Quad City Audubon Society

Quad City Audubon Society (QCAS) activities offer opportunities for many different levels of involvement. All of our activities are free and open to the public - it is not necessary to be a member of QCAS to participate.

The easiest way to get involved is attend one of the monthly meetings or field trips listed on our calendar page.

Bird Counts

The Iowa Ornithologists' Union and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are working on the Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas. This 5-year project will collect information on the current ranges of Iowa's breeding birds. Numerous changes to Iowa's landscape in the 17 years since the first atlas project was completed in 1990 (e.g., widespread wetland restorations and the CRP program) suggest that a second atlas project will reveal many changes. For example, think about range expansions of species like Eurasian Collared-Dove, Henslow's Sparrow, and Great-tailed Grackle, or as yet undiscovered breeders (Northern Saw-whet Owl in Northeast Iowa?). To be successful, this project will require many hours of volunteer help from birders statewide. Atlasing is a fun way to bird during summer and a great way to explore new areas, so we're hoping Audubon members will lend their full support to this important project. Your help is needed! With the technology changes since the first atlas project, this time we will be able to follow the progress over the next few years as Iowans canvas their areas and determine the status of our summer residents. To learn more about it, go to Iowa Breeding Bird Atlas.

The Christmas Bird Count is a census of area birds conducted during the 23 days surrounding Christmas. On the assigned date, organized field parties census the bird populations within a given count circle, a pre-defined area 15 miles in diameter. Meanwhile, "feeder watchers" will count the birds that visit their feeder during the day. There are a number of individual counts in the Quad Cities area, each held on a different day. Count circles include: Clinton, Cordova, Quad Cities, Andalusia, New Boston, and Muscatine. It is not necessary to be an expert birder to participate on a Christmas Bird Count. If you are not an expert, we will make every attempt to team you with an experienced birder if you would like to join a field party.

Contact any board member if you are interested in participating in a field party or as a feeder watcher.

The Illinois Spring Bird Count falls on the Saturday between May 4 and May 11, near the peak of song bird migration. Field parties often identify 100 or more different species during a Spring Count. Participants in the Spring Bird Count may join a field party, or they may choose to count the birds that visit their feeder or a neighborhood park.

Contact any board member if you are interested in participating in the Illinois Spring Bird Count.

Conservation Projects

Conservation Committee Projects focus on wildlife habitat improvement. Here are some examples:

Bluebird trail at Horseshoe Bend on the Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge in Louisa County. QCAS built and maintains a one-mile long bluebird trail on the prairie restoration in Horseshoe Bend. We clean, repair, or replace boxes in late February or early March so the boxes are ready for the bluebird nesting season. We are always on the lookout for volunteers to monitor nest success during the nesting season.
Invasive species removal. In early July, we focus on the removal of sweet clover at the Lyndon-Agnew Prairie outside of Lyndon Illinois (see below for more information). Other opportunities for invasive plant removal include euonymous at Blackhawk State Historic Site in April and garlic mustard in May.
Collection of a variety of prairie plant seeds for the prairie restoration at Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge.
Water quality surveys. Conservation committee members monitor the quality of streams in Illinois every June.
Wildlife population surveys including frog and toad studies at Nahant Marsh in Davenport and other locations and the annual Crane Count at various sites close to the Quad Cities.

Lyndon-Agnew Prairie is northeast of the Quad Cities along Interstate 88. It is a prairie remnant, preserved only because a railroad track was built before the ground could be plowed. This is a situation common to prairie remnants. The few remaining often find themselves along railroad track right-of-ways, in the oldest cemeteries or on ground too rocky, too sandy or too steep to be farmed. Yet even these sites fall to herbicides and shrubby encroachment. Unfortunately the railroad track right-of-way is nearly all prairie edge. The native prairie has been weakened by a variety of forces, and burning along an Interstate, while not impossible, is difficult. Still, the prairie exists and it exists as a functioning prairie with a good diversity of vegetation. There are believed to be around 70 native plants species in this remnant. Some of these, Turks Cap Lily, Philadelphia Lily, Sullivant's Milkweed are rare to endangered in Illinois. Others such as the Northern Dropseed/Prairie Gentian community evoke thoughts of how prairie once might have looked. The prairie cannot continue to exist without our assistance. Every year Quad City Audubon members have worked to help remove invasive species. It seems as if the efforts are helping. One of our target species, Sweet Clover, has markedly decreased over past years. The work itself is not hard, but the environment can be difficult. It is generally hot and humid, there is often little wind and there is no shade. Our major implement of destruction is a lopper though some use spades to cut plants at the soil line.

If you would like to volunteer for these or other Conservation Committee projects, please contact either of the Conservation Committee co-chairs, Carol Rogers or Patrick Carlson.

Education Committee

Every January, the Education Committee prepares a booth at the QCCA Expo center and operates spotting scopes along the Mississippi River during the Bald Eagle Days environmental fair. We can always use assistance preparing for the event, staffing the booth, and operating the scopes. Contact Linda Boardsen if you would like to volunteer.

Newsletter Committee

QCAS publishes Mississippi Currents our chapter newsletter, six times a year. You can contribut by submitting articles, drawings, and photos of interest. Send your submissions to Jason Monson. Contact Jason Monson if you can help with editing and page layout as well.

If you've been thinking about getting involved in any way, feel free to contact any board member.