Butterfly Field Trip for July 10 has been cancelled due to a lack of butterflies.
We have decided to cancel the Murie Audubon Butterfly Field Trip Scheduled for July 10. There are very few butterflies at lower elevations. While there are more on Casper Mountain, Dwaine Waggoner didn’t find enough variety or numbers to make showing people various butterflies very easy. The drought last year and this spring was very hard on butterflies and other insects. We decided that if we could only show people a couple of species of butterflies, it just wasn’t worth everyone’s time. We hope for better conditions next year.
Let’s meet at west end of Morad Park where trail splits at 9:00 AM. I’ll bring trash bags, gloves, pick-up grabbers from The River clean-up HQ at the Pumphouse. If we can get 3-4 volunteers, we should be able to do a good job in about an hour. I would divide into two groups: one doing the river trail and wetland area then up the hill to the sagebrush area west of the deep gully; the other group doing the area around the quonset hut and along the bluff following the layout of the new trail down to Morad Park. Just a suggestion depending on how many volunteers we get. Bart
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.
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.
Saturday, Feb 20Feb. 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.
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)
