by New Officer Candidates

At the April 17th membership meeting, members will vote on our new slate of candidates. Here’s a little information about the three new officers!

President, Lottie Bushmann:

“I came to birding later in life. My spark bird was a Cedar Waxwing. A flock flew into my yard and in that moment when I first laid eyes on one, I have wondered what other birds I had been missing and the course of my life was changed. This Audubon group sent me to Hog Island where I had a life changing experience. It changed the way I understood the world and gave me permission as a teacher to help my first graders see the world through birds and by extension all of nature. I’ve also met so many wonderful folks through birding. During Covid I took to birding every day at the 3M Wetlands here in Columbia. I really love the intimacy of knowing a place so well that you figure out where the local birds hang out and nest from year to year. Come to a First Friday walk sometime and I’ll show you too. When I’m not birding I’m likely working on a knitting project, weaving on one of my looms, reading a good book or working on my yard.”

Vice President, Emma Buckingham:

Emma is a faculty member in the Department of Classics, Archaeology, and Religion at the University of Missouri. Her primary expertise lies in classical archaeology, but from the age of five, she’s nurtured an interest in birding. This hobby began in the neighborhoods of Houston, Texas, where she grew up, and was fostered in the Rio Grande Valley where her grandmother lived. Emma’s passion for birding has taken her to many bird hotspots both internationally and within the US. For a time, she even competed in the Great Texas Birding Classic. Aside from birding, Emma engages in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities during her leisure time, including fencing, running, hiking, caving, and cycling, among others. Her favorite birding spot in central Missouri is the Turkey Pen Hollow Trail at Ha Ha Tonka State Park, and her favorite bird is the Lammergeier.

Secretary, Vickie Park:

“In 2019 I retired from a thrilling, fast paced and meaningful career as an Emergency Medicine physician.  I then rather suddenly and quite inexplicably dove head first into the magical world of birding.  Although I have had a lifelong interest in science and nature, I have never been a morning person.  Come to find out, the wee morning hours are prime time for birding.  My favorite color is white.  Quickly followed by hot pink and peacock blue.  Not birding colors, as I have been more than once told.  And rather unfortunately, my unique skin microbiome is a hefty magnet to mosquitoes, stinging insects and ticks. To which I am highly allergic.  Birding makes no sense for me.  And yet, I am fully and completely captivated.”