The Spring Meeting, May 2008
Spring Mill State Park
This year the Spring Meeting of the Indiana Audubon Society was held at Spring Mill State Park, rather than the usual Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary. This drew some new people from the west side of the state and let us all explore some different birding locations. And the birding was excellent, starting with Rose-breasted Grosbeaks right outside the window of the restaurant in the lodge.
Friday evening Laura Hohman from Bat World Hoosier Hills started off the weekend with a program about the bats that occur in Indiana. After that we kept seeing roosting bats. A big brown bat was hanging on the white-painted ceiling in the Friendly Shelter. This little brown bat squeezed under the glass of a bulletin board. According to a small sign, this is where he/she hangs out.
On Saturday morning Bill Murphy led a trip to Stillwater Marsh. There were birds everywhere We saw 24 species of warblers and three bald eagles. Certainly the highlight for many of us was a Clay-colored Sparrow. Here are two pictures of us getting "warbler neck" and trying to lure out birds with a tape of a Screech Owl.
Dr. James Gammon, Professor Emeritus of Zoology at DePauw University discussed the main environmental river problems today and contrasted them to the very severe problems in the 1930s. Then he went into some detail about the rather recent fish kill in the White River and the remedial efforts that have been made to solve the problems it created.
Betsy Wilson led a wildflower walk through the park. Dwarf Larkspurs were in bloom - a gorgeous purple. She also found the stalk of a Putty-root Orchid that still had its leaves intact.
On Saturday evening we listened to Ross Brittain's program on Northern Saw-Whet Owls. These have been his thesis topic at Indiana University. They are much more prevalent in Indiana than most had thought. His banded birds have been recaptured in Wisconsin, Ohio and Ontario, among other places.
By Saturday night, the total number of bird species sighted was 103. On Sunday morning we birded in Spring Mill State Park and by the time we finished the list (pdf file) was up to 108.
Shirley Needham finished the weekend by sharing her knowledge about Chimney Swifts that frequent the skies and chimneys in Indiana during the spring and summer.
All in all it was a great weekend. We're looking forward to the Fall Meeting at the Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary!