March 2004

ASO is a Chapter

and Western Iowa

Volume 33 Issue 3

Terns, Plovers and Their Rescuers

Pitted against great forces are tiny threatened and endangered birds. For the birds—Least Terns and Piping Plovers—the stakes are high. What could be a hopeless clash of interests has become instead a partnering of the birds' interests and the sand and gravel industry's, whose sites they share.

To alleviate the birds' plight, in 1999 the Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership was formed through a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund. This partnership brings together the sand and gravel mining industry, state and federal conservation agencies and private organizations to protect the birds.

Through loss or degradation of habitat, populations of these birds, especially plovers, have been seriously declining along the Platte River. In response to this loss, many terns and plovers nest at gravel mine sites, which are inferior to river nesting sites because of the danger from mining operations and predators.

To protect nest sites at gravel pits, the Tern and Plover Partnership erects protective electric fences and plover enclosures and places mylar flagging to discourage the birds from nesting where mining activity is taking place.

In 2000 the Adopt-a-Colony volunteer program officially began. Volunteers help monitor the tern and plover colonies, collecting data of number of adults, nests, chicks and fledglings. They also help with putting up electric fences and the mylar flagging.

In 2004 the Partnership will start its sixth field season. Staff and volunteers will monitor colonies along the lower Platte River and may expand to central Platte River mining operations. Several of our own ASO members volunteer with this program.

Chris Thody, Volunteer/Safety Coordinator for the Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership, will speak at the March 11 general meeting. She will inform us about the birds and the Partnership. Chris received a degree in Natural Resources from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln and has been involved with the Tern & Plover Partnership in several capacities since 1999.

Join us Thursday, March 11, at Hanscom Park Methodist Church (4444 Frances St) at 7:30 p.m. A brief business meeting will follow the program. The evening will conclude with a social time, coffee and cookies. Nonmembers are welcome.

Branched Oak Lake March Destination

By Clem Klaphake

The ASO March field trip will be held Saturday, March 27, at Branched Oak Lake near Malcolm, Nebraska (northwest of Lincoln) in Lancaster County. Anyone interested should meet on the south end of the dam on the lake, located 3 1/2 miles north of Malcom, at 8:30 A.M. It being a seasonal transition field trip, we could have winter-only residents and new spring migrants just arriving.

Don and Janis Paseka will lead the group and have promised to find some good new year species. Likely candidates are Red-breasted, Common and Hooded Mergansers, along with other waterfowl. There are always good chances

of seeing several gull species, possibly both Shrikes, Eastern Phoebes, raptor migrants, and several sparrow species. Having a scope is helpful for identifying birds out on the lake.

Bring clothing appropriate for March in Nebraska (warm and windy, or cold, wet and rainy, or cold wet and snowy, or just a calm warm day in the high 60's). Cookies will be provided should birding be slow. If you are not a cookie eater, bring whatever snacks and drinks you want. By about noon we will retire to the Malcolm restaurant for a lunch, beverages and conversation.

2

Nelli's Notes

By Nelli Falzgraf

Connect to Nature With Terns and Plovers

On a wintry January day in 2000, Clem Klaphake invited Jeff Marcus to address us at our general meeting on the fledgling Tern & Plover Conservation Partnership.

Jeff told of public entities and private mining operations willing to help endangered Least Terns and threatened Piping Plovers. Slides of speckled eggs on sand scrapes and little balls of fluff with skinny legs were enough for many to volunteer a few hours in the summer to monitor the birds.

It has proved to be fun watching terns scurry on sand piles while their parents fish for minnows. By midsummer, they've learned to fish and are ready for their southerly migration. It is sad when the birds leave but rewarding to have helped monitor for the Adopt-a-Colony program of the Partnership.

There have been other rewards. While watching for the birds at sand pits, we saw Western and Spotted Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers at Lyman Richey Gravel in Plattsmouth; and Willets, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Pectoral Sandpipers at Western Gravel in Louisville. At the Girl Scouts' Camp Maha, we saw Eastern Wood Pewees, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos, and Lark Sparrows.

