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We believe in connecting people with nature.
Most of our programs are FREE and open to the public. Check our calendar and join the fun! Recent happenings:
June 15, 2025 - Damsels & Dragonflies at Chester Woods
After a cloudy, cool morning we were happy to have enough warmth and sunshine by early afternoon to get the dragonflies up and flying around (if it's cooler than 70 they tend not to fly). About 15 people came out to catch, hold and get closeup looks at our Damsels & Dragonflies event. Joel's support team came early and netted several nymphs that we could watch swimming in a small aquarium - they look ferocious up close! One young participant even found an "exuvia", the discarded exoskeleton of a nymph from which an adult dragonfly emerges. We found several species including Bluets, Eastern Forktails, Dot-Tailed Whiteface, Common Baskettails, 12-spotted Skimmers and more. As the summer progresses even more varieties of these beneficial insects will hatch and help us control the mosquito and gnat populations. Many thanks to Joel Dunnette for leading this event and to volunteers Gary, Jay, Kirk & Ezra. Photos by Sandy Hokanson. June 11, 2025 - Visiting a Beef Farm
Our visit to John and Linda Meyer's beef farm yielded an abundance of grassland birds. It was no surprise because these beef cattle are rotationally grazed where the pastures have a lot of recovery time and provide good nesting habitat. We saw/heard many bobolink, dickcissel, savanna and grasshopper sparrows as we walked across the paddocks. Grassland birds have seen a decline of over 50% since the 1970s. We only saw one Eastern meadowlark but there was ample habitat for more so that was concerning. The grasshopper sparrow is classified as a bird in steep decline. Obviously, Meyer's farming practices can help this bird recover. A great find was a Northern harrier which is rarely seen in Olmsted county other than during migration. Seeing one today indicates that this farm is great wildlife habitat. Surprisingly, this farm used to be row-cropped just 8 years ago and it doesn't take very long to provide homes to struggling bird species. The beef is direct-marketed to consumers so if you want to support excellent bird habitat then email John at: jlmeyer@kmtel.com . Thanks again to John for a tour of his farm / wildlife habitat. Thanks to Joel Dunnette and Lance Vrieze for helping out and for Mike Degerstrom for leading. The 43 species of birds seen on the farm and along a neighboring wildlife management area were: Mallard, Ring-necked Pheasant, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Killdeer, Northern Harrier, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Willow Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Bank Swallow, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Northern House Wren, European Starling, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, House Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Grasshopper Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosebeak, Dickcissel. 
June 10, 2025 - Birding by ear for folks with limited vision.
This afternoon we visited a group after their Braille class to listen for and talk about birds. Thanks for Edward for pulling this together, for Jan to offer the site, and Mike (from ZVAS) to lead the ear-birding. It was a slow afternoon but that gave us time to answer the many insightful questions. Birds heard are: Mourning dove, Red-bellied woodpecker, Downy woodpecker, Blue jay, American crow, Black-capped chickadee, Chimney swift, American robin, House finch, and Northern cardinal. It is very difficult to hear birds really well because they generally are not that close to you and there is so much human-caused noise. Here are a few clips recorded over the past few years where the birds were extremely cooperative in providing good audio. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/637389846 https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/335659661 https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/335154771 Zumbro Valley Audubon needs your help to pay for programs, printing brochures and outreach supplies to teach kids and adults about nature. Donate to Zumbro Valley Audubon via giveMN.org
© ZVAS 2023 - Zumbro Valley Audubon Society - PO Box 6244 - Rochester, MN 55903
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