June 25 | 9-11 a.m. Please join us for our next monthly bird walk at Mounds State Park on Saturday, June 25. Meet at the feeder viewing station inside the Visitors Center at 9 a.m. Binoculars will be provided. The following bird walk will be on July 30. Mounds State Park is located at 4306 Mounds Rd., Anderson. (PhotoContinue reading “Mounds State Park”
Author Archives: rcaudubon
Forestry for the Birds
Last summer, a videographer for The Nature Conservancy spent some time with Dr. Kamal Islam and his students while they were in the field researching Cerulean Warblers in southern Indiana. The resulting 5-minute video, titled Forestry for the Birds, is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8BcRQoLPr0. Kamal, who is Professor of Wildlife Biology at Ball State UniversityContinue reading “Forestry for the Birds”
Article on human-goose conflicts
Seth Slabaugh, a retired reporter for The Star Press, recently published an article on human-goose conflicts on his website, Greater Muncie. It follows up on a presentation given by David Shearer, a PhD student in environmental sciences at Ball State University, at our January chapter meeting. (Photo by David Shearer.)
Christmas Bird Count
The results are in! During our local Christmas Bird Count, on December 19, 2021, a total of 51 species—and 2,413 individual birds—were recorded. Topping the list were 287 American Crows, barely squeezing out the second place finishers, European Starlings. To see all the numbers, download a PDF of the 2021 data, and, for comparison, youContinue reading “Christmas Bird Count”
New Website!
If you’re reading this page, you already know that we have a new website! We hope you find it more streamlined and easier to use on your smartphone! Thank you to Sophie Gordon, a 2018 graduate from Ball State University who currently works as the Marketing Manager for iCivics for creating the new site!
Audubon Bird Guide app
The National Audubon Society has released an updated version of its Audubon Bird Guide app and it’s FREE to bird-lovers nationwide! With 821 species profiles and 3200+ bird photos, Audubon’s award-winning app instantly turns any mobile device into the most trusted field guide in North America. To download the Bird Guide, go to www.audubon.org/app.
What’s a fall field trip like with the RCAS?
We were delighted to have Seth Slabaugh, a retired Star Press reporter (and lover of hummingbirds), join us for a fall 2021 field trip along the Wilbur Wright Trail! Read his article here. (Photo by Seth Slabaugh.)
2021-22 Season
Sept. Monitoring Overwinter Survival Program: Steven Albert and Lauren Helton, of the Institute for Bird Populations, will tell us about the institute’s Monitoring Overwinter Survival (MoSI) program, an international network that helps scientists better understand the factors that affect avian population declines. Oct. Treasuries & discoveries: Chapter members shared images and stories of their 2021 birding joysContinue reading “2021-22 Season”
2020-21 Season
Oct. Stockbridge Audubon Society: Terri Gorney shared her research about the Stockbridge Audubon Society, the first Audubon chapter in Indiana and one of the oldest in the country. The chapter’s namesake, Charles Stockbridge, was a taxidermist whose collection of 200+ birds now resides at Earlham College. Nov. Voices & Vision for RCAS: In a veryContinue reading “2020-21 Season”
2019-20 Season
Oct. From cloud forests to deserts: Kamal Islam, Ball State professor of biology and RCAS board member, introduced us to the birds of Ecuador, one of the megadiverse countries of the world, with more than 1,600 species of birds. Nov. Bird of Prey film: In partnership with Ball State’s student chapter of The Wildlife Society, weContinue reading “2019-20 Season”