A particularly virulent strain of avian flu has been spreading in the US. Much like the flu in humans, avian flu is cyclical and new strains may cause higher infection and mortality rates. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Center for Disease control are both carefully monitoring the situation. As of 5/9/22, there have been no cases of this strain reported in Nevada. You can check the USDA’s full list of documented cases here. The risk to humans is low, however, there has been one reported case of this strain making the jump to a human in Colorado. If you find a dead bird and would like to report it, do not handle the bird and contact Nevada Department of Wildlife for further instructions.
We will be monitoring the situation in our area and providing updates when necessary. If there is an outbreak in your area, please remove bird feeders and baths until the outbreak has subsided. Additionally, it is good practice to regularly sterilize your bird feeders and baths to avoid outbreaks of any communicable disease in your backyard flock. Check out our article on Salmonella and Responsible Bird Feeding for details on maintaining feeders. We are honored to be participating as a guest at Mark Wellman Adventure Day. Mark Wellman Adventure Day is a free event for people with disabilities to try physical activities such as kayaking, cycling and now birding! The event will happen on Sunday, June 5th at Sparks Marina from 9am to 2:30pm. We are seeking volunteers for this event. These volunteers would help us with tabling, as well as showing guests how to use binoculars and spotting scopes, and taking guests on small walks where they can see the birds at the Marina, like Mallards, Cormorants and Coots. If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please send an email to contact@nevadaaudubon.org.
Birding is for everyone and Lahontan Audubon Society is pleased to offer bird walks with an American Sign Language interpreter to share the world of birds and birding with the Deaf community.
On Saturday May 14, 2022, the Spring Global Big Day returns. For those of you who don’t know, Big Day is an unofficial international birding day, encouraging everyone to go out and bird. We are no strangers to Big Day, and encourage you to celebrate the holiday by going birding. You can go birding everywhere, from the wilderness to your own backyard feeders. Our Pelican article about Fall Big Day 2021 is included below as an example. To celebrate World Book and Copyright Day, we have a fun fact for you: did you know Crows and Ravens are featured in the J.R.R. Tolkien novel The Hobbit?
On the morning of Sunday April 10th, Lahontan Audubon Society and Northern Nevada Federation for the Blind (NFB) once again hosted an auditory-based field trip at Oxbow Nature Study Area. Clients from NFB were introduced to some of the birds of the Nature Area by museum skins they could handle. We all then departed along the nature area trails listening for the songs and calls of the birds in the area. In total, our group encountered 33 different species. To read the full species checklist, click the link button below: Lahontan Audubon Society graciously thanks the following individuals and organizations for their help in this event:
The Pelican-- Dave and Artie – A Nevada Falconer’s Role in the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Story4/16/2022 |
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