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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:
April 27, 2025 - Root River County Park Walk
The rain ended and the sun came out just in time for our walk at Root River County Park this morning. Twenty people came out and we enjoyed looking for the many spring wildflowers for which this park is known. We identified at least 20 species in or near bloom and one fungus (scarlet Cup). It's been a cold spring so they should continue blooming for a couple more weeks. The skies clouded over for most of our walk and strong winds were a bit annoying. We also hoped to find some early migrating birds - but the birds must not have been happy this morning as they were mostly silent and we found very few - just 25 species and no warblers or thrushes of any kind. Folks who arrived early got a quick look at a Broad-winged Hawk and later a few people heard an Eastern Towhee. A Kingfisher flew over and called several times. The sun came back out near the end of the walk. Hopefully more birds will arrive soon as we have many walks scheduled in early May. Many thanks to Sandy Hokanson, Sue Hayes and Clifford Hansen for leading today's walk. Photos by Sandy Hokanson. Flower Species: Violets. Dandelions, Spring Beauty, Hepatica, Rue Anemone, False Rue Anemone, Virginia Bluebells, Snow Trillium, Trillium Species?, Bloodroot, Trout Lily, Wild Ginger, May Apple, Early Meadow Rue, Dutchman's Breeches, Creeping Charlie, Wild Ramps, Pennsylvania Sedge, Virginia Waterleaf, Angelica Bird Species: Canada Goose, Ring-necked Pheasant, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Broad-winged Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, White-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle, Northern Cardinal April 26, 2025 - Bluebird Recovery Program Expo
More than 100 folks attended the Bluebird Recovery Program of Minnesota Expo today in Red Wing. Speakers talked about the status if bluebirds, the challenges of dealing with pests and other threats and much more. ZVAS participated as a vendor and shared tips on landscaping for birds and wildlife. The crowd was very energetic and we have high hopes that Bluebirds will continue to thrive in our area. Many thanks to Joel Dunnette, Sue & Joe Wieseler, and Sandy & Greg Hokanson for working our booth today. Photos by Sandy Hokanson April 25, 2025 - Arbor Day
A big thank you to Joel, Joan, Terry and Joyce for working the ZVAS booth at the Arbor Day Celebration in Rochester today. They engaged several hundreds school kids and got them thinking about birds, plants, the environment and how it all fits together. Photos by Joel Dunnette April 23, 2025 - Field Trip to Moon Valley WMA
This evening 13 people visited Moon Valley WMA near Genoa for birding, wildflowers, and more. It was tough to get any bird photos on a cloudy day nearing sunset. We all got good looks of a barred owl (and heard one, too). Please read the captions for more details. Thanks to Mike Degerstrom for leading and several other ZVAS board members for helping out. Bird Species: 6 Canada Goose, 2 Ring-necked Pheasant, 1 Mourning Dove, 1 Killdeer, 2 Barred Owl, 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Pileated Woodpecker,1 Northern Flicker, 1 Eastern Phoebe, 1 Blue Jay, 1 American Crow, 2 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1 White-breasted Nuthatch, 3 American Robin, 1 House Finch, 1 Field Sparrow, 1 Song Sparrow. 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler, 2 Northern Cardinal Photos by Mike Degerstrom 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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