WEBSTER GROVES NATURE STUDY SOCIETY
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  • Botany
  • Entomology
  • Book Club
  • Nature Photography
  • Scholarships
    • Bo Koster Grant
    • Menke Scholarship
    • Mickey Scudder Scholarship
  • WGNSS Photo Contest
  • 'Nature Notes' Archive
  • Calendar
  • Bryology
  • Favorite links
  • About WGNSS
    • Contact
  • Birds of the St. Louis Area
    • Where to find Eurasian Tree Sparrow
  • Nature video of the Month
  • 2013 Photo Contest Winners
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​2019 WGNSS Entomology Programs

February 18, Monday, 7:00 p.m. at the Butterfly House in Faust Park!

           Eva Colberg will present, "Myrmecochory in Missouri and Beyond:
                               The Seed-Dispersing Services of Ants"


Eva is a Ph.D. student with Dr. Robert Marquis’s lab at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, where she is studying the effect of fire on ant-dispersed forest herbs.



March 18, Monday, 7:00 p.m. at the Butterfly House in Faust Park!

                 Leticia Classen Rodriguez & Ciarra Anders will present,
                             "The secret world of Daddy Long Legs"


The Opiliones move silently while often misunderstood throughout the world as "the most venomous spider"; but did you know they are not spiders nor venomous?!  Letty is a Ph.D. student in Kasey Fowler-Finn’s lab at St. Louis University, where she is studying predator-prey behaviors in arachnids. Cece is an undergraduate in the Fowler-Finn lab studying gut parasites in daddy long legs.

The Entomology Group meets September through April on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Butterfly House in Faust Park, 15193 Olive Blvd., Chesterfield.

For more information contact Chris Brown at christopher.brown1@bayer.com

WGNSS 2019 Scholarships - Applications are being accepted
Submit scholarship Applications by February 15, 2019
The Webster Groves Nature Study Society is pleased to announce that applications are being accepted for the following scholarship grants:
(click on the scholarship name for more information & application submission timeline)
Bo Koster Grant for Nature Study
Graduate and undergraduate students, with accredited college or universities in Missouri and Illinois, planning field work in such areas as ornithology, systematics of plants or animals, entomology, forestry, ecology, behavior, population genetics, conservation, biogeography, or those desiring to attend a field coursework in such areas, are invited to apply for the Bo Koster Grant for Nature Study.  
Menke Scholarship to Improve Wildlife Habitat
The goal of the Menke Scholarship is to increase and improve wildlife habitat in Missouri by planting, protecting, managing, publicizing, and in various other ways demonstrating specific habitat improvements for fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, plants or invertebrates.  Applicants typically major in nature study (e.g., biology, ecology, botany, forestry, conservation). But meeting the scholarship’s goals is more important than the major field itself (e.g. applications from non-nature study fields are accepted). Recipients may work with or intern with conservation programs. The scholarship will not support projects that may harm or endanger wildlife, including attaching or implanting objects.
Mickey Scudder Scholarship in Field Biology
The Mickey Scudder scholarship supports the field biology research of a graduate student in natural history. This scholarship is eligible to graduate students at universities in the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan area, including: St. Louis University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, University of Missouri – St. Louis, and Washington University in St. Louis.


Join WGNSS Nature Photography Group Field Trips!

Visit the Nature Photography page 'Here', for information on ​dates and locations for Nature Photography Field Trips!

The Nature Photography Group will meet one Saturday a month for field trip activities in various locations in the surrounding St. Louis area.
​Interested in participating in WGNSS Nature Photography Group activities?  
Send your contact information to Bill Duncan.  Visit the WGNSS Nature Photography Group website here,  
check current Nature Notes, or the WGNSS Facebook page for details and updates! 

     2019 WGNSS Natural History Photography Contest!
                                       Submit your photo entries by March 1, 2019
Photo entries may be submitted from January 1 through March 1, 2019
A bonus category will be included in addition to our four usual categories:
      1)  Vertebrates  
      2)  Invertebrates
      3)  Vascular and Nonvascular Plants, Lichens, and Fungi
      4)  Habitats and Landscapes
      5)  Travel Photography;
for this bonus category, all the general rules of the photo contest will             apply except photos do not need to be taken in Missouri & contiguous states. Best of luck               getting an amazing photo of that exotic subject!
A great way to get inspiration & ideas for eligible photographs for this contest is by joining the WGNSS Nature Photography Group on a monthly field trip. Look for updates from the group in each issue of Nature Notes, on this WGNSS website, and the WGNSS Facebook page!
2019 WGNSS Photo Contest Rules, Judging & Awards information​:

