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Birdathon Report Thank You for Sponsoring Individual contributors of $100 or more: Ellen Aiken & Theodore Harris Paul & Diane Oefinger 2016 the 2016 Birdathon David Hunt Cara Hasselbeck John & Heather Sue Arnold Cloyc & Chris Hedge Pankhurst hanks to generous donors like you, another successful John Bacone Pat Parkinson Birdathon is benefitting the birds of Central Indiana. Jennifer Hehman T Melvyn & Elena Baez Robert Heins Deborah Patrick While this was not a banner year, you enabled us to raise Barb Baker Stevenson Hill Randy Patrick Amos Butler the Birdathon bucks necessary to fund all of our grant Bob & Jennie Beth Hill family Kara Pearce requests. Our grand total of donations and carryover Baker Maureen Hodson Gail Richards funds amounted to an impressive $33,560. But even more Lou Anne Barriger Michael & Barbara Martyn & Sarah Audubon Society impressive, since 1987 the Birdathon has donated a total Bob Barriger Homoya Roberts of $680,706! Dale & Barbara Benson Dr. & Mrs. Robert Reta & Rob Rutledge BIRDATHON REPORT Kara Benson Hooker Anne Scheele Why Your Donations Are So Important Linda Bishop Ruth Ann Ingraham Paul Schmitt Mike Bishop Barbara & Paul Margaret Schwarz Our long partnership with the American Bird Jablonski Conservancy has produced some significant achieve- Violet Bishop Mary Selig Charlie Bollman Avril Kane John Sharp ments, including the completion last year of the Cerulean Lee Casebere Anna Kincheloe Virginia Sheets Warbler Corridor in Colombia. This year we embarked on Gordon Chastain Wendy Kindig Greg & Renny Silver an exciting new project with a pressing need — acquiring Dr. John J. Coleman III Carla M. Koty in memory of Max a 556-acre parcel of land in Guatemala. The Sierra Cruz Carole Cole Joyann Landis Catherine &Will Snyder is in urgent need of protection because of a recently built Susan Cope Susan Leo Keith & Karen Starling illegal road that allows poachers and loggers access. The Patricia Cracraft Becky Lomax & Norma J. Starling parcel provides high-quality winter and stopover habitat Barny Dunning John Sumner April Sterling for at least 40 species of Neotropical migrants. Lynn & Beth Eikenberry Paula & Ted Lupina Paul & Judy Thomas Closer to home, valuable data is being gathered on two Linda Elbert Bob Magnuson Stephen E. Towne vulnerable warbler species. Purdue University is conducting Edward Erotas Janet Martin Dan Tuten a research project on the Worm-eating Warbler, listed as Dr. Paul Evans Mike Maxwell Janet Tuten a species of special concern in Indiana. Ball State’s project Pat Fansler Nancy Mayo-Miller Matthew T. Tuten is on the Cerulean Warbler, listed as state endangered. Fitzgerald family Donna & Don McCarty Elcira Villarreal & Margaret Flack Jill McRoberts Jeanette Frazier Research data will be used to develop forest management Boris Meditch Laurie Voss practices benefitting these warblers. Sarah Fowler Mary Ellen & Medley family Mike & Karen Wade The Indiana Raptor Center will purchase testing equip- Robert Gadski Lynn & Jane Miller Tom Weber in memory ment to detect the presence of lead in wild raptors. A raptor Irvin & Barbara Richard W. Miller of Carl Weber center in Illinois has found high levels in one out of every Goldblatt Elizabeth Mueller Betsy & George Wilson three Cooper’s Hawks tested. Sharon Gremel John Munshower William Wood Community outreach is another important tool for Barbara Hamilton Bill Murphy Sara Zeckel educating the public about the importance of birds. Jane Hammock Polly Nicely Miles Zevin Several of our grant recipients are fulfilling this goal. Susan Hanafee Kathy & Jerry Oakley Robina Zink Central Indiana Land Trust will establish a bird-banding Volunteers who raised Birdathon donations of: station at Oliver Woods. Marian University continues $1,000 or more $500 to $999 $100 to $499 its habitat restoration at the EcoLab, involving hundreds Lee Casebere Roger Hedge Mike & Linda Ryan Sanderson The Wood Thrush of volunteers. Keep Indianapolis Beautiful’s Springdale Mary Ellen Gadski Amanda Smith Bishop John Schaust is one of 40 neotropical Greenspace at the Nowland Oak will transform a vacant Cloyce Hedge Keith Starling Kevin Carlsen Spike Selig lot into community greenspace. Finally, the Jameson Donna McCarty Laurie Voss Brian Cunningham Doug Sherow migrants that winters in the Camp will be able to create a hummingbird garden and April Sterling Marty Williams Jason Goldsmith Nancy Tikijian Sierra Santa Cruz expand its environmental education program. Janet Tuten Amy Hodson Richard Wiesler Wren Upchurch Barbara Jablonski Betsy Wilson in Guatemala Our Teams Have Worked Hard John Munshower Photo by Ed Schneider courtesy of to Raise Birdathon Bucks Corporate Sponsor: the American Bird Conservancy We are especially proud of our