We are pleased to announce the May 20, 2021 program. The presentation itself is a collaborative effort sponsored by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Werner Wildlife Museum, 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 Zoom 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 thus far.

Werner Wildlife Museum will host this Zoom meeting as part of their Wildlife Study Series. The Werner programs are normally held at the Werner Wildlife on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Due to social distancing precautions, this program will appear via Zoom on Thursday May 20, 2021.

To Join this Zoom Meeting click on this link: https://caspercollege.zoom.us/j/96003724591?pwd=eVhDOU9TMTIyRWpOM0lPTmRaTUZlZz09

Bruce Walgren

BY STACEY SCOTT – BEGINNERS TO ADVANCED BIRDERS
CALL 307-262-0055 FOR MORE INFORMATION

Please click on the above image or this link to open a PDF file of the poster

Field trips and information about fields trips can change without notice. Weather conditions and other unforeseen factors can change meeting time and place. Please CALL STACEY SCOTT at 307-262-0055 FOR MORE INFORMATION prior to departing for the day.

Saturday, March 20, 2021. We will have a field trip to Gray Reef to see what the wintering ducks are, and then look at Alcova Dam and see what we can see around the lake. Hopefully, the weather will be nicer than it was in February. Due to the poor light in the morning at Gray Reef, let’s meet at the first turnout at Gray Reef at 2:00 PM. This is the turnout closest to Wyoming 220. I will go along toward the Gray Reef Dam if you are a little late. Also, call me at 262-0055 with any questions, or to see where I am if you don’t find me. Stacey Scott

Murie Audubon joins Werner Wildlife Museum Wildlife Study Series Zoom meeting for March 18, 2021

On March 18, at 7:00 p.m., naturalist Mike Bardgett will present Sandhill Cranes, a discussion of the natural history of the Sandhill Crane, with particular emphasis on Nebraska’s Platte River Valley, where half a million cranes come to feed, rest, and roost each spring.

Bardgett obtained a B.S. from UW in wildlife management and conservation. He is a Choctaw tribal member, Audubon Society member, and a former Marine. Following his retirement from the BLM, Wyoming State Parks, and Natrona County School District, Bardgett continues to offer his services as a naturalist to Werner Wildlife Museum, Bureau of Land Management, and the state park system.

Wildlife Study Series programs are held at the Werner on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Due to social distancing precautions, spring programs will appear via Zoom.

To Join Zoom Meeting click on this link

https://caspercollege.zoom.us/j/94885598948?pwd=MWRhTXNRSkN6RXpCenl2WHNtZW5zQT09

For more information: 307-235-2108. Museum is open Monday through Friday, 10:a.m. to 4:00 p.m

GRAY REEF

Saturday, Feb 20 Feb. 13, 2021. We will have a field trip to Gray Reef to see what the wintering ducks are, and then look at Alcova Dam and see what we can see around the lake. Due to the poor light in the morning at Gray Reef, let’s meet at the first turnout at Gray Reef at 2:00 PM. This is the turnout closest to Wyoming 220. I will go along toward the Gray Reef Dam if you are a little late. Also, call me at 262-0055 with any questions, or to see where I am if you don’t find me.

Stacey Scott

FEBRUARY PROGRAM PLATTE RIVER FISHERY

This month we continue to learn more about the North Platte River in, around, and through Casper. We will learn about the history of the river from pioneer times, through dam building, and oil and other pollutants that ended up in the river, to where it is today.

Matt Hahn, fisheries biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department will be our guest speaker to bring us up to date on the construction projects in and along the river. These projects beautify and stabilize banks as well as restore and improve water and land habitats. 

Please join us via Zoom on Friday, February 12, at 7 PM when Matt will present a program about the Platte River and the challenges to manage it.

How to attend our program using ZOOM

When: February 12, 2021 7 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting: UPDATED!
https://natronaschools.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsd-ihqzItGd21wPdg999iiYDJiGqu_0TF

The 2020 CBC results are posted on a Google spreadsheet located here:

Full link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CgOFyU8L5SPHm_XD99uhIedrHsQT-ynxXXCeQim7Aic/edit#gid=1182628530

Average Data

Full Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FGqt7Vk_topHHnnQ7xk7PcZ1b_QPKvX7mP-B-tn1CCg/edit#gid=0

Just where is that CBC circle anyway? What is it? Where can I find it? In case you are not sure, I got the approximate GPS coordinates from Stacey and grabbed a screen shot of the area. Please see the orange circle on the map provided by Google Earth mapping. It is a circle 15 miles in diameter.

Please use the map for a rough idea of where to do the birding for the Christmas count.

The idea of the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is to conduct a census of all birds within a designated circle that is 15 miles in diameter during a 24 hour period. The center of the Casper CBC circle is SW of the city of Casper off of Coates Road and was strategically located to sample the various types of habitat in the area. The Casper CBC has been conducted annually since January 2, 1949.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we will be taking the necessary precautions to keep all of our participants as safe as possible. These precautions include:

1. There will be no pre-count organizational meeting nor post-count compilation gathering.
2. Social distancing and/or masking will be observed.
3. Carpooling only within existing familiar or social groups.
4. Activities must comply with all current state and municipal COVID-19 guidelines.

All of these practices are familiar to all of us and things that we already observe.

The count will take place on Saturday December 19, 2020. A compilation Zoom meeting will be held that evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Join Zoom Meeting https://natronaschools.zoom.us/j/89431413535?pwd=T1JxaVFZK0RIV3RnOEtpcUZ3bHdlUT09

Meeting ID: 894 3141 3535

Passcode: 144631

If you cannot participate in the Zoom meeting, we can make alternate ways to obtain the count data from you.

We will contact all of the usual participants to try to make sure that we do not have duplication of efforts. If you plan on participating in the Casper count, please contact Bruce Walgren 307-234-7455 or Stacey Scott 307-262-0055

For the Bates Hole count to be conducted on January 1, 2021, please contact Charlie Scott 307-234-2512 or Stacey Scott 307-262-0055.

The Platte River, and the ecological and social communities that depend on it, are facing ever- ncreasing demands for water, while certainty over when and how much water the Platte will provide is decreasing. To face this challenge, the National Audubon Society and partners are rolling-out the Platte River Initiative to support a balancing of multiple needs through a collaborative ecosystem approach to water management.

Many of us are familiar with the role that the Platte River plays in the Sandhill Crane migration during the spring and fall. Many other species depend upon the Platte, and the areas near it, for places to live. Agricultural and recreational demands also factor into the management of the river and water in it.

Melissa Mosier is the new Platte River Program Manager for National Audubon. Melissa will work to organize and expand conservation efforts throughout the Platte River watershed in Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. Much of her work will center around engaging and strengthening existing partnerships with other conservation organizations and agencies working within the Platte River Basin, as well as seeking out new ones. Melissa is excited about the opportunity to work with so many others who are knowledgeable about, and committed to improving, the ecological sustainability of the Platte River watershed.

Melissa Mosier worked in the Water Planning division at the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources for the past 7 years, and for the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, and the Lower Platte River Corridor Alliance before that. She has a Master’s degree from UNL in Natural Resource Sciences with a minor in Water Planning and Management, and a specialization in Human Dimensions.

Please join us via Zoom on Friday, November 13, at 7 PM when Melissa will present a program about the Platte River and the challenges to manage it.

How to attend our program using ZOOM

When: Nov 13, 2020 06:30 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://natronaschools.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsd-ihqzItGd21wPdg999iiYDJiGqu_0TF

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.