by Jim Gast, President

I can’t believe it’s already November. Lottie Bushmann’s First Friday Field Trip kicks off on November 5^th. Contact Lottie at  lottie.bushmann@gmail.com for more information. The CoMoGives campaign starts on Tuesday, November 30^th (Giving Tuesday).

November Program Features Missouri Parks Association

We’re going back to the Zoom format for our November 17th membership meeting. Two special guests from the Missouri Parks Association will join us to provide an update on Missouri State Parks. MPA Executive Director Kendra Varns Wallis and MPA Vice President Shirley Wolverson will talk about key issues facing state parks and address questions of local interest. The proposed Canton Estates development adjacent to the Gans Creek Wild Area in Rock Bridge Memorial State Park recently raised our awareness of some of the challenges facing our state park system. See the calendar listing for more information about this program. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. and the Zoom link is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81186364088?pwd=b1cvbTZBeXZhZ2hhMEk5WWFaZVpOdz09

Lee Jenkins Insect Slides

Judy Grundler is looking for someone to take Lee Jenkins insect and nature slides. Lee was an entomology professor at MU and donated the property which is now Wild Haven.

There are approximately 13,000 slides housed in a 38” high 30.5” wide 13” deep cabinet. If you are interest in these slides, please contact me at jgast@socket.net.

Christmas Bird Count

Columbia’s Christmas Bird Count 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.

 Finding Target Species in eBird

If you saw Noah Strycker’s talk, you may remember that he used eBird to find his target species for a particular region or country.  If you want to do this, log into your eBird account at eBird.org (you can’t use the app for this function) and then choose “Explore.” Scroll down to the “Species You Need” section and click on “Target Species.” Enter the region (e.g. United States, Missouri, Boone), choose the “Time of Year,”  and finally select the type of list (Life List, Year List, Month List or Day List). Then select “Show Target Species,” and eBird will generate a list showing what you need.  It also shows the frequency that the varies species occur.

You can still watch Sarah Kendrick’s and Pete Monacell’s talks, Cheryl Rosenfeld’s introduction and Noah Strycker’s presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K20OZey6N1c.

 Band with Nature

After taking a year off because of the pandemic, Band with Nature was held again this on October 25^th, 26^th, and 27^th.  This year’s activities for Columbia Public Schools second graders included bird banding with Andrew Kinslow and his Rock Bridge High School students, Bird Sounds with Paige Witek and Ethan Duke from MRBO, owl pellets, and Raptor Rehab (sorry I didn’t get your names). A big thank you to the CPS students and Columbia Audubon members who volunteered.  CAS volunteers were Bill Mees, Lea Langdon,  Nancy Bedan, Lottie Bushmann, Lori Hagglund, Pam Spencer, Charlie Alexander, Sandy Elbert, Eric Wood and myself.

 Congratulations to Mike Szydlowski

Mike won the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Master Conservationist award for 2021. He is the science resource coordinator for Columbia Public Schools. He was nominated for the award by Missouri River Relief. For more information, visit https://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/mdc-congratulates-mike-szydlowski-columbia-receiving-master-conservationist-award

 All the Birds in the World

My parents gave my wife and me a copy of All the Birds in The World  published by Lynx Edicions (a Spanish publisher) for Christmas last year.  This book is an illustrated checklist for 11,524 bird species. It uses the four major checklists: HBW and Birdlife International, Howard and Moore Checklist of Birds of the World, eBird/Clements Birds of the World and IOC World Bird List and tells you which checklist the bird is on and whether it is a full species or a subspecies.  It also lists all the common names for a particular species in case the names are different on a specific checklist.  Also included is the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)/Birdlife International Red List Category i.e. least concern, vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered to name a few.

The book is 968 pages and weighs 10.5 pounds. To cut down on text, each entry has a QR code which takes the reader to the eBird description of that species. Appendix One is an illustrated guide to extinct birds.

The cost of the book is 85 Euros (about $99, but they frequently have flash sales reducing the price) You’ll also need to pay for shipping from Spain (cost varies depending on method) For more information, visit https://www.lynxeds.com/product/all-the-birds-of-the-world/.