Wolf Creek Habitat and Rescue, 1/28
January 28, 2012 - Wolf Creek Habitat and Rescue. Because of many requests to go back to Wolf Creek Habitat, we will return January 28 to play with the wolves. There is no charge to visit the facility but if you would like to go in the pen with the wolves it is $20 a person. For more information about Wolf Creek Habitat: www.nighthowls7.com. No fur or red coats if you want to go in the pens with the wolves and it will be muddy so wear clothes that if they get dirty you won’t mind. Also no dangle earrings or piercings. Wolf Creek Habitat only allows pocket cameras on the property. This is not a field trip for children. Meet on the southwest side of the old Oxford Wal-Mart parking lot near McDonalds at 9:30 to car pool or caravan. We will stop for a hot drink and lunch on the way back to Oxford. - Linda Williams, Field Trip Chair, jlwms67@gmail.com
Faces of the Christmas Bird Count
The Christmas Bird Count is not a time to take a lot of bird pictures. The participants are too intent in counting every bird in sight that a camera would just get in the way. Rising early to get a good head start on the day, everyone convenes at noon to tally the numbers, share stories and eat a hearty chili soup lunch. To find out more about the count’s result go to our Christmas Bird Count page. To see more pictures from the event visit our Audubon Miami Valley Facebook page.
Good Birding at Brookville Lake
| Common LoonPied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Canada Geese Wood Duck Green-winged Teal Mallards (40) Northern Pintail Gadwall Ring-necked duck |
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead Hooded Merganser (50+) Ruddy Duck Northern Harrier Red-tailed Hawk Sandhill Cranes (170) Killdeer Bonaparte’s Gulls Mourning Dove Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Northern Flicker |
Blue Jay
American Crow Tufted Titmouse Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren European Starling Northern Cardinal Song Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco House Sparrow |
Christmas Bird Count, 12/17
Audubon’s Annual ChristmasBirdCount takes place in-and-around Oxford on Saturday, Dec. 17, 7:30am at Miami University’s Ecology Research Center on Somerville Rd. The dawn-to-dusk census of bird species covers 176 square miles and is conducted according to National Audubon Society rules.
The original bird count was on Christmas Day in 1900. It now incorporates more than 1,600 organized efforts and more than 50,000 participants throughout most of North America, Hawaii, U.S. territories, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Pacific islands. Data collected are sent to National Audubon and published annually in a special “Christmas Bird Count” issue of “American Birds.”
Regardless of experience, new participants are welcome to join groups led by experts covering portions of the count area. First-time counters and those under 18 years of age can participate free of charge but repeat birders pay the $6 participation fee, which covers data processing and publication. Hot beverage and lunch are served at noon while we compile the first species and numbers of the Count. Participants are encouraged to bring food to share and their own table service.
Eyes Along the River, 12/12
Eyes Along the River – A Journey through Time, Jim Williams – formerly with the Hamilton County Park District
Join us for a story of the Ohio River. We will explore some of the natural and cultural history of the Ohio River from the late 1700’s to the present time. We will look at some of the changes that have occurred in relation to the flora, fauna and people and how transportation changed the face of the river forever.
Jim Williams was born and raised in the Greater Cincinnati area. His ancestors came to Southwest Ohio in the late 1700’s by flatboat. He grew up rambling the farms of the descendents of those early Ohio pioneers, exploring the natural beauty of the farmland and woods. Jim attended the University of Cincinnati earning a Bachelors degree in Education with a major in the Biological Sciences. While teaching botany and zoology in a Cincinnati, Ohio high school he went on to receive a MAT in botany at Miami University. Jim joined the staff of the Hamilton County Park District as a Naturalist/Educator. Later he became the Chief Naturalist/Program.
DECEMBER 12, 2011, 7:30pm , 2nd Floor Oxford Community Room, Lebanon Citizens National Bank, unless noted otherwise. All meetings are free and open to the public.
Rare Birder Alert!
Greg Miller, birder extraordinaire of The Big Year fame is coming to Miami U., Oxford Campus, Tuesday, November 29, 7pm, Room 112 Pearson Hall (Patterson Ave. and High St.)!!!
Brookville Winter Bird Hike
December 3,2011 – Brookville Winter Bird Hike. Dave Russell will again take us on a hike around Brookville Lake Saturday, Dec. 3 to see what great birds we can find. This will be a good warm up for the Christmas Bird Count December 17. Meet at 8:00am on the west side of the new Oxford Wal-Mart parking lot on Rt. 27 north.
Bahamas: Birds, Babes, and Beaches, 11/4
Bahamas: Birds, Babes, and Beaches, John and Karen Shrader – Dayton Audubon Society
The Bahama Islands lie just a short distance off the coast of Florida, and are famous for their “babes and beaches.” But, did you know that the islands are home to a few endemic species of birds – including a swallow, hummingbird, and yellowthroat – found nowhere else on earth? There are also a number of unique subspecies found on the islands, including a parrot and the very rare Bahama Nuthatch. If you are anxious to plan a trip to get out of the cold this winter, join John and Karen Shrader, Dayton Audubon Society members and world birders, as we explore our neighbors in the sunny Bahama Islands.”
Karen and John Shrader are avid world birders and also enjoy photography, especially of the natural world. They have traveled widely around the world, as well as in North America. Over almost two decades, they served as the Field Trip Chairs for the Dayton Audubon Society, and John has served as the chapter President and on the board of directors. John is an M.D. associated with Jim Williams – formerly with the Hamilton County Park District.
NOVEMBER 14, 2011, 7:30pm , 2nd Floor Oxford Community Room, Lebanon Citizens National Bank, unless noted otherwise. All meetings are free and open to the public.
Volunteer Opportunity Too Fun to Miss
The Sixth Annual Queen City Bird Festival is scheduled for May 12, 2012 at Hueston Woods State Park Nature Center. Anyone interested in volunteering to help organize or to work a shift at this all-day, free festival which introduces the “young and young at heart” to birds and birding, please contact Sarah Michael at 513-523-3129 or sk65michael@gmail.com. Your help will be greatly appreciated!
Green Screen Film Series, 11/9
Gasland, Wednesday, November 9th, 7:00p.m. at the Oxford Community Arts Center. In this Oscar-nominated documentary, director Josh Fox journeys across America to examine the negative effects of natural-gas drilling, from poisoned water sources to kitchen sinks that burst into flame to unhealthy animals and people. Is natural gas a viable alternative to the country’s dwindling energy resources, or do the potential harmful consequences outweigh the positives? Fox’s film raises these and many more probing questions. The largest domestic natural gas drilling boom in history has swept across the United States. The Halliburton-developed drilling technology of “fracking” or hydraulic fracturing has unlocked a “Saudi Arabia of natural gas” just beneath us. But is fracking safe? When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. The film is part travelogue, part expose, part mystery, part bluegrass banjo meltdown. (107 min.) http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/trailer/
Free and sponsored by the OXFORD INTERFAITH CLIMATE CHANGE WORK GROUP (ICCWG), a coalition of area churches and concerned individuals working on the issue of climate change and earth stewardship.