Least Tern and Piping Plover populations have decreased because their delicate feathers were once used as fashion items. Their breeding habitat is further reduced because humans have altered the river flows.

With little natural habitat for nesting, sand pits of mining operations look inviting, but the birds don't know of conflicts with corporations, predation by dogs and foxes, or disturbance by humans and machinery. We're thankful that the Partnership brings together cooperative sand/gravel companies along the Platte River with dedicated volunteers to help ensure the future generations.

Renae Held and Chris Thody coordinate the program for UNL and Nebraska Game & Parks. They will start the 2004 season by training us on mining safety and monitoring protocol before they and other biologists search the Platte River to locate this year's nesting colonies of Least Terns and Piping Plovers. Chris Thody will tell us more at the general meeting on March 11 (See page one).

If you could come to one training session in early April, monitor the birds in late June through July, and

check on electric fences, please contact Chris at CThody2@unl.edu> 402/472-8741. Or come to the general meeting Thursday, March 11. Because of OSHA rules at mining sites, all visitors must be trained.

Up Close With Bluebirds

Five years ago Laurine Blankenau asked me to substitute for her Bluebird nest box route north of Cunningham Lake. The first and third box sheltered tiny Tree Swallow babies, and the fourth one held two jelly-bean-sized eggs of Eastern Bluebirds. Further along a pair of Tree Swallows buzzed me as I approached a nest box. Field Sparrows, Dickcissels, and a Catbird sang in the distance. Some boxes had the cup-shaped grassy nests of bluebirds; others had fine grassy nests lined with feathers, indicative of Tree Swallows.

More boxes with bluebird eggs and at #16, three eggs and one baby bluebird, helpless, with sparse tufts of down and huge eyes shut tightly. Thankfully, no wasp nests or blowfly larvae parasitism. A Brown Thrasher flew across, an adult Eastern Bluebird perched on a fence near box #20, and a Baltimore Oriole sang from an elm. I found beautiful birds, a refreshing walk, and the satisfaction of helping to increase the Eastern Bluebird population.

Bluebird numbers have declined in the past 50 years because urban expansion has decreased their homes—abandoned woodpecker cavities in trees and fence posts. Non-native House Sparrows have won out for nest sites. Increased use of pesticides reduce their insect food base. Where nest box routes have been set up and monitored in open, grassy areas with scattered trees, the population has rebounded.

Bluebirds are an asset because they feed on insect pests such as cutworms and grasshoppers. They often perch on low-hanging branches to spot their prey. Sometimes they catch insects on the wing. In the winter, they will eat wild berries.

ASO has bluebird routes, with results reported to Bluebirds Across Nebraska. If you can help, contact Jim McLochlin, 933-4638 or bluebirdbox@cox.net. Jim serves on the board of the North American Bluebird Society.

Calendar

Mar 1 (Mon) Conservation/Legislative Meeting

Mar 3 (Wed) Board Meeting

Mar 11 (Thur) General Meeting

Mar 19-20 Rivers & Wildlife Celebration - Kearney

Nominees for Officers and Directors

Election of ASO officers and directors will take place at the April general meeting with all members present eligible to vote. The newly elected board members will begin their terms on July 1, 2004.

The Nominating Committee has presented the slate of candidates for officers and directors.

President - Nelli Falzgraf

1st Vice President - Elliott Bedows

2nd Vice President - Laurine Blankenau

Treasurer - Patty Albright

Recording and Corresponding Secretary - Linda Dennis.

Directors - Jenny Henricksen and Tad Leeper. (Replacing outgoing Directors Jackie Scholar and Clem Klaphake, whose terms will expire.

Mark Armstrong (incumbent) is nominated for a second two-year term as Director. Mace Hack, Sharon Draper, and Bob Fuchs are completing two-year terms as Director.

Don't Forget Wildlife

at Tax Time

Filling out the state income tax form is little cause for excitement for most of us. However, you could derive some joy by contributing to the state nongame and endangered species program.
You can make a donation simply by filling in the line next to the Peregrine Falcon symbol on the tax form. Proceeds from the tax check-off is the principal means of funding for the more than 2,000 species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and plants that are not hunted or fished. Many of these species are exceedingly rare or experiencing serious declines.

