Join us on Zoom to learn about the research conducted by our Kendeigh Grant Recipients from 2023!

Meeting ID: 833 0787 7940
Passcode: CCAS

Overview:

Our two 2023 awardees will each give a short talk about their research and how they used their grants from the generous donations of our CCAS members to the Kendeigh Research Grants fund.

Lauren Leischner is a graduate student at Illinois State University in the department of Biological Sciences, lab of Pirmin Nietlisbach. She conducts research with the House Wren population in the Mackinaw study area, collaborating with Charles Thompson and Scott Sakaluk. Some House Wren females, after successfully laying a clutch of eggs and feeding their young until they leave the nest, go on to produce a second nest, called a second brood. This is beneficial because raising offspring a second time increases the chance some offspring will reproduce and carry her DNA on. However, surprisingly, not all females do so. Lauren studies the factors that contribute to whether an individual produces a second brood: timing and individual quality. Her work includes cross-fostering experiments in the field as well as analysis of the long term dataset. She plans to graduate in the spring of 2024.

Cullen Mackenzie is currently a Ph.D student in the Eichholz lab at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Broadly, Cullen’s research is focused on anthropogenic disturbance ecology and community related interactions. Current work investigates the potential effects prescribed burn management has on tall grass prairie snakes and associated flora, and fauna in Southern Illinois. The Kendeigh Grant provided by the Champaign County Audubon Society has helped support this project that aims to better understand the relationship between grassland bird nesting success, prescribed burns, and snake predation in tall grass prairie ecosystems. In his free time Cullen enjoys swimming, biking, hiking, dancing, and building naturalistic terrariums.

About Our Monthly Programs:

Guest speakers present on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs are typically held in the Urbana Free Library auditorium (no programs in January, June, July, or August).

Presented by Stephanie Schmidt, International Crane Foundation

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Meeting ID: 893 2837 0260
Passcode: CCAS

Overview:

In the 1940s Whooping Cranes, once found throughout North America, faced near extinction as a result of increased threats from habitat loss, hunting, and more. It wasn’t until 2001 that Whooping Cranes returned to the eastern United States following a collaborative reintroduction program led by the International Crane Foundation (ICF). Today over 70 Whooping Cranes make up this population and many will migrate through or winter in eastern Illinois each year. Please join Stephanie Schmidt, Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator for the International Crane Foundation, to learn about the Whooping Cranes of the Eastern Migratory Population and the work ICF and crane conservation partners are doing to safeguard their future.

Speaker Bio:

Stephanie Schmidt graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin Madison with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and a certificate in Environmental Studies in 2018. Following graduation, she began working with cranes as an intern at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI and the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center in New Orleans, LA. She then went on to earn her master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she studied nesting marsh birds and predation risk following wetland management practices. Following graduation in 2022, she returned to the International Crane Foundation where she now works as the Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator.

About Our Monthly Programs:

Guest speakers present on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs are typically held in the Urbana Free Library auditorium (no programs in January, June, July, or August).

Presented by Roger Digges, CCAS Vice President

Our December program will feature Roger Digges, author of a newly published book, Meadowbrook: A History. Roger will focus on how the Urbana Park District created a diversity of habitats from corn and bean fields. He will show photos of the various habitats and point out how they benefit wildlife. Roger and his wife, Cathy, both long-time Champaign County Audubon Society members, have walked at Meadowbrook in the early morning for more than 17 years and are intimately familiar with the park, its habitats through seasonal changes, and its wildlife.

This will be CCAS’s second in-person meeting of 2023, in the downstairs auditorium at the Urbana Free Library. The presentation will be preceded by a brief business meeting for the election of next year’s CCAS Board.

About Our Monthly Programs:

Guest speakers present on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs are held in the Urbana Free Library auditorium (no programs in January, June, July, or August).

Presented by Dr. Mike Ward, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Overview:

The vocalizations of Eastern Whip-poor-wills were once a common occurrence just after dusk throughout Illinois, however the species is being lost from many areas. Dr. Ward and his colleagues are investigating why this species is disappearing via studies of the food they eat (moths), their survival and reproduction, and the habitats they use both on the breeding and wintering grounds.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Mike Ward is originally from Jacksonville, IL and received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2004. He is currently a professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, in the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois and an Ornithologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey. He and his students are working on a variety of projects throughout the Midwest but also in Texas, Mexico, Colombia, and Cuba. In summary, Dr. Ward studies the ecology and behavior of birds in natural and modified ecosystems in order to inform conservation and management.

About Our Monthly Programs:

Guest speakers present on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs are held in the Urbana Free Library auditorium (no programs in January, June, July, or August).

