February 13-16 – Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)
From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Spend time in your favorite places watching birds—then tell us about them! Join us in this world-wide event. Bird and nature lovers everywhere unite in the effort to tally as many of the world’s bird species as possible over four days in February.
In as little as 15 minutes, notice the birds around you. Identify them, count them, and submit your counts to help scientists better understand and protect birds around the world. If you already use eBird or Merlin, your submissions over the 4 days count toward GBBC.
You’re also invited to tune in to a special webinar about how to participate in the GBBC. Register for one of two free events happening on Thursday, February 5, at 1 p.m. Mountain or Wednesday, February 11, 5 p.m. Mountain. Register here.
For all the information about the GBBC, go to: https://www.birdcount.org.
February 17, 6:00 p.m. – Program: Sharon Udasin, co-author “Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America”, in the Sunflower Room of the Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave, Cheyenne.
Cheyenne Audubon invites the public for a free lecture by environment reporter and author Sharon Udasin about how forever chemicals, like PFAS, have contaminated America.
Udasin, of Boulder, Colorado, will present her new book, “Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America,” which traces an ugly history of corporate greed, military impunity and community devastation, based on original reporting in four highly contaminated places — including Colorado Springs. The book introduces readers to people who, while fighting for their own lives, take action to fix a broken regulatory system. The talk will be followed by discussion with Udasin and Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities water treatment division manager Clint Bassett. More information about this talk is available in the February issue of Flyer.
We will have a no-host dinner with the speaker at Hacienda Guadalajara, 317 E Lincolnway, Cheyenne, WY 82001 at 4:30 p.m. Please let Barb Gorges know if you are planning to join us for dinner so that we can reserve enough room at the restaurant. Text or email Barb at 307-287-4952 or bgorges4@msn.com.
February 21, 9:00 a.m. – Field Trip: Curt Gowdy State Park
This is a free event open to the public. Everyone, no matter what your birding skills, is invited to join us.
We will meet at the Lions Park parking lot between the Children’s Village at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and the picnic shelter. We will leave the park at 9:00 a.m. and drive to Curt Gowdy. Then, meeting at the visitor’s center, we will decide where to hike for a couple of hours.
We should be back in Cheyenne no later than 1 p.m., but if you drive, you can leave whenever you need to.
If you are interested in going, contact Grant Frost, 307-343-2024, so that he has a list of those expected, and he can let you know if the plans change for any reason like bad weather. Please let him know if you will need a ride from Cheyenne and back. More information about the types of birds that we may see in the February issue of Flyer.
February 24, 6:00 p.m. – Monthly Board Meeting
Contact us, cheyenneaudubon@gmail.com, if you would like to attend and participate in helping to plan chapter activities, or if you are interested in volunteering in some of our activities. This meeting will be held at the Laramie County Library in the Sage Room
February 27, 8:00 a.m. – Country Club Bird Survey
Contact Grant Frost to be on his email notice list: 307-343-2024 or FrostGrant2@gmail.com. The count will start in the Country Club’s clubhouse’s main parking lot. These outings are free and open to everyone, but please let Grant know you are coming.
This is a free event open to the public. Everyone, no matter what your birding skills, is invited. 
Sophie A. H. Osborn is an award-winning environmental writer and wildlife biologist whose work has included the study and conservation of more than a dozen bird species in the Americas. She contributed to reintroduction efforts for several endangered birds and served as the field manager for the California Condor Recovery Program in Arizona for four years.
Did you know that our Audubon Chapter adopted a section of the Cheyenne Greenway in 1992? We clean the creek and grounds from the U.S. 30 Underpass to Rawlins Street twice annually; in spring and fall. But did you know the history of this area adoption? 
vegetation near the creek. While we generally support the use of goats for weed control, we want to thank the members who contacted us about the placement of goats this spring. Rather than controlling noxious weeds like Leafy Spurge, they were eating trees (like Cottonwood, above) and shrubs that were planted to benefit wildlife. CHPAS representatives intend to meet with the City of Cheyenne to discuss the proper use of goats along the Dry Creek area and throughout our parks. Watch our website for a Position Statement on using goats for weed control, currently in development. 
CHPAS needs volunteers to help monitor 16 nestboxes at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens’ High Plains Arboretum. Each survey takes about an hour and involves 1.5-miles of walking on mostly flat gravel roads and prairie grasses, with some unmown tall grasses.
Cheyenne-High Plains Audubon Society 