Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis

Catch the spring migrants as they pass through Roberts Bird Sanctuary! Steve Greenfield will lead walks on Saturdays from April 27 through May 25. The walks start at 8 am and last about an hour. Meet at the Sanctuary visitors shelter at 4124 Roseway Road, Minneapolis (next to the parking lot & right across the street from the Rose Garden on the north side of Lake Harriet). Free and open to everyone.

The Landscape Revival: Native Plant Expo and Market offers gardeners one convenient location to shop for Minnesota native plants from 12 local native growers and learn how to use the plants from eight conservation organizations. Accessory products such as organic compost, rain barrels and native plant seed will also be for sale. The goal of Landscape Revival is to promote the use of native plants by educating about their benefits for wildlife habitat, pollinators and water quality. The event is sponsored by Saint Paul Audubon Society, Wild Ones and Blue Thumb. One day only: Saturday, June 1 from 9 am to 3 pm at the Community Pavilion at the Roseville Rainbow Foods, 1201 Larpenteur Av W. Click here for more details

Check out this year’s Urban Birding Festival from Friday, June 7 through Sunday, June 9. It includes dozens of free birding-related events at locations all over the Twin Cities. Most events are free of charge and many are family-friendly. For more information including schedule details, click here.

Again this summer as part of our outreach to our northern membership, the Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis and the Izaak Walton League – Breckenridge Chapter will hold joint meetings over the summer on June 25th, July 23rd and August 27th at 7:30 pm. The meetings will be held at the Breckenridge Chapter House located at – 8816 West River Road in Brooklyn Park. We will be updating this post with speaker names and details as soon as they are confirmed or check the July/August 2013 Kingfisher that will be delivered in late June. For more information call 763 572-2333. All programs are free and open to the public.

On Sunday, May 19 we offered our fourth annual field trip to Tiffany Bottoms Natural Wildlife Area along the Chippewa River in Wisconsin. The field trip included a ride on a narrow-gauge train through the Bottoms with several stops to walk in the area and look for resident and spring migrant birds. Click here for the list of birds seen on the trip.

Please note: The Sunday, May 5, 2013 was postponed due to bad weather. The rescheduled date is Sunday, September 8 from 1:00 to 5:00. The cost is $20 per person, $15 for Audubon members, and $5 for children 12 and under. For reservations, contact Susan Tertell at stertell@gmail.com (preferred) or 612-729-1566. For more information including directions to Tiffany Bottoms and suggestions on what to bring, click here.

The Minneapolis Audubon Society offers monthly program meetings starting at 1 pm on the second Friday of the month at Bryant Square Park, 3101 Bryant Av S, Minneapolis (SE corner of Bryant Av S & W 31st St). The programs are free and open to the public. There are no MAS summer programs; check back in June for the schedule of 2013-2014 programs starting in September.

Join Madeleine Linck on Saturday, June 1 at 8 am for a bird walk at the Wood-Rill Scientific Natural Area in Orono. Meet at the parking lot on the south side of Old Long Lake Road, which is a turn-off of old Highway 12 (now Highway 112) east of the city of Long Lake. Wood-Rill SNA is 150 acres of the Big Woods with many trees older than 200 years. There is the possibility to see & hear Big Woods species such as Red-Shoulder Hawks, Scarlet Tanagers and Yellow-throated vireos.

The walk is free and open to everyone but space is limited. Please call Madeleine to register: 763-475-0485

Garden with Wild Ones at the Lake Nokomis Naturescape in Minneapolis or the Horton Park Native Plant Gardens in St. Paul. Wild Ones is an organization whose mission is “educating the public about the benefits of preserving and restoring biodiversity of our native plant communities, beginning in our own yards and gardens.” The Twin Cities chapter helps maintain native plant gardens on city parkland in Minneapolis and St. Paul and is always looking for volunteers to help with planting, weeding, watering and mulching. Experienced and beginning gardeners are always welcome. This is a great opportunity to learn about native plants and gain hands-on experience alongside Wild Ones members. Click here to visit the Wild Ones Twin Cities website for more information.

The Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis, in cooperation with Partnership for International Birding, is offering exciting field trips to add some non-Minnesota birds to your life list. Proposed 2014 trips include sites in Central and South America, several African locations and India. Read more in the May/June 2013 issue of the Kingfisher by clicking here.

To find out more about all the trips offered by Partnership for International Birding, visit its website by clicking here or contact Charles Thornton-Kolbe: toll-free at 1-888-203-7464 ext. 912 or directly at 1-720-320-1974; email: charles@pibird.com.

Happy birding!