The U.S. Weather Bureau said zero chance of rain for the morning of May 9. Lisa Schenker’s Grant School fourth grade class may now be as leery of forecasts as we adults. The rain dampened the trees, but not the spirits of the bird seekers as a gentle rain began soon after the students got off the bus.

Eighteen students were led through Rock Bridge Memorial State Park by CAS volunteers Howard Hinkel, Sandy Elbert, Kathleen and Harold Anderson, Lori Hagglund, Eric Wood, Janice Gaston, Julie Fisher and Edge Wade.

Birds seen included Blue-winged, Kentucky, Tennessee and Chestnut-sided warblers, Northern Parula, Acadian Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Indigo Bunting, Swainson’s Thrush, Summer Tanager, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Eastern Bluebird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Mourning Dove, American Crow, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-eyed Vireo, White-throated Sparrow, and American Goldfinch. An Ovenbird and Great-crested Flycatcher were heard.

In addition to the birds, there was much to see. The wildflowers were blooming. We saw Blue-eyed Mary, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, May Apple flower, and violets. Giant shelf fungus and mushrooms were interesting. A very large Missouri Three-toed Box Turtle was fun to observe up close.

By the end of the trip, everyone was at least a little wet, but we weren’t cold. We saw so many beautiful birds and flowers and interesting natural things that we were all smiling through the drips.

The Columbia Audubon Society is pleased to announce that Kimberly DeVorss is the 2013 scholarship recipient for summer studies at the National Audubon’s Hog Island in Maine. Kimberly is a National Board Certified first grade teacher at Paxton Keeley Elementary School and impressed the CAS board with her obvious enthusiasm for integrating nature studies into the curriculum. She has taught her students about birds through science, math, art, reading, and writing and is anxious to learn even more through this unique summer program.

Kimberly will be attending a workshop called “The Arts of Birding” for a week at the end of June. She will be working with some of the country’s best bird artists, photographers, recordists, and writers, and will learn how to use words, images, and audio to enhance her birding abilities, while exploring bird habitats along the Maine coast. Kimberly is the fifth Columbia Public School teacher to receive funding from CAS to study at Hog Island. Thanks to this support, the next generation of birders in Columbia is getting off to an early and enthusiastic start.

Research has found that if students haven't been introduced to nature by the 4th grade, they may never appreciate its importance. So what is Columbia Audubon Society (CAS) doing to make a difference?

CAS is sponsoring Columbia Public School teacher Kim De Vorss to attend National Audubon's Hog Island summer camp. CAS is also sponsoring Reed Gerdes, a high school student, to attend an American Birding Association summer camp. This ABA program sharpens birding skills and exposes participants to a variety of career opportunities in wildlife study.

Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary (CANS) is the beneficiary of its first "education oriented" project. Trees, habitat, geology, ecosystems, and wildlife are all highlighted in a new brochure. This Gold Award project, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, is courtesy of Courtney Grimes from Troop 30325.

Fourth grade students from Grant Elementery School recently visited Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area (see page 3.) Thanks to a grant from CAS, these 4th grade students will also visit Rock Bridge Memorial State Park later this spring.

This year CAS became a "Partner Friend" with the Science Department of Columbia Public Schools. It is this relationship that has resulted in the Band With Nature field trip to CANS in April. Over 800 2nd grade students will participate.

This May, CAS and Songbird Station will conduct a field trip just for 6-12 year olds. This field trip will concentrate on "birding by sound," and IMPORTANT first step to bird identification.

So what is Columbia Audubon Society doing to make a difference? I'd say plenty, with more to come. All the activities above were made possible thanks to the volunteering spirit of CAS members. Join CAS, have fun, and make a difference!

We recently conducted a successful prescribed burn of about  8 acres of open woodland and meadow at the CAS Wild  Haven Nature Area north of Columbia. The burn unit covered  the area from the tributary creek (west of the picnic shelter)  nearly to the western boundary of the Audubon property. Fire  lines had already been cleared last December, so when ‘burn  boss’ Roxie Campbell called late on a Thursday night, there  was little that needed to be done except put out a call for  volunteers available on Saturday. 

Fortunately, volunteers responded, the weather cooperated,  and we conducted a successful burn on the chilly afternoon of  February 16. Burning conditions were pretty moderate (light  west wind, not too dry) so the burn progressed slowly in some  areas, but ground fuels burned on over 90% of the area over a  two-hour period. The only real excitement came when the fire  raced through the dried native grasses and torched some  dead cedars in the meadow area. 

We hope this burn will help us meet our goal of controlling  invading trees and shrubs (like red cedar and autumn olive)  and stimulating growth of native grasses and wildflowers.  During the growing seasons after previous burns, the meadow  has put on a nice display of wildflowers, especially rough  blazingstar in late summer. We’ll have a chance to inspect  the progress of spring wildflowers in the burned area during a  CAS field trip in April (see CAS Field Trip calendar).  Many thanks to volunteers Roxie Campbell, Allison Vaughn,  Becky Erickson, Eric and Joanna Reuter, Bill Mees, and  members of the MU Student Association for Fire Ecology  (SAFE): Carter Kinkead, Benjamin Hess, Calvin Maginel, and  Ryan Sims.