The Fall 2024 Arkansas Audubon Society convention will be held jointly with the Inland Bird Banding Association on October 25-27 at Holiday Inn Airport Little Rock. We will have outstanding speakers and field trips, several of which include bird banding observation alongside IBBA members. This will be a unique opportunity for all who attend!
The hotel offers king and double bed rooms. To reserve your room at the $104 nightly rate (not including tax), click here. For our AAS group rate to apply, you must enter our convention dates on the hotel website at the link. Reserve your room now, don't procrastinate! The cutoff date for this very low rate is October 10.
Register for the convention here by October 10 to qualify for Early Bird registration rates: $30 for AAS and IBBA members and $35 for non-members. Student registration is $15. Save money by registering early! Also, please note the cutoff date for registration with meals is one week before the meeting, October 18.
When planning this meeting, we were mindful that some of our members are students and seniors with limited means. We chose this hotel because of its very reasonable room rates and ability to provide the rooms, equipment, and meals for our meeting. However, as you know food costs have risen significantly during this period of inflation. We are subsidizing the meal costs in an effort to encourage attendance and a more enjoyable meeting. We hope that if you can, you will include a donation with your registration fees, so that our organizations can break even rather than ending up in the red. Thank you!
On Friday night Rebecca Peak, a Fish and Wildlife Biologist with USFWS will be our speaker. Her topic will be “Timing & Flight Behavior of Golden Eagles in Ozark Highlands.” During winter, the eastern population of Golden Eagles soars and hunts in areas with the same topographic features that are favored for wind development. It therefore puts all soaring birds, and particularly the Golden Eagle, at risk from the turbine’s rotating blades. In cooperation with partners, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office is conducting a study to capture and fit a solar-recharged GPS-global system for mobile communication transmitters to Golden Eagles. The purpose of the study is to assist wind energy developers in evaluating environmental risk to this Federal Trust Resource for proposed wind projects in the Ozark Highlands.
On Saturday afternoon following lunch, we will offer oral and poster presentations.The theme is “Inspiring the Next Generation of Bird Conservationists.”
Saturday night, Bill Holimon, Director of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, will be our speaker. His topic is “Ecology of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis) and Recovery Efforts of This Imperiled Species in Arkansas.” In addition, Bill will tell us about habitat management, monitoring, and translocation efforts for this species, and status of its populations in Arkansas.
Field Trip Coordinator Kevin Krajcir has done a fantastic job weaving together interesting field trip combinations for us, with 12 guided field trips over three days (including a beginning birders' field trip), and 5 that are combined wth banding demonstrations. You won't want to miss these! Bird banders and banders in training, we are offering a special event just for you on Friday afternoon--Bird Banding Hacks and How-Tos--an opportunity for banders to share experiences and tips.
As always, we will hold a silent auction. It's not too early to be thinking about items to donate!
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Rebecca Peak first started watching birds in the rural farming community in Illinois where she grew up. At the same time she developed an interest in how human land use practices affect avian populations and the habitats upon which they depend. Currently, she is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office where she works with partners to coordinate and facilitate activities pursuant to sections 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of the Endangered Species Act. Prior to this position she worked with USDA Forest Service as a District Wildlife Biologist on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest where she worked as part of an interdisciplinary team to implement habitat management activities to benefit fish and wildlife species. She spent most of her career working on Fort Cavazos Military Installation first with The Nature Conservancy as an applied scientist and then with Department of the Army as a natural resources specialist where she implemented a research and monitoring program for the federally endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia).
Bill Holimon has worked for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission since 2000, first as Grants Coordinator/Zoologist, then Chief of Research, and now as Director. Bill is an avian ecologist with over 25 years of experience in science and conservation. He has a B.S. in biology and a B.S. in accounting, both from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, as well as a M.S. in biology from New Mexico State University. Bill led efforts to successfully repatriate a population of Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis) at Warren Prairie Natural Area and helps guide efforts to benefit this imperiled species at other natural areas in Arkansas.
We hope you can join us for an action-packed, educational, and enjoyable weekend! Contact Cheryl Johnson with any questions about the convention at cjbluebird@comcast.net. We hope you can join us for an entertaining and educational weekend of birding, learning, fellowship, and making new friends!