Events
OAS PROGRAM Meetings
In the Footsteps of Audubon
Speaker: Denis Clavreul
Date: Tuesday, March 21
Time: 6:30 PM social, 7:00 PM program
Location: Community Church Unitarian Universalist, 6690 Fleur De Lis Drive, New Orleans, LA 70124 (Lakeview).
Denis Clavreul will tell us about his new book In the Footsteps of Audubon and his journey following John James Audubon across a great diversity of regions in the United States and Canada — from the coasts of Louisiana and the Florida Keys to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the cliffs of the Yellowstone River.
In the Footsteps of Audubon invites us see the world as Audubon saw it – and to see it as it is now. Clavreul created hundreds of drawings and watercolors of the Iandscapes in which Audubon had worked, and of the plants and birds that Audubon saw and painted. These are complimented by a small selection of Audubon’s paintings as well as passages from Audubon’s journals. Clavreul also documents his own encounters with modern people who live each day with nature, many of whom are engaged in preserving nature, reflecting the artist’s training as a biologist as well as a painter. To quote the author: “In light of the huge ecological disruptions that we humans face, I realized shortly after beginning this project that sketching and painting nature was no longer enough for me. This is why I go beyond pictures that simply evoke the beauty of landscapes and of birds to show the lives, dreams and worries of people who live in contact with nature–and their attempts at improving their understanding and preserving of their environment. My goal is to make this book not only a part of today’s reality, but to also link the past, present and future.”
Denis Clavreul is considered one of the best French naturalist artists, having published more than 30 books. In the forward to Clavreul’s latest book, David Allen Sibley writes, “Denis’s watercolors are extraordinary, atmospheric and immediate, eliciting emotion and recognition with deceptively simple patterns of color. I think of paintings like these as the visual equivalent of poetry. A few carefully chosen lines and colors capture the essential features, just enough to suggest a place, a mood, a slant of light, and we are transported to the scene.”
For more about the artist, visit: https://www.denisclavreul.com/
His book, In the Footsteps of Audubon, is available from Princeton University Press.
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Homegrown National Park
Speaker: Wendy Rihner, OAS Education Chair
Date: Tuesday, April 18
Time: 6:30 PM social, 7:00 PM program
Location: Community Church Unitarian Universalist, 6690 Fleur De Lis Drive, New Orleans, LA 70124 (Lakeview).
The national park system is incredibly important, but we cannot rely on these islands to preserve biodiversity. And in the face of climate change, we do not have the luxury of time. To increase biodiversity outside of parks, Doug Tallamy, author of The Nature of Oaks and Nature’s Best Hope, offers all of us the Homegrown National Park program where regular people can “regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem function” in their yards. Come learn about how you can turn your yard into your personal national park, where you can purchase native plants, and why invasive plants must be removed to boost biodiversity.
After 30 years of teaching English at Delgado Community College, Wendy Rihner retired to garden and bird! In addition to being the Education Chair of the Orleans Audubon Society, Wendy is the vice-president of Wild Ones Pontchartrain Basin Chapter (St. Tammany and Washington Parishes), a national organization which advocates for native plants and eco-restoration. She is also a member of the Native Plant Initiative of Greater New Orleans, a non-profit that also advocates for native gardening in yards throughout the Greater New Orleans area.
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Birding Field Trips
Bring binoculars, field guides, bug spray, rain gear, sunscreen and refreshments. Boots and cell phones may be useful. Snacks and drinks are recommended. Contact the trip leader if you have questions.
eBird users: Please share your eBird account email address with the trip leader and the trip leader or designee will keep the trip list to share with participants.
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Grand Isle
All Day Trip
Date and Time: Saturday, April 1, 8:00 AM
Location: Meet at defunct Moran’s grocery/gas station on the corner of Hwy. 1 and Hwy 3090 (Fourchon Rd.) right where you come off of the new bridge. Note: The new bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway is a toll bridge.
Leaders: Ken Harris and Joelle Finley (504) 715-2647, jjf1946 at gmail.com
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Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge
Half Day Trip
Date and Time: Saturday, May 13, 8:00 AM
Location: Meet at Boy Scout Road parking lot. Take Hwy 190 2.7 miles east of Lacombe to Transmitter Rd; turn toward Lake Pontchartrain and drive to T-junction; turn right and go to the second parking lot on the left.
Leader: Holly Morales (985) 264-4406, holly at moralesmusic.com
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Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, Barataria Unit
Half Day Trip
Date and Time: Saturday, May 20, 8:00 AM
Location: Meet in the Bayou Coquille Parking Lot. Take the Crescent City Connection, about 5 miles after reaching the West Bank, take Exit 4B, the Barataria Boulevard Exit. Follow the signs for the National Historic Park.