Voluntary contributions to the check-off peaked at $136,000 in 1984 and in recent years declined, reaching a low point of $69,000 in 2000. The decline may be due to smaller refunds, fewer individuals who prepare their own taxes, or a lack of awareness about the importance of these revenues to wildlife conservation. Whatever the reason, the decline in funding is making it more difficult for the Game & Parks Commission to conserve nongame species.

Since the check-off's inception, projects benefiting dozens of nongame species have been completed. One high profile project was reintroduction of river otters to Nebraska. Once completely eliminated from the state, the otters are now known to occur on six of our state's 13 river basins. If the increase continues, river otters may one day be removed from the endangered list, thanks to the generosity of those who have contributed.

Other projects include reintroduction of the Peregrine Falcon, a flying squirrel nest box and monitoring program, development of a partnership to monitor birds in shortgrass prairie, study of the ornate box turtle, start-up of a prairie restoration cooperative, survey of the Topeka shiner, and other education projects such as the bird education partnership at UNL.

If you are not receiving a tax refund, you can donate on-line using the Game & Parks secure server, by credit card, at www.outdoornebraska.org/wildlife/programs/nongame/ngdonate.asp> Or you can mail to Nebraska Game & Parks, Nongame & Endangered Species Fund, Box 30370, Lincoln NE 68503-0370.

Beautiful ASO T-shirts

By Pauline Dickey

Orders are being taken for tee shirts with the new ASO logo. (See top of page one of this issue.) The Meadowlark will have a yellow breast on the shirts.

Its height will be 10-12 inches on the front.

After we have orders for 20 shirts, we will place the order. Short sleeves are $10 each; long sleeves are $14, tax included. You may phone your order to me (932-8205) order at the general meeting, or see me at the Rivers & Wildlife Celebration, Kearney, March 20 and 21.

Your choices: Long or short sleeve, 100% cotton or 50/50 cotton synthetic blend. Sizes: Short sleeve S - 4XL. For 3XL and 4XL add $1.54. Long sleeve S - 2XL. For 2 XL add $1.22.

Colors: Short sleeve: white, natural, ash, athletic heather, khaki, light blue, yellow, black, burgundy, forest green, gold, jade, kelly green, navy, orange, purple, red, royal blue. Long sleeve: white, ash, athletic heather, black, forest green, navy, red, royal blue.

I would appreciate any volunteer help at the RWC-Kearney on Saturday and Sunday. Let me know if you can donate an hour or two to the cause: 932-8205.

Spring Banquet Date:

Thursday, May 13

Johnny's Steakhouse

Where Jack Nicholson (aka Schmidt) dined)

4

By Ione Werthman

Conservation/Legislative Action

The Sandhill Cranes always get front page news coverage in March in Nebraska. It is on their behalf that Audubon has been working for over 35 years to protect the habitat and river flows of the Platte. Remember the Two Forks Dam hearings and Kingsley Dam relicensing hearings? The Cooperative Agreement signed by Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and Dept. of the Interior in which the three states were to create a management program for habitat on the Platte for four endangered or threatened species?

Never did I dream when in the late 80's and early 90's National Audubon paid me to monitor and attend meetings in the three states that we would just now be seeing some of the results of our early efforts.

For almost seven years, we met monthly to create a balancing act between the species, the states, and water users. On January 24, 2004, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) with six alternatives was released.

Paul Tebbel of Rowe Sanctuary, Audubon representative on the Cooperative Agreement Council, stated, "The ultimate goal for the DEIS is to get public opinion on the proposed program, and the side which garners the most support is likely to prevail. Audubon must be a significant player in this effort, for the wildlife needs our voices. The time has now come for us to get involved once again." A Wyoming lawmaker has already voiced his opposition to the Platte plan.

With the DEIS are two other documents essential to our decision: the Draft Biological Opinion from U.S. Fish & Wildlife that determines if the proposed alternatives will help the species, and the National Academy of Science Report of Findings, which reviews USFW's classifications of these species as endangered. Both reports will be made public by early March.

