Committee Chairs

of Big Bluestem Audubon

Archivist	Hank Zaletel
Bird-a-thon Compiler	Barbara Krumhardt
Conservation	Bruce Ehresman
Education and Schools Liaison	Jerry Keys
Field Trips Coordinator	Eric Ollie
Name-badge Coordinators	Jon & Joyce Bahrenfus
Newsletter Coordinator and Audubon Membership	Larry Dau
Newsletter Editor	Stefany Hulsebus
Refreshment Coordinator	Hank Zaletel
Webmaster	Karl Jungbluth

Upcoming Events

2/15/2020
February Field Trip: Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
For the February field trip, we will venture down to Neal Smith NWR in the afternoon and early evening. We will bird our way down, bird the refuge, and then, hopefully, at sunset get a look at the Short-eared Owls that are over-wintering there. Meet the group at the Ames Lowe's (120 Airport Road) to carpool or caravan down to Neal Smith NWR at 12:45 PM. We will plan to be on the road at 1:00 PM sharp. We will most likely need to be there until sunset, so we will probably arrive back in Ames around 7:00 PM.

2/20/2020
Eric Williamson | Wildlife Photography – Wild Side of Iowa
Eric’s presentation looks at the 4 different seasons and what animals we might find. It also talks a little about photography and field equipment used by speaker Eric Williamson. He will also show some behind the scenes of how the photos were taken. Eric”s interest in photography began at age 16 taking photos of Bald Eagles. He had a point-and-shoot camera and loved going on walks photographing the eagles in action. Over time, he expanded photography to other wildlife. Eric learned the need to know wildlife subjects well in order to take photos without stressing out the animals. Several different conservation organizations have used his photos to enhance their objectives. Some of his work has been in publications, including Iowa Outdoors, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and Outdoor Photographer magazine. Seeing wildlife in its natural habitat is a true privilege!

2/22/2020
2020 BBAS South Florida Birding & Nature Adventure
Big Bluestem is excited to announce that we have organized a birding and nature viewing trip to South Florida! Just when it feels like you can take no more of the harsh Iowa winter, escape to Florida with BBAS and join us as we search the Everglades, Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, Corkscrew Swamp, Bunche Beach and much, much more for the best birds, butterflies, odonates, herps, wildflowers, and mammals the southern-most tip of the continental United States has to offer! We will be in the sub-tropical wilds for six full days between February 22 and 29, 2020. For more information, send an email to Rachel Clark at tanagergirl@gmail.com. The cutoff date for registration is November 21, 2019.

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General Resources

Iowa Audubon statewide coalition of Audubon Chapters and other local birding groups in Iowa
Iowa Ornithologists' Union statewide organization for all people interested in Iowa's birds
eBird a handy tool for tracking your bird sightings and contributing to a global picture
All About Birds ID help and other interesting information from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

Iowa Audubon
statewide coalition of Audubon Chapters and other local birding groups in Iowa

Iowa Ornithologists' Union
statewide organization for all people interested in Iowa's birds

eBird
a handy tool for tracking your bird sightings and contributing to a global picture

All About Birds
ID help and other interesting information from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology