Public invited to view plan for widening portions of Huntsville Road and Fifteenth Street from 4 to 7 p.m. today

People interested in protecting Northwest Arkansas' two major watersheds, in this case, the watershed of the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River and Beaver Lake, need to turn out and make sure that the planners are taking into account the potential affect of this project on water quality and the need for stormwater retention to avoid increasing the flooding and erosion threat downstream.

View Larger Map
Please use controls and cursor to move the image, zoom in or out and trace the whole route to be discussed this afternoon.

Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department officials will reveal the first phase of design for widening a 2.7-mile stretch of Arkansas 16 between S. College Avenue and Stonebridge Road to four lanes and installing a traffic light at the Stonebridge intersection, east of Crossover Road from 4 to 7 p.m. in the activity center of Fayetteville First Assembly of God at 550 E. 15th St. There won't be a presentation; residents can look at displays, ask questions and give feedback verbally or on survey forms, The Northwest Arkansas Times reported in its March 31, 2009, edition.

Severed limb budding at end. Birds and squirrels and rabbits may eat them

Here is the caption with the photo of limbs burning in Benton County:
Up in smoke:
Benton County employee Harvey Johnson watched a fire at 10791 Stoney Point Road near Lowell on Thursday. The county is burning limbs and trees broken by this winter’s ice storm. Other burn sites are at 9900 Marchant Road in Elm Springs, 21447 Waukesha Road in Siloam Springs and 19941 Bettis Hill Road near War Eagle. Washington County is also burning ice-storm debris on North 40th Street in Springdale. DAVID FRANK DEMPSEY / Benton County Daily Record

If no one in either county had a fireplace or a wood stove, this might seem slightly less ridiculous.
I hope a lot of people who can use firewood or who would collect it and sell it will be at those sites before more is burned and load it up and take it away.
This wood would save people money, reduce air pollution now and save the carbon in these limbs for actual home heating and reduce global climate change (because people with wood stoves and fire places will be buying wood next fall and reducing the tree cover even more in Northwest Arkansas).
Additionally, birds and squirrels are eating buds on those limbs where they are lying. In fact, many large limbs or trunks lying separated from the main trunk for nearly two months are budding right now! So wildlife are having to search a bit more for food, which may be tough for birds facing nesting season.
Burning material with this much value is WRONG.
It is even worse than chipping it all. This is incredibly wasteful and inconsiderate of people and other living things. I am proud to live in Fayetteville where an effort is being made to separate potential firewood for sharing and where the rest is being chipped rather than burned.
This is an example of the need for cross-training and keeping all environmental enforcement under one big umbrella. Apparently, it would be the responsibility of the EPA to see that FEMA's requirements for subsidizing "cleanup" efforts meet environmental guidelines. But I would bet that the EPA has had no input in the cleanup efforts. Otherwise, they would have required sound environmental use of the downed trees and limbs.
And, if there were any budgetary control of FEMA, their pet contractors would be required to compact and compress the loads of loose limbs in their trailers and trucks before claiming a load is full and counting it on the basis of cubic yards.
If you take waste metal to a steel yard or aluminum-recycling facility, you will have your vehicle weighed and then weighed again after the workers pull off what can be recycled. They don't pay more for half-empty truckloads or uncrushed cans that fill a big bag. The scales tell the story.
Should the taxpayers support a system that rewards only selected contractors and ignores the value of the material being destroyed in the pretense of "cleaning up" after a disaster? And requires the hiring of "inspectors" or whatever from different pet companies to make sure the trucks aren't overfilled?
My questions aren't original. I have heard these questions from residents of Fayetteville who are offended by the appearance of poor management and waste.
The city can't ask these questions because the EPA MIGHT look into the problem and FEMA MIGHT delay reimbursement of the city for the work that took a big chunk out of the city's reserve fund.
But somebody has to ask why they don't just weigh the loads and pay and reimburse on the results. My neighbors have asked.