If you would like copies of the DEIS as a summary or a CD Rom with the entire report, contact Paul Tebbel, Rowe Sanctuary, rowe@rictc.net or 308 468 5282. To read the report, go to www.platteriver.org

Endangered Species

Where do we stand with the Endangered Species Act after its 30th anniversary last December? Any changes would have a serious impact on our Platte River issues. A report in the January/February 2004 Environmental Defense Bulletin states, "Animal and plant species are disappearing 100 times faster than a century and a half ago. In America, only about 10 percent of endangered species are recovering. For the others, the threat of extinction is real."

Congress has many vocal opponents in both Houses who want to reform the Act by setting aside its core

provisions. The pen is always mightier than the sword! We need to speak out. Already, at the request of the Bush Administration, Congress has given the Navy the right to use high intensity sonar and underwater explosives without review. Similar exemptions will allow the military to destroy the habitat of endangered birds and mammals living on 25 million acres of land under the Pentagon's jurisdiction. Although 80 percent of the American people object, the Senate Armed Services Committee was unwilling to defy the White House—all in the name of national security.

Nebraska Constitutional Species

Endangered Too?

Many have become alarmed at the prospect of rookies being in the majority of the Unicameral after 2008. Two proposals in the Legislature and one petition drive to undo the Term Limits before 2006 demand our serious consideration and attention.

As one alternative to the term limit initiative, Chris Beutler, Paul Hartnett and Don Preister have proposed a modified constitutional amendment for the ballot allowing voters to recall a lawmaker, but only after that person has served eight years. Opponents claim such an initiative would end the Term Limit initiative.

Initiative 300 (I-300)

For 22 years the corporate farming ban in Nebraska has withstood challenges. However, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that South Dakota's anti-corporate farming law violated federal commerce laws. LB 1086, endorsed by Governor Johanns to study I-300, has been proposed. The Governor believes I-300 is too restrictive. Supporters of the corporate farming ban see LB 1086 as a means to weaken the constitutional amendment already on the books. Opponents of the ban believe money dictates free enterprise and anyone with the means, corporations or individuals, should be allowed to own Nebraska farm and ranch land. Both sides have stories about how the amendment helps or hinders. Where do you stand?

Lottery Funds Proposal

Nebraska voters may be asked to change the Constitutional Lottery Initiative now on the books to save the struggling Nebraska State Fair. Approval of an amendment to earmark about $2 million a year for the Fair would cut environmental and educational projects' share of lottery funds to 89 percent. The program to aid gambling addicts would remain at 1 percent and the State Fair share would be 10 percent.

Continued on page 5

5

Audubon Summer Camps - Fun For All Ages

Audubon's summer camps are a tradition that affords learning and fun to seekers of nature's places. Camps in Maine, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin offer weeklong sessions of outdoor adventure from June to September. Programs are designed to reflect local landscape and culture for a better understanding and appreciation of nature. Information and registration is available at www.audubon.org/educate/cw/. Sessions are designed for adults, youth, families and educators.

Camp activities vary but sessions include kayaking, canoeing, ornithology, nature photography, and ecology. They may include overnight camping, bird and wildlife viewing, and presentations by camp leaders and instructors, many of whom are unrivaled naturalists, biologists, ecologists and local guides.

While days are busy, evenings are spent relaxing with campfires, stargazing and storytelling. Prices range from $270 to $1,125 per person per session for meals, lodging and activities but not transportation to the camp. Academic credit through affiliated universities is available at the Maine, Minnesota and Wisconsin camps for an additional fee. The Minnesota camp offers continuing education and graduate credits for teachers and educators. Elderhostel sponsors a camp for adults. For detailed information and to register, contact the appropriate camp directly.

