Category

Birds

Birds, Coming Up, online event

Bird-Friendly Communities for Migratory SongbirdsFeatured

Tuesday, May 14, 7:00 pm

Join Zoom Meeting
https://unca-edu.zoom.us/j/95216008437?pwd=T09XNyswTHFCZ2ZVODNsSVU2TXpjQT09

Twice a year, millions of neotropical songbirds migrate thousands of miles between their breeding and wintering grounds in North, Central, and South America. Migrating birds face many challenges during these periods, the greatest of which are human imposed. Fortunately, many of these threats are well understood, and numerous tools are available to help us provide safe passage for songbirds during their perilous migrations. This presentation will provide an overview of neotropical songbird migration, the unique challenges created by human-built environments, and solutions to enhance the bird-friendliness of our communities.

Paulina Jones is a western North Carolina local working to improve human-wildlife coexistence in her community. She is passionate about science communication and the intersection of wildlife ecology and policy. Jones is a co-founder of the Coalition for a Bird-Friendly Asheville and, in close coordination with the Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter, has been advocating for the adoption of bird-friendly community practices since 2020.

Birds, Nature Notes

Celebrating Convergences and Whippoorwills

by Linda Martinson

Convergences are notable. Some are simple; for example, waking up at 5:55 am and then sitting down to eat at 5:55 pm or that three people you know share the same birthday on April 13. There was, however, a very special convergence this year: a rare overlap of major religious observances in one week. On Friday, April 15, Jewish people celebrated Passover marking the exodus of Israelites from enslavement in Egypt; on the same day, Christians observed Good Friday to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus before Easter Sunday; and over the weekend of April 15, Muslims continued the observation of Ramadan, a month of prayers and fasting memorializing the transmission of the Koran. And as I was working on this newsletter, we celebrated Earth Day!

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Birds, Climate, Nature Notes, Weather

Winter musing about weather, hibernating and opossums

by Linda Martinson, Blue Ridge Naturalist

We often have interesting weather in Western North Carolina. One day this month, during about an hour and a half period mid-morning we experienced; fog, sudden sunshine, rain turning to sleet, gusty winds, sunshine again, and then, a lovely rainbow over the mountains. The last few days have been so cold that the rhododendron leaves are calling for help. It’s sometimes hard to get a grip on the weather in January and in our area in general.

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