A Note From the Program Chair:
As the result of a self-inflicted error on my part, this program did not take place as scheduled on January 13. I had taken the precaution of contacting Andrea (our speaker) to verify that she would be able to make the meeting night on the 20th—wait, the 20th? Yeah I do not know where that came from, but to make a long story short we verified the she would be here on the 20th for the program. So, yes, she will be here at the Izaak Walton Clubhouse on the 20th to tell us all about migration and Burrowing Owls. On the plus side there was not a scheduling problem with Izaak Walton; the meeting room is available. Please accept my apologies for this major foul up and I hope that you all will be able to come out for this long anticipated program. I have updated the program announcement to reflect corrections and the updated dates.
Bruce
Burrowing Owls Across North America
Andrea Orabona did a Burrowing Owl program via Zoom in May 2021. We felt that the program was interesting enough that we hoped to have her present the program again to a larger audience. So, we scheduled Andrea to do an updated in-person version of the owl program in October, 2021. Due to circumstances beyond our control, she was unable to present the Burrowing Owl program in October, but instead, she did present a very interesting program on Harlequin ducks via Zoom. Barring any other problems, Andrea will be able to do an in-person updated version of the May 2021 program on January 20, 2022. The presentation itself is a collaborative effort sponsored by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Murie Audubon Society.
Andrea Orabona is the statewide Nongame Bird Biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Nongame Program based in Lander, and will be presenting the meeting. She is collaborating on this project with colleague Dr. Courtney Conway from the University of Idaho and his research partners from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Recent developments in solar-powered GPS technology in the form of smaller transmitters are helping researchers collect data on the elusive seasonal migration and winter ranges of Burrowing Owls that nest in Wyoming during the summer months. In the past few years, researchers have placed satellite transmitters on Burrowing Owls in western states. Unfortunately, many of those have died or their transmitters have stopped sending locations. Owls outfitted with the new transmitters from Wyoming, along with other owls from western states and Canadian provinces, will add new data and hopefully new understating about these mysterious little birds.
The Burrowing Owl is classified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Wyoming, making this full annual cycle conservation project extremely important. Andrea will discuss the need for this work, project objectives and methods, and results of Burrowing Owl migration.
Please join us on Thursday, January 20, 2022 at 7 pm at the Izaak Walton Clubhouse at 4205 Fort Caspar Road for this program. As always, the program is free and open to the public! Hope to see you there!
-Bruce Walgren