News and Events

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Monthly Program: The How's and Why's of Winter Birdfeeding

Tuesday, December 7, 2021
7 p.m.
Via Zoom
Presenters: Cathy and Dave Ott

Please email nwilaudubon@gmail.com if interested in the program and a Zoom link will be sent out a week before the program date.

Join Cathy and Dave Ott from Rock Valley Garden Center to learn the basics of feeding wild birds during the winter months. Discover how to be the most popular “restaurant” in the neighborhood for your feathered friends. There will be takeaways for the beginner as well as the seasoned birdfeeding enthusiast. Topics covered will include types of feeders, types of food, keeping unwanted critters away, care/maintenance, water sources, and other common questions. They also will introduce the Cornell Feeder Project and how you can be a part of that. Winter birds are coming your way!

Dave and Cathy have operated Rock Valley Garden Center on Bell School Road in Rockford, IL for 37 years, yep 37! It is one of the Illinois premier garden centers. They specialize in everything from your everyday annuals to high tech Hydroponics. From fish to beautiful budding Lilacs, from fresh bird seed to thousands of bird feeders… and that is just a portion of what they do.

Check them out at:
rockvalleygardencenter.com
85 N. Bell School Road, Rockford, IL
815-398-1937

Meeting: Conservation Committee

Wednesday, December 8, 2021
6:30 p.m.
Zoom

The Conservation Committee meeting is open to anyone interested in conservation. Contact nwilaudubon@gmail.com if you are interested in joining this group.

Christmas Bird Count

Saturday, December 18, 2021
Contact: Richard Benning, 815-865-5279

It’s time once again for the Northwest Illinois Audubon Society to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count. This will be the 46th time that our chapter has taken part in this endeavor to take one-day snapshots of types of bird species and numbers of each in approximately 2500 count circles throughout the Western Hemisphere. Our local count day is planned for December 18, 2021.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will again cause this year’s CBC to be carried out with safety measures in place. All state and local guidelines must be adhered to. Field counters will only be allowed to be with other “in-house” family members while in a vehicle. Social distancing is required during any outside birding, and if this is not possible then masking is mandatory. The local compiler will assign territories to certain individuals and family units.

The pandemic should not affect participating in the CBC as a feeder counter as long as you stay in your house with only other family members. To be a feeder counter you must be within our official count circle which extends seven and one-half miles out from its center in Read Park in Freeport. The information below tells about being a feeder counter and includes a form to fill in with your observations.

Anyone who wishes to be a feeder counter, or has questions about this year’s Christmas Bird Count, should call the local compiler, Richard Benning at 815-865-5279.

NIAS Newsletter Deadline

Tuesday, December 28, 2021