Birdathon team fund- $1,000 4040 East 82nd Street raising champs. Another team set a new species count Special Contributors: record. Be sure to read their enlightening Big Day reports. Pete Drum, Birdathon Database Curator Mary Ellen Gadski, International Projects Coordinator A sincere thank you to all of our Birdathon sponsors from Barbara Jablonski, Silent Auction Coordinator Donna McCarty, Birdathon Chair; members of the Don McCarty, Birdathon Treasurer Birdathon committee; and the board of directors of the Bill Murphy, Report Editor Amos Butler Audubon Society. Melissa Upchurch, Birdathon Gift Bag Coordinator #1 Fundraising Champs: #2 Fundraising Champs: #3 Fundraising Champs: Bud & Carl’s Legacy Team Noddy Little Gulls DNR Team Team members (l-r): Team members Team members Janet Tuten, Keith (l-r): April Sterling, (l-r): Cloyce Hedge, Starling, Amanda Lou Anne Barriger, Lee Casebere, Smith, Marty Williams Laurie Voss, Kathy Roger Hedge A New Feldman Team High Blown Marking Species Away on Its 20th Count Our Big Day Anniversary by Keith Starling By Laurie Voss by Lee Casebere ud & Carl’s Legacy Team left Indy at 3:00 a.m. on May he Noddy Little Gulls were blown away this year — ay 9th was count day, and I’ll just say that we’ve had 11th, already down one member. Jerry Williams had literally. We picked one of the coldest days in May to do much better days. Our ending number was 135 Bto watch and cheer from the sidelines because of an injury. Tour Birdathon adventure. Beginning at Lake Michigan, we did Mspecies, which is certainly less than normal, and much As in previous years, we headed south. First stop was not have a Plan B. The combination of 35-40° temperatures less than our best. The temperature started out in 50s and Green-Sullivan State Forest for the morning chorus. That and wind gusts up to 40 mph made for a challenging day. But stayed there all day. We never saw the sun at all. Although first hour is fast and furious, and it’s somewhat hard to the Noddy Little Gulls are a hardy bunch. the nighttime and early morning hours were very calm, separate all those birds singing at once. We aren’t even We began before sunup in the Dunes State Park to look by midday it became very windy and never let up the rest looking for birds. We are all staring at the ground, trying to for owls and Eastern Whip-poor-wills, but those birds of the day. Even during the calm times in the early parts concentrate and filter the birdsong as we are being blasted decided it was too cold. We then traveled to Michigan City of the day, birds were uncharacteristically quiet, a big from all directions. One bird who insisted on being both beach and lighthouse in search of gulls and waterfowl. disadvantage to a team that birds largely by ear. heard and seen was the Chuck-will’s-widow, who did a Here we were met with 40 mph gusts off of the lake that Our hopes were high this year since we returned to north- quick fly-by to check us out. carried the sand sideways into our faces, eyes, mouths, west Indiana, where we’ve had our best luck through the years. From Green-Sullivan, we headed to Goose Pond and and optics. Walking to the jetty we picked up four species But everywhere we went, birds were fewer and quieter than Bee Hunter Marsh, birding as we drove. We stopped to while hiding behind some concrete to block the wind. normal. Usually a highlight is birding Beverly Shores Drive check out a White-crowned Sparrow. We apparently startled Back to the woods to find our songbirds at Dunes State shortly after daybreak. Typically a cacophony of birdsong an American Bittern, who popped up in the ditch right Park, then we went on to Cowles Bog. We were there with excellent birding for miles, it turned out to be a pathetic beside the car. What luck that it showed itself! A rousing for the Snowy Egret but ran into a bonanza of warblers dud! After lackluster birding at sites near Lake Michigan cheer went up, much too loud for the bittern. He took who knew how to get out of the wind by staying behind for much of the day, we headed to the Kankakee Sands and his leave from us, carrying a frog in his mouth. While we the hill. It was there we picked up the majority of our 26 Willow Slough area, where we expected to pick up a hit were at Goose Pond, a conservation officer stopped by to species of warblers, including excellent looks at beautiful list of over 25 such birds but managed to pick up fewer tell us that there was a Glossy Ibis in the neighborhood. Mourning and Golden-winged Warblers. than half. As we turned around to chat, we caught a view of our only We made several more stops in Lake County before We missed both expected territorial breeders and Bald Eagle, flying in the background. We never found the heading south to Kankakee Sands.
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