June 2001
The Goldfinch
The newsletter for the Daviess County Audubon Society
Meetings Sept.- June, each second Monday at 7 PM, O'boro Tech 1501 Frederica
Take my egg, please!
Dr. Seuss has entertained several generations of youngsters with his story about Horton, a loyal elephant, stuck with the irresponsible Maisey bird's egg. A similar story is played out every year in the natural world as the Brown-headed Cowbird seeks out the nests of other birds for surrogate parents to hatch and raise her young. Dr. Blaine Ferrell from Western Kentucky University has done a study of the Brown-headed Cowbird at Bernheim Forrest. Won't it be fun to learn about this much hated bird following a study done so close to home? And won't it be fun to meet a speaker so revered in our state. Whenever we talk with birders from western Kentucky, they ask if we've ever gone birding with Dr. Ferrell. He accepted this speaking engagement by saying, "I am always happy to talk about birds." This is our last meeting of the year and you won't want to miss it.
Ohio River Sweep is June 16
If you are interested in helping with the Ohio River Sweep this year, please pick-up a form at the meeting on June 11. This form is an agreement releasing the city of Owensboro from liability in the event of injury. You will need to take the form with you on the day of the litter collection along the river's banks. Last year our club had 8 people to turnout for the day of showing respect to Ole Man River. When the event was postponed last year (due to muddy banks), our people decided to pick-up trash on their own. Our group worked 1/2 day and managed to clean a strip of land about 3 city blocks in size. We concentrated on the banks at English Park and picked up an industrial sized dumpster full of garbage. If you are unable to attend this month's meeting, you may get the needed forms at the Sanitation offices 1410 W. 5th Street.
June 30th Field Trip at 10:00 AM
We've got some inside connections for our June field trip. It's all arranged for the Sisters at Mount St. Joseph, Maple Mount, to be in charge of the weather. Rose Ann Radzelovage has been doing her homework getting ready to lead our group on a bird watching hike around the peaceful and pastoral grounds. Lunch will be available for $5.35 or a picnic on the grounds is also possible. Don't miss it. We'll meet at the tennis courts. Just drive around til you see tall fences.Mark your calendar for the next 3 months' counts at O.C.C. :
Fathers' Day, June 17, 2 PM
Sunday, July 15, 4 PM
Sunday, August 19, 4 PM
Our Birdathon Report Card….We aced it!
A success by any measure is the way our chapter's first ever birdathon can be described:
S
pecies counted award goes to Rob Rold.U
tilized area surprises were Warblers along the new section of Owensboro's GreenBelt Park.C
ares were put on hold for a day as people grabbed binoculars and headed for their favorite spots.C
hairmam Mary Kissell rallied her troops and led the charge. Well done, Mary!E
agles, Bald Eagles, nesting near Henderson, KY were among our most exciting sightings.S
ize of our volunteer pool. 10% of our members participated. What a great response!$
Cha Ching! Get those pledges in; looks like the Birdathon will be our highest dollar effort of the year.Book Fair or Foul?
When you try a lot of things, you're gonna have some duds. We expected to earn about $200 for our efforts at the mall on April 28, but we have been told that we will only net $58.60. The Board of Directors has discussed trying Books-A-Million as a location if another Book Fair is planned for next year. We are comparing notes with Evansville Audubon to try to avoid any mistakes that might have caused the low return on effort.
Powell Bird Blind Progress Report
By Chrissi Murphy
After conferring with the building contractor, I concluded that the plan for a floor of 'papercrete', shredded paper mixed with cement, was 'overkill' for the specifications of the bird viewing blind. Therefore, I decided to build the floor of wood. I have been able to have a great amount of the needed plywood donated to the project. During the past month, I have set the corner posts and built the perimeters of the floor. I am now ready to go shopping for materials using funds from the Girl Scout Council and Daviess County Audubon. [Editor's note: The Directors made as part of their vote approving this project that two documents be provided to us before there is any dispensing of funds: Required is written agreement from the Scout Council to match our funds dollar-for-dollar up to $1000 and either a building permit or a statement from Daviess County giving permission to build without a permit.]
Bird Seed Sale Report
by Rose Ann RadzelovageAs our newsletter goes to press, we still do not know how much of a donation to expect from The Pet Food Center for our bird seed sale held there on April 14. In the past we have conducted seed sales at Harralsons and The Pet Food Center with earnings for our day's work in the $75-$100 range. Nothing says that this will be the amount we will be given this time, but it is our desire to keep the membership apprised.
