January 10 - Stan Bousson will be giving a program on wildlife photography. He will explain how he goes about getting wildlife photos, and the locations and activities of the animals.

February 14 - The regular meeting this month has been moved to Monday, February 25. See below.

February 25, MONDAY at 6:30 - Karen Viste-Sparkman will present "Prelude to the Prairie Chicken: Ecological Restoration and Birds at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge". She is the Refuge Biologist at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, 20 miles east of Des Moines. The refuge is a unique ecological restoration project, emulating tallgrass prairie and oak savanna ecosystems that once dominated the Iowa landscape. Ms. Viste-Sparkman will present information on the refuge goals, management challenges, and how restoration activities affect birds and other wildlife and their interrelationships. She will discuss birds and birding opportunities on the refuge and data from breeding season bird surveys that have been conducted on the refuge since 1994. Finally, she will discuss future plans for the refuge and the work that lies ahead.

March 13 - Larry Best will share with us some of the best of his photos and experiences in Alaska. Also, Nicki Nagl will present information on the Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas project.

April 10 - Mary Lou Petersen will present a program on the Illinois Spring Bird Count.

May 8 - Bob Bryant will present "Ferns of the Quad City Region". This program is a local version of his e-book (a work in progress), "An Interpreter's Guide to the Ferns of Iowa", covering the identification, distribution, uses, folklore, and photography of Iowa's ferns.

January 27, Sunday - Field trip along the Mississippi River from I-280 to I-80. Meet at Marquette Street Landing, Davenport, at 8:00 a.m. for a half-day trip.*

February 23, Saturday - Field trip to Wildcat Den State Park. Meet at Marquette Street Landing, Davenport, at 8:00 a.m. for this half-day trip.*

March 1, Saturday - Bluebird Trail Maintenance. Meet at Marquette Street Landing, Davenport, at 7:00 a.m., to help clean bluebird nest boxes at Horseshoe Bend, Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge.*

March 29, Saturday - Field trip to Cone Marsh. Meet at Marquette Street Landing at 8:00 a.m. for a half-day trip.*

May 10, Saturday - Illinois Spring Bird Count. Join us in this annual survey of spring birds in our area. Requirements: an interest in nature (especially birds) and be willing to get up rather early. Contact Tim Murphy, (309) 764-9779, to participate.

May 17 & 18, Saturday and Sunday - Field trip to Shimeck State Forest in southeastern Iowa. Meet at Marquette Street Landing in Davenport at 6:00 a.m. Individuals wishing to stay overnight should bring camping gear and be prepared to drive their own vehicle. Point of contact is Janelle Swanberg, (563) 324-9806.

June 7, Saturday - Field trip to the Mississippi Palisades and Goose Lake to look for spring song birds, shorebirds, and waterfowl. Meet at Brothers Restaurant in Rapids City, IL, at 6:00 a.m. for this half-day trip.

July 6, Sunday - Work morning at Lyndon-Agnew Prairie. We will remove invasive plants from this remnant prairie plot near Lyndon, IL. Meet at Quad City Downs by IL Highway 5 in East Moline, at 7:00 a.m. Wear long-sleeve shirt and full-length pants. Bring drinking water and sunscreen, and gloves and tools for cutting (loppers or spade). Leader: Tim Murphy (309) 764-9779.

August 23, Saturday - Field Trip to Credit Island, Nahant Marsh, Fairmount Cemetery, Sunderbruch Park and Schuetzen Park in Davenport. Fairmount Cemetery will include a historical tour by the caretaker of some of the interesting and infamous people buried there, and refreshments will be served. Meet at Marquette Street Landing, Davenport, at 7:00 a.m. for this half-day trip.

January 12 & 13 - Bald Eagle Days, Quad Cities Expo Center, Rock Island. Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Quad City Audubon Society will again have an information booth at the Expo Center. The booth will have information about the Quad City Audubon Society and will have hands-on activities for children, including building suet feeders from pine cones. We will also provide spotting scopes at Sunset Park, Rock Island, for viewing bald eagles along the Mississippi River. Please contact Karen Rotschafer at (309) 523-9154 to volunteer to help at our booth or the spotting scopes.

February 3, Sunday - In conjunction with the John J. Audubon exhibition at the Figge Art Museum (see February 16 event below), Brent Langley will present a gallery talk at 1:30 p.m.

February 16, Saturday - Quad City Audubon Society 60th Anniversary Celebration and Reception, Figge Art Museum, Davenport. QCAS members, their families and friends are invited to share good food, fellowship and reminiscences of the past 60 years. There is no charge for attending, which runs from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m., and reservations are not required. Our aniversary celebration will be held at the Figge to take advantage of a special exhibition of John J. Audubon prints. These prints are from a rare 1860 edition of Audubon's Birds of America, probably purchased by Charles Deere in the 1870s. As part of our reception, we will tour the Audubon print exhibition. For more information on the Audubon exhibition, go to Figge Art Museum.

March 1, Saturday - Bluebird Trail Maintenance. Meet at Marquette Street Landing, Davenport, at 7:00 a.m., to help clean bluebird nest boxes at Horseshoe Bend, Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge. (will be canceled in the event of hazardous winter road conditions.)

March 12, Wednesday - In conjunction with the John J. Audubon exhibition at the Figge Art Museum (see February 16 event above), Dick Sayles will lead a discussion on Richard Rhodes' biography of Audubon "John James Audubon: The Making of an American" at 7:00 p.m. at the Bettendorf Public Library.

April 18 & 19, Friday and Saturday - Earth Week celebration at the Quad City Expo Center, Rock Island. Volunteers are needed to help with the QCAS booth. Please contact Karen Rotschafer, (309) 749-7660 to volunteer.

June 28, Saturday - Andress Farm Picnic. Enjoy a pot luck picnic with the QCAS and the local Sierra Club chapter at the Andress’ Prairie Rose Farm west of the Quad Cities. The address is 31501 113th Avenue West, Illinois City. Hiking and work projects begin at 10:00 a.m., with lunch at 11:30. Bring one food item, and your own plates, utensils, and drinks. Directions: from I280, take Highway 92 west exit onto Hwy. 92 West (Andalusia). At the stop lights at Andalusia Road (78th Avenue West) turn right. This is still Hwy. 92 West. Continue on Hwy. 92 west through Andalusia to Illinois City (watch for where Hwy. 92 takes a turn to the right). Go four miles west of Illinois City on Hwy. 92 and turn right (north) onto 294th Street West (Pine Bluff Church is on your left at this intersection). At the curve this road becomes 113th Avenue West. Go one mile to the dead end. The house is on the right. For those wishing to car pool, meet at the Milan HyVee store, at the back of the parking lot near the gas station, at 9:30 a.m. If you get lost, call the Andress Farm at (309) 292-0690.

July 9, Wednesday - A Natural History Video of Ecuador at the Eldridge Library, Eldride Iowa. Keith and Jan Wiggers will present a video program condensed from a ten week trip through Ecuador.

August 21-23, Thursday-Saturday - Upper Mississippi River Conference, I-Wireless Center, Moline.

An archive of monthly membership meetings, field trips and special events from past years can be viewed here: Calendar Archives