Maine: From June through September at either scenic Hog Island, 60 miles northeast of Portland, or the spectacular Borestone Mountain Sanctuary on the southern edge of Maine's Northern Forest. At Hog

Island, five one-day camps are scheduled: Field Ornithology, Natural History of the Maine Coast, Workshop for Educators, Hog Island Retreat, and Muscongus Bay Kayaking for Women. A highlight is a visit to the puffin colony on Eastern Egg Rock. Contact: 888-325-5261 or camps@maineaudubon.org>

www.maineaudubon.org/explore/camp/schedule.shtml

Minnesota: Audubon Center of the North Woods, 90 miles north of the Twin Cities, is situated among old-growth pines along the edge of cold, clear Grindstone Lake. One of the country's most comprehensive summer camp programs. Elderhostel offers five programs to choose from. 888-404- 7743 or audubon1@audubon-center.org> www.audubon-center.org/elderhostel.html.

Vermont: Devoted exclusively to youth. Nestled in foothills of Taconic Mountains. Ages 10-14 - Bird Banding, twilight owl walks, study of local forests. For ages 13-16 - a 7-day expedition hiking and exploring. Ages 14-18 - assisting with professional researchers and scientists on rare species and natural communities. 877-753-2165 or vermont@audubon.org> www.audubon.org/educate/cw/vermont-kid.html

Wisconsin: Audubon's Hunt Hill Sanctuary camp in the Northwoods. Adult camp - Wade Into Ecology, devoted to wetlands and waterlife of the area. Youth camps from "Frog & Tadpole" to a four/five day canoe trip, depending age of participant. Family: Ages 5-15 with adult family members. Hikes and nature study. 877 777 8383 or hunthill@spacestar.net> www.audubon.org/local/sanctuary/hunthill/summer.html.

Conservation/Legislation, Continued from page 4

Efforts to tap into the lottery funds for projects other than for the environment or education have been defeated in the past. Over $54 million in eight years (1992-2001) has funded the most promising conservation and environmental projects. Because the Environmental Trust funds are leveraged with other state, private and federal funds, a reduction in the Trust funds would result in a loss of matching funds. The Trust is the primary source for conservation efforts in Nebraska, sold on the promise that lottery profits would be used primarily for education and conservation.

With the above and the LB 775 petition drive I wrote of last month, we have a lot to ponder. Join us for our Conservation meetings on the first Mondays at the Audubon Office/Heron Haven, 11809 Old Maple Road.

Our appreciation of the crane grows with the slow unraveling of earthly history. His tribe, we now know, stems out of the remote Eocene. The other members of the fauna in which he originated are long since entombed within the hills. When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution. He is the symbol of our untamable past, of that incredible sweep of millennia which underlies and conditions the daily affairs of birds and men.

Aldo Leopold

A Sand County Alamanac

6

Fall 2003 Hitchcock Nature Area Hawkwatch Report

Excerpted from Overall Summary, By Mark Orsag

This was an important year organizationally for the hawkwatch, as we finally reached the promised land of full coverage. This was due to the hard work of the Hitchcock Nature Area staff and the dedication of Jerry Toll, who served as our paid hawk counter/educator this season. On the whole, it was a pretty good but somewhat mixed season.

About half of our twenty listed raptor and vulture species (Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Golden Eagle, and Prairie Falcon) posted solidly average to excellent numbers. The other half posted slightly below average to disastrous numbers with one species—the accidental Black Vulture—missing altogether.

With over 600 hours of coverage this season, we'd hoped

to crack the 10,000 raptor/vulture barrier for the first time. As it was, we fell just short. A total of 9,772 raptors and vultures of 19 species were counted as they headed south past HNA. The extra coverage produced numerous season records but only one new day record (10 Rough-legged Hawks on 12/16/03). Passage rates declined because of increased coverage of less-than-perfect weather days.

Without the Hitchcock regulars who suffer through scorching early September heat or a bone-chilling mid-November Alberta Clipper, we wouldn't have a hawkwatch. Thus Jerry Toll, Sue Mattix, Clem Klaphake, Don Paseka, Janis Paseka, Don Maas, Jim Meyer, Mark Orsag, Pat Williams, Babs & Loren Padelford (our Hawkwatch founders), Karen Barnett, Carr Heaney, Sandy Reinken, and Mary Kramer deserve thanks for their consistent dedication to a worthy enterprise.

The numbers:

1. Black Vulture 0. We missed this one. The IOU-accepted record from September 22, 2002, remains the only record for this species at HNA.

