September 2020
Meeting Program – Cowbirds: villainous mobsters or falsely maligned native species? A biologist’s perspective. By Sarah Winnicki
Brown-headed Cowbirds are notorious for their breeding system called "brood parasitism"-- they lay their eggs in the nests of hundreds of other bird species, forcing those birds to feed their ravenous young. They've been painted as dastardly villains, but what are they really? In this program, I'll walk through the biology of cowbirds, paying close attention to the ways they interact with their host species in Kansas and the current state of cowbird biology research. Sarah Winnicki is a PhD…
Find out more »October 2020
Meeting Program – Forest Park Owls: Hiding in Plain Sight by Mark H. X. Glenshaw
Mark H.X. Glenshaw is an award-winning naturalist who has closely observed and documented the lives of Great Horned Owls in Forest Park, a large urban park in St. Louis, Missouri, since December 20 05. Mark's work with Great Horned Owls involves extensive outreach as each year he gives dozens of talks across Missouri and Illinois (this is his first talk in Kansas!) and leads scores of owl prowls in Forest Park. Mark is a Missouri Master Naturalist and a volunteer for…
Find out more »November 2020
Meeting Program – Life’s a Beach: the struggle of coastal shorebirds by Allan Saylor
Allan Saylor is a Naturalist at Great Plains Nature Center, whose work in the field of wildlife biology has taken him to both coasts. Allan will be focusing primarily on seabirds & shorebirds, and what the challenges these species face mean for the rest of us. Hear his experiences from the field, and why nesting on the beach isn't as relaxing as it sounds. This program will be ONLINE only. You can watch it live-streaming on our Facebook page, (www.facebook.com/WichitaAudubonSociety),…
Find out more »January 2021
Meeting Program – Nature Highlights of Scotland and Ireland by Bob Gress
From rugged coastlines to Caledonian forests to mountain highlands, the Scottish islands maintain some of the most pristine wilderness in the United Kingdom. Wildlife thrives in much of this country of castles, lochs, moors, heaths, glens and firths. The Emerald Isle’s physical appeal endures, but by no means is entirely green. The gray limestone Burrens in County Clare and the black peat bogs of the Midlands accent this beautiful landscape. This program highlights Scotland and Ireland’s traditional culture, landscapes, rural…
Find out more »February 2021
Meeting Program – CRP is the Bees’ Knees: Native Bee Communities By Alex Morphew
Native bees are important pollinators currently experiencing population declines expected to be most severe in agricultural landscapes such as those found in Kansas and across the Great Plains. These declines are largely linked to habitat fragmentation due to agricultural intensification and pose a serious threat to pollination stability in grassland ecosystems. Restoration efforts aiming to mitigate these losses include the federally supported Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which aims to create wildlife and pollinator habitat on marginally productive agricultural land. From…
Find out more »March 2021
Meeting Program – Life History and Current Status of Prairie Chicken in Kansas by Vickie Cikanek
Greater and Lesser Prairie chicken are an iconic symbol of the Kansas prairie. Their mating habits alone make them a must see when visiting the great plains, but there is so much more to their lives than what goes on in the spring. They have been coined by some as umbrella species of the central plains, and it is because of that, there has been a lot of concern over their population statuses across their range over the last 10…
Find out more »May 2021
Meeting Program – Shorebirds in the Tall Grass Prairie; seriously? by Dr. Robert Penner
Dr. Robert Penner, Avian Conservation Manager at The Nature Conservancy in Kansas, will talk about the importance of the midcontinent, Kansas, and specifically the Flint Hills to shorebird conservation. We will look at what we have learned from past shorebird surveys in the Flint Hills along with what we are learning from some of the Flint Hills Shorebird Conservation Initiative projects and how does this all relates to managing the tallgrass ecosystem for shorebirds and other wildlife.
Find out more »July 2021
Picnic
Join us at the Great Plains Nature Center for our annual pot-luck dinner. Dinner will be followed by a short, fun program. Bring a dish to share and your own service.
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