Calendar
Sunday, May 2, 8:30 a.m.
Field Trip: Fort St. Clair State Memorial, Eaton.
Because of the good areas of both upland and riparian woods, and because the timing of this walk is during prime migration, Leader Daryl Michael (687-1480) hopes for a very good selection of passerine migrants, particularly wood warblers. Take U.S. 35 west from Dayton, or U.S. 127 south from I-70 to Eaton, go west on S.R. 122, and follow the signs to the State Memorial. Meet Daryl in the main picnic area.
Saturday, May 8, 8:30 a.m.
Field Trip: Twin Creek MetroPark.
A wild and beautiful new MetroPark, Twin Creek offers an abundance of birds and plants. Come explore the well-marked trails at Twin Creek with Merle Carr (258-9576). From Dayton, take SR4 south past Germantown and the junction of SR123 to Eby Road. Turn left and meet in the parking lot on Eby Road.
Sunday, May 9, 8:00 a.m.
Field Trip: Englewood MetroPark.
The most passerine migrants usually pass through the Dayton area during the first and second weeks of May, and Englewood MetroPark is always an outstanding place to look for them! Plan now to join Chris Vickers. (890-9633) to search for migrant wood warblers. Take US 40 west from I-75 (north of Dayton). Meet in the parking lot at the east end of Englewood dam on US 40 (between the Dayton International Airport and the city of Englewood). Please wear shoes or boots suitable for muddy terrain. Yes, it IS Mother's Day, so DON'T FORGET to bring your mother!
Saturday/Sunday, May 8-9.
Field Trip: Ottawa Wildlife Refuge/Crane Creek State Park with Gem City Birders.
Contact Nancy Nerny (278-4022) for more information.
Tuesday, May 11, 7:30 p.m.
DAS Board of Directors Meeting
Leland Center, 1375 E. Siebenthaler Avenue.
Saturday, May 15, 8:00 a.m.
Field Trip: Germantown MetroPark.
Germantown MetroPark is one of the area's most beautiful reserves, and an Audubon Ohio Important Bird Area. At this spring date, one can expect some of the later and more elusive migrants, such as Mourning and Connecticut Warblers, and some of the uncommon breeding birds of our area like Kentucky Warbler, Prairie Warbler, or Louisiana Waterthrush. Meet Mike Coogan (438-5688) at the Interpretive Center on Boomershine Road west of Germantown; turn north on Boomershine from SR 725 and watch for the sign.
Sunday, May 16, 8:00 a.m.
Field Trip: Caesar Creek Gorge.
Just below the dam at the southern end of Caesar Creek Lake, Caesar Creek Gorge State Nature Preserve features a 180-foot deep gorge with trails leading from the base of the dam to the Little Miami River two miles away. At this prime time of the year, the flood plain forest should be teeming with resident and migrant species of birds. Take I-75 south to SR 73. East through Waynesville. After crossing US 42, go about 1 mile, then right on Clarksville Road. Follow 2-3 miles to park road on the right. Go down the hill into the Gorge to meet leader Dick Balk (886-0092) in the parking lot below the dam.
Tuesday, May 18, 7:30 p.m.
Beaver Creek Wetlands Association Annual Meeting.
Bergamo Center, 4400 Shakertown Road. Call 320-9042 for more information.
Saturday, May 22, 8:00 a.m.
Field Trip: Bill Yeck Park with Gem City Birders.
Contact Nancy Nerny (278-4022) for more information.
Future Calendar Events
More information about the following events will be in your next Yellow Warbler.
Sunday, June 6, 6:30 a.m.
Breeding Bird Census at Aullwood.
Wednesday, June 16, 7:00 p.m.
Dayton Audubon Society Annual Meeting. Wegerzyn Center, 1301 East Siebenthaler Avenue.
Includes election of officers for 2004-2005.
Saturday, June 12.
Important Bird Area Dedication, Germantown MetroPark.
Please note: DAS will not have a meeting/ program this month (May 2004).
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Songbirds: Wild About Coffee
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Reprinted from the Black Swamp Bird Observatory Publication "Dendroica", Summer/Fall 2003.
Most people are unaware that coffee is second only to oil as the world's most-traded commodity, and that coffee is the most valuable agricultural product imported by the United States. 52% of U.S. adults drink coffee every day, averaging 3.3 cups/day. The U.S. drinks 1/5 of all the coffee in the world.