Severed limb budding at end. Birds and squirrels and rabbits may eat them

Here is the caption with the photo of limbs burning in Benton County:
Up in smoke:
Benton County employee Harvey Johnson watched a fire at 10791 Stoney Point Road near Lowell on Thursday. The county is burning limbs and trees broken by this winter’s ice storm. Other burn sites are at 9900 Marchant Road in Elm Springs, 21447 Waukesha Road in Siloam Springs and 19941 Bettis Hill Road near War Eagle. Washington County is also burning ice-storm debris on North 40th Street in Springdale. DAVID FRANK DEMPSEY / Benton County Daily Record

If no one in either county had a fireplace or a wood stove, this might seem slightly less ridiculous.
I hope a lot of people who can use firewood or who would collect it and sell it will be at those sites before more is burned and load it up and take it away.
This wood would save people money, reduce air pollution now and save the carbon in these limbs for actual home heating and reduce global climate change (because people with wood stoves and fire places will be buying wood next fall and reducing the tree cover even more in Northwest Arkansas).
Additionally, birds and squirrels are eating buds on those limbs where they are lying. In fact, many large limbs or trunks lying separated from the main trunk for nearly two months are budding right now! So wildlife are having to search a bit more for food, which may be tough for birds facing nesting season.
Burning material with this much value is WRONG.
It is even worse than chipping it all. This is incredibly wasteful and inconsiderate of people and other living things. I am proud to live in Fayetteville where an effort is being made to separate potential firewood for sharing and where the rest is being chipped rather than burned.
This is an example of the need for cross-training and keeping all environmental enforcement under one big umbrella. Apparently, it would be the responsibility of the EPA to see that FEMA's requirements for subsidizing "cleanup" efforts meet environmental guidelines. But I would bet that the EPA has had no input in the cleanup efforts. Otherwise, they would have required sound environmental use of the downed trees and limbs.
And, if there were any budgetary control of FEMA, their pet contractors would be required to compact and compress the loads of loose limbs in their trailers and trucks before claiming a load is full and counting it on the basis of cubic yards.
If you take waste metal to a steel yard or aluminum-recycling facility, you will have your vehicle weighed and then weighed again after the workers pull off what can be recycled. They don't pay more for half-empty truckloads or uncrushed cans that fill a big bag. The scales tell the story.
Should the taxpayers support a system that rewards only selected contractors and ignores the value of the material being destroyed in the pretense of "cleaning up" after a disaster? And requires the hiring of "inspectors" or whatever from different pet companies to make sure the trucks aren't overfilled?
My questions aren't original. I have heard these questions from residents of Fayetteville who are offended by the appearance of poor management and waste.
The city can't ask these questions because the EPA MIGHT look into the problem and FEMA MIGHT delay reimbursement of the city for the work that took a big chunk out of the city's reserve fund.
But somebody has to ask why they don't just weigh the loads and pay and reimburse on the results. My neighbors have asked.

Joe Neal finds Trillium pusillum variant ozarkanum at Cave Springs Natural Area on March 22, 2009

After seeing the trilliums in bloom at Ninestone Land Trust on March
20, I decided to head over to Cave Springs Cave Natural Area in Benton
Co., to visit the mother lode of Ozark Wake Robin (Trillium pusillum
var. ozarkanum). They were sure enough in bloom -- thousands on a
gentle north-facing slope above a cave that houses the rare Ozark Cave
Fish. I was also hoping to get my first spring hearing of
Black-and-white Warbler, an early parula or Yellow-throated Vireo, but
struck out. The trilliums alone were worth the effort. However, I
didn't go away feeling all that great about the visit...

Unfortunately, patches of these rare trilliums on Cave Springs Cave
Natural Area are in the process of being overwhelmed and smothered by
honeysuckle. The only cure for such a thing is mother nature's
favorite tool, fire. Repeated winter or early spring burns, before the
trilliums are up, would suppress/push back the honeysuckle and other
alien plants, leaving the cherty rubble free for the emergence of
trilliums and other botanicals adapted to open forest landscapes free
of smootherers & stranglers like honeysuckle. Some patches have
already been lost to honeysuckle.

I mention this in the context of rare trilliums, because the same
thing hugely impacts birds. Many among us in the conservation (in our
case, bird lovin/ Audubon community) still don't have the fire thing
figured out -- how historically fires shaped the natural landscape,
and how without deliberately using fire, it will be impossible to
reset the clock, even in those patches that we call preserves, natural
areas, national forests, etc.
Admittedly, my attitude about this is STRONGLY shaped by years of
working as a USDA Forest Service Wildlife Biologist with endangered
Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, which were headed for extinction before
biologists began to strongly push fire back into southern pine
forests. Bobwhite quail, Bachman's Sparrows, Prairie Warblers and many
other birds have rebounded in those habitats where fire is
reintroduced. I saw it for myself on the Ouachita National Forest in
west central Arkansas.

So, my friends in the conservation community with a worry about fire,
treat yourself to a good read. The bible in this case: Restoring North
American Birds, Lessons from Landscape Ecology, by Robert A. Askins (I
read the second edition). Unlike many environmental books, this one is
pure as a bedside reader, Aldo Leopoldish astride our fire-hungry
landscape.

