Happy New Year, Michigan Audubon friends and chapters! 

The winter issue of the Jack Pine Warbler — that which you are holding in your hands or maybe scrolling through online — is the first issue that a great number of new Michigan Audubon members receive. In many ways, this may be our first chance to meaningfully connect with you if you are one of those new members. If so, thank you for taking the time to get to know our organization and community and for your willingness to be a part of bird conservation in Michigan. Whether you received a gift membership for the holidays, opted to join when you made a purchase at the online store, or maybe sent in a membership form from one of our sanctuary kiosks, we extend a warm welcome to you. To our renewing members, our steadfast supporters, and to those of you who made a year-end, tax-deductible donation to Michigan Audubon: Thank you for giving so generously! 

In this issue of the JPW, we introduce part one of a four-part feature series on alternative energy in Michigan. I invite you to stay current and engaged with our conversations and updates about alternative energy in Michigan, its impacts on birds, and what we can do to help by reading our member magazine and following our blog posts and monthly e-newsletters. 

One of our regular guides for Michigan Audubon’s Upper Peninsula birding tours, Darrell Lawson, contributed to this issue with his article, Birding the Eastern Upper Peninsula in Winter, on page 4. It’s a heartwarming piece that expressed so accurately to me what is special (and even addicting) about birding in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. “It was during that first winter in the Eastern U.P. that I really fell in love with birding,” Darrell writes. 

One facet of our education work is reflected in the growing Michigan Young Birders Network, an effort with budding energy that is contagious and inspiring. You can read more about this network and how to get an adolescent you know involved, and meet a few of the volunteers actively building this network on page 12 in this issue. 

With a plethora of programs, projects, and efforts that drive and comprise our mission, Michigan Audubon continues to challenge the organization’s depth and breadth of inclusivity and diversity work. We look forward to promoting more comprehensive, effective, creative, and new ways of including and introducing people to the world of birdwatching. We believe it’s a powerful pathway not only for understanding our world, but for protecting it and connecting with others who share our value of the natural world as well. 

Due to continued pandemic-related restrictions, Michigan Audubon staff are adapting the work of our year ahead to better match the priorities of birds and their habitats. What does this mean for our organization’s calendar? In terms of events, you can expect to see fewer large birding events promoted and offered this year and more emphasis on the advocacy, outreach, and education work related to our mission. We also have big projects on deck this year focused on our Otis Farm Bird Sanctuary, Baker Sanctuary, and Whitefish Point Bird Observatory.  

While bigger, annual birding events in Michigan like Spring Fling and the Tawas Point Birding Festival are canceled for 2021, we look forward to bringing back our smaller birding trips and tours for all levels of experience in the future. (Many of Michigan Audubon’s statewide chapters are already making plans for small, safe spring migration bird ID walks, so don’t forget to learn more about/consider joining your local chapter!) 

 

For the birds,

Heather Good
Executive Director

This article appeared in the 2021 Winter Jack Pine Warbler.