Eurasian Tree Sparrow
photo by Margy Terpstra
ORNITHOLOGY GROUP
Join WGNSS for birds, bugs & botany!
All events are free & open to the public unless noted.
Thursday Bird Walks!
We meet at 8:30 AM Thursday mornings 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 or 3:30 PM. Click here for complete WGNSS calendar. Last minute changes due to weather will be posted on MOBirds.
Contact Debbie Trowbridge at shorebird22@charter.net for details.
WGNSS trips are free and open to all!
Saturday Bird Walks!
We meet Saturdays during spring, fall, and winter at Des Peres Park 8:00 AM, weather permitting. Meet in the parking lot nearest to Ballas & Manchester Road. We'll carpool to where the birds are! Everyone is welcome! Bring binoculars & lunch. Contact DavidBecher@msn.com for more information.
There are no fees for WGNSS trips. Click here for complete WGNSS calendar.
Need a birding checklist?
Seasonal Checklist of Birds of the St. Louis Area, by Webster Groves Nature Study Society
Missouri Bird Field Checklist from Audubon Society of Missouri
Missouri Annotated Checklist from Audubon Society of Missouri
Missouri Rare Bird Documentation Form
Christmas Bird Count at Busch Wildlife Conservation Area, Saint Charles MO
Our Christmas Bird County count has been sponsored by Webster Groves Nature Study Society (WGNSS) for the last 66 years! We'll meet at 8 AM at Busch Wildlife Area Headquarters. Please bring a lunch and come ready for the weather! It's very easy to register for the count online--start here. Our count is officially labeled MOWS. You may remember that the National Audubon Society no longer asks for a donation for participating in the count.
For more information, contact Anne McCormack.
65th Weldon Spring Christmas Bird Count 2015
A Christmas Count is a winter bird census. The National Audubon Society has been compiling the data for these counts since 1901. Our count (CBC) centered on Weldon Spring, St. Charles County Mo. has been sponsored by Webster Groves Nature Study Society each year for the last 65 years! The count is officially abbreviated "MOWS."
We added several unusual and new species to add to the list, and beat some old records in our count on Dec. 20, 2015:
Top 6 Tips for Birding in the St. Louis Missouri area
Is it time to take down the hummingbird feeder?
No, hummers need to put on some weight before they're ready for their migration across the Gulf of Mexico. Leave your feeder up, filled with fresh sugar-water at least into October. I leave mine up till it freezes!
Join WGNSS for birds, bugs & botany!
All events are free & open to the public unless noted.
Photo Credits for the Birding page slideshow
Thanks to Casey Galvin for the photos in the slideshow above: male Wood Duck, Lesser Yellowlegs, male Ruby-throated Humminbird , Black-necked Stilt.
2013 Photo Contest
Visit the contest page for a list of winners in the four categories: Botany, Entomology, Birding, and Landscape have been awarded. All the photos have been posted on our Flickr group.
Nature Blogs
Don Corrigan, editor of the Webster-Kirkwood Times and author of Environmental Missouri: Issues and Sustainability-What You Need to Know (2014) has a blog we think you'll like: Getting Into Nature.
Ted MacRae, editor of the WGNSS newsletter, has one of the top nature blogs on the net, with lively discussions and amazing photos: Beetles in the Bush.
Mark Glenshaw's blog: Forest Park Owls
You really should check out Jo Alwood's YouTube channel for videos about birds & nature! Subscribe
Anne McCormack's blog, Gardening with Binoculars, discussions bringing nature (especially birds) to your back yard.
Birder and photographer Al Smith shares his experiences and photos. Awesome!
Another WGNSS member writes this fascinating site about the birds, butterflies and plants of Colombia.
Find even more blogs by checking the links of the Nature Blog Network.
Contact website coordinator, Anne McCormack, to have your blog listed here.
Christmas Bird Count on Local News
Anne McCormack had a chance to talk about the importance of Christmas Bird Counts with KPLR-TV's John Fuller in Dec. 2011. You'll probably recognize well-known WGNSS birder Paul Bauer in the video. View it on the Channel 11 website or on Anne's blog.
Join WGNSS for birds, bugs & botany!
All events are free & open to the public unless noted.
Thursday Bird Walks!
We meet at 8:30 AM Thursday mornings 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 or 3:30 PM. Click here for complete WGNSS calendar. Last minute changes due to weather will be posted on MOBirds.
Contact Debbie Trowbridge at shorebird22@charter.net for details.
WGNSS trips are free and open to all!
Saturday Bird Walks!
We meet Saturdays during spring, fall, and winter at Des Peres Park 8:00 AM, weather permitting. Meet in the parking lot nearest to Ballas & Manchester Road. We'll carpool to where the birds are! Everyone is welcome! Bring binoculars & lunch. Contact DavidBecher@msn.com for more information.
There are no fees for WGNSS trips. Click here for complete WGNSS calendar.
Need a birding checklist?
