By Sunshine Jowell and David Anderson

Next month the Red Rock Audubon Society will participate in Nevada Bird-A-Thon from May 7-16, counting bird species across the country, and raising funds for charity. In the past year, this birding event as adapted to allow participants to bird from home—allowing families and friends to join in some backyard birding to count the species in a safe and socially distant way.
​
Enjoy this video by David Anderson https://vimeo.com/539845998

​Our center’s direct participation in Clark County Parks & Recreation’s School Daze program ended on Friday, March 26th. Since the beginning of the 2020 school year, Winchester Dondero Cultural Center has been one of the department’s support locations for CCSD’s online learning programs, serving 5 – 13 year-old students. Now that local schools are well on their way, transitioning back to full-time in-school classes, and many of our centers are transitioning to more open and public activities throughout Clark County, we are focusing again on serving the community at-large, supporting, presenting and representing arts and culture in Clark County.

by Jim Nelson

​Gallery:janelson1.myportfolio.com/
Photos by Jim Nelson

One of our favorite birding areas is Lynx Lake just outside Prescott, AZ.  It is at 5,530 foot elevation, in the pines, a 55 acre reservoir.  
The lake has a paved walkway on the west side from the north to the south end, and the east side is an easily navigated dirt trail. The total distance around the lake is about 2.5 miles.
We have counted several varieties of woodpeckers, osprey, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, and other species in various visits, mostly in late fall and early winter.  There is a bald eagle nest somewhere on the south side, which we have not seen, but the eagles in early mornings put on a good fishing display over the lake. Likewise, an osprey that we spotted in late fall was busily diving for fish on the south side oblivious to swimmers and waders relatively close.
Prescott is a 4 hour drive from Las Vegas via Highway I-40 and US-93 South.  It would be a nice respite from our upcoming Las Vegas summer heat.

​By Sunshine Jowell
​
There’s this old photo I sometimes see pop up on Facebook of my parents on the beach in Southern California. I’ll see one of my relatives post it on their anniversary or one of their birthdays, with a reminder of their constant love and devotion to each other. The picture was taken by one of my sisters. It’s a bit blurry, because she was far away while they were walking together near the water’s edge. A few seagulls dot the landscape as you see my mom lean heavily on my dad’s arm while she stumbles along the sand with a cane in her other hand. Her wheelchair had been left with my sister because she wanted to feel the sea on her toes.

It is that time of year when we see migrants coming through Las Vegas, as well as nesting activity. It is important to remember that we need to give birds the space they need for their habits & survival. Migrant birds are coming down to rest and refuel before they continue towards their nesting grounds. Human disturbance can be very disruptive to a successful migration. 
​

​One of the greatest things about birding is the way it connects us all together. The actions you take here in Southern Nevada can have a global impact far beyond what you may expect. With global temperatures increasing there is also an increased need in teaming up across the world to monitor those changes and act to correct the damage done and prevent further damage from occurring. From the recognition that temperatures are rising the National Audubon Society has started a community based science program to monitor how birds are changing alongside climate change called Climate Watch. Birds are a barometer of sorts for our environment whether it's observing what they eat to where they nest and where they migrate, they hold many answers about our environment and Climate Watch looks to harness that valuable information through volunteer observation across North America.

by Jim Nelson

​Andrea and I frequently visit Palm Desert, CA, which is one of our favorite birding areas.  There are 3 areas we visit frequently... The Living Desert Zoo | Gardens, JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort and Spa, and the Salton Sea.

​This month’s Red Rock Audubon Society monthly meeting was held virtually on Saturday, March 13th. We were treated to a presentation on Boreal Forest Conservation by Dr. Jeff Wells, the Audubon Vice President for Boreal Conservation and Norman Barichello, an award-winning biologist and author working with Indigenous Nations in the Yukon.

On my first birding adventure to Floyd Lamb Park, I was immediately struck by the diversity of the habitat and the birds who lived there. Upon entering the park, you’re greeted in the parking lot with dozens of Canadian Geese families, who roam the park day and night. They nap on the grass, swim the water, and fly above. They make a wonderful noise, and will sometimes follow you around if they find you at all curious. Most of them don’t. We’re just visitors to their homes.

It is estimated that free ranging cats kill from 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds every year in the lower 48 states, the median range being 2.4 billion.  That's BILLION with a "B."
 
More than 100 million cats reside in the United States. They are a non-native invasive species responsible for the deaths of more birds than are killed from collisions with windows, communications towers or vehicles, or poisoned by pesticides, second only to habitat loss.  Un-owned, wild roaming cats are estimated to be responsible for 69% of birds killed. Owned cats that are allowed to roam free outdoors kill over 700 million birds every year in our country.  Migratory and nesting birds are particularly vulnerable at certain times of the year.