Leader: Peter Yaukey (504) 400-3286, pyaukey at uhcno.edu
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Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge and Honey Island
Half Day Trip
Date and Time: Saturday, May 27, 7:30 AM
Location: Meet at the entrance to Honey Island Wildlife Management Area, Exit 5B (Honey Island Swamp) off of I-59. Good chance to see Swallow-tailed Kite and 10 species of breeding warblers including Swainson’s.
Leader: Glenn Ousset (504) 495-4284, gousset at bellsouth.net
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RECORDINGS OF ZOOM PROGRAMS – WATCH THEM ANYTIME!
California Birding
Presented by Joan Garvey, OAS Membership Chair
Presented by Joan Garvey, OAS Membership Chair
This presentation features birds photographed in different habitats near South San Francisco, California. Also included are birds encountered on a deep water pelagic out of Half Moon Bay. Big surprises were a Polar Skua and a Hawaiian Petrel!
Click HERE to watch California Birding
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Alaskan cruise with an extension to Victoria
Presented by Joan Garvey, OAS Membership Chair
This presentation was created to highlight birds seen in the Pacific Northwest. This was not a birding trip, but with a little effort and planning one can work birding in to any vacation. Bring your optics!
Joan Garvey serves as Membership Chair of Orleans Audubon Society. After retiring from private practice as a General Dentist, she became an avid birder. She also maintains a hummingbird garden with hopes of hosting wintering species. In her free time she enjoys painting watercolors of bird she photographs.
Click HERE to watch Alaskan cruise with an extension to Victoria, BC
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Celebrating the Swallow-tailed Kite
Presented by Dr. Jennifer Coulson, OAS President
The Swallow-tailed Kite might just be the most charismatic bird on the planet. Learn about this kite’s captivating life history and habits from ornithologist Dr. Jennifer Coulson, who has devoted most of her life to studying this bird. Jennifer will relate details about this kite’s social lifestyle, highlight some extreme specializations, and provide fascinating tales about the annual journey to Brazil and back. Find out the latest news on OAS’s Swallow-tailed Kite Project, which includes monitoring nests, tracking global movements, engaging citizen scientists, and working with landowners, managers, and the timber industry to conserve kites.
Jennifer received a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Tulane University. After joining the Board of Directors of the OAS in 1996, she has served as President for the past 22 years. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Raptor Research Foundation. She and her husband, Tom, are falconers and raptor breeders who hunt with a trained group of Harris’s Hawks.
Click HERE to watch Celebrating the Swallow-tailed Kite
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Least Sandpipers – Photo by Larry Pace
Science and conservation for birds and humans on working lands in the Mississippi Delta
Presented by Dr. Jason Hoeksema, University of Mississippi
Delta Wind Birds (DWB) promotes creation and protection of wetland habitat for migratory water birds in the Mississippi Delta region, especially by working with private landowners. Dr. Hoeksema will highlight all of these projects in which DWB is currently engaged, including creation of temporary wetlands on corn and soybean fields after harvest, which may benefit birds, reduce pollution, and improve crop yields.
Click HERE to watch Science and conservation for birds and humans on working lands in the Mississippi Delta
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Greater Ani
Cooperation and Conflict: The Bizarre Lives of Tropical Cuckoos
Presented by Dr. Christie Riehl, Princeton University
The anis — including the Groove-billed and Smooth-billed Anis of Texas and Florida, and the Greater Ani of South America — share an unusual nesting strategy known as communal nesting. Several pairs cooperatively build a single nest in which all the females lay their eggs, and the entire group shares incubation, nest defense, and parental care of the mixed clutch. In this talk, Christie Riehl will discuss the results of her long-term field study of Greater Anis in Panama, focusing on the fascinating cooperative behaviors of this tropical cuckoo.
Christie studies the ecology and evolution of avian life histories, especially in tropical species. Her long-term research project is on cooperatively breeding greater anis in Panama, with many other projects on the evolution of parental care and mating systems in birds. She is also affiliated with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Princeton’s High Meadows Environmental Institute, and Princeton’s Program in Latin American Studies.