Once upon a time, all coffee was grown under a protective canopy of shade. Coffee is naturally an understory plant, and traditional coffee plants cannot survive exposure to the strong tropical sun. Traditionally, coffee growers worked well within this natural ecology, and preserved the shady ecosystem that supported a wide range of life, including warblers, tanagers, hummingbirds, and many other migratory bird species. The sheltering forest produces nutrient-rich soil and causes the coffee plants to mature more slowly and fully.
About 30 years ago, botanists developed and began promoting new kinds of coffee plants that could withstand full sun. The goal, of course, was to increase production by increasing the amount of growing acreage. Coffee-growing countries eager to raise their coffee export income began cutting down the traditional shade trees and planting "sun coffee". At first, this new coffee delivered on its promise, raising production and increasing income to poor countries. Sun coffee became plentiful and cheap, but hidden costs soon began to emerge, including fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides necessary to replace the nearly self-sustaining ecosystems of shade-grown coffee. Even more alarming, the songbirds and other life that once thrived in the shade coffee plantations began to disappear. According to the Smithsonian Institute's Migratory Bird Center, shade plantations harbor as many as 150 different bird species, while sun plantations as few as five.
Ultimately, the future of some ecosystems might be in the hands of those who hold coffee cups. The key is the price paid to farmers for a pound of beans. Major coffee companies, such as Nescafe and Folgers, pay coffee farmers as little as 40 cents per pound, then sell it for $8-$12 per pound in the U.S. In the $18 billion-a-year coffee industry, a worker in a Central American coffee farm might receive less than $3 a day for their work, less than the price of a latte in many coffee shops.
Several conscientious companies have addressed this problem by offering a "Fair Trade" price for coffee, and by buying shade-grown coffee. Coffee drinkers can help out by looking for shade-grown, organic, and fair-trade coffee where they shop. Many specialty shops carry it, but if they don't, request it! The shop owners need to know you want to buy it from them. Every little bit helps to save the habitat.
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Unusual Visitors
| Some lucky observers were able to see Whooping Cranes in Ohio recently. These cranes, which spent a couple days in a farm field in Clermont County and later in Auglaize County, are part of an eastern migratory flock established several years ago in Wisconsin by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. The Partnership is a group of non-profit organizations, individuals, and government agencies that have joined forces to bring a migratory flock of Whooping Cranes back to eastern North America. The introduced cranes summer in Wisconsin and winter in Florida, and are currently migrating on their northward leg back to Wisconsin. Visit the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership at www.bringbackthecranes.org/index.html, and follow the Whooping Cranes during their spring migration at Operation Migration at www.operationmigration.org/index.html.
Whooping Cranes in Ohio on April 11
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Wetland Workshop
| On Tuesday-Sunday, July 6-8, the Greene County Park District, in cooperation with the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association, will hold a special Wetlands Workshop. The 3-day workshop, which will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day, is designed to help even the novice understand the workings of a wetland.
The workshop will include two visits to local wetlands, books, exploration supplies, posters. Lunch will be provided each day. For more information about this workshop, please contact Cris Barnett, Green County Parks Naturalist, at 937-562-7469.
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Cornell Lab of Ornithology Embarks on House Finch Nest Survey
| New York, NY, Monday, April 12, 2004 - The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has begun work on its latest citizen-science study, the House Finch Nest Survey (HOFINS). The program is designed to monitor how breeding affects House Finch eye disease.
Cornell is asking for the help of citizen scientists in observing nesting House Finches, and identifying and monitoring nesting dates, numbers of eggs or young, and numbers of nests that produce fledglings. By monitoring House Finch nests, participants will help determine how many juvenile House Finches susceptible to disease are produced in different parts of the continent.
To get involved, visit www.birds.cornell.edu/ hofisignup/nestsignup.html or call 800/843-2473 (outside the U.S., call 607/254-2473).
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Audubon In The Classroom
| One of the best ways to further the environmental cause is
through education, and one of the best environmental education tools is
National Audubon's Audubon Adventures program. Audubon
Adventures provides to participating classrooms four packets, each
covering a different environmental/ecological topic, such as animal communication,
wildflowers, and pond life. The packets contain instructional material,
pictures, posters, and other items, including a teacher's guide, and are
geared to the 4th or 5th grade level (although it has been used successfully
in 6th grade classrooms as well). The materials are fun as well as educational,
and participating teachers have been unanimously enthusiastic.
