by Jim Gast, President

Happy Holidays! I can’t believe it’s already December. I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.

CoMoGives: The 2021 CoMoGives campaign has started.  This campaign is Columbia Audubon’s major fundraising campaign, and this year we have a goal of $10,000. I cannot wait to see what this year’s postcard looks like–it features a beautiful photo of a dark-eyed junco taken by Chelsea Mosteller during a snow event. Look for the postcard in the mail midmonth. To donate to ComoGives, go to https://comogives.com/product/columbia-audubon-society-7/.

 Christmas Bird Count

There’s still time to sign up for Columbia’s Christmas Bird Count which will be on Saturday, December 18^th. If you would like to participate and aren’t already part of a team, or you need more information, please contact Lottie Bushmann at lottie.bushmann@gmail.com.

We won’t be having a chili supper again this year, but you’re invited to attend a Zoom meeting to discuss the day’s events. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM on December 18^th.  To join the meeting click on this link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85656501543?pwd=bjhpUXFtOXgzdkliMGhYWGQxS0tqQT09.  Thanks to Chase Darr for setting this up for us!

There also will not be a general meeting or program in December.  Our next general meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 19^th. 

November Meeting

If you missed the November meeting featuring Executive Director Kendra Varns Wallace and board Vice President Shirley Wolverson from the Missouri Parks Association, you can view it on YouTube at https://youtu.be/TselpBDmWBg.

Birding Tips

One of the most helpful birding websites dealing with birds is the aptly titled All About Birds https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/.  This site is run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. There are interesting articles on: birds, birding and other nature-related topics such as insects, bird species accounts, bird identification tips including bird songs and sounds and raptor id, feeding birds and bird houses and bird photography.

The site also has live webcams and a link to Merlin, which can help you identify birds.

Another helpful bird identification tool is the photo or sound quiz on eBird. To use this tool, go to https://ebird.org/quiz/photo-and-sound#setup.  You’ll have to sign into your eBird account and then customize your quiz by selecting a location (state, county, city, country, hotspot), a date and the type of media (photo or sound). The quiz is 20 multiple choice questions, but to play, you’ll need to rate the media after each question.

Read on for a newsy newsletter with content from our membership. We hope to see you on the CBC Zoom meeting!

Happy Birding,

Jim Gast, President