A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT Join Us

ATOUR MAY MEETING!

Bird Walk at the Capital City Bird Sanctuary

Thursday May 4 - 7:00pm 6160 Delta River Dr., Lansing

Parking is available at the Hawk Meadows park. The sanctuary is across the street. We will meet at the parking lot before beginning our walk.

Join new Michigan Audubon

Conservation Manager Chad Machinski to learn more about the Capital City Bird Sanctuary as well as opportunities to help volunteer.

We will see which birds are migrating through and Chad will discuss the plants and ecosystems during the walk!

Also, if you would like to use eBird but are not sure how, we will be able to get you started on this walk! Please download the eBird app and complete your registration prior to the walk. (You will need to login and have a username and password prior to the first time submitting an ebird checklist.)

Bathroom facilities are available at Hawk Meadows Park

The walk will be moderate, with the possibility of muddy uneven trails depending on the weather. If the weather is really poor, (sustained rain, freezing temps, or high winds) we will cancel the walk. Please check your email or our facebook page for cancellations.

Our last two meetings of the program year will take place outside at wonderful local birding sites.

This month we will meet and explore the Capital City Bird Sanctuary. This diverse spot has wetland, woodland, prairie and river frontage. It is a great place to visit year-round and especially interesting in the spring.

The walk will start at the parking lot (at Hawk Meadows Park) and head across the street. The trails are not paved and may be muddy depending on the week's weather. There will be a short walk and longer walk option and guests and birders of all ages are welcome! Please be sure to check your email or our facebook page if the weather looks questionable. We will email out a cancellation by 6pm if needed.

During this walk we will also have the chance to hear from the new Conservation Manager of Michigan Audubon, Chad Machinski. He will share about the ecosystems of the sanctuary and share opportunities to volunteer and help maintain the sanctuary and to help with monitoring.

For those of you interested in using eBird, the sanctuary has many easily recognizable species and a great hotspot bird list. If all these words are new to you, I recommend visiting eBird before your visit to learn more about the possible species present during May and to sign up for an account.

At our board meeting in April, our board began discussions about potentially changing the name of

Capital Area Audubon Society. As shared in our March Call Note, the Audubon name has a problematic history and clubs around the country are discussing how the continued use of the Audubon can exclude people and stifle diversity. (Please see last month's wonderful article by board member Susan Elbin to read about the different steps Audubon societies across the country are taking to reexamine their use of the Audubon name.)

We would like to encourage our members to reach out, think about what the name could be, the history of our club and the challenges and opportunities that could come from changing the club's name or the challenges by keeping it the same

Our club mission is "Dedicated to creating a greater awareness, appreciation and understanding of the interrelatedness of all Michigan's wild places and wildlife and the need for stewardship". No matter what name we go by, that will hold true.

I hope to see many of you at our walk this week!

Kristy Taylor CAAS Board President