National Audubon Society

Monthly Newsletter July, 2022

Northern Shoveler in Muskegon Muskegon County, Michigan by Steve Jessmore

Celebrate the Great Lakes Photographers Featured in Audubon's 2022 Photography Awards

This year almost 2,500 photographers from across the United States and Canada submitted nearly 10,000 photographs and videos to Audubon's 13th annual Audubon Photography Awards. Special congrats to all those winners and featured photographers across the Great Lakes region!

This year’s Professional Fisher Prize winner was Steve Jessmore, who captured a Northern Shovelers in Muskegon Muskegon County, Michigan. This photo was also featured on the cover of the Summer 2022 issue of Audubon Magazine!

In addition to the award winners, a collection of stunning photos are featured in a Top 100 list, including many highlights from across the Great Lakes region:

Mute Swan in Chicago’s Lincoln Park North Pond by Jeff Moore
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher and Peregrine Falcon at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Cleveland, Ohio by Christine Saladin
Sandhill Crane at Kensington Metropark in Milford, Michigan by William Farnsworth
Virginia Rail at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in Mayville, Wisconsin by Thomas McDonald
Black-capped Chickadee at Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve in Appleton, Wisconsin by Steven Robbins
Mallard in Beechwood, Ohio by Alexander Eisengart
Black-and-white Warbler at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area in Oak Harbor, Ohio by Christy Frank

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Northern Shoveler by Steve Jessmore/ 2022 Audubon Photography Awards

Semipalmated Sandpiper. Photo: Kyle Maitland/Audubon Photography Award

Shorebird Migration has Begun Across the Great Lakes Region

Across the Great Lakes region, new fledglings have left their nests and are learning what it means to be a bird. Mid-July is also when shorebirds begin their fall migration journeys, kicking off the migration season! These early migrants will move through Great Lakes coastal mudflats, wetlands, beaches, and flooded fields into August as they prepare to fly as far south as the coasts of Chile and Argentina!

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Semipalmated Sandpiper. Photo: Kyle Maitland/Audubon Photography Award

Ms. Packer. Great Lakes Piping Plover in Green Bay, WI. Photo: Jacob Woulf

The Story of Ms. Packer the Cat Island Piping Plover

In birdwatching and conservation circles, Green Bay is becoming well-known for something other than its storied football franchise. This happens to be one of two locations in Wisconsin where the charismatic Federally Endangered Piping Plover breeds. Meet Ms. Packer – one of the plovers that arrived in 2019 and has had quite the 2022 breeding season! Learn more about this bird and efforts from Audubon Great Lakes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wisconsin DNR, who have been monitoring Piping Plovers this season.

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Ms. Packer. Great Lakes Piping Plover in Green Bay, WI. Photo: Jacob Woulf

Registration is now Open: Great Lakes Coastal Symposium

Registration is now open for the 2022 Great Lakes Coastal Symposium on September 19-21, 2022 in beautiful Sault Ste. Marie, MI. The Symposium will bring together hundreds of conservation experts, Tribal members, and community leaders from across the Midwest to explore the current state of our coastal wetlands in the face of a rapidly changing climate and other threats. Explore how to protect and restore Great Lakes coastal wetlands to improve habitat for wildlife, build our resiliency to climate change, and improve water quality for wildlife, birds and people.

Register Today

Geese and Muskrats, Unlikely Neighbors

You may not expect it, but geese and muskrats are often neighbors in marshes! They both raise their babies in Great Lakes wetlands. Simply by creating their homes, muskrats help provide marsh birds with the habitat they need for nesting and foraging. Learn more about new research in the Calumet region.

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Credit: Leo Gaskins

Get Involved

Bird Song Volume III is now streaming!

The third volume of ‘For the Birds: The Birdsong Project’ is now streaming! This new birdy collection features songs and poetry readings by artists including Natalie Bergman, Laurie Anderson, Regina King, and more. The project celebrates the joy birds bring into our lives and raises awareness about the need to protect them. Stream the third volume today—and all proceeds will benefit Audubon’s work to protect birds and the places they need. Listen

Golden-winged Warbler. Credit: Arne Stinnissen/Audubon Photography Awards

Join Midwest Migration Network's Virtual Meetings

The Midwest Migration Network is excited to announce the 2022 virtual meeting series for wildlife managers, biologists, scientists, students, and enthusiasts! This year, four meetings will focus on: Banding and Ground Surveys, Great Lakes Wind-Wildlife Coalition, Radar and Acoustics, and Telemetry. During each session, participants will explore the latest progress from each initiatives! All are welcome to join these FREE virtual meetings. Register

Golden-winged Warbler. Credit: Arne Stinnissen/Audubon Photography Awards

Explore Art at Audubon at Grange Insurance Audubon Center

Explore Art at Grange Insurance Audubon Center

Visit our Nature Center in Columbus, OH! Grange Insurance Audubon Center is a sanctuary for birds and nature lovers, set in parkland created from a formerly urban and industrial site in the heart of downtown Columbus, OH along the Scioto River. There is so much to do this summer. Explore Natural Connections, a free ‘Art at Audubon’ art exhibition featuring the work of Zachary Dean Jones, Mah Leah Cochran and Creative Women of Color artists, or sign up to do nature painting workshop or Sip and Paint ! You can also dive into nature and try a Kayak and Birding Tour or a first Friday Yoga class. There are still Audubon Adventure camp spots available, check out new learning adventures for the kids this summer. Visit

Explore Art and Camps at Grange Insurance Audubon Center

Aullwood Audubon includes Aullwoood Nature Center, Aullwood Farm, and Aullwood Nature Sanctuary

See the Trolls at Aullwood Audubon Nature Center

Visit our Nature Center and Farm in Dayton, OH! Aullwood Audubon consists of two major locations, Aullwood Nature Center and Aullwood Farm, along with eight miles of walking trails running through a beautiful 200 acre nature sanctuary in Dayton, OH. Visit the new arrival of “The Troll That Hatched an Egg” an exhibit from internationally renowned artist Thomas Dambo! Bo, Bodil, Bibbi and their troll-sized bird nest have come to life at Aullwood and are ready for your visit. Learn more and plan your trip now. Visit the Monarch House to see pollinators in action, the Nature Center for new animal displays for frogs and native fish, and discover Woodland Faerie Houses along the paved trail and try to guess what animal lives in each house!
Visit

Studying the Black Tern

St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area has one of the largest colonies of nesting Black Terns in Michigan, making it the perfect area to study this vulnerable migratory bird, which departs Michigan for the coastal areas of Central and South America this fall. Earlier this month Erin Rowan, conservation manager with Audubon Great Lakes, and Ava Landgraf, a research coordinator for Detroit Audubon, trekked through the marshes of Harsens Island at St. Clair Flats to monitor and band Black Terns as part of a statewide effort to study the reasons for their population decline.

“Black terns are important to protect because they are strong indicators of a habitat quality,” Rowan said. “The birds are sensitive to changes in water quality, invasive species and changing water levels, giving researchers a good indicator of whether a habitat is healthy.”

To learn more about Audubon Great Lakes work in the Detroit and St Clair Flats region check out a story on this important work from the Port Huron Times.

Learn more

Black Tern. Herald Tribune

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