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Director's Message
Amy Weeks
First, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who came out to participate or volunteer at our Trivia Night and Silent Auction this past Saturday! It was a lot of fun and a great success. As the leaves begin to turn and the summer heat finally gives way to cooler days, I am reminded of the vital work we accomplish together for our shared community. I hope this message finds you well and that you are enjoying the beauty of fall migration. Your passion for our local wildlife and habitats is what drives our entire team here at the St. Louis Audubon Society.
With a new season comes a fresh opportunity to support our mission. In the coming weeks, you will see a lot of activity from us surrounding our Annual Appeal. Whether you see us in your social media feeds, open our emails, or find our letter in your mailbox, I want to share why you are hearing from us so frequently. This appeal is the absolute lifeblood of our operation. The generosity of our community during this campaign determines exactly what we can achieve in the year ahead.
Your donation, no matter the size, translates into immediate, tangible impact. We are incredibly fortunate to have a community that values nature and steps up to protect it. While we know you have many choices when it comes to charitable giving, we never take your trust for granted.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment and belief in our mission. Together, we are ensuring a vibrant, healthy future for the birds and the people of St. Louis.
| | Great Horned Owl. Photo Credit: John Troth | | |
The St. Louis Audubon Society is driven by the belief that everyone deserves a connection to nature, and our current efforts to conserve native plants, birds, other wildlife, and their habitats have never offered more potential for positive change.
Every gift, no matter the size, makes a meaningful difference for our local environment. Thank you for your continued support and for helping us create a community where nature and people both thrive.
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What a success! A huge thank you to everyone who came out to our fall
Bird Seed Sale. We are so grateful
for your support.
A special shout-out to Steve and the incredible crew at Valley Park Elevator and Hardware for your generous contribution to the St. Louis Audubon Society!
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Fall into Gardening
Tom Radomski, BCH Program Coordinator
It’s finally cooling off, the Monarchs are departing, the days are getting shorter, and the shadows are getting longer – that means it’s time for more garden work! The
Bring Conservation Home Expo is here to connect you with native plants for your Fall garden plans. The Expo is Sunday, October 18th from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM at the Roman Pavilion in Tower Grove Park. We are very excited to have an extensive native plant sale with Missouri Wildflowers Nursery, River City Natives, Papillon Perennials, and Frisella Nursery. Ned’s Nesting Boxes will have bird and bat boxes for sale. Several landscapers and artists will also be present, as well as other environmental organizations. We are very excited to see the St. Louis gardening community come together for this event!
On another note, while Fall is a great time to add new plants to our gardens, it’s
also an important time for dividing some of our larger plants. It’s heartening to see so
many people from across the St. Louis area divide and share their native plants with
others, building a community of those interested in enhancing pockets of nature around
their homes, while helping others do the same. This sort of communal spirit is evident in
the volunteers that the St. Louis Audubon Society is fortunate to have. Thus it’s no
surprise that St. Louisans have made the native plant movement so successful here.
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2026 Eastern Bluebirds, Purple Martins and Black Snakes
Karen Meyer
This year, the breeding activity in the 12 nest boxes on the Little Creve Coeur Ecological Trail concluded near the very hot end of August. Several volunteers from a rotating group of 10 regulars graciously helped monitor the bird boxes twice a week. The season brought some Eastern Bluebird successes, but more Northern House Wren successes as was true the last several years. There were 9 Eastern Bluebird attempts in four different boxes, with a total of only 10 fledged bluebirds. We did, however, see many Eastern Bluebirds along the trail, especially in the open stretch before the wooded areas. Presumably there are natural cavities available as well. House Wrens had 33 attempts in a total of nine boxes, with 27 fledged wrens.
Both bird species had losses; some we’re pretty sure were due to black rat snakes. We observed snakes on the trail multiple times. When eggs disappear with no trace, snake predation is a pretty good guess. All boxes have predator guards, but sometimes snakes find a way to get around them. There was one incident of broken bluebird eggs, likely due to the wrens. Often a bluebird nest would be taken over by wrens placing their stick materials on top of the dried grass material. We cheered one day when we saw bluebirds take over a wren nest, placing grass on top of the stick nest! All data was reported in Cornell's NestWatch app.
The purple martins at the Mallard Lake site had a pretty good year despite the heat and some black snake predation attempts there as well. There were an estimated 98 martins that fledged. By mid- to late July, all the martins had begun their journey to Brazil and beyond. As always, they were a joy to observe; then comes the void when their activity and calls disappear from the site, until their return in early spring. Now it’s time to enjoy the birds of fall and winter. The season continues!
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped monitor nest boxes; they include Karen and Glenn Meyer, Mary Dueren, Stephanie Schuppan, Cathy Wilhelmi, Ken Smith, Ellen Harmon, Laura Madden, Mary Klauke, and Carl Davis.
Eastern Bluebird. Photo: Jessica Nelson
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Join others who share your interests in nature, birds, and wildlife!
If interested in a birding trip, register by clicking on the link here:
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A beginner bird walk is a short (two hours or less) walk along a path or trail, either around a loop or out-and-back. It is designed, broadly, to help participants see as many birds as possible, and in particular to become familiar with a good variety of our commoner birds.
A field trip is an excursion to a natural area around St. Louis that is promising for finding birds and other wildlife. Generally, it involves taking a walk at several points, noticing and recording as many birds as possible, and (as a goal for the leaders) helping all participants get a good look at each bird and learn something about it, such as its field marks, its song, its behavior. Some areas may be covered entirely by walking, while others may involve many short drives with stops in between to check fields, lakes, etc., often with the use of a scope. Field trips typically last a full morning, sometimes into the afternoon; the pre-trip announcement will let you know what length to expect and whether to bring a lunch along.
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ST. LOUIS AUDUBON SOCIETY BOARD MEETINGS
Next meeting: Tuesday, December 8
| | Please note: Board meetings are usually held via Zoom. If you have an interest in joining our volunteer Board, please contact one of the officers or staff members. | | |
Officers & Staff
Ellen Harmon, President
president@stlouisaudubon.org
Erin Nichols, VP of Conservation
Jonah Eckels-Galbreath, VP Education
Mechelle Minden, Secretary
Clark Singleton, Treasurer
Amy Weeks, Executive Director
amy@stlouisaudubon.org
Tom Radomski, Program Coordinator, BCH
tom@stlouisaudubon.org
Jairel Brown, Ecological Consultant, BCH
jairel@stlouisaudubon.org
Matt Barton, Urban Conservation Specialist
matt@stlouisaudubon.org
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