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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 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 June 8, 2025 - Field Trip to Grand Meadow Chert Quarry & Lake Louise State Park
What a fun day! Thirty-one of us met Tom Trow at the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry south of Rochester this morning for a guided tour of this important historical site. Tom had had described the history of the site at our May program and we were intrigued. In person the site is incredible. Well-groomed trails wind through the wooded part of the quarry. Informational signs scattered throughout tell the story of how native tribes mined chert to make tools, and stone benches are placed to rest and think and imagine what happened here. This site opens to the public in July and it's well worth a visit. Find out more here: https://mowercountyhistory.org/locations/the-grand-meadow-chert-quarry/ We stayed at the Chert Quarry for nearly 2 hours. Tom pointed out some huge old bur oaks believed to be nearly 500 years old, showed us samples of the chert and described future plans for further excavations. After the tour about half of our group continued on to nearby Lake Louise State Park where we had a picnic lunch followed by a bird walk. Many thanks to Kate (a park advocate) for guiding us on her "favorite bird trail". Lake Louise SP is another under-appreciated park with lots of great and varied habitat. We saw at least 33 species of birds there with a Common Nighthawk roosting in an oak near our picnic table being a favorite. We found Red-headed Woodpeckers in both locations. At Lake Louise we also spotted several species of butterflies and noticed Golden Oyster mushrooms on several trees. We hope to return to this area next spring. Many thanks to our trip organizers Joan Leof and Sue Hayes, to Tom Trow for our guided tour, and to our photographers, Sandy Hokanson, Brendan Lanpher & Dave Gross. Grand Meadow Chert Quarry Birds (at least 21 species - I may have missed a few) Wood Duck, Ring-necked Pheasant, Mourning Dove, Turkey Vulture, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue Jay, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern House Wren, Gray Catbird, American Robin, Vesper Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Yellowthroat Lake Louise State Park Birds (33 species) Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-headed Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Blue Jay, Tree Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern House Wren, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Yellow Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting June 7, 2025 - Bird Walk at Quarry Hill
A Blue-winged Warbler was the "bird of the day" on our walk at Quarry Hill this morning. It was up high and often hard to see but definitely a welcome sight as several people had never seen one. Early morning sun gave way to light sprinkles but our group of 16 didn't seem to mind. As we walked we heard more birds than we saw. It's a bit frustrating to hear a bird and know it's very close but never see it due to all the leaf cover - but that's birding and we enjoy the challenge. Two birders found and observed Blue-gray Gnatcatchers making a nest before our walk started and we all got to see the nest. Barn Swallows were at the pond. They usually nest under the picnic shelter but we didn't find a nest this time. And it was good to spot some Chimney Swifts flying overhead as their numbers are in a steep decline. In all we found 34 species. Many thanks to Terry and Joyce Grier for leading and to Dave Gross and Sandy Hokanson for the photos. Species List: Canada Goose, Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon), Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Turkey Vulture, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Barn Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern House Wren, Gray Catbird, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Blue-winged Warbler, Yellow Warbler, American Redstart, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting 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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