Coulee Region Audubon Society

La Crosse 2008 Christmas Bird Count - Summary Saturday, December 20, 2008 Check our CBC page for final results And this, from an earlier report: At this point, due to the bad weather that kept people away from our potluck, I have only received about 1/3 of the reports for the count. However, I have already received reports of about 4000 birds of 51 species (plus 2 other count week species). Surprisingly, we did find 10 species of waterfowl despite the fact that the Mississippi has been so deeply frozen for the past couple of weeks. For comparison purposes, last year we saw about 7000 birds of 59 species with similar snow and temperature conditions but without the falling snow. My best guess is that the numbers will be a little lower for both total birds and species. Time will tell.In general, the participants complained that it was hard to find and see birds because of the inclement weather. With a couple of exceptions, large concentrations of birds were only f...

Watch Hawks near Genoa Saturday October 4, 2008 Fred Lesher will lead a hawk watch to Genoa Old Settler’s Park on Saturday, October 4, 2008. The park provides excellent viewing of Pool 8 of the Mississippi River from 150 feet above the river. Time will be 9 a.m. to at least 12 noon. Object will be watching migrant raptors such as Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Osprey, Harriers, American . Kestrels and Bald Eagles. These birds of prey and many other birds of prey species follow the Mississippi River enroute to the Texas Gulf, Central and South America to winter. Some songbirds should also be present along the bluff viewing site, and rafts of migrant waterfowl will be visible on Pool 8 of the Mississippi River.If birders don’t know where Genoa Old Settler’s Park is, meet at the entrance road to Goose Island off Hwy. 35 south of La Crosse at 8:30 AM and Fred will lead from there. If the park entrance road is closed to vehicles for the season, we will walk up the 1/4 mile ...

May Wyalusing Trip May 17, 2008 On Saturday, May 17th, Fred Lesher and Dan Jackson will lead a birding field trip to Wyalusing state park. We will meet at 6:30 am at the entrance to the park and will bird until 11:00 – noon depending on the weather and bird activity.Wyalusing State Park is one of the birding gems of Southwestern Wisconsin. Park specialties include Cerulean, Kentucky, Yellow-Throated, Prothonotary and possibly Worm-eating Warblers, Acadian Flycatcher, Henslow’s Sparrow, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Winter Wren in addition to many normal spring migrants. If you are interested in car pooling to the park, call or   e-mail   Dan Jackson (483-2271 or DanJackson@LBWhite.com).

Highway Cleanup Saturday April 26, 2008 Just a reminder that the Coulee Region Audubon Society will be doing its semi-annual Highway Clean-up on Saturday April 26.This effort is led by Mark Webster and his wife and it would be great to get as many people out there to help out as we possibly can. (Many hands make light work). CRAS has signed up to clean a two mile stretch of I-90 starting at the Minnesota Rest stop below the Dresbach dam If you can help out, plan to meet at the rest area by 9:00 am. Then Minnesota DOT will provide safety vests and plastic bags. This effort takes about 2 hours to complete.

Spring Migration Bird Walks April 29 to May 13, 2008 Tuesdays, April 29 and May 6 and 13 in the La Crosse River Marsh, Meet at the RABBIT Trail parking lot in Myrick Park just east of the old zoo. Leaders Bobbie Wilson and Dan JacksonThursdays, May 1, 8 and 15 in Hixon Forest. Meet at the Hixon Forest trail parking lot just east off of Hwy. 16 on Bluff Pass Road. Leaders Bobbie and Pat Wilson Start your day by checking out the spring migration. Bird walks start at 6:30 a.m. and last until about 8 a.m. You’re welcome to leave early or stay later. Bring binoculars and a bird guide if you have them.

Trip to Necedah to see the Whooping Cranes Sunday August 17, 2008 The trip to Necedah to watch the Whooping Crane flight training will be held on Sunday, August 17, 2008. We will leave from La Crosse at 4:00 am to get to the Necedah Refuge headquarters at 5:30 AM. We should be back in La Crosse by 2:00 pm. The exact itinerary will be sent later to people who sign up.At this point, I have 9 people signed up for that date so there is no point of suggesting a different date unless the interest is high enough to warrant 2 trips. There is a maximum of 20 allowed for a single day with 14 being optimum in terms of room in the blind. Participants will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis (based on when I receive an e-mail or phone call). If I get more than 14 people and less than 20, we will still take a single trip. If we get more than 20, I will try to schedule a second trip since 14 is optimum for the blind. Thanks, Dan Jackson, President Coulee Region Audubon Socie...

Saturday, December 15, 2007 Pre-dawn until Dusk and Beyond There were 57 species (7,070 total birds) found on the count day this year. Unusual species included a Peregrine Falcon, a Carolina Wren and the first ever Townsend's Solitaire. The unusual pattern of American Robin numbers that began around 1991 pretty much continues with only 94 found this year. Odd numbered years have had few if any Robins while over 100 and sometimes three times that amount have been seen in the even numbered years. However, this was the most Robins found yet in an odd numbered year.Thanks to all of you who participated! Check our CBC page for final results Be sure to join us for next year's count.

2014 Waterfowl Field Trip Sunday, November 16, 2014 Begins at Noon Coulee Region Audubon will have a waterfowl field trip on Sunday, November 16th. We will start at noon from the street behind the Kwik Trip at the stop lights in La Crescent.We will head south and checkout the mudflats below the entrance to the Wildcat Landing in Brownsville and we will also stop at the refuge overlooks just south of there. This is not the date of the US Fish & Wildlife Service viewing event so it won’t be as crowded. This is a great opportunity to see thousands of Ducks, Geese and Swans.