We don't need to keep scratching our heads about this one. Just get
that drip torch and go to work!

JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Focus group to discuss plan for Beaver Lake

On Wednesday, March 25th, you are invited to a focus group meeting with Tetratech to discuss the status of the Beaver Lake Watershed Management Plan that they have been helping facilitate. This follow-up focus group meeting with conservation and environmental representatives will take place on Wednesday, March 25th at 3pm in the Chicago Room (room #220) at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale. They want to gather your feedback on some of the management options that they have been developing for the watershed.
I believe each of you participated in the first focus group meeting Tetratech convened a few months back. If you have suggestions for other folks who should be included in this focus group, please let me know or pass this invitation along to them.
Tetratech has put together a series of newsletters to update you and other focus group members on the status of the project. I will distribute some of the newsletters attached to this message and others attached to another message early next week.
Please let me know if you have any questions and whether you will be able to attend the meeting on Wednesday, March 25th at 3pm.
Thank you!
Mike Malone
387-5590 (cell)

Grackles 30 feet from World Peace Wetland Prairie

Please click on images and please comment below to confirm the species. Are these the common grackles?

Daylight-saving time means woodcock roosting will be later this week

(1) Well, as I do annually, I plum forgot about daylight savings time.
I will still be out there at 5:30, as announced, but the dancin' is
unlikely until near sunset, which is an hour later, as of today! But
there is other stuff to do, anyway. (2) When I set the trip up I
didn't know Forest Service road 1754 would be under reconstruction,
which it is. Therefore, I must assume we will have a short (but
interesting & birdy, etc etc) walk to the fields, rather than drive in
there with our bigtime gas guzzlers. (3) BRING A FLASHLIGHT. Jacque
Brown reminded me that it is a great idea to bring a flashlight, since
we have this unplanned walk (see #2) out. She & Mike found woodcocks
still going there yesterday (Saturday). (4) Just in case there is
comment that our Sunday field trip interfers with church: it is a kind
of church & hopefully we will have a big worshipful congregation at
our upcoming Wedington services.

JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Privit-berry bandits remain at World Peace Wetland Prairie

Please click on images to Enlarge view of cedar waxwing enjoying privit berries on March 5, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

February 2009 newsletter of the NWAS

Please click on images to read the pages of the newsletter.


Please click on images to view pages of the February 2009 Northwest Arkansas Audubon Newsletter.

Bewick's wren photographed by David Oakley on February 22, 2009

Please click on image of Bewick's wren to Enlarge photo made by G. David Oakley of Springdale on 2/22/09 when Mike Mlodinow, Jacque Brown, and Oakley identified the wren at Pea Ridge Military Park where Mike had found it a couple of weeks previously.



At the risk of showing just how poorly I function as a photographer of birds, I am displaying a different species photographed on March 2, 2009, near a hollow portion of a damaged maple tree in the hope that someone will identify its species by clicking on the "comments" link below and sharing the information. Please click on the image to ENLARGE. The photo will still be blurry but will likely made identification easy for those who recognize it.

Wedington woodcock on radar for March 15

American Woodcock field trip Sunday March 15. Sponsored by Northwest
Arkansas Audubon Society.

The 450-acre Wedington Small Game Area is on the northwest
corner of the Wedington Unit of the Ozark-St. Francis NF, approx. 16
miles west of Fayetteville & approx. 4 miles east of Siloam Springs.
The 15,000-acre Wedington Unit is designated as an Urban Forest. We
will listen for & hopefully observe woodcocks in the small game area.

From the intersection of HWY 412 and Interstate 540 in Springdale, go
west approx. 13.2 miles on HWY 412. Note that Kincheloe Road bisects
412, with turns north AND south. If you are driving from Springdale,
you will first pass Kincheloe Rd on your north at approx. 12.6-12.7
miles; don't turn. Keep going another 0.5 miles and turn left SOUTH
onto Kincheloe Road and travel WEST for approx. 1.3 miles to Forest
Service road 1754 (on the right). We will meet at this intersection
(Kincheloe and FS 1754) promptly at 5:30 PM. (if you arrive late,
drive 1754 & find us ? we will be less than a mile away on the road).
Bring a chair, since we will sit and wait for the woodcock displays to
begin near and shortly after sunset. LOTS of other birds are in the
area to enjoy during the wait. Mosquitoes could be out & about if the
weather is warm. Sunset is 7:25 PM.

