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Keep watching as more speaker notes will continue to be added
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Bobcat: The Reclusive Native Cat of Illinois At a virtual meeting of the Peoria Audubon Society, Jennifer Kuroda - founder of the Illinois Bobcat Foundation - speaks about all facets of bobcats in Illinois. Jennifer's talk includes information about bobcat's history, biology, predator perception, and management. In addition, Jennifer speaks about ongoing bobcat population studies in Illinois. Additionally, pending Illinois legislation regarding hunting and trapping is discussed; along with participant questions and answers. |
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History, Hghlights, and Recent Developments Jason Beverlin, Deputy Director of The Nature Conservancy's Illinois River Program, provided a brief history, an overview of the highlights, and recent developments at the over 6000-acre Emiquon Preserve - one of the largest floodplain restoration developments in the Midwest. Located adjacent to the Illinois River near Havana, IL, The Nature Conservancy of Illinois owns and manages the site. |
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Hiding in Plain Sight: Forest Park Owls of St. Louis Mark H.X. Glenshaw is an award-winning naturalist who has closely observed and documented the lives of Great Horned Owls in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri since December 2005. Mark’s virtual talk, "Hiding in Plain Sight - Forest Park Owls of St. Louis," covers how he found these owls, basic facts about the species, and the different behaviors he has been able to see and document with photos and videos to illustrate these behaviors. |
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Living on a Barge and Cleaning Up the River Mike Coyne-Logan, Education Facilitator of Living Lands & Waters, spoke at a Peoria Audubon Society virtual meeting about river cleanups with a focus on waste reduction. Mike shared the history of the organization and a brief story of founder Chad Pregracke! Mike describes what it’s like to clean up garbage on the river, live on a barge for most of the year, and he showed examples of bizarre items they found on the river. |
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Habitat Grant Projects in Peoria Mike Miller, Supervisor of Environmental of Interpretive Services at Peoria Park District, will host a virtual Zoom meeting on habitat grant projects in Peoria. The District has received IDNR 2020 funding to complete several habitat projects in the Peoria area. In particular Mike highlighted projects in Donovan Park, Detweiller Riverside, and Robinson Parks. Presentation Slide Pack These projects are designed to improve habitat for the Federally Endangered Rusty Patch Bumble Bee, Federally Threatened Decurrent False Aster, and the Monarch Butterfly. |
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eBird: Becoming a Citizen Scientist Steve Zehner, a local eBirder, hosted a Zoom virtual meeting with us on becoming citizen scientists with eBird. Steve showed how to use use eBird to plan a trip to local hotspots, record and share bird observations, attach pictures and other media, create lists by location, and set up alerts for birds of interest. Click here to watch a recording of the virtual meeting and download Steve's presentation slide-pack |
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Press Release - Local Areas Open for Birding One of Peoria Audubon Society's core missions is to conserve critical habitat. On May 9, 2018, Peoria Audubon opened up two of it's conservation properties areas to the public for birding. - Oak Bluff Savanna Nature Preserve - Brimfield Railroad Prairie Nature Preserve
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Construction of Chimney Swift Towers
Rich and Marion Miller, from the Kane County Audubon Society, spoke all about Chimney Swifts and the construction of several swift towers at a recent Peoria Audubon meeting. The towers, which provide the Chimney Swifts with habitat for nesting and shelter, provide an alternative to the increasingly rare masonry chimneys that were used following loss of their original habitat of hollow trees.
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Construction of Artificial Islands in Lower Peoria Lake
At the November 9, 2011 Peoria Audubon meeting, Marshall B. Plumley, of the US Army Corps of Engineers, discussed construction of artificial island in the Lower Peoria Lake. At the meeting, Marshall shared additional documents on the project and provided copies to share with the public. |
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Natural History of Illinois Bats Dr. Joyce Hoffman, Mammalogist with the Illinois Natural History Survey, spoke at a recent Peoria Audubon meeting whereby she also provided a handout of fascinating information on the bat species in Illinois. Click to Learn More
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Warbler Research in Southern Illinois Dr. Jeff Hoover of the Illinois Natural History Survey provided a field lecture on warbler biology and his research in the Cache River delta in Southern Illinois. The field trip was one several arranged by members of the Shawnee Audubon Society at the Illinois Audubon Society's Spring Gathering. Although a bit unconventional as far speaking engagements, the impromptu encounter, while "birding by canoe," was as engaging as it was informative. |
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At the Feb. 11, 2009 Peoria Audubon meeting, Ben O'Neal, doctoral candidate from the University of Illinois, discussed using weather radar to track the migration pattern of ducks in Central Illinois. Ben was even gracious to share an article "Waterfowl on Weather Radar" that was published in Outdoor Illinois Click Here for more information
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An article about local birding and the Peoria Audubon Society published in Art and Society magazine July-August 2008. The article contains bird photography from local Peoria Audubon members: Dennis Endicott and Sally Fenner. Click Here to download complementary copy (pdf 7.2 MB) |