Happy New Year! I hope you had a chance to join us for some of our programs and birding field trips in 2024.

Looking back 

Many of you enjoyed learning about backyard bird photography, pocket prairies, BirdNote and the Sandhill Crane migration. We heard about wild bird rescues by Nebraska Wildlife Rehab, welcomed the owls from Fontenelle Forest and were awed by Dr. John O’Keefe’s documentary film, The Last Prairie.

Our monthly field trips included viewing waterfowl at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge  and Lake Manawa, an eagle nest watch, a guided tour of Heron Haven, and an evening grasslands birding walk at Glacier Creek Preserve. We saw a native wildlife habitat restoration project at Cottonwood Creek Preserve and observed Saw-whet Owl banding at Hitchcock Nature Center.

Coming up 

We are kicking off 2025 with our January program, “Thinking Differently about Urban Habitats.” Discover how nature can thrive in the city and suburbs. Stay warm for our January field trip by watching waterfowl from the viewing room at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. 

Attend our February program and learn how cutting-edge Motus technology helps researchers track individual birds around the Americas and Europe. Then join us on the first day of March for a brisk birding hike in Forest Lawn cemetery. 

Are you new to birding, or a seasoned birder looking for a casual outing in a birding hot spot? Join us one Saturday each month at Towl Park, 93rd and West Center Road, for our EZ Does it Urban Birding series.

Keep informed on upcoming programs and field trips by reading our newsletter, following Audubon Society of Omaha on Facebook and Instagram, and visiting our website, Audubon-Omaha.org. All of our programs and field trips are free and open to the public.

I hope the new year brings you many new adventures — enjoying nature and getting involved with Audubon Society of Omaha.