Message from the Board
Idaho Gives and 4th Annual Bucks for Birds Birdathon
By Karl Bohan
As you may already know, Friends of Camas NWR Inc. operates 100% on volunteer labor and donations. With those contributions of time, energy, supplies and money, we accomplish a lot. In just the last few years we have built a solar-powered outdoor classroom, landscaped and planted a lovely pollinator garden, with a gazebo for bird watching, and installed a live peregrine camera, with audio, that streams sights and sounds of our nesting peregrines 24/7 on YouTube. We also host a number of public events and field trips for adults, students, and scouts throughout the year. All of this takes money. Two of the biggest fundraising events we depend on, Idaho Gives and our annual Bucks for Birds Birdathon, are just around the corner.
Idaho Gives occurs all day May 2nd. Run by the Idaho Nonprofit Center, it is designed to bring the state together, raising money and awareness for Idaho nonprofits. IdahoGives.org provides an easy-to-use platform for donors around Idaho to support the Idaho non-profit of their choice. Would you be kind enough to go online with Idaho Gives May 2nd and choose to support Friends of Camas National Wildlife Refuge? If so, here is the link: http://idahogives.org
The Fourth Annual Bucks for Birds Birdathon1 coming up May 20th -May 27th will be a LOT of Fun! If you yourself are a birder, what you do is share your enthusiasm for birds with people you know, and/or strangers, and ask them to pledge an amount of money per bird species you are able to identify within a single 24 hour period between May 20th and May 27th. If your supporters would rather just pledge a fixed amount for your days’ worth of birding, that’s great too. If you are NOT a birder, please select a birder or team of your choice and make a pledge to them. Checks to settle up pledges should be made out to Friends of Camas NWR2. Proceeds will be shared 50/50 between Friends of Camas NWR and Snake River Audubon Society.
Last year was my first Birdathon; I went out at 4:00 am and started by listening for owls. Hilary Turner sighted 127 different species last year, followed by the team of Kit Struthers, Carolyn Bishop and Teresa Meachum with 99 species, and Barb North with 74. I only counted 63 species by the time it got dark and I decided to call it a day, but I had a fantastic time! It doesn’t matter how many you see or how much you pledge, just don’t miss out on the fun!
1You are encouraged to do your birding at any or all of the National Wildlife Refuges or State Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) in eastern Idaho. Species spotted on your way to, from, or between these areas will also be accepted.
Follow this link to for detailed instructions and a downloadable pledge sheet?
https://sites.google.com/site/snakeriveraudubonsociety/home
2 Please make checks out to Friends of Camas NWR but mail them to Snake River Audubon Society at the address below.
Snake River Audubon Society
P. O. Box 2922
Idaho Falls ID 83403-2922
To view the previous View from the Board, click here.
Refuge Manager's Notes
April 16, 2019
So far April weather has provided a cool wet start to spring. The early migrants such as Tundra swans and snow geese, for the most part, have moved much further north. One of our migration counts recorded almost 1000 Tundra swans using the Refuge during the peak of their migration through Eastern Idaho.
Beaver and Camas Creeks are both moving spring runoff down their respective channels and this water reached the Refuge on April 8th. The cool weather has recently slowed down the melting and the amount of water that is currently reaching the Refuge. Refuge wetlands are filling at a slow pace at the current time. Big Pond, Redhead and Center Pond all have water in them and should be slowly rising. Crab creek snotel site is still reporting more than 15 inches of water equivalent in the upper part of the watershed. Plenty of water still to come and the rain on the desert will only help provide more possible runoff.
Recent sightings of waterbird species include: trumpeter and tundra swans, Canada geese, snow geese, mallards, northern pintails, gadwall, American wigeon, Northern shoveler, Green-winged teal, Cinnamon teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Lesser scaup, Ring-necked ducks, Bufflehead, Rudy duck, Common merganser, Red-breasted merganser, American coot, Sandhill Cranes, Great-blue heron, Ring-billed gull, killdeer, and American white pelican,
Raptors in the area include: Bald eagle, short-eared owl, Great-horned owl, Red-tailed hawk, Sharp-shinned hawk, Peregrine falcon, American kestrel, and Norther harrier.
New species can be showing up daily, as we are at that point on migration depending on weather conditions. Trees are budding here and we could see leaves emerging in the next couple of weeks which could also signal the return of the neo-tropical migrants. Refuge roads are dry (as long as it is not raining), and otherwise in good condition.
Brian Wehausen, Refuge Manager
To view previous Refuge Notes,
click here.