View Larger Map
Overall, this should be a fairly easy trip for most folks, including
those with walking impairments. The woodcock displays should be
viewable/audible from where we park. Maps: if you use Google Earth,
type Kincheloe Road Siloam Springs, AR into the search. This will
produce a map of this area. There is also a map of the Wedington Unit
at:
http://www.agfc.com/!userfiles/pdfs/wma_lake_maps/Wedington%20WMA%20Map.pdf

JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Joe Neal visits Woolsey Wet Prairie after prescribed burn and snowfall to find birds active on March 1, 2009

I was out at Woolsey Wet Prairie in Fayetteville this morning, for
about as long as I could take it: temps in 20s, north wind, water
iced-over, and a thin crust of snow. Woolsey was prescribe burned on
February 20, so a lot of the tall grasses are short and black. But
there are many places too wet for fire to be effective, and vegetation
remained there. First thing I noticed -- more meadowlarks there than I
had seen before (35-40) -- no doubt, taking advantage of the good
foraging after the burn (I only heard Easterns). Also, maybe 15
Wilson's Snipe. Sedge Wren - 1 -- in sedges not much impacted. Then,
suddenly, an American Bittern lifted up in front of me out of some
dense vegetation between the prairie mounds, tried to go north, then
sort of drifted back low and right over me. Other than a bittern I
once saw & watched in a leisurely fashion while sitting in my car at
Centerton, this was one of the best looks ever. This bird clearly had
both legs and both feet. There were 15-20 Swamp Sparrows, ~10 Song
sparrows, 8 White-crowned Sparrows, and a seemingly endless flock of
Savannah Sparrows, which I counted up to 78.

Now for a couple of landscape comments: Behind Woolsey is NWA's newest
mountain -- it's called Mt Limb & Tree Trunk, child of the ice storm,
growing daily, and being returned to wood fiber by the planet's
biggest wood chipper. The prairie itself never looked more
interesting: with much of the vegetation burned-off, you can clearly
see the height & shape of the prairie mounds and the inter-moundal
playas.

JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Joe Neal reports on workday at Wilson Spring

I woke up this morning in Fayetteville to gray skies, north wind, and
snow on the ground. Could be a good birding day. Also, a good day for
conservation. Michelle Viney (and her team) from Audubon Arkansas'
northwest Arkansas field office (Fayetteville) teamed up with Sam's
Club for a volunteer work day at the Wilson Springs property here in
Fayetteville, adjacent the Sam's Club. Over the years, Mike Mlodinow
and I have documented more than 120 bird species there (Bell's Vireo,
Painted Bunting, American Bittern, etc). Despite the cold, north wind
& snow, there were 25-30 volunteers to help remove invasive callery
pears -- what is hopefully the opening effort to reclaim this former
tallgrass prairie and Henslow's Sparrow nesting habitat.
The volunteers are women and men, youngish and oldish. All of us here
in NWA have been hauling limbs for a month as a result of the ice
storm. Here were the volunteers from Sam's Club anyway. What a sight
it was.

Michelle asked me to make a few comments before the volunteers set off
on the pear-removal effort. Here's what I offered:

The history of this property is basically lost in the mist of time,
so let me take you back.
Native Americans hunted buffalo here. Buffalo were still seen in the
Fayetteville area by the first visitors in the 1820s.

The City of Fayetteville was established in Prairie Township. Please
note: it was not established in Tree Township, Subdivision Township,
or Mall Township, or Sam's Club Township. It was Prairie Township,
because when the first settlers here looked around what they saw were
tall, native, prairie grass: Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indian
Grass, and Switch Grass. The only trees they saw were in scattered
oak barrens surrounded by native grass plus trees along the major
streams, like Clabber Creek.

This is what I mean about being lost in the mist of time. You cannot
look around Fayetteville now and see the buffalo or the native
grasses. But, that doesn't mean history is unimportant.

Clabber Creek and its associated natural springs is an important
perennial stream that runs through what was once an extensive prairie
that consisted of at least 25 square miles, part of which included
Prairie Township. In the Clabber Creek area, open fields were covered
with prairies grasses and prairie wildflowers. The fields included
small round mounds?we call them prairie mounds-- that formed thousands
of years ago. Mounds have been mostly plowed down and paved over. The
native grasses and wildflowers have been mostly replaced with
non-native grasses like fescue. The fields have been invaded by
non-native trees like callery pears.

