• Read a special report by our Conservation Chair, John Hiatt: "Claim Markers Make Avian Death Traps".

Hosted by Red Rock Audubon Society Members
Please note the change in location: see directions below

May 12, 2008, Monday
5:00 PM Pre-dinner Birding
6:00 PM Potluck
 

• Red Rock Audubon Society members and non-members will meet at Calico Basin Picnic Area, located near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, to hold our Annual Potluck Dinner. This will be our last monthly General Meeting before the summer break.
  
  Everyone is welcome to come enjoy an evening of camaraderie with friends and fellow birders. The birding is great along the boardwalk and very accessible for people with walkers or wheelchairs. Restrooms and picnic tables, with benches under covered pavilions, are available.
  
  Bring a dish to share using the guidelines below or bring your favorite dish. You'll also need to bring your own beverages, plates, and plastic ware. Don't forget a jacket in case the evening turns cool. And of course, bring your binoculars!
  
  Dish guidelines, use first letter of last name:
  
  A - I Dessert
  J - R Salads and Bread
  S - Z Main Dish
  
  
  Directions: Drive west on Charleston Blvd for 3.8 miles from the I-215 Beltway (about 1.5 miles before the entrance to the Scenic Loop) to Calico Basin Road (Calico Basin-Red Springs sign). Turn right onto Calico Basin Road and drive for about a mile; the picnic area is on your left

• As of January 2008, the location of our General Meetings changed to the Nevada Power Building, in the Wengert Room, at 6226 W Sahara Ave (1 block west of Jones, on the north side of the street). Enter on Steve Rigazio Court (west side of Nevada Power) and park in the north lot. The room entrance is located slightly north west of the drive up windows. Meetings will be held at 7:00 pm on the 2nd Monday of every month except June, July, August, and December. Social hour begins at 6:30pm.
  
  2008 Meeting Dates: Jan 14th, Feb 11th, Mar 10th, Apr 14th, May 12th (Potluck!), Sep 8th, Oct 13th, Nov 10th

• In June 2008 the terms for several of our board members will be ending.  This is an opportunity for those of you who are new to RRAS, and for others who’ve never had the chance to participate as a board member, to become involved and be an integral part of our organization.  Our seasoned board members have built a good foundation – now let’s continue to build on that even more!  If you would like to step in to fill an open spot on our board, please let us know.
  
  Available positions:
  
  Newsletter Editor, Membership Chair, Field Trip Chair, Fundraising Chair, and Whittel Fund Representative.  Board Member terms are from July 1 – June 30th, and meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at Pam Nickels' office.
  
  Click on Getting Involved for more information.

• April 26th 8:30-10:00am
  
  Red Rock Audubon Society is leading the "Birds at the Springs Preserve" tour Saturday, April 26th, from 8:30am-10:00am. COME JOIN THE FUN! We'll locate the birds in the gardens, on the trails, and learn about plants that will attract birds to your own backyard. Reservations are required: call Springs Preserve Adult Education at (702) 822-7786. We are still in need of volunteer leaders, let us know if you want to help out.
  
  IT'S FREE! Yes, it's free to go into the Gardens and onto the Trails at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. When you get to the entrance, just let them know you only wish to go into the Gardens and Trail areas - they will provide you with a free ticket. They do that to keep a count of who is on the property. If you haven't been there yet, you should take some time this spring to head over there. The Preserve is open 10am-6pm daily and is located at 333 S Valley View Blvd, between US 95 and Alta Drive in Las Vegas.

• The Spring Mountains National Recreation Area is organizing the first annual Spring Mountains Spring Cleaning!

On May 10th, from 9:00am - 4pm, The Spring Mountains Spring Cleaning will be held in Kyle and Lee Canyons.  Please read their Fact Sheet for more information about participating in the clean-up.  For those of you who participate in the clean-up, we give you a big round of applause in advance!  And a reminder to send a re-cap of your experience to RRAS_Reporter.

RRAS will have a booth at the event from 10am - 4pm.  We need volunteers to help “man” the booth, share your knowledge and experience, and to help others understand the birding opportunities available in the Spring Mountains.  If you are interested in helping at the table, please email us.