Presented by Dr. Henry Pollock, Southern Plains Land Trust

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Meeting ID: 848 4465 9620
Password: CCAS

Overview:

In December 2022, Dr. Henry Pollock presented the results of a comprehensive survey of Champaign-Urbana's birds in winter (January–February) and summer (June–July) 2022, identifying critical areas around town for bird diversity. In this presentation, Henry will focus on the bird diversity at Weaver Park in Urbana. Come learn about the birds in Weaver Park and how important the park is for migratory birds in our region!

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Henry Pollock is an ornithologist with a background in avian ecology and conservation. He is currently the executive director of the Southern Plains Land Trust, an NGO focused on conserving and re-wilding the southern plains and prairies of the United States. 

About Our Monthly Programs:

Guest speakers present on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs will soon return to their former location of the Urbana Free Library auditorium (no programs in January, June, July, or August).

Presented by Colin Dobson, CCAS President

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Meeting ID: 865 2313 0140
Password: CCAS

Overview:

During my 2022 Spring Break, my grandfather and I embarked on a 6-day birding trip with a private guide in Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico. We saw 313 species of birds in only 6 days along with amazing scenery and food on this trip!

Short Bio for Colin Dobson:

I am a junior at the University of Illinois studying Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. I am the president of Champaign County Audubon Society, run various projects including the birdstrike program on the UIUC campus, and have birded all throughout Illinois and beyond over the last 15 years!

About Our Monthly Programs:

Guest speakers present on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs were historically held at the Urbana Free Library auditorium and are currently held online via Zoom (no programs in January, June, July, or August).

Join us on Zoom to learn about the exciting and important conservation research conducted by our Kendeigh Grant Recipients from 2021!
Meeting ID: 819 6729 4472
Password: CCAS

Overview:

Two of our 2021 awardees will each give a short talk about their research and how they used their grants from the generous donations of our CCAS members to the Kendeigh Research Grants fund.

Factors Contributing to the Widespread Decline of Eastern Meadowlarks

Presentation: Julie Bozzo will be presenting data on how Illinois landcover has changed over the last 20 years and whether there is a relationship between those changes and Eastern Meadowlark abundance. Julie will also provide an overview of the migration portion of this project where her team captured and attached transmitters to breeding meadowlarks.

Biography: Julie Bozzo is a master’s student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is in the second year of her research project studying Eastern Meadowlark migration and land use in Illinois. Julie earned a bachelor’s in wildlife and conservation biology from the University of Rhode Island in 2017 and began working as a field technician after graduating. She has worked on a variety of projects studying pheasants, Bobwhite Quail, Clapper Rails, and Piping Plovers. Julie is currently awaiting the start of her second field season and looks forward to learning about Eastern Meadowlarks.

Post-Fledging Survival and Habitat Use of the Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) in Illinois

Presentation: Post-fledging survival and habitat use is largely understudied and underutilized to inform habitat management decisions despite this critical stage posing the greatest mortality risk in many opennesting species. The Least Bittern is a state-threatened and largely understudied marsh bird, and this study aimed to understand their post-fledging habitat use following wetland management and how these decisions impact their mortality.

Biography: Stephanie Schmidt is a master’s student in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in zoology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2018 and is currently employed as the Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator for the International Crane Foundation.

About Our Monthly Programs:

Guest speakers present on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs were historically held at the Urbana Free Library auditorium and are currently held online via Zoom (no programs in January, June, July, or August).

Presented by Dr. Jeff Hoover, Avian Ecologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois

Join us on Zoom
Meeting ID: 867 6973 9650
Password: CCAS

Overview:

Dr. Hoover’s presentation will provide an overview of research he has done during 3 decades, and that research has expanded our understanding of bird conservation, behavioral ecology, host-parasite interactions, natural history, and habitat management designed to benefit bird populations.

Short Bio for Dr. Jeff Hoover:

Dr. Hoover received his B.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. He received a M.S. from the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) where he studied the effects of forest fragmentation on the nesting success of forest birds – specifically Wood Thrush and Ovenbirds. Jeff received a PhD under the direction of Scott Robinson from the University of Illinois where he studied factors affecting lifetime reproductive success in Prothonotary Warblers. He currently holds the position of Avian Ecologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.

Dr. Hoover has been studying the ecology, behavior and conservation of birds for 3 decades, focusing primarily on bird communities in upland and bottomland forests. He conducts a blend of basic and applied research, with an emphasis on studying behavioral ecology in birds and the response of bird communities to restoration/conservation efforts. Some specific areas of interest include brood parasite/host interactions, natal dispersal, and decision rules associated with breeding dispersal in adult birds.

About Our Monthly Programs:

Guest speakers present on a variety of topics throughout the year. Programs were historically held at the Urbana Free Library auditorium and are currently held online via Zoom (no programs in January, June, July, or August).