The Wilson Spring property is important because many aspects of its
status as prairie grassland remain. There are still prairie mounds on
the property, including fine examples near the Wilson Spring run
within sight of Sam's Club. A rare prairie fish, the Arkansas Darter,
can still be found in Wilson Spring. Scattered in nooks and crannies
are small areas that retain the four chief native grasses: Big
Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indian Grass, and Switch Grass. Some very
rare wetland plants have also survived, reminding us of our natural
heritage right under our noses here alongside I-540.

Wilson Spring is still one of the best places in the immediate
Fayetteville area to see and hear more than 120 species of native
birds, many of them strongly associated with prairies. Bell's Vireo,
once a common bird here, still nests in the open field thickets.
Painted Buntings (one of America's most beautiful native birds)
occurs here in summer. Until recent years, Henslow's Sparrow found one
of its only nesting habitats in Arkansas here.

In the heart of the development area of northwest Arkansas,
Wilson Spring provides that rare greenspace where people can commune
with nature on her own terms near where we live the rest of our lives.
Restoration efforts can improve this opportunity by returning more of
Wilson Spring to its original beauty and functionality as a prairie
coursed by perennial springs and Clabber Creek.

This restoration will add greatly to the value of the property to all
visitors, surrounding developments, and it will help rescue from the
mists of time our true prairie origins in Prairie Township.

JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Don't let the contractors take all your brushpiles; the birds won't forgive you

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of mockingbird on brushpile at World Peace Wetland Prairie on February 25, 2009,


The more buds you spot on the ends of small limbs the more likely these limbs are the ones to keep on your property if you want plenty of song birds to be in your neighborhood when spring comes. You might also try to convince your neighbors to preserve some similar brushpiles on their property. And urging neighbors to preserve ice-damaged trees on their property also will help.
Many won't understand. But every property owner who keeps a brush pile or resists pressure to cut down a damaged tree can make a difference in the reproductive success of song birds in the coming spring.

President Doug James announces February 28, 2009, meeting in Bentonville Public Library

I thought the newsletter would have reached you all by now but delays by
the printer make it unlikely. So I hereby announce that the second
Public Meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society will be this
coming Saturday, February 28, 10 am to noon in the Wal-Mart Room of the
Bentonville Public Library. The program will be a repeat of UofA Prof.
Malcolm Cleaveland's presentation last Saturday at the Fayetteville Public
Library--"Climate Change Coming Soon to a Planet Near You." This repeat
pattern will be followed at meeting this spring to attract members in both
the southern and northern parts of the NW Arkansas region.


Douglas A. James tel: 479-575-6364
Department of Biological Sciences fax: 479-575-4010
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201, U.S.A. e-mail: djames@uark.edu

Read my beak, Bella Vista: Don't oil my eggs, don't shoot my goslings

Please click on image of face of Canada goose to Enlarge and read her bill.

Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society gathers for global-warming program

Click on images to enlarge view of a couple of slides on suggestions for mitigating global climate change that were a part of the Saturday Feb. 21 Fayetteville Public Library event, "Climate Change Coming Soon to a Planet Near You," presented by UoA Professor Malcomb Cleaveland.
On Saturday Feb. 28, 10 am to noon, the same presentation will be repeated in the Rotary Room of the Bentonville Public Library.

Mockingbird finds sunshine nice after another cold night on World Peace Wetland Prairie

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of mockingbird on February 19, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society meets at 10 a.m. Saturday in Fayetteville Public Library

Sat. Feb. 21, 10 am to noon, Walker Room, Fayetteville Public Library
> "Climate Change Coming Soon to a Planet Near You"
> presented by UoA Professor Malcomb Cleaveland
>
> Sat. Feb. 28, 10 am to noon, the same presentation will be repeated
> in the Rotary Room of the Bentonville Public Library.
>
>
> Douglas A. James tel: 479-575-6364
> Department of Biological Sciences fax: 479-575-4010
> University of Arkansas
> Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201, U.S.A. e-mail: djames@uark.edu
>

The Great Pruning: Joe Neal names the ice storm of 2009

I have a name for our now, just-about-all-gone northwest Arkansas ice
storm: the great pruning. It has pruned just everything. I went to the
old Lindsey Prairie today at Siloam Springs. The old former prairie is
covered with melted ice water. All the low places are playas. Saw 7
Bald Eagles in a field, gathered around remains of a small carcass --
maybe an ice victim -- seemed to be taking turns picking at what was
left. Tall prairie mounds north of the Siloam airport offer refuge
from the ice melt -- saw 2 coyotes enjoying themselves on the east
side of a big mound, in bright sunshine. One of the them was darker
than any coyote I've seen. Just down the road -- a fine Harlan's Hawk,
perfect blotches like the cover image on the current issue of Birding.
Hailing from the Far North, you know a big hawk like that probably
wasn't too inconvenienced by the ice or the great pruning. The great
pruning laid down the tall grasses at Chesney Prairie Natural Area.
Swamp Sparrows there probably appreciate more water. I was watching
them, then overhead heard a familiar gabbling overhead -- a flock of
maybe 100 Snow Geese (blues and whites), heading north. What the heck,
it was 60 degrees and the sky was pure blue -- maybe they were missing
winter.

JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

City link below offers wide range of information to help cope with ice-storm problems

Fayetteville city Web site offers information on ice-storm related concerns, debris pickup, shelters, other services

Please name the bird not part of the flock on World Peace Wetland Prairie

Please click on images to identify birds on World Peace Wetland Prairie from sundown to dusk on January 29, 2009.




Joe Neal identified the odd bird among the doves as a sapsucker!

Woodpeckers can have a great year in Fayetteville if people will keep the damaged trees that die later from the ice storm

Please click on images to ENLARGE view of woodpecker on World Peace Wetland Prairie at about sunset on January 29, 2009.

Sparrows and other species search for scattered corn on ice on January 29, 2009

Please click on images for mix of birds enjoying scattering of chopped corn on icy ground in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on January 29, 2009.

Mallards enjoy south Fayetteville ice on January 29, 2009

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of mallards on ice in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on January 29, 2009.

Red-shouldered hawk hunts from willow tree on Pinnacle Foods wet prairie adjacent to WPWP on January 21, 2009

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of red-shouldered hawk on Pinnacle Prairie, adjacent to World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The hawk is perched in a willow tree on alert for small birds and mammals on the prairie.

David Oakley shares photos made in January 2009

Please click on image to ENLARGE.




I have attached a photo of a Pileated Woodpecker that I was able to capture at Lake Fayetteville a week or so ago. It is perhaps the best shot I have been able to get of that particular bird. I have also included two photos of Bald Eagles that I shot at the Gentry Eagle Watch Nature Trail yesterday.
G. David Oakley
Springdale, AR

Bonaparte's gulls crossing Beaver Lake's dam catch Joe Neal's attention on January 14, 2009

Yesterday morning, from about 7:30 AM to 9:20 AM, I watched as
Bonaparte's Gulls streamed into Beaver Lake in flocks of 10-30. By
9:30 I had tallied a minimum of 342 birds. They came in from the NE,
crossing the north end of the dam. After crossing into the dam site,
they continued up the lake and out of sight. Perhaps they had flown
from a night roost on Table Rock Lake, like Beaver an impoundment of
the former White River that begins just downstream from the Beaver dam
site. I know that 342 Bonaparte's Gulls are just chump change compared
to counts further south, but this is a very high count for NW
Arkansas. I'm not sure I'm a gullophile myself, but it was a
fascinating few hours, and I may have seen a fair percentage of the
Bonaparte's spread out on Beaver. Later in the day, the biggest flock
I saw was at Lost Bridge North Park, where approx. 45 Bonaparte's --
including a dozen Ring-billed -- worked a flock of 50 goldeneyes. It
was a windy day, but I did see the Western Grebe again from Slate Gap
Road.

JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas. "Nature is already as good
as it possibly can be. He who seeks to improve it will spoil it. He
who tries to direct it will mislead it and become lost himself." --
Chinese philosopher about 2,500 years ago

Short-eared owl photos from Chesney Prairie taken by David Oakley

Please click on images to ENLARGE photos of short-eared owl taken by David Oakley at Chesney Prairie on January 10, 2009.

Joe Neal reports that 25 people walked through Chesney Prairie Natural Area on Saturday and were rewarded by spotting many birds

Amazingly, in real cold & in a sharp, northwest wind, 25 people turned
out for a walk through Chesney Prairie NA sponsored by Northwest
Arkansas Audubon Society. It wasn't easy to see little birds in these
conditions -- fingers don't work binoculars so well. BUT, the prize was a
Short-eared Owl that flushed from a prairie mound in the tall grass.
It flew & circled, perched on a post, got photographed, flew some
more. This is at least the third mid-winter in a row that we have
found Short-eared Owls on this place.

Also: January is eagle month for NWA -- Bald Eagles seem now just
"everywhere." Bill Thurman & I counted 12 on our drive between between
Springdale & Siloam on 412. Art Evans from Gravette called me to say
he had 75 in one place--folks welcomed to visit. Joe Woolbright had 12
perched in one tree.

JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Dark-eyed Juncos common around World Peace Wetland Prairie in early January 2009

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of dark-eyed Junco 50 feet from World Peace Wetland Prairie on January 6, 2009.

Warren Fields offers a couple of extra treats for Saturday morning birders visiting Chesney Prairie

Warren Fields lives near Chesney Prairie Natural Area at Siloam
Springs. He has invited anyone interested to come by his place -- that
sometimes has interesting birds -- anytime after 8AM on Saturday --
the field trip starts at 10 AM Saturday, Jan. 10. Besides birds, he
has offered something further ... read on...his place is just a couple
of minutes from the field trip, too...

"Joe, I live near the Chesney and would like to extend an invitation
to everyone to come by for coffee and muffins before going birding.
Also the birding in my back yard is sometimes very interesting. For
those intersted, anytime after 8:00 AM would be fine.

If coming from Fayetteville on highway 412, turn north on highway 59,
go through the stop light at Cheri Whitlock and it is the first house
on the left.

Coming from Gentry on highway 59, go past Bill Young Road, and it is
the first house on the right past the two greenhouses. About a quarter
mile past Bill Young Road.

It is a red brick house set back a ways from the road. Thanks,
Warren Fields

Nest likely that of a field sparrow, according to Dr. Doug James

Please click on images to ENLARGE view of bird's nest 18 inches or so above the ground in the fork of a small sapling on World Peace Wetland Prairie on January 5, 2009.


Please click on "comments" below to give information about the likely creator of this nest, which was revealed by Lauren Hawkins while cutting back tall grass and other plants that had hidden the nest during the growing season. Dr. Doug James and Joe Neal said that this appeared to a field sparrow's nest.

Woodpecker and cardinal share free lunch

Please click image to ENLARGE view of woodpecker and female cardinal sharing hen scratch at World Peace Wetland Prairie edge on January 1, 2009.

Field trip set for 10 a.m. Saturday, January 10, 2009, at Chesney Prairie Nature Area

field trip, Chesney Prairie NA, Sat. Jan. 10, 2009. Meet 10 AM.‏
From: joeneal (joeneal@uark.edu)
Sent: Mon 12/29/08 8:52 AM

Please mark your 2009 calendar for a field trip with the newly
reflegged Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society, Saturday January 10,
2009. Meet at the entrance to Chesney Prairie Natural Area (directions
below)starting at 10 AM. The relatively late start is to accommodate
travel and let things warm up a bit. Chesney is a fine place to see a
variety of grassland and open country birds typical of northwestern
Arkansas at mid-winter. Please share this announcement with anyone who
might be interested. Joe Woolbright has mowed good paths and folks can
walk as much or as little as they like among spectacular native
tallgrasses. There is plenty of good car birding with a good view of
the old Lindsley Prairie in the immediate area, too, if walking isn't
a good option. For more information, Joe Neal 479 521 1858, or email,
or Joe Woolbright 479 427 4277.

Location of CPNA: Benton County, near Siloam Springs, AR. How to get
there: From Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, take highway 412 W to near
Siloam Springs city limits. At the intersection of 412 & 59, turn N
onto 59. You pass the Siloam Springs airport. Approximately 1 mile
past the airport, note an intersection: the road W is ?Chesney;? road
E is ?Bill Young.? Take Bill Young Road E approximately 0.8 miles. At
this point there is a gravel farm road going N. Go approximately 0.5
miles N on this road to the dead end at chicken houses and the
entrance sign to CPNA.



JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas. "Nature is already as good
as it possibly can be. He who seeks to improve it will spoil it. He
who tries to direct it will mislead it and become lost himself." --
Chinese philosopher about 2,500 years ago

Cedar waxwing eats berry of nonnative privit on December 28, 2008, on World Peace Wetland Prairie

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of cedar waxwing with privit berry on WPWP on December 28, 2008.

Cedar waxwings on December 28, 2008, at World Peace Wetland Prairie eat berries of privet and China honeysuckle

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of cedar waxwing with face shaded. One must scroll left and right and up and down to find bird closeup in enlarged image. Please be patient.

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of cedar waxwing with berry of nonnative privet bush in its bill on December 28, 2008.

Please click on image to see why this bird is called a cedar waxwing.

Cerulean warbler nesting area adds 80-acre protected zone

Bird’s Breeding Grounds Protected In Ozarks

By The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — The fastest disappearing member of the warbler family is getting a break in Missouri.

