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Turn your lights out at night during spring migration to help keep birds safe as they journey north. Click here to sign up for Lights Out alerts so you know when we have peak migration in our area.

Bird Guide Author Richard Crossley Event at Wild Birds Unlimited

Richard Crossley, author of the Crossley ID Guides for birds, gave a talk at Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) on Huebner Road in November that was well-attended and served as a fundraiser for Bexar Audubon Society (BAS). Many thanks to Kyle Odom of WBU for organizing the event and raising almost $300 in donations for BAS!

Avian Flu: Should You Take Down Your Feeders?

Low Risk Of Avian Flu To Songbirds

From AllAboutBirds.org: There is currently very low risk of an outbreak among wild songbirds, and no official recommendation to take down feeders unless you also keep domestic poultry, according to the National Wildlife Disease Program. We do always recommend that you clean bird feeders and birdbaths regularly as a way to keep many kinds of diseases at bay.

We also always recommend that you follow any recommendations put out by your state government, such as the recent request to take down feeders in Illinois. 

Read more.

Major Housing Development Planned Near Helotes Could Impact Water Quality

Lennar Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., is planning a dense subdivision of 3,000 homes on 1,160 acres in a watershed upstream of the Edwards Aquifer, the main drinking water source for 2 million people in the San Antonio area.

The Guajolote Ranch property is located in northwest Bexar County, roughly 5 miles north of Helotes, less than 2 miles north of Grey Forest, just over 5 miles northwest of San Antonio. It falls in the Edwards Aquifer Contributing Zone, the land that catches rainwater and channels it downstream towards the sensitive land that recharges San Antonio’s drinking water. Read more at Change.org.

Hear Birds Again!

Do You Have Trouble Hearing High-Pitched Bird Songs? Then you might be interested in supporting a project by world-renowned sound recordist Lang Elliott. His goal is to produce an open-source mobile phone app to help bird enthusiasts who suffer from high frequency hearing loss like himself and who desire to once again enjoy the uplifting songs of wild birds. Your support will help give birth to a mobile phone app that uses advanced algorithms to lower the pitch of bird songs in real time, making them audible during walks in nature, in conjunction with the development of a “binaural headset” with mics mounted at each ear that will simulate natural hearing and allow the calls to be located in space.

You can hear Lang Elliott explain the project in his own words on his website: Hear Birds Again. Check it out and donate to support the project if you are inclined.

NAS and BAS Statements on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

National Audubon Society:

The birds Audubon pledges to protect differ in color, size, behavior, geographical preference, and countless other ways. By honoring and celebrating the equally remarkable diversity of the human species, Audubon will bring new creativity, effectiveness, and leadership to our work throughout the hemisphere. With a plurality of voices, we will inspire more people and conserve more habitats.

Bexar Audubon Society:

Bexar Audubon Society is committed to helping make bird watching safe, welcoming, and accessible for all. We welcome and encourage appreciation of our natural world while promoting its preservation and protection. We believe that birding is for everybody, and that the birds we love and the habitats they rely on benefit most when more people are engaged in protecting them. We believe that anyone who enjoys looking at birds is a "birdwatcher." We do not discriminate because of skill level, length of time identifying as a birdwatcher, age, gender, skin color, size, sexual orientation, disability, religion, socioeconomic status, or national or ethnic origin.

It's Like Shazam for Birds!

BirdNET from Cornell Lab is a free smartphone app for Android and IOS that allows you to record and edit bird sounds, then analyzes the recording and suggests species identification. Check it out here!

Bird Field Guide in Spanish

Did you know the National Audubon Society's Guide to North American Birds is available online in Spanish (La Guía de Aves de América del Norte)? Each entry includes a color illustration, Spanish name, scientific name, and a link to species' calls and songs.

Great Gift Idea for Kids!

A House for Wren is the newly released children’s book for the “young and young at heart” written by Texan Julie Beever and illustrated by Diana Delosh. A unique introduction to birdwatching for young birding enthusiasts, this story contains factual information about the nesting habits of real-life birds and introduces young readers to the lifelong love of birding. Julie was guest speaker for our online meeting April 28.

For a limited time, autographed, personalized copies of A House for Wren are available through Julie Beever for $14.95 each + tax & shipping. Click here for ordering information.