Upcoming fundraising events:
Flying Geese Quilt
project will get underway soon. We have 9 people who have signed-up to donate fabric scraps, use templates to cut pieces, sew pieces by machine, and then quilt the top/batting/back. Some of the volunteers are not sewers, but their cutting of pieces is a valuable help. Chairmam Madeline Oettinger's completion goal is next fall in time to raffle the quilt at the apple festival at Reid's Orchard in October. We hope to display the quilt in a prominent place in town a few weeks before the festival.Car Detail by appointment. Cost is $50. The Volunteer Center will staff the clean-up teams that will wash each car inside and out down to the ashtrays and air vents, hand wax the exterior, shampoo the upholstery-carpet-floor mats, apply Rain-X to the windshield….all-in-all they'll do an all-day going over of each car. A retired business executive will supervise the detail work and the work will be covered by insurance. Only one car will be detailed per day. If you know a 'car nut' please tell them about this opportunity to have a car spiffed-up with the proceeds going to The Powell Bird Blind construction. To schedule a car for detailing phone (270) 298-4237 or
fizgig@mindspring.comThe Nominating Committee will meet the first week of June and will submit its slate of officers and directors for a vote of the membership on June 11. Nominations may be made from the floor, but you should ask the nominee about willingness to serve before putting a name up for a vote.
From the President's Perch
The last meeting this year of the Directors of The Daviess County Audubon Society will be held at Kathryn Clay's lakeside home in Falls of Rough on Sunday June 10 from 1 PM until 5 PM. Spouses are encouraged to come along, with the understanding that they are welcome at our meeting but also that they are free to come and go as they please. There is beauty everywhere at Falls of Rough and there is a lot to do; No need to worry about boredom. I promise that this will be a fun day, a gathering not to be missed. The June Director's meeting is when we complete a report of our past year's activities for The National Audubon Society. This is not an easy task; It takes time to reflect, talk about what worked (and what didn't), and then choose the wording to describe our year in a 10 page report.When the report is finished, the directors will begin the process of planning for the year 2001-2002. At this last meeting that I will oversee, I plan to ask the Directors to dare to dream, to think about the needs of our chapter in our community, how our chapter can be a dynamic and significant player in Kentucky through the Kentucky Audubon Council. I hope we can keep our eyes open to the environmental problems of our planet without becoming consumed with the "Chicken Little" alarmist way of eliciting concern. We want to do the best we can in the situation where we find ourselves, and we want to have fun doing it. Sack cloth and ashes is a turn-off that likely won't serve well the Audubon cause. If the creator had not meant for nature to be fun, would there be so much mystery, wonder, and beauty connected with it?
It is my hope that this year we can again use the preparation of the annual report as an in-depth review of the year just ending; evaluating our efforts as objectively as possible as we look forward to the year that will begin with monthly meetings in September. I hope that every one of you will have a wonderful summer.
I'm hopping down from the perch now. I've been up here long enough. Large Avian
Officers and Directors for 2000-2001
President G. Wm. "Bill" Little, Jr. (270) 298-4237 Vice-President & Program Chairman Mike Henshaw (270) 275-4250 Secretary Madeline Oetinger (270) 683-7681 Treasurer Rose Ann Radzelovage (270) 683-5972 Membership Chairs Mike Kavolus (270) 685-3305 & Janet Howard (270) 926-3795 Education Chairs Madeline Oetinger (270) 683-7681 & Carolyn Williams 683-5863 Field Trips Chair Rob Rold (270) 684-3209 Conservation Chair Scott Holder (270) 684-1582 Newsletter Editor Brenda Little (270) 298-4237 Webmaster Eric Williams shrike@apex.net Publicity Chair Alice Gene "Aggie" Lewis (270) 684-0536 Hospitality Chair Ova Hookey (270) 683-6364 Directors: Kathryn Clay, Pat Connell, and Lifetime Honorary Directors: Elinor Wilson, Joe Ford, A.L. "Bert" Powell, and Mildred "Millie" Powell._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Membership Application for New Members
Dues for membership in Daviess County AudubonSociety, the Kentucky Audubon Council and The National Audubon Society are
1- Yr introductory $20 _________ 2-Yr introductory $35______ Student or Senior $15_______
Please make your check payable to : The National Audubon Society and mail to: Rose Ann Radzelovage, Treasurer at 2224 Fairview Dr. Owensboro If you do not wish to be a member of The National Audubon Society, but wish to receive our newsletter, please make your check payable for $10 to Daviess County Audubon Society. The name and address on your check will be our file data unless you tell us otherwise.
If you wish to make a donation in support of any of our chapter's activities, the payee on your check should be The Daviess County Audubon Society. Thank you for supporting Audubon. The date on the mailing label below is the date your membership will expire. You will receive renewal notices from The National Audubon Society before the expiration date. Labels with the letter 'L' are for those who are not members of The National Audubon Society. Our chapter does not send renewal notices; the L followed by the date is the only notice you will receive. Please keep your membership active._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The Goldfinch
306 Hoover Hill Road
Hartford, KY 42347