General Meetings
On the third Tuesday of each month in spring and fall (unless otherwise noted), we invite members and non-members alike to enjoy a free educational program and learn what is new in your Audubon chapter! Meetings are offered via Zoom only and begin at 6:30 p.m. A short business meeting precedes the program and includes conservation news, discussion of recent bird sightings, and details of upcoming field trips and other events.
Burroughs Audubon Society’s spring General Meetings are held in March, April, and May. Fall General Meetings are held in September, October, and November. Check back for more information.
Spring 2025
Tuesday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. - "Baby Season: Keeping Our Little Peepers Wild" - Presented by Jacqueline Blessington, Director, Lakeside Nature Center. As spring arrives, birds quickly begin breeding, filling nests with a wonderful explosion of new life. But “baby season” is a perilous time for both youngsters and adults, and an incredibly busy and exhausting period for wildlife rehabilitators. Jacqueline Blessington will discuss LNC’s work aiding orphaned, sick, and injured birds and animals, enabling many to return to the wild. She will also describe what to do when you encounter these babies and how to determine if they really require human assistance.
Tuesday, April 15 at 6:30 p.m. - "Undervalued and In Trouble: Why Grassland Birds are Special and How We Can Help Them" - Presented by Dr. Alice Boyle, Director, Boyle Research Laboratory (Kansas State University). Dr. Boyle will take us on a tour of the birds that call the central Great Plains home, discussing some of the ways that this avifauna is unique from birds living elsewhere in North America. She will then describe why so many of them are declining, and outline the ways that we can help reverse these declines. You can view a recording of the program until May 15 here.
Tuesday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. - "Louisiana Waterthrushes and What They Can Tell Us About Water Quality" - Presented by Dr. Robert Mulvihill, Ornithologist, National Aviary (Pittsburgh, PA). The now-figurative “canary-in-the-coal mine” once was a literal life-saver for coal miners. Birds have a long and storied history in conservation and environmental protection. Their unique physiology, ubiquitous position in terrestrial and aquatic food chains, and broad familiarity and popularity make birds especially effective indicators of and messengers for environmental problems. Dr. Mulvihill will describe ongoing field research and education by the renowned National Aviary focusing on birds as bioindicators of environment health, especially the Louisiana Waterthrush, a species he has studied for thirty years.
Register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Special Events
Join the Missouri Department of Conservation for webinars about birds and their habitats in preparation for the first-ever Missouri Birding Challenge May 1-15!
Register in advance for each webinar and then join the webinar live. Registered attendees will receive a reminder email before the webinar.
The Full Annual Cycle of Bird Conservation with MDC Ornithologist Kristen Heath-Acre on Thursday, April 3, 6-7 p.m. Join Kristen to learn about the incredible journeys that Missouri’s migratory birds make every year. Learn where these birds go, why, and how researchers are investigating the full annual cycle of migratory birds to better understand, and hopefully reverse, troubling declines in bird populations. Register in advance here.
Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds at Home with Dana Ripper of the Missouri River Bird Observatory on Thursday, May 1, 6-7 p.m. Birds are in trouble. Research shows a loss of nearly a third of North American birds over that past 50 years. Don’t lose hope! Learn how to help bird populations at home and how to make a big impact with just seven simple actions. Register in advance here.
Read more about the Missouri Birding Challenge and how you can participate.