The Greater Kansas City Chapter of the National Audubon Society
“Audubon the Naturalist” Oil painting portrait of John James Audubon by John Woodhouse Audubon and Victor Gifford Audubon, 1848. Credit: American Museum of Natural History Library A name that is unmistakable – Audubon. It is immediately associated with birds. Wild birds. Birds spectacularly illustrated by John James Audubon, after whom so many chapters and…
“Father of Burroughs”, Albert Shirling, author of “The Birds of Swope Park”, published in 1920. He passed away in October 1947 after spending 42 years in Kansas City. April 15, 2019 was the official 100th anniversary of the founding of Burroughs Nature Club which later became Burroughs Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City. The…
John Burroughs and Ida Tarbell in Roxbury, NY c. 1902 at the estate of Helen Shepherd (Gould), daughter of railroad magnate Jay Gould. A most interesting item placed in our archives by past Burroughs librarian, Mary Conrad, is a photograph of John Burroughs taken around 1902 when he was 65 years old. Burroughs was…
Albert Shirling with a young Turkey Vulture, ready for its closeup. Notice that Mr. Shirling had the foresight to wear an apron–vultures are notoriously messy birds! Albert Shirling (1875-1947) was a teacher and naturalist who lived in Kansas City for over 40 years and was one of the founding members of Burroughs Nature Club….
Upland Sandpiper by wildlife artist, biologist, author, conservationist, and filmmaker, Charles Schwartz (1914-1991). Schwartz’s career with the Missouri Department of Conservation lasted for thirty-nine years. BAS President, Mary Nemecek, recently explained how our Audubon chapter helped both the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) purchase and preserve two great…
“Marsh Hawk” is now known as Northern Harrier; “Sparrow Hawk” is an American Kestrel. Here is a record of one of the first winter bird counts ever taken by our club–December 19, 1920. Some notable folks participated in this event! Albert Shirling had just published his book “The Birds of Swope Park” earlier that…
Front side of tri-fold sheet. Have you ever heard Snowy Owls described as “friendly”? One of my favorites, the Kestrel, made the cover. We enjoy a lot of raptor sightings during these bleak winter months, but it has been a struggle for decades to save these birds from extermination. (For more details, see my…
Kansas City Star article from January 1979 recounting the season’s Kansas City CBCs in late December. Recent frigid temperatures made me think of the conditions endured by BAS members performing the Kansas City Christmas Bird Counts in December 1978! The Kansas City Star published two articles by Lynn Cheatum about that event: “Bird Counters…
Plans to transform a grassy field into a prairie planting began in early 1990. The planting would eventually be named in honor of Esther O’Connor. Esther O’Connor collected a wide variety of natural history books throughout her life. Most still reside at the BAS Library and Nature Center. She had a special love for…
Miss Esther O’Connor posing with the wooden statue of our mascot bird, the Harris’s Sparrow. The photo is undated but the carving, probably by George Kester, is dated 1979, so the photo probably dates to 1979-81. Esther received an award from BAS in 1981. You will hear much more about this delightful lady, Esther…