Click HERE to watch Cooperation and Conflict: The Bizarre Lives of Tropical Cuckoo
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Birding Colombia
Birding Colombia’s Southern Frontier—Putumayo
Presented by Joelle Finley and Ken Harris
The small Department of Putumayo lies along the southern border of Colombia, adjacent to the northern border of Ecuador. Within Putumayo lies the main Andean massif, the eastern slope, the Andean foothills and the beginnings of the Amazonian basin. This wide array of habitats leads to a huge variety of birds. In addition, just to the north lies the Department of Huila which is home to the UNESCO Archeological Site San Augustin. San Augustin is a collection of ancient ceremonial and burial sites dating back to 3300 BC. The burial sites were accompanied by stone statues. Very little is known about the people who created these magnificent carved stones. Join Ken and Joelle as they bird from 10,000 ft in the paramo of the high Andes down to 800 ft on the edge of the Amazon Basin.
Click HERE to watch Birding Colombia’s Southern Frontier—Putumayo
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Erik Johnson holds a Black Rail.
Searching for Black Rails in Louisiana – a Race against Extinction
Presented by Dr. Erik Johnson, Director of Conservation Science, Audubon Delta
The Black Rail is one of the hardest birds to find in North America, and Louisiana had only 13 documented records prior to 2017. Meanwhile, the species has been disappearing from its Atlantic Coast range, by up to 90% over the last 25 years, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began a process to consider adding the Black Rail to the Endangered Species Act. Audubon researchers with support from the USFWS and LA Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in 2017-2019 conducted the first focused search for Black Rails in Louisiana, which resulted in 83 detections, and a first glimpse of the species’ habitat preferences. In a new research collaborative across the Gulf of Mexico, research and conservation organizations are working to understand how to preserve and restore Black Rail habitat before the threats of coastal development and sea level rise drive the species to extinction, which has been predicted to occur by 2068 without immediate action. Join Dr. Erik Johnson, Director of Conservation Science with Audubon Delta, to learn about these secretive and amazing birds, and how you can help ensure their survival.
Click HERE to watch Searching for Black Rails in Louisiana – a Race against Extinction
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Dr. Nicholas Mason
LSU Museum of Natural Science Ornithology Program
Presented by Dr. Nick Mason, Curator of Birds, LSU Museum of Natural Science
The LSU Museum of Natural Science ornithology program is world renowned for their collections and contributions to science. Dr. Nicholas Mason joined the museum in 2020 as the Curator of Birds. Dr. Mason provides a brief history of the ornithology programs at the LSU Museum of Natural Science and talks about current and future research.
Click HERE to watch LSU Museum of Natural Science Ornithology Program
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Offshore Wind
National Audubon Society’s Approach to Offshore Wind
Presented by Dr. Shilo Felton
Thanks to advances in technology and a growing bipartisan consensus that a transition to clean energy is needed to address climate change, there are a growing number of clean energy projects on the horizon, especially in offshore wind energy. National Audubon Society’s science shows that climate change is the number one threat to birds, putting up to two-thirds of North American bird species at risk of extinction. We support getting to net-zero carbon emissions and transitioning to clean energy. We want to ensure that we build new solar and wind projects in a way that protects birds and mitigates the risk to migratory species. That’s why Audubon strongly supports properly sited and operated clean energy projects. Join Dr. Shilo Felton, coastal avian ecologist and Field Manager with Audubon’s Clean Energy Initiative, to learn about how responsible offshore wind projects can protect birds and the places they live, and how you can take action in your community.
Click HERE to watch National Audubon Society’s Approach to Offshore Wind
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Adelie Penguins
Antarctica and Adelie Penguins
Presented by Dr. Peter Kappes
Perhaps no animal is more synonymous with the Antarctic than the Adelie Penguin. We all probably have an image of one of these tuxedoed ambassadors waddling across the ice, but there is a lot more to these birds than cute internet memes. Come learn more about these fascinating birds and the other seabirds that frequent Antarctica, and what it is like to live and work among these birds at one of the world’s most remote and pristine field sites. Dr. Peter Kappes is an applied conservation biologist and a member of Mississippi State University’s research staff at the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi.
Click HERE to watch Antarctica and Adelie Penguins
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Whooping Crane
Reestablishing Louisiana’s Whooping Cranes
Presented by Irvin Louque, Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator, International Crane Foundation
Through the dedication and teamwork of many conservation organizations, Whooping Cranes are returning to Louisiana wetland ecosystems. Louisiana once hosted resident and wintering populations of both Sandhill Cranes and Whooping Cranes, but both species were once extirpated due to habitat loss and unregulated hunting. Thanks to laws protecting wetlands and reducing hunting pressure, wintering Sandhill Cranes returned decades ago, but multi-agency reintroduction efforts were needed to bring back the nonmigratory Whooping Cranes. Today, around 70 Whooping Cranes are establishing territories and raising their young in Louisiana’s coastal marshes and prairie agricultural areas. The population is not without challenges and birders can help by spreading awareness, reporting sightings and harassment of the cranes, and promoting a conservation ethic.
