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By Bob Walton [from fall 2024 newsletter]
-- All sports have rules to follow, and birding should be no different. It is important that the welfare of all our birds be respected, resulting in little or no disturbance to the birds. The American Birding Association (ABA) has developed a Code of Birding Ethics that promotes respectful, enjoyable, and thoughtful birding.
Event
Thanks to everyone who came out to the raptor watch at the Mines of Spain! We counted 53 Broad-winged Hawks. When they seemed to drop down on us from above, we speculated that there may have been many more that we couldn't see due to the cloud coverage.
Event
We had a nice-sized group for our pop-up field trip yesterday at the Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Management Area. The warblers did not cooperate by showing up at the overlook, but we had an enjoyable morning!
Project
Dubuque Audubon's 3-year survey of grassland birds at Whitewater Canyon Wildlife Management Area is complete!
Project
Our volunteers monitoring bird houses at Mines of Spain counted 99 Eastern Bluebird eggs, 72 nestlings, and 52 fledglings this year!
Event
10 people joined us for our pop-up field trip today at Deere Dike Park! We didn't see as many birds as we had hoped, but we had a fun time. Highlights included Green Herons, a Spotted Sandpiper, Bald Eagles, Tree Swallows, and Purple Martins.
News
The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is a collaborative global network of automated radio telemetry receivers for tracking small migratory wildlife (birds, bats, and insects) that have been tagged. In 2023, 151 birds were tracked in Iowa, from 21 species, all of which were tagged outside of Iowa!
Birds
On Sunday, July 28th, Dubuque Audubon members were able to confirm Merlin nesting in Dubuque for the first time in over a century!
Event
Our annual spring species count, held on Saturday, May 11, 2024, was a great success! Despite virtually no shorebirds and only one owl species, we were able to locate 145 individual species!
Project
On Sunday, April 21, 2024, 13 members of the Dubuque Audubon Society and volunteers from the public worked for over two hours to remove 28 bags of garbage from the 16th Street Retention Basin.
Project
With permission from the city of Dubuque, the Dubuque Audubon Society has created and installed educational signage at Technology Park to share information on birds that nest in those fields.
Project
On Sunday, April 14, 2024, Dubuque Audubon volunteers planted 16 Eastern White Pines and 20 Chokecherry trees at Mines of Spain State Recreation Area.