2. Turkey Vulture 2,812 - a breakout year for this species whose peak flight came very late this year; 208 were counted on 10/17.

3. Mississippi Kite 9 - a drop from last year.

4. Bald Eagle 908 - new season record; November was the big month with peak flight of 102 on 11/25.

5. Osprey 66 - Quite poor this year. Down from 71 in 2002.

6. Northern Harrier 218 - Season's total was the 2nd best ever at HNA and the 6th most abundant raptor migrant of 2003.

7. Sharp-shinned Hawk 948 - new season record by one bird over 2000.

8. Cooper's Hawk 169 - Poor numbers. One found wintering on 12/20 Christmas Count.

9. Northern Goshawk 9 - Surprisingly good showing for this uncommon migrant. Up over 5 birds in 2002.

10. Red-shouldered Hawk 6 - Timing of flight was typical.

11. Broad-winged Hawk 121 - Reversing an upward trend in recent years and the lowest ever at HNA. An unsolved mystery, down from 434 in 2002. Possible corollary was Duluth's incredible 100,000+ Broad-wing day mid-September.

12. Swainson's Hawk 1,059 - Unmitigated disaster. Decline from a record count in 2002, but the total was semi-

respectable to low average for this site. Peak flight was 522 on 9/30. 2 dark and 4 rufous morphs.

13. Red-tailed Hawk 3,132 - new season record; 39 Harlans, 23 Western dark morphs, 3 Western rufous morphs, 8 Krider's, and 14 dark morphs.

14. *Ferruginous Hawk 2 - New season record. An annual rarity. Both individuals came in December and were an exciting find.

15. Rough-legged Hawk 59 - a runaway new record; Off the charts for this species. Recorded far more often at eastern North American hawkwatches than at Western ones. Seven dark morphs.

16. Golden Eagle 17 - Equals 2002's record total. Rarely seen to come in bunches and shows very little annual variation at HNA.

17. American Kestrel 130 - Numbers and passage rates nosedived this year, with passage rate the lowest ever. 2002 excellent flight seems to have been the exception, with this year's showing probably closer to the norm. Hitchcock just isn't good, volume-wise at least, for falcons.

18. Merlin 25 - More Taiga than Prairie Merlins this season. A pity, as the male richardsoni is certainly one of the most strikingly beautiful raptors in North America.

19. Peregrine Falcon 25 - Yet another poor showing by a falcon species in 2003, down from 33 in 2002.

20. *Prairie Falcon 4 - Occasional to rare at Hitchcock but posts steady numbers from year to year. Ties the season record of 1999 and 2001.

Continued on page 7

Audubon Society

Membership Application

Addresses to Remember

President George W. Bush

The White House,1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington D.C. 20500-0001

Comments: 202-456-1111; fax: 202-456-2993

Senator Ben Nelson

U.S. Senate, Washington DC 20510; 202-224-6551; fax 202-228-0012; Lincoln: 402-437-5246; Omaha 391-3411; Omaha address: 7602 Pacific St, #205, 68114

Senator Chuck Hagel

U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510-2705

Phone: (202) 224-4224; Fax: (202) 224-5213

Omaha phone: (402) 758-8981

Representative Lee Terry

U.S. House of Representatives,Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-4155 ; Fax: (202) 226-5452

Omaha phone: (402) 397-9944

Representative Douglas Bereuter

U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-4806; fax (202) 225-5686

Lincoln phone: (402) 438-1598

Governor Michael Johanns

Capitol Bldg, Box 94848 Lincoln, NE 68509

Phone: (402) 471-2244; Fax: 471-6031

Mayor Mike Fahey

Omaha/Douglas Civic Center

1819 Farnam St, Omaha NE 68183

Phone: 444-5000 Hot Line: 444-5555

The Audubon Magazine*(see below,

chapter-only membership) and your

membership card will be sent to this address:

Name_________________________________________

Street_________________________________________

City_________________________State_________

Zip Code________Phone:_________________

Email:__________________________

Introductory Membership

National Audubon & Local Chapter

(1st & 2nd Year $20)

Chapter-only Membership: $15

(No National Audubon Magazine)

Mail to Audubon Society of Omaha

11809 Old Maple Road

Omaha NE 68164

PO 3

7XCH

Bequests

A bequest to Audubon is a gift to those who will succeed us; a gift to secure our natural heritage.