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WGNSS ORNITHOLOGY GROUP
Thursday Bird Walks!
Starting Thursday, November 1, 2018, we will meet at 8:30 a.m.
The meeting place remains the same:  at Des Peres Park, the parking lot at Ballas and Manchester Road -- the northeast corner behind Des Peres City Hall. Everyone is welcome! Bring a lunch and water as we usually have lunch in the field, unless you plan to leave early.  Binoculars, bug repellent, sun block and a hat or cap are suggested. We will normally return by 3:00 or 3:30 PM.  Click here for complete WGNSS calendar.  
Last minute changes due to weather will be posted on MOBirds.   
Contact
Peggy Oates ​at troates@yahoo.com for details.
Saturday Bird Walks!
We will meet at 8:00 a.m. at Des Peres Park (northeast corner of Ballas and Manchester Roads, behind Des Peres City Hall), We'll carpool to where the birds are! Everyone is welcome!  Bring binoculars & lunch. 
Lead by David Becher, contact David at DavidBecher@msn.com for details

"Nature Notes" is our Newsletter ​- join WGNSS to receive the latest issues! Nature Notes features spectacular photographs and articles about botany, birding, entomology, and conservation by expert authors. Nature Notes is available by regular post or e-mail.
T
here are significant advantages to receiving Nature Notes by e-mail: 
  1. Eliminate mailing costs and printing waste, reducing your subscription cost and environmental impact!
  2. The ability to view Nature Notes in full color!
  3. Embedded hyperlinks allow instant navigation to e-mail addresses and websites!
​Nature Notes is published 10 times a year, September through June.
Past i
ssues from the last few years are available to download from the Nature Note archive page.
Submit articles, photographs, or events to Ted MacRae, the Editor of Nature Notes.
​
​Annual WGNSS membership is just $15 (for Nature Notes by email) or $25 (for Nature Notes by USPS mail).                                                       Webster Groves Nature Study Society
                                                            PO Box 190065
                                                            St. Louis, MO 63119
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photo by Gwyn Wahlmann

WGNSS Photo Contest 2017 Winners
The WGNSS third digital photo contest was held at the Kirkwood Community Center on April 6. Judging took place in four natural history categories (Plants and Fungi, Invertebrates, Vertebrates, and Landscapes) with a first, second, third and honorary mention for each category.  In addition, the 2017 contest included a new 'Photo Blog' category. Each blog that was submitted for judging included photos and a natural history essay. For the natural history categories, judging took place in “American Idol” style where each judge described the features of photos they thought were great, from a photographer’s point of view as well as from the subject and natural history perspective. The Photo Blog category was judged by the WGNSS Nature Book Club. The Photo Contest was a wonderful opportunity for the participates to learn how to take great natural history photos!  From the top three photos in each category a Grand Prize photo was chosen by everyone in attendance. Congratulations to the photo winners. 
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WGNSS General Meeting
December 5, 2018, Wednesday 7:00 pm, 
at the
Webster Groves Library
​
301 E. Lockwood Avenue
Webster Groves, MO 63119
314-541-4199

Ed Spevak, curator of insects from the St. Louis Zoo, 
will present "Native Foods, Native Peoples, Native Pollinators:  A New Initiative of the St. Louis Zoo Wild Care Institute Center​for Native Pollinator Conservation"      ​


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Friendly reminder of WGNSS DUES RENEWAL -- August is the time to renew your WGNSS membership dues. Annual membership is just $15 to receive Nature Notes by email (or $25 to receive Nature Notes by USPS mail). You can use the membership form at on the back of Nature Notes, also available at the bottom of this webpage. Please note any changes to your email, phone, etc., and mail with your payment to:
​                                                                Webster Groves Nature Study Society 
                                                                PO Box 190065
                                                                St. Louis, MO 63119

If you have already renewed, THANK YOU!
Events page photo slideshow credits: 
Tower Rock in Misssissippi River by Casey Galvin - 1st place in Habitat category, 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest
Honey Bee on Bloodroot flowers by Abby Lee-Fairbanks - 1st place in Botany category, 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest
Waterfall, by Ryan Fairbanks - 3rd place in Habitat category, 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest
Peregrine Falcon, by Casey Galvin - 1st place in Birding category, 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest
Ice on LaBarque Creek, by Nels Holmberg - 1st place in Habitat category, 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest
Bronze Tiger Beetle by Ted MacRae - Grand Prize 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest
Summer Tanager by Mike Thelen - 2nd place in Birding category, 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest
Beach Wolf Spider by Ted MacRae - 1st place in Entomology category, 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest
Least Sandpiper by Casey Galvin - Honorary Mention in Birding category, 2013 WGNSS Photo Contest
Missouri Evening Primrose by Anne McCormack
Victoria Glade with Fremont's Leather Flower and Indian Paintbrush by Anne McCormack
Ruby-throated Hummingbird male by Casey Galvin
Wild Hydrangea with Harvestman by Anne McCormack
Red-spotted Purple Butterfly on Paw Paw by Anne McCormack
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Eastern Blazing-Star by Anne McCormack
Duck Creek by Casey Galvin

Join WGNSS! 
      Webster Groves Nature Study Society 
      PO Box 190065 
      Saint Louis MO 63119-6065
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