 Fort Caspar Road, featuring University of Wyoming students Emily Shertzer researching bird tracking technology and Katie Schabron monitoring window collisions. Speaker Emily Shertzer is a PhD student in Anna Chalfoun’s lab studying the impacts of energy development on survival and ?tness across the full annual cycle in sagebrush-obligate songbirds. She will discuss her research using Motus and geolocators for tracking. Speaker Katie Schabron is a senior at the university studying zoology, focusing on bird window strikes on low-rise buildings on campus and how traits of different species impact how often they strike. They will also highlight the new UW WYOBIRD program (Wyoming Bird Initiative for Resilience and Diversity) a goal of which is to build avian ecology skillsets in UW students through hands-on experiences like a fall migration banding station and tree swallow nest box monitoring.
Bruce Walgren