The number of the small, sky-blue bird — the cerulean warbler — has been declining over the past four decades. But the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports it is getting a boost through the acquisition of an 80-acre plot of prime breeding ground for the warblers in the Ozarks.

The acreage is bordered on three sides by state and federal forest land, and the fourth side belongs to a conservation-minded private owner.

The 80 acres plugs the doughnut hole that, if cleared, would have allowed the intrusion of cowbirds and other predators that threaten many breeding warblers.

The American Bird Conservancy says securing the tract and keeping it from being cleared and developed will enhance the reproductive success of pairs breeding within a mile around the site.

Please click on image to ENLARGE.

Joan Reynolds recaps December 17, 2008, meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society

Here's a recap of the NWAAS meeting Dec. 17, 2008: The following
persons were elected officers for the upcoming year 2009:

Doug James, President djames@uark.edu
Joanie Patterson, Vice President joanie.patterson@yahoo.com
Ann Paillet, Treasurer fredp@cox.net
Stephanie Cribbs, Secretary stephanie cribbs@live.com

The following persons volunteered for various positions as set forth
below, to be nominated and confirmed at the first board meeting of
January, 2009:

Scott Michaud Director/Writing/Publications mazhude@yahoo.com
Fred Paillet Director fredp@cox.net
Sarah Whittenberg Director sara_ress@hotmail.com
Brandon Schmidt Director/Website brandonschmidt2@gmail.com
Kris Bolin Director kabolin21@tntech.edu
Aubrey Shepherd Director, Website/Photography
aubreyshepherd@hotmail.com
Joe Neal Director, Field Trips joeneal@uark.edu
Leigh Helm Director leigh7h@aol.com


Thank you all so much for attending the meeting and keeping NWAAS
going! Let me know if you have any questions.

Joan Reynolds

Dr. Doug James accepts presidency of Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Doug James on December 17, 2008.

Neal announces first Audubon field trip for 2009 series to be held on December 28, 2008!

Everyone is welcome to join the newly reorganized Northwest Arkansas
Audubon Society on a field trip to the Eagle Watch Nature Area, just
west of Gentry in Benton County. Sunday, December 28, 2008. Meet at
the parking area just off highway 12, at 9 AM. I will post directions
below. It can be a birdy place, and not just Bald Eagles. After, some
may want to "retire" to a locale a few miles away, for Great-tailed
Grackles, etc.

DIRECTIONS AND OTHER INFO: Notice Highway 59 on your Arkansas highway
map. Gentry is at the intersection of 59 and Highway 12. From this
intersection, travel W on 12 for approx. two miles. The Eagle Watch
Nature Area is approx. 1 mile W of the city limits on the S side of
the highway. Look for the parking lot on the highway?s S side,
immediately E of the highway bridge spanning Little Flint Creek. There
is an information sign in the parking area.
The approx. 1,500 acres of EWNA are part the 500-acre SWEPCO Lake,
constructed to provide cooling water for the coal-fired plant
generating electricity for NW Arkansas. During winter, temperatures in
the lake average in the low 70s. This warm water is presumably the
source of some interesting bird records. The parking lot is the
starting point for a trail that is 0.5 miles long (1 mile round trip).
The trail is well-marked, generally level, and easily walked because
of a thick bed of mulch. The first 0.3 miles include open fields and
the Little Flint Creek bottoms. There is a farm to the E, and a
forested ridge to the W. The final 0.2 miles includes an optional
steeper path into typical Ozark woodland. The trail ends at an
attractive pavilion that provides tables, an appealing overlook of
part of the lake and forested ridges, and information about the flora
and fauna of EWNA.


JOSEPH C. NEAL in Fayetteville, Arkansas. "I have great faith in a
seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to
expect wonders." -- HD Thoreau

Audubon Arkansas

Please click on image to ENLARGE.

Rumor that Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society was dying put to rest

About half the seats in the Pat and Willard Walker meeting room at the Fayetteville Public Library filled with enthusiastic Audubon supporters Wednesday night. New officers were elected and volunteer board members signed on. Joe Neal offered a slate of outings for 2009, starting on December 28, 2008.
Neal hikes and watches birds and leads organized birding events regularly.
We'll provide updates regularly.
The "new" president is Professor Doug James, who was the adviser/leader of the Northwest Arkansas Audubon chapter when it was mostly made up of graduate students from his biology classes decades ago!
A special treat was that Michelle Viney, the Northwest Arkansas coordinator for Audubon Arkansas, attended and offered a new level of cooperation of the local and state chapter and national Audubon.
And, most important, some of the most significant young conservationists in Northwest Arkansas participated.