Click HERE to watch Reestablishing Louisiana’s Whooping Cranes
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California Condor
Saving the California Condor: The Importance of Zoos in Conservation of Endangered Species
Presented by Mike Houlihan, Assistant Curator of Birds, Audubon Zoo
Mike Houlihan assisted with the reintroduction of California Condors. He will discuss how zoos have played an active role in the reintroduction of California Condors and tell us about his experiences working with fish and wildlife in the field. In the case of the condor, zoos became a life preserver for the species in the wild. Mike will discuss the struggles still facing condors and the importance of zoos in wildlife conservation of endangered animals.
Click HERE to watch Saving the California Condor: The Importance of Zoos in Conservation of Endangered Species
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Dr. Erik Johnson
Migratory Birds and the Mississippi River
Presented by Dr. Erik Johnson, Director of Conservation Science, Audubon Delta
One of the longest rivers in the world, the Mississippi River has shaped much of North America, including its bird life. But humans have substantially modified the river for navigation and to protect communities from flooding, which has resulted in important and sometimes dire consequences for the region’s wildlife. Join Audubon’s Erik Johnson on a journey into the connections between the Mississippi River and birds and learn about the opportunities and actions underway to recover bird habitat in the region.
Erik Johnson is the Director of Conservation Science for Audubon Delta, a regional field office of the National Audubon Society, servicing Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Erik oversees conservation planning and implementation, habitat management initiatives, and applied scientific research focused on species of conservation concern.
Click HERE to watch Migratory Birds and the Mississippi River
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Egret gliding over Lake Pontchartrain
An Unexpected Passion for Birds
Presented by John Snell, Anchor, Fox 8 News
FOX 8 Anchor John Snell shares how photography inspired an unexpected passion for birding in South Louisiana. He also details the state’s efforts to restore its rapidly eroding wetlands.
Click HERE to watch An Unexpected Passion for Birds
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ECUADOR: Straddling the Equator in Search of Condors to Hummingbirds
Presented by Jennifer Coulson and David Muth
Roughly the size of the U.K., Ecuador offers more bird diversity in less space than any other country. This center of avian mega-diversity is home to over 1,650 species of birds! In 2018, Tom and Jennifer Coulson, David Muth, and Princeton ornithologist, Christie Riehl made a birding trip to Ecuador. They found Ecuador to be a user-friendly country for birding and ecotourism. Join Jennifer and David as they take us on a journey exploring the eastern slope of the Andes in search of the gigantic Andean Condor, the exquisite Tourmaline Sunangel, and everything in between. Learn why Ecuador is a special place for birds and birders.
Click HERE to watch Ecuador: Straddling the equator in search of condors to hummingbirds
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The Future Delta and Birds
Presented by David Muth
David will focus on Louisiana’s land loss: 2,000 square miles of coastal wetlands over the last century. The state is poised to lose more as the delta sinks and seas rise—in fact, all of the remaining 4,000 square miles are threatened. We will review an aggressive plan to build sediment diversions to restart the natural delta-building process. The Environmental Impact Statement for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion is expected this spring. The implications for the health of bird populations could not be more profound. David Muth is Director of Gulf Restoration for the National Wildlife Federation.
Click HERE to watch The Future Delta and Birds
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40 Years in Borneo: Hacking Through the Jungle in Search of Birds
Presented by Dr. Fred Sheldon
Fred has two fundamental areas of research interest: the evolution and systematics of birds, and the natural history of the birds of the Malay Archipelago. His work in S.E. Asia is concentrated mainly in Borneo, where he is conducting a variety of studies with students and collaborators. Borneo, a giant, rugged island in Southeast Asia’s Malay Archipelago, is shared by the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, Indonesian Kalimantan and the tiny nation of Brunei. It’s known for its beaches and ancient, biodiverse rainforest, home to wildlife including orangutans and clouded leopards. In Sabah is 4,095 meter-tall Mount Kinabalu, the island’s highest peak, and, offshore, the famed dive site Sipadan Island.
Click HERE to watch 40 Years in Borneo: Hacking through the Jungle in Search of Birds
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My Big Year – Birding for a Cause
Presented by Dr. Joe Blanda
Joe Blanda is an orthopedic surgeon from Akron, Ohio who did a “big year” of birding in 2016 to raise money for cancer research after the death of his son to brain cancer. A big year is either a personal challenge or a friendly competition among birders who strive to observe as many bird species as possible within a calendar year and within a particular geographic area. Joe is a long-time nature photographer who will share some of his exciting bird sightings both with photographs and some captivating stories. You will learn how he used his passion for nature and birding not only to heal from his loss but also to discover a new desire to help others.
