Connecting People
With Nature
June – Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
A shorebird that doesn’t care if there is a shore. May be on gravel roads, and more willing to be near people, but shy, will bob as it runs, then calls out “kil-deeah.” It has two black chest bands. If you’re too close to the nest, it will drag it’s wing to lead you away.
To learn more -
To find Nebraska birding trails -http://nebraskabirdingtrails.com/
Three Decades of
Great Plains Wanderings
by Ted Lee Eubanks
Wachiska Program — Thursday, July 14, 7:00 p.m.,
via Zoom web conference (registration required)
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArd-yvrjMoE9IGSUO7R6n_zSld64Jt5Ku3
Thursday, July 14, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
For the past 30 years, interpretive planner and birder Ted Lee Eubanks has worked from one edge of Nebraska to the other. Ted and his firm, Fermata, wrote the Platte River Recreation Study and developed an interpretive strategy and signage for the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway. He has also spoken at tourism and economic development conferences throughout Nebraska.
During these same three decades, Ted worked throughout the Great Plains from North Dakota to central Texas. His work has given him a unique perspective of the nature and wildlife of the Great Plains, especially birds. As part of his presentation, Ted will focus on the birds and wildlife of the Great Plains, especially Nebraska, and share some of his most memorable experiences during his career.
Currently residing in Austin, Texas, Eubanks received a BA in journalism from the University of Houston and since 1984, has been involved in the founding and development of a series of businesses. He is a writer, a photographer, an interpreter, a planner, and a noted public speaker.
Eubanks founded Fermata in 1992. Since that time, he has been engaged in studying and promoting heritage tourism and outdoor recreation as sustainable approaches to community revitalization. He specializes in using the interpretive arts to connect people to places, the masses to messages, and markets to merchandise.
Eubanks is responsible for the following innovations in the fields of interpretation and citizen science:
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He conceptualized and implemented the first birding trail in the world, the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. This prototype has now been replicated in hundreds of communities, regions, states, and nations.
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Eubanks devised the word “avitourism” in a 1993 paper on High Island to describe tourism related to birding. The word is now in usage around the world.
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While serving on the board of directors of the National Audubon Society, Ted devised a method for using the Internet as a way to gather citizen science data about birds. That initial prototype became Audubon’s BirdSource which eventually morphed into Audubon and Cornell’s eBird.
Join Wachiska Audubon for our next Zoom program on Thursday, July 14, at 7:00 p.m. This free, public presentation is available to those who register at this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArd-yvrjMoE9IGSUO7R6n_zSld64Jt5Ku3. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the meeting number and password. Save that email, and a few minutes before the program is to begin, click on that confirmation email, and you’ll be invited into the meeting. Encourage friends and colleagues to join us.
July Calendar of Events
July Education Committee via Zoom, 6:00 p.m.
July 14 General Meeting via Zoom, 7:00 p.m.
"Three Decades of Great Plains Wanderings,”
by Ted Lee Eubanks
Registration required
July Conservation Committee via Zoom, 6:30 p.m.
July 15 Newsletter submission deadline in
Wachiska office, 5:00 p.m.
July Board Meeting via Zoom, 7:00 p.m.
August 6 - "Tour the Wild Side" 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
In September 2021, the Wachiska Board adopted the National Audubon’s Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as the Chapter’s own goals:
The birds Audubon pledges to protect differ in color, size, behavior, geographical preference, and countless other ways. By honoring and celebrating the equally remarkable diversity of the human species, Audubon will bring new creativity, effectiveness and leadership to our work throughout the hemisphere.
Spring Creek Prairie
Audubon Center Programs
Third Tuesday Bird Outing –
Grassland Bird Special
Tuesday, June 21, 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Our June guided bird outing will focus on finding prairie specialty species like Henslow’s sparrows, bobolinks, grasshopper sparrows, and field sparrows. We will cover more territory this time, so come prepared for a longer walk than usual with uneven, mowed trails that could be wet. Free admission. We ask for online registration so we know who and how many are coming and can email any updated COVID-19 or weather cancellation information. Binoculars will be available.
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Become a member of the Wachiska chapter of the National Audubon Society and support environmental conservation, education, and outreach in Southeast Nebraska.
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The photos on this website were taken by Wachiska members. Many thanks to Bruce Wendorff,
Linda Brown, Paul Johnsguard, Tim Knott, Stu Luttich, John Carlini and Elizabeth Nelson.