• So many people care about the environment and want to help but I often hear “But what can I do”? That is one of the reasons I like the 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative.
  • Bird banding is done by placing a uniquely numbered plastic or metal band on a bird. This is usually placed on their foot, but can be also placed other places, such as around the neck of a Trumpeter swan. Birds are aged and sexed.
  • During my stint as Director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, I had the good fortune to make friends with a guy who was just starting up a new bird conservation group.
  • Little known to many of you, the 48 acre Amity Woods Nature Park is a newly dedicated Kansas City Parks and Recreation piece of property just a couple of mile from the store.
  • We know that habitat loss is the single greatest threat to bird populations. There have been lots of studies involving habitat fragmentation and its effect on breeding bird populations and all of them show that for many species large patches of good quality habitat are far more beneficial to birds. Does this mean we should just give up on all small patches of habitat?
  • As you’ve probably heard me say before, one of the ways biologists monitor bird populations is through bird counts conducted by amateur and professional ornithologist.
  • So often when we hear about problems that our birds face in other countries, we feel bad because we think there is little or nothing that we can do as individuals to help them.
  • I am sure a few of you looked at the group for this month and thought I had lost my head. The Boy Scouts are not a conservation organization! Or are they?
  • I got an unusual birthday invitation the other day. A building, not a person, is turning 25. In November of 1991 I came for a job interview with the Missouri Department of Conservation at that building.
  • If we love our cats as much as we love our birds, we will decide to keep our cats indoors.
  • One of the most difficult topics I have always tackled head on with my customers is cats. I think HOUSE cats are wonderful pets and their ability to catch mice is legendary, but what is often overlooked by so many is the impact they have on bird populations.
  • In the world of Ornithology, Cornell University is known as the “Bird School,” with good reason. Cornell has produced some of the greatest Ornithologists of our time and is the academic institution that leads citizen science efforts in collecting wild bird information.
  • The extreme cold this spring has killed or damaged many plants in our area and this is a golden opportunity to replace some of the “foreign” vegetation in your yard with good Missouri natives.
  • Many of you have asked about the recent article, in the Kansas City Star about the disturbing decline in common birds. If you would like more information about this topic, we have many copies of the original article, Wake Up Call, that Audubon published in their magazine.
  • A little over a year ago, The Westport Garden Club had a vision to pull together a group of Kansas City organizations to begin a conversation about increasing native plantings in our community. With the guidance of BNIM, one of Kansas City's premier companies, the group of organizations came together as the Kansas City Native Plant Initiative. Their goal was to grow access to native plantings and improve opportunities for citizens to interact with nature across the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area.
  • Ever have the urge to get out and get your hands dirty while helping out animals? A few years ago, Larry Rizzo (Missouri Department of Conservation Biologist) and I co-founded a group that provides such opportunities.
  • From 1994 to 1998 I had the great pleasure of working as the Director of the Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary in Liberty. If you are not familiar with this facility, let me take a few lines to fill you in.
  • Missouri’s newest conservation area, The McGee Family Conservation Area, opened this fall just south of Plattsburg, Missouri, in Clinton County. I knew Thomas McGee from my days with the Nature Conservancy. I knew him as a man who deeply cared about nature and its longtime protection.
  • If you have ever heard me speak publicly, chances are pretty good that I have made reference to how fortunate we are to have the Missouri Department of Conservation. During my senior year at NC State, my major professor asked me if I had sent off a resume to MDC yet. I answered, No, why should I?
  • In 2004 the Missouri Department of Conservation and the University of Missouri Extension joined together to create the Missouri Master Naturalist (MMN) program. MMN is a group of ordinary citizens that dedicate their time to protecting, restoring and promoting education around Missouri’s natural resources.
  • Having not grown up here, I can remember the first time I saw a Tallgrass Prairie in its full glory. I honestly remember saying “Wow, so that is what a real prairie looks like!”
  • When was the last time you visited a Missouri State Park? Did you know Missouri frequently ranks in the top 4 state park systems nationwide?
  • No name is more associated with birds and bird conservation than Audubon. The National Audubon Society was founded at the turn of the century by a group of bird watchers who were concerned by the unregulated killing of birds.
  • Formed by Lawrence Zeleny in 1978, this nonprofit group is largely credited with “bringing back the bluebird”.
  • We get many, many calls each year from people who have found an injured or an apparently abandoned wild animal. One of the top facilities for dealing with these animals is located in our area. Operation Wildlife is headquartered in Linwood, Kansas and has an additional receiving center in Shawnee.
  • I’m not real sure why it has taken me this long to write about this little gem of a place. So few people know about the Parkville Nature Sanctuary it is truly a shame.
  • If there was a national landmark for birders, it might very well be the Paton’s Hummingbird Haven in Patagonia, AZ. Marion and Wally Paton had no idea when they purchased the home in the 1970s that it would become famous.
  • I want to apologize for taking so long to write an article about the Platte Land Trust. I serve on the advisory board for this volunteer organization. The truth is that I did write a Conservation Corner once but the newsletter never got printed.
  • East of Kansas City on 50 Hwy sits a botanical treasure- Powell Gardens. A 970 acre combination of exquisite gardens, architectural features and natural areas, Pow­ell Gardens offers something for both people and wildlife.
  • In 2009 a Professor of Entomology from the University of Delaware published a book and started a revolution of yards all around the country. In 'Bringing Nature Home', Doug Tallamy stresses the need for biodiversity in the home yard.
  • When we bought this business 5 years ago, the first line I brought in was the Rubicon feeders made from recycled milk jugs.
  • When we bought this business 5 years ago, the first line I brought in was the Rubicon feeders made from recycled milk jugs.
  • Scott is one of the most respected ornithologists in the world and his specialty is forest fragmentation and its effect on migratory bird populations. At a seminar he was presenting, he was asked “what is something we as citizens can do to help migratory birds?” Without a hesitation, his response was: “drink shade grown coffee”.
  • The Missouri Bluebird Society (MOBS) was founded March 12, 2006, in an effort to enhance the various endeavors, made by groups and individuals across the state, to increase the population of our Eastern bluebird and other native cavity-nesting songbirds.
  • Far too often we hear only of the negatives and perils that our natural world faces. This article is dedicated to some of the great success stories in conservation and will hopefully make you feel good about the support you have given to conservation groups.
  • I was looking back through some old newsletters recently and realized it has been almost seven years since I wrote about The Nature Conservancy. Because they are one of my favorite conservation organizations, I thought it was time to revisit their good work.
  • With the rising cost of living, nonprofit groups like the Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary, Kansas City Wildlands, Parkville Nature Sanctuary and others suffer greatly. Understandably, people cut back on their giving.
  • I know if you are a regular reader, you know I talk about birding at Weston Bend a lot. I don’t think I have ever explained how important that area is for our birds.
  • In the quest to find alternative energy sources we have come to understand that green energy is what we should want. Harvesting the sun of the south and winds of the Great Plains promises to reduce our reliance on carbon fuels and slow down global warming. But does it? Recently, a wind farm proposed in NW Missouri has brought home the reality that all green energy is not equal and may not be what we desire.
  • A few issues back I wrote about Important Bird Areas (IBAs). This is a program initiated by BirdLife International in Europe in the 1980s that has now identified over 8,000 sites in 178 countries as areas that are used by birds of “conservation concern”.

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