Click HERE to watch My Big Year – Birding for a Cause
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Madagascar: A Place Like No Other
Presenters: Ken Harris and Joelle Finley
The fourth largest island on Earth hosts 6 endemic families of birds with over 110 endemic bird species. Ninety percent of its forest species and all of its native land mammals are unique, among them the many species of lemurs, a primate group now largely confined to Madagascar. Two-thirds of all chameleons occur on Madagascar along with 7 species of Baobab trees (Africa has only 1 species). 80% of the forest is gone from Madagascar due to a huge over-population problem and is sadly being replaced by Eucalyptus.
Click HERE to watch Madagascar: A Place Like No Other
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Bird Louisiana!
Presenter: Joan Garvey
Click HERE to watch Bird Louisiana!
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Carolina Dormon, Louisiana Pioneer Woman
Presenter: Linda Auld
Linda Auld “BugLady”
Join Linda Auld in celebrating the life of Caroline Dormon, an intriguing and powerful woman born in the little town of Acadia back in 1888. She is famous for being an artist, teacher, conservationist, and the first woman spokesperson in the U.S. Forestry Service. Learn about her fascinating life, her phenomenal accomplishments, her beautiful Briarwood Nature Retreat, and her fantastic, inspiring books.
Click HERE to watch Caroline Dormon, Louisiana Pioneer Woman
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Backyard Birds and More
Black-crowned Night Heron
Instructor: Joelle Finley
We’ll take a quick trip through the seasons looking at the common birds found in our New Orleans area, listening to their calls and discussing some of their migratory patterns. We’ll learn who is here, when they are here and a little something about enhancing our yards to attract them.
Joelle Finley is the OAS Vice-president, Program Chair and Field Trip Coordinator. She has been birding since the 1970s and spends as much time birding outside the U.S. as possible, which has been zero for the past 6 months.
Click HERE to watch Backyard Birds and More
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Bay-breasted Warbler by Joan Garvey
Confusing Fall Warblers
Instructor: Wendy Rihner
Ask even the best of birders, and they will admit that warblers in the fall can be a real test of their identification skills. While many birders prefer spring migration because many warblers are decked out in their colorful breeding plumage, identifying those once-brightly colored warblers in the fall presents a real challenge for beginning birders.
Wendy Rihner, OAS Education Chair, hosts a webinar for new birders on how to identify those confusing fall warblers. The webinar covers field identification techniques, plumage differences between spring and fall, and behavioral differences in these wonderful and beautiful species.
Click HERE to watch Confusing Fall Warblers
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The Monarch’s Egg and Everyday Wonders of Louisiana’s Butterflies
Presenter: Dr. Donata Henry
This presentation showcases the unique wildlife photography of Walter Clifton, an avid outdoorsman dedicated to documenting the natural history of birds and butterflies of Louisiana. He hand reared and photographed over a dozen different species of butterflies, allowing us to marvel at and appreciate life stages we rarely, if ever, get to see. Notably, he did not use a digital camera. He and Dr. Donata Henry, a Senior Professor of Practice in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University, explored the Honey Island Swamp together nest searching and waiting in hot, buggy blinds for warblers to reveal their secrets. Join us for a glimpse into the weird and wonderful biodiversity in your own backyard.”
Click HERE to watch The Monarch’s Egg and Other Everyday Wonders of Louisiana’s Butterflies
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Raptor Identification
Presenters: Jennifer and Tom Coulson
Raptor biologists Jennifer and Tom Coulson share their basic approach to raptor identification, a strategy which differs from that of most field guides. They will provide a number of novel tips for identifying our native diurnal birds of prey. The Coulsons are true “raptorophiles” who have spent much of their lives studying and working with birds of prey.
Click HERE to watch the Raptor Identification Workshop
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Native Plants for Birds
Presenter: Wendy Rihner
Rihner discusses the great potential for gardeners in the Greater New Orleans area to build bird-friendly communities. She will highlight WHAT native plants are, WHERE native plants can be purchased locally, WHY native plants are more important for birds and pollinators than tropicals/exotics, HOW we can help create bird-friendly communities one yard at a time. Wendy Rihner, recently retired from teaching English at Delgado Community College, now has even more time to learn about the relationship native plants play in the lives of birds. Rihner serves on the Board of Directors for the Native Plant Initiative of Greater New Orleans, as well as the executive boards of both the Orleans Audubon Society and Audubon Louisiana.