In future years Spring Cleaning will grow to cover the entire Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.  Since the Spring Mountains is a Nevada Important Bird Area, this is a great event for us to be involved in.

• Read Marilyn Mackett's special report about TESHEKPUK LAKE: AN ECOLOGICAL JEWEL IN ALASKA THREATENED.

• Keep sending in your pictures! A big thanks to those who have already submitted pictures, keep them coming. This is a new feature and we had a few bumps to work out but things should be smooth sailing going forward. So let us see what wild birds you're getting pics of and send them in to share with everyone.

• If you would like to contribute to the content of this website, then become a RRAS Reporter! Send us your news and views, event, field trip, or nature-related observations and experiences, pictures, tips & tricks, and interesting tidbits; and we'll consider it for posting right here. Care to share - and let the rest of us know what's going on in your piece of the habitat. C'mon, send us the scoop.

• This week, April 19 - 27, 2008, is National Wildlife Week.  To celebrate, NDOW is sending out the new issue of Southern Nevada Wild and also having a wildlife viewing event on May 3, 2008.  The "Wildlife Watch" will take place at the Overton Wildlife Management Area, located at Moapa Valley Blvd and Waterfowl Rd, from 10:00 am - 12:00 noon.

• The Great Basin Bird Observatory will be holding point count workshops at Corn Creek, Desert National Wildlife Refuge, north of Las Vegas, on Friday May 2, 1:30 pm, and Saturday May 3, 9 am, and in Sparks at Rock Park (Rock Blvd, N. of Mill, along the Truckee River) in the afternoon of Friday May 23 (1:30 pm), and morning of May 24 (9am). If you are interested in surveying breeding birds for the Nevada Bird Count (or even if you're not!), and would like to attend one of these workshops, please RSVP at 775-323-4226 mailbox 2.
  
  The workshops are free. They will cover safe navigation with GPS, the basics of bird surveying, and a run-through of the point count protocol. Come join the fun! The Nevada Bird Count season begins in the last week of April in the Mojave, and in the last week of May in the Great Basin, and in both regions, we will conclude the surveys in the first week of July. If you do surveys for us, we can loan you a GPS unit and rangefinder and we will give you maps with your assignments.

• Tues. May 6th - Join Ranger Jim on a fascinating excursion into the world of bird watching while braving the ornithological primeval world of nature, and observe the real life of birds. Easy, 1 mile
   
• Sat. May 17th - Corn Creek - Spring feeds three ponds at this headquarters of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. It is a major bird watching area and is prime habitat for aquatic and land plants and animals. Join Bob during the morning to observe all these creatures in a surprising setting, and learn about the history and future of the area. Easy, 1/2 mile.
   
• Sat May 31st - Corn Creek Spring Walk: Corn Creek Spring feeds three ponds at this headquarters of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. It is a major bird watching area and is prime habitat for aquatic and land plants and animals. Join Bob, from Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association, during the morning to observe all these creatures in a surprising setting.
  
  Please call (702) 515-5367 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. PST for program times and reservations.

• Fallon, Nevada: The Eleventh Annual Spring Wings Bird Festival, May 9-11, 2008, coincides with International Migratory Bird Day and the height of spring migration in the Lahontan Valley wetlands. These internationally recognized wetlands are temporary home to over 260 species of birds, including thousands of White-faced ibis, Long-billed dowitcher, American white pelicans, Black-necked stilts, American avocets, and many other waterfowl and water birds. During the 2007 festival, 164 different species were logged - a new festival record!

• The Center for Conservation Biology constructed the Nightjar Survey Network in 2007 to begin the process of collecting data on the population distribution and population trends of Nightjars across broad regions of the United States. The Network is being expanded in 2008 to provide coverage throughout the contiguous United States.
  
  Volunteer participation is important to provide information on Nevada nightjars and the broader region. The Nightjar Survey Network relies on volunteer participation by conservation-minded citizens, biologists, and other like-minded groups to adopt and conduct survey routes. Nightjar Surveys are easy to perform and will not take more than two hours to complete. Please consider adopting a route.
  
  Visit the United States Nightjar Survey Website for more details including location of routes, instructions, and results. There are 3 routes available in Clark County or you can create your own route.