If you find an injured bird of prey, please contact a Raptor Recovery Center volunteer at 402-731-9869.

Memorials

The Audubon Society of Omaha greatly appreciates the memorials it receives.

When sending your gift, please identify the person you wish to memorialize. Please also give the name and address of the person to be notified.

Hawkwatch, Continued from page 6

Unidentified Raptor 53. This total duplicated the 2002 mark exactly. Hopefully, these birds were not the same 53 that got away in 2002! Fool us once.......

*Italics denote a species requiring documentation and records committee approval in Iowa.

Audubon Society of Omaha, 11809 Old Maple Road, Omaha 68164

Phone: 445-4138 - http://audubon-omaha.org

Elected Officers:

President Nelli Falzgraf, 414 Ridgewood Dr, Bellevue 68005 292-9687

1st Vice President Elliott Bedows, 309 Greenbrier Ct, Bellevue 68005 292-5017

2nd Vice President Laurine Blankenau, 3808 Grebe, Omaha 68112 451-3647

Treasurer Vacant

Past President Eric Scholar, 5012 Nicholas St, Omaha 68132 551-5045

Recording Secretary Linda Dennis, 1011 Homer St, Omaha 68107 733-6548

Elected Directors Jackie Scholar, 5012 Nicholas St, Omaha 68132 551-5045

Mace Hack, 1735 So. 87th St, Omaha 68124 934-5040

Mark Armstrong, 12741 Forestdale Dr, Omaha 68123 292-9770

Bob Fuchs, 1113 Dillon Dr, Omaha 68132 553-8242

Sharon Draper, 6220 Kansas Ave, Omaha 68104 572-4026

Clem Klaphake, 707 Garden Ave, Bellevue 68005 292-2276

Standing Committee Chairpersons:

Conservation Ione Werthman, 11649 Burt St, #011, Omaha 68154 493-0373

Education Brian Jensen, 12430 Bel Drive, Omaha NE 68144 333-6375

Field Trip Clem Klaphake, 707 Garden Ave, Bellevue 68005 292-2276

Finance Nelli Falzgraf, 414 Ridgewood Dr, Bellevue 68005 292-9687

Fund Raising Pauline Dickey, 2534 Benson Gardens Blvd, Omaha 68134 932-8205

Hospitality DwanDean Leach, 3006 Poppleton, Omaha 68105 346-5769

Membership Bechara Embaid, 3218 No. 120th Court Apt. 221, Omaha 68164 965-9598

Natural Areas Mgt Eric Scholar, 5012 Nicholas St, Omaha 68132 551-5045

Omaha Raptor Team Jenny Henricksen, 4845 So 167 Ave 68135 895-5487

Program Ed Higgins, 3717 No 93rd St, Omaha 68134 572-1957

Publication Laurine Blankenau, 3808 Grebe, Omaha 68112 451-3647

Publicity Kathy Schwery, 3616 So 96th St, Omaha 68124 397-7343

Other Activities:

Speakers Bureau Ione Werthman, 11649 Burt St, #011, Omaha 68154 493-0373

Naturestudy Vacant

Bird Seed Sale Co-Chairs Kathleen Rose, 123 Bellevue Blvd So, Bellevue 68005 292- 8912

Carol Rasmussen, 4503 So. 16th St, Omaha 68107 731-3939

Historian Kathleen Rose, 123 Bellevue Blvd So, Bellevue 68005 292-8912

Audubon Nebr Director Don Helmuth, 5000 Central Park Dr, Suit 101 Lincoln 402 466-1220

ASO State Board Rep. Mace Hack, 1735 So. 87th St, Omaha 68124 934-5040

NAS Board Member Ione Werthman, 11640 Burt St, #011, Omaha 68154 493-0373

Audubon Society of Omaha

11809 Old Maple Road

Omaha NE 68164

Non-Proft Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

OMAHA, NEBRASKA

PERMIT NO. 79