Dayton Audubon annually sponsors Audubon Adventures
for a number of area schools. If you know of a classroom that would like
us to sponsor Audubon Adventures for them, or you would like to sponsor
a class yourself, please contact Barbara Keegan at 435-0707. The cost for
Audubon Adventures is $35 per classroom, and the packets
are designed for a class of up to 30 students.
The kids need you! We can make a difference!
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DAS Scholarships Available
| The Dayton Audubon Society is deeply committed to education
and, in part, shows that commitment by offering scholarships annually to
individuals who can make a difference in our community. Perhaps you know
someone who might benefit from the DAS mission. Read on and, if you can,
help us find deserving scholars. |
Charlie Breish Memorial Camp Scholarships
| Dayton Audubon offers financial assistance for
teachers and other adults to attend National Audubon's summer ecology workshops
in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming, the woodland community of Connecticut,
and the coast of Maine.
While the camps and workshops are open to everyone these
days, they are still especially popular with teachers. If you know of a
dynamic elementary or secondary teacher, let us know about them!
National Audubon also offers a summer camp in Maine to
youngsters ages 10 through 14.
The Dively Scholarship
Since 1982, DAS has offered tuition help to college students
through the Dively Scholarship Program, originally endowed in memory of
DAS member Dick Dively. Though we cannot offer a lot of money, the Dively
Scholarship has helped both undergraduate and graduate students reach academic
goals in fields that further the cause of environmentalism and conservation.
Dively scholarship recipients are not restricted to scientific fields;
other connections, such as environmental law, are possible.
The Shawen Grant
The Bob Shawen Memorial Youth Ornithology Grant was established in
memory of long-time DAS activist Bob Shawen. The goal of the program is
to provide funds, materials, and/or speakers for elementary classrooms,
youth groups, or field experience settings to promote knowledge of birds,
their habits, and their habitats. |
What can you do?
| Help us find scholarship candidates. Talk to interested
people or people you think ought to be interested. Spread the word! To recommend
candidates, apply for scholarships, or receive further information, please
call DAS Projects/Memorials Chair Tom Schaefer at 937-276-2162, or e-mail
him at tschaefer@ameritech.net. You can also write to
Dayton Audubon Society
1375 East Siebenthaler Avenue
Dayton, Ohio 45414-5398
or e-mail us at
audubon@dayton.net
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Environmental Legacy
| A bequest of any size to Dayton Audubon can have
a lasting effect on ecological concerns and environmental education in the
Dayton area. We ask that you consider leaving a specific amount, a percentage
of your estate, or the remainder of your estate after other bequests, to
the Dayton Audubon Society.
For more specifics on this, or other information about
gift planning, please phone Tom Schaefer, 937-276-2162, or write to Dayton
Audubon Society, 1375 E. Siebenthaler Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45414-5398.
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Time and Talents
Dayton Audubon is an organization of volunteers committed to
education, the natural sciences, and an environmental ethic. Help and new
ideas from the ranks of the membership are needed in order for the organization
to reach its goals. If you would like to help in any of the following capacities,
please let us know. Your involvement will be welcome.
I would like to help with:
__ Birdathon
__ Conservation
__ Education
__ Field Trips
__ Membership
__ Programs
__ Publicity
__ Yellow Warbler
__ Other:
________________________
Send with your name and phone number to Dayton Audubon Society, 1375
E. Siebenthaler Ave., Dayton, Ohio 45414-5398. You can also call DAS President
Dick Balk at 937-886-0092, or e-mail us at
audubon@dayton.net. |
| As a member of the National Audubon Society, you are also a member
of the Dayton area chapter. There are no local dues, and you receive your
newsletter automatically. To find out more about the Dayton Audubon Society,
contact one of the officers whose numbers are listed in the Dayton Audubon
Society Organization webpage. Better yet, come to
a meeting or join us on a field trip!
The DAS meets at 7:00 p.m. at the Wegerzyn Center, 1301
East Siebenthaler Avenue, on the third Wednesday of every month from September
to June. See you there!
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Southwest Ohio Rare Bird Alert
937-640-BIRD (2473)
Includes updated information on DAS activities.
To report unusual sightings, call Betty Berry at 937-836-3022, or
Jim Arnold at 937-862-4437 |
Previous Yellow Warblers
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