• On March 26th the National Audubon Society and Toyota launched TogetherGreen, a nationwide Audubon program to fund conservation projects, train environmental leaders, and offer volunteer opportunities to significantly benefit the environment. A $20 million Toyota grant—the largest Audubon has received in its 103-year history—will fund TogetherGreen for five years, enabling Audubon to expand the scope and reach of its internationally-known conservation programs.

TogetherGreen will include three program components:

• Innovation Grants to fund dozens of on-the-ground projects each year that employ creative approaches and engage diverse communities to help achieve measurable land, water and/or energy conservation results. Grant requirements will broaden project participation and promote innovation by uniting Audubon's national network with environmental and community partners.
   
• Conservation Fellowships to train and foster up to 200 promising environmental leaders who can serve as role models, expert guides and organizers for engaging new and diverse audiences in effective conservation action.
   
• Volunteer Days to be offered at Audubon Centers and other locations nationwide, providing hands-on opportunities to address environmental problems and take part in restoration activities.

• Audubon and the America Bird Conservancy have joined forces to rally conservationists around America's most imperiled birds.  WatchList 2007, a new analysis from these leading bird conservation organizations, uses the latest available research from the bird conservation community along with citizen science data from the Christmas Bird Count and the annual Breeding Bird Survey to identify 176 species in the continental U.S. and 38 in Hawaii that are in need of immediate conservation help.  It is a call to action to save species fighting for survival amid a convergence of environmental challenges, including habitat loss, invasive species and global warming.

Fortunately, there are many things you can do for the birds and for our future.  Start at home. It may seem indirect, but by conserving energy, for example, you can save habitats from the worst impacts of global warming.  Take action for sound environmental policy, urging lawmakers to pass laws to fight global warming, improve farming practices, and save wetlands.  And as a volunteer, monitor birds and protect their habitats through citizen science efforts like Audubon's Christmas Bird Count and the Important Bird Areas program.

Here are some specific ways you can help: 

Protect Local Habitat
Join local Audubon Chapters and other groups to protect and restore habitats close to home.  Audubon's Important Bird Areas program offers opportunities to save critical bird habitat, from small land parcels to broad landscapes.  Read more about Nevada's Important Bird Areas.

Promote Sound Agricultural Policy
This has enormous impact on grassland birds and habitat.  Promoting strong conservation provisions in the federal Farm Bill and Conservation Reserve Program can help to protect millions of acres of vital habitat.

Support Sustainable Forests
The Boreal Forest in the Northern U.S. and Canada is essential breeding territory for many species of birds.  Federal and state legislations promoting sustainable forest management will help fight habitat loss from inappropriate logging, mining, and drilling.

Protect Wetlands
Support for local, state and federal wetlands conservation programs is essential to protect a wide array of species.  Learn more.

Fight Global Warming 
Declining birds populations is just one impact of global warming's mounting threat to people and wildlife around the world.  Individual energy conservation along with strong federal, state, and local legislation to cap greenhouse emissions can help to curb its worst consequences.  Learn more. 

Combat Invasive Species
Invasive non-native species disrupt the delicate ecological balance that sustains birds and other wildlife.  Federal, regional, state, and local regulations are needed to combat this growing environmental threat.  he Audubon At Home program also offers tips for supporting birds with native plants.

• Cobscook Bay Area, Maine:  Information on the Fifth Annual Down East Spring Birding Festival, May 23-26, 2008, is now on the Registration page at www.downeastbirdfest.org.  Download the information you need.  If you want a registration packet mailed to you, call 207-733-2201 or email info@cobscookbay.com with your mailing address.  Participants find over 150 birds each year; our 4-year total is 208 different birds.  How many will you find?  Birding Will Be Great in 2008!

• Carrington, North Dakota: June 4-8, 2008, Join nationally known birding experts Bill Thompson, III, and Julie Zickefoose of Bird Watcher's Digest as they explore the prairie pothole region of central North Dakota for the Baird's Sparrow, LeConte's Sparrow, Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Sprague's Pipit, Piping Plover, Ferruginous Hawk, Clark's Grebe, Red-necked Grebe and many, many more!  See the Birding Drives website for more festival information.

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