Seasonal Checklist of Birds of the St. Louis Area, by Webster Groves Nature Study Society
Missouri Bird Field Checklist from Audubon Society of Missouri
Missouri Annotated Checklist from Audubon Society of Missouri
Missouri Rare Bird Documentation Form
Christmas Bird Count at Busch Wildlife Conservation Area, Saint Charles MO
Our Christmas Bird County count has been sponsored by Webster Groves Nature Study Society (WGNSS) for the last 66 years! We'll meet at 8 AM at Busch Wildlife Area Headquarters. Please bring a lunch and come ready for the weather! It's very easy to register for the count online--start here. Our count is officially labeled MOWS. You may remember that the National Audubon Society no longer asks for a donation for participating in the count.
For more information, contact Anne McCormack.
65th Weldon Spring Christmas Bird Count 2015
A Christmas Count is a winter bird census. The National Audubon Society has been compiling the data for these counts since 1901. Our count (CBC) centered on Weldon Spring, St. Charles County Mo. has been sponsored by Webster Groves Nature Study Society each year for the last 65 years! The count is officially abbreviated "MOWS."
We added several unusual and new species to add to the list, and beat some old records in our count on Dec. 20, 2015:
- Pied-bill Grebe--for only the 15th time recorded since the first count at Weldon Spring in 1950, seen by Paul Corley, Austin & Elizabeth Lambert.
- Northern Shoveler--14th time in 65 MOWS counts, seen by Tom Parmeter.
- Highest total ever for Turkey Vulture, 93--only the 13th time counted in MOWS history.
- Hooded Merganser--9 individuals seen on Lake 33, for the 10th time in count history, and first since 2003, beating the 2002 maximum of 7.Sharp-shinned & Cooper's Hawks both tied for maximum number of individuals--7 of each: Sharp-shinned--previous high of 7 was is 2003, and Cooper's previous high of 7 was in 2009.
- Western Meadowlark--6 birds, beating the previous high of 4 in 2004, seen by Bill Rowe’s party.
- Yellow-throated Vireo, one, observed by Diane Bricmont at Busch Wildlife area--first ever in the count and a second winter record for our state if accepted by Missouri rare bird records committee!
- Grey Catbird, one, first time ever in MOWS count, seen by John Kamerud & Tom Murphy in Babler SP.
- Black Vulture, two, for the first time, observed by Bill Rowe and party. A Black Vulture would be an extraordinary sighting any day of the year in our area!
- Eastern Phoebe, just one, for only the 4th time ever.
- 73 species total
- 12,724 individual birds
Top 6 Tips for Birding in the St. Louis Missouri area
- Birders around Missouri post their discoveries on the MOBirds Listserve, sponsored by Audubon Society of Missouri. A summary of these posts about birds in Missouri is available at Birding News from American Birding Association (ABA). The ABA site has all the latest about Missouri birds, as well as recent posts on Twitter!
- Josh Uffman maintains a wonderful website that lists Missouri Bird Records. Ever wonder if a species has ever visited our state? Find out from ShowMe-Birds!
- Here's more information on finding St. Louis's own Eurasian Tree Sparrow. St. Louis is the best place in the Western Hemisphere to see our WGNSS mascot, ETS!
- Here's a timetable of spring bird migration through Forest Park in St. Louis.
- Get a copy of Birds of the St. Louis Area: Where and When to Find Them, published by Webster Groves Nature Study Society, 1998.
- Join the group for a birding field trip--destination? Where the birds are! Here's our calendar.
Is it time to take down the hummingbird feeder?
No, hummers need to put on some weight before they're ready for their migration across the Gulf of Mexico. Leave your feeder up, filled with fresh sugar-water at least into October. I leave mine up till it freezes!
Join WGNSS for birds, bugs & botany!
All events are free & open to the public unless noted.
Photo Credits for the Birding page slideshow
Thanks to Casey Galvin for the photos in the slideshow above: male Wood Duck, Lesser Yellowlegs, male Ruby-throated Humminbird , Black-necked Stilt.
2013 Photo Contest
Visit the contest page for a list of winners in the four categories: Botany, Entomology, Birding, and Landscape have been awarded. All the photos have been posted on our Flickr group.
Nature Blogs
Don Corrigan, editor of the Webster-Kirkwood Times and author of Environmental Missouri: Issues and Sustainability-What You Need to Know (2014) has a blog we think you'll like: Getting Into Nature.
Ted MacRae, editor of the WGNSS newsletter, has one of the top nature blogs on the net, with lively discussions and amazing photos: Beetles in the Bush.
Mark Glenshaw's blog: Forest Park Owls
You really should check out Jo Alwood's YouTube channel for videos about birds & nature! Subscribe
Anne McCormack's blog, Gardening with Binoculars, discussions bringing nature (especially birds) to your back yard.
Birder and photographer Al Smith shares his experiences and photos. Awesome!
Another WGNSS member writes this fascinating site about the birds, butterflies and plants of Colombia.
Find even more blogs by checking the links of the Nature Blog Network.
Contact website coordinator, Anne McCormack, to have your blog listed here.
Christmas Bird Count on Local News
Anne McCormack had a chance to talk about the importance of Christmas Bird Counts with KPLR-TV's John Fuller in Dec. 2011. You'll probably recognize well-known WGNSS birder Paul Bauer in the video. View it on the Channel 11 website or on Anne's blog.
| mows_summary2013.pdf |
