National Audubon Society

Newsletter | February 2024

A brown and white grouse stands in dry grass.

2023 Year-end Update

Six months, five programs, and dozens of accomplishments for birds! We summarized our biggest wins for birds during the last half of 2023. Celebrate what you helped us accomplish and see where we’re headed next in our 2023 year-end update!Read it here

Greater Sage-Grouse. Photo: Evan Barrientos/Audubon Rockies

A brown, white, black grouse stands in front of a snowy background.

DEADLINE TODAY

Today is the last day to speak up for the threatened Gunnison Sage-Grouse. The Gunnison Sage-Grouse was once found in areas with large tracts of sagebrush habitat in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. Today, roughly 4,300 individual birds are struggling to survive on only ten percent of their historic range. Take action TODAY and tell the Bureau of Land Management to strengthen protections for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse, before they're gone.

Act now

Gunnison Sage-Grouse. Larry Lamsa/Flickr (CC BY 2.0 Deed)

Silhouetted wind turbines and power lines. Birds are perched on the power lines.

Can Black Paint Help Birds Avoid Wind Turbines?

Can painting wind turbines black save birds? Preliminary data suggests that contrast painting has the potential to help birds see—and avoid—wind turbines. Now, a new study from PacifiCorp, REWI, and partners will study the effectiveness of this tool at a wind facility in Wyoming.

Learn more

Blackbird species on power lines. Photo: Jessie Brantwein/Great Backyard Bird Count

Resilience and Stewardship for Colorado’s Waterways, 2024 Legislative Priorities

A new year brings a new opportunity for Colorado decision-makers to shore up water resource vulnerabilities and accelerate resilience and stewardship practices. Audubon Rockies is busy working with lawmakers, agencies, and partners to prioritize healthy, functioning, and resilient watersheds and river systems for people and birds. Abby Burk, senior manager of Audubon’s Western Rivers Program, digs into the two top water priorities for Audubon in the 2024 Colorado legislative session.

Learn about them here

The Colorado River in Mesa County, Colorado. Photo: Abby Burk

A black, brown, and white bird perches on a yellow flower.

Miller Land and Livestock Achieves Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Habitat

Congratulations to Miller Land and Livestock in western Wyoming on their Audubon Conservation Ranching certification! The Miller family has operated the ranch for 138 years and today, they're using rotational grazing to maintain a mosaic of diverse sagebrush steppe habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Read more

Lark Bunting. Photo: Soo Baus/Audubon Photography Awards

A group of adults stands around a sign at Rafter W Ranch.

A Master Birding Class Field Trip to Rafter W Ranch

In November, Denver Audubon’s Master Birder class took a field trip to an Audubon-certified bird-friendly ranch in eastern Colorado. There, they met ranch owner Lance Wheeler (and a sleepy dog named Olaf) who taught them more about how the ranch operates and how it helps birds.

Here’s what they learned

Denver Audubon Master Birder class photo at Rafter W Ranch. Photo: Jordan Gerue

Four tall, thin, grey birds walk on frozen body of water.

Notable Changes in Northern Utah’s Bird Populations

After 68 years of participating in the Christmas Bird Count, Bridgerland Audubon Society in Logan, Utah, has learned a thing or two about their local bird populations. So when certain species appeared during this year’s count, participants took notice. Learn more about what they did—and didn’t—see this year.

Read the summary

Sandhill Crane. Photo: David Policansky/Audubon Photography Awards

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