Middlefork Audubon has rented the Gannett Education Center at Forest Glen Preserve for a potluck and program on August 24 beginning at 6:30 PM. The evening will begin with a potluck so bring a dish to share (and maybe a little extra since we may be hosting a few ornithology graduate students, too!). Bring your own table service if you are able but there will be plates, tableware, etc. for those who need it. We will have iced tea, lemonade, and water available but you are welcome to bring your own beverage as well.
Following the meal, Todd Jones, a graduate student from the U of I, will be giving a short program about his research on fledgling birds at Kennekuk County Park this summer. He has a lot of interesting information to share about what happens after the bluebirds and other species leave the nest box. Hope you can stay with us for an interesting talk after the potluck. Nest box monitors; there will also be time to tell your stories and ask questions!
REMINDER FOR NEST BOX MONITORS: If your boxes are all empty you can turn in your data sheets at the potluck. Otherwise keep counting until all birds have fledged and email your data to Cheryl Vergin, or bring your data sheets to a fall meeting.
Todd Jones was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio where he also attended The Ