Author Archives: Allison Vaughn

Winter Reading List (Including February Book Discussion)

Winter is a great time for catching up on reading; here are a few books and other reading materials that might be worth CAS members’ time. All three books listed below are available from the Daniel Boone Regional Library – by Eric Reuter The Genius of Birds, by Jennifer Ackerman Years ago, a Common Raven

Missouri State Parks Soliciting Public Comment on Three New Parks

The Missouri State Park system is soliciting public comment about three recently acquired state park properties that have not yet been opened to the public: Ozark Mountain State Park in Taney County, Bryant Creek State Park in Douglas County, and Jay Nixon State Park in Reynolds County. Some members of the Missouri Legislature have espoused

CAS Members Share Photos and Stories at November Meeting

Many folks contributed a wide variety of amateur and professional photography (local, national and international) along with birding tales to our crowd-sourced November Meeting. The subjects included Black Swifts in Colorado, an Ohio birding festival, Three Creeks Conservation Area and other local natural areas, and a Kenyan safari. Many thanks to all our contributors, including

Meeting Minutes, October 18, 2017

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING COLUMBIA AUDUBON SOCIETY OCTOBER 18, 2017 President Hillman called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Present were Laura Hillman, John Besser, Kris Hagglund, Lori Hagglund, Eric Seaman, Eric Reuter, Lottie Bushmann, and Eric Wood. The minutes from the August 16, 2017 and September 20, 2017 board meetings were reviewed. Motion

Meeting Minutes, September 20, 2017

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING COLUMBIA AUDUBON SOCIETY SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 President Hillman called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. Present were Laura Hillman, Kris Hagglund, Lori Hagglund, Nancy Bedan, Bill Mees, Eric Seaman, John Besser. Lottie Bushmann, Allison Vaughn, Eric Wood, and Douglas Miller. Old Business: New Meeting Structure: The feedback obtained from Society

Meeting Minutes, August 16, 2017

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING COLUMBIA AUDUBON SOCIETY AUGUST 16, 2017   President Hillman called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Present were Laura Hillman, Doug Miller, Eric Reuter, Eric Seaman, Eric Wood, Bill Mees, John Besser, Nancy Bedan, Lottie Bushmann, Lori Hagglund, and Kris Hagglund. Motion by Kris Hagglund: That the minutes from the

CAS News & Notes for November 2017

Welcome to the new CAS Website The new CAS website that we’ve been discussing since last winter is finally live. The website will continue to provide the same basic content (including essential information about the organization, such as board members and natural areas), but some helpful new features have been added. We encourage you to

Columbia Audubon’s “Big Sit” – A New Tradition?

Even casual birdwatchers are familiar with traditional 24-hour birding events like the Christmas Bird Count and the May Big Day, but some may not be familiar with the birding event known as a “Big Sit”.  Basically, a Big Sit is a bird count that is anchored in a single location, from which one or many

6th Annual Band With Nature Field Trip A BIG Success

As every Missouri resident knows, our weather is unpredictable. As a way of coping with the uncertainty, the 2017 Band With Nature 2nd grade field trip was scheduled for Monday, Wednesday and Friday (October 9, 11, & 13) with the interim days reserved for weather cancellations. Not only were there NO weather cancellations, but when

Dean_Ravenscraft on "Big Red"; photo by Bill Mees

Happy Trails to You, Thanks to Dean Ravenscraft

In 2001, Columbia Audubon Society (CAS) received a donation of 22 acres now known as the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary (CANS). Originally donated as an inducement for the National Audubon Society to select Columbia as the location for a nature center, the future CANS property sat idle while National deliberated. Eventually National Audubon selected Joplin,

CAS to Participate in 2017 CoMoGives Fundraiser

CAS is participating in the annual CoMoGives fund drive for area nonprofit organizations again this year. The online giving campaign, which runs the month of December, is coordinated by the Community Foundation of Central Missouri with support from several local businesses. Important things to know about CoMoGives: The giving window is December 1-31. Gifts can

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

November CAS meeting: “Photo Pot-Luck“

7:00 p.m.

No, dinner won’t be shared (just the usual snacks). But we hope you will share a few of your favorite photos, and a few minutes of your time, with other participants at our November meeting. This is an opportunity to show and tell the group about your favorite photo-documented natural event of the past year

Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary - Joanna Reuter

News & Notes

From the president: working to increase member involvement. We had a great turnout on September 17 for our bird walk and discussion session at which we asked members for suggestions on making Columbia Audubon more useful for them. Several people were relatively new to birding and were hesitant to come to meetings and field trips.

Backyard Birding: Goldfinches & Cup Plants

Goldfinches descended on our cup plants this year, and for good reason. A Missouri native plant, Silphium perfoliatum looks roughly like a sunflower but with a twist: its paired leaves wrap around the thick, square-ish stalk to form twin basins that collect and hold moisture from dew or rainfall (hence the species name). This distinct

CANS September 2017 - Joanna Reuter

Photos from the September Meeting & Bird Walk

The September meeting featured lovely weather and good attendance for a walk through the prairie restoration area at CANS, where the increased biodiversity supported interesting insect and bird life for us to enjoy.

CAS News & Notes, September 2017

FROM THE PRESIDENT: PROGRAM CHANGES FOR 2017-2018 Welcome to the 2017-2018 Columbia Audubon Society. Not that we really stopped for the summer; we’ve been doing bird counts for programs, going to meetings, organizing for COMO Gives, and working on our properties. But mainly the board has been thinking and meeting to figure out this coming

Back row: Brenden, Jordan, Aron, and Caven. Front row: Kameron, Kylie, and Hannah. Photo by Bill Mees.

Adopt-a-trail comes to CANS over summer vacation

If you are in school, then summer is vacation time, but if you are a member of Columbia Audubon Society, summer is growing season for invasive species. And so a decision was made at the April board meeting that CAS will participate in the new Adopt-A-Trail project sponsored by Columbia’s Parks and Recreation Department. The

Prairie at CANS - Allison Vaughn

Thanks for CANS

Many people are responsible for the existence of the wonderful Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary, from the donation of the land by the Russell family to the dream and the plan for its development. There are too many people responsible for those early accomplishments to name them all, but they include the 13 Boy Scouts who

Upcoming changes to the Chat and website

Throughout 2017, the CAS board has been discussing the potential to upgrade our web presence and methods of communication with members and the rest of the world. Our goals included making this volunteer-driven work more efficient, enhancing collaboration within the group, improving online access to information, upgrading our web presence to a more mobile-friendly design,