Great numbers and varieties of our favorite migrating birds return from their winter retreat. Be prepared to be patient and persistent, and embrace a sense of adventure to find these treasured migrants.

To ensure your tiny feathered tourists (and, of course, honorable residents) are convening at disease-free feeding zones, you’ll need to make cleaning your feeders a routine occurrence.

Just how dry is it? At the end of February, 98 percent of Nebraska was officially in drought, up from 33 percent at the beginning of this winter. These U.S. Drought Monitor figures, published in a recent Omaha World-Herald article, underscore the seriousness of the situation.

Audubon Society of Omaha’s Winter Bird Seed Sale is providing more than 10 tons of seed (that’s 600 bags across 153 orders totaling 21,300 pounds) to area birds. Revenue from this major fundraiser supports ASO’s local conservation and education programs.

2021-2022 has been a year of learning, changing and growing for Audubon Society of Omaha. While we are still holding board meetings and monthly programming via Zoom, we’ve seen a return of our in-person group field trips, the collective for youth after-school programs, and increased interest in our bird seed sales and Student Art Contest and online show.

Each year Audubon Society of Omaha elects or re-elects officers and directors. Here are the results for the term that starts July 1, 2022:

At Audubon Society of Omaha’s March board of directors meeting, the board voted in three new directors. These ambitious, young conservationists will bring fresh ideas and new perspectives to expand ASO’s reach and impact within our community and native habitat. We are excited to welcome Ashleigh Stohlman, Nick Romero, and Kyle Finley to our Board of Directors.

The 2022 Audubon Society of Omaha’s Student Art Contest was bigger than last year with almost 600 entries from 20+ schools and 20+ households. Students employed a wide variety of techniques and the results are delightfully imaginative.

Power lines span the Platte River at Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon, creating a deadly hazard to the approximately 450,000 Sandhill Cranes migrating through Central Nebraska. Amanda Hegg, a Conservation Program Associate at the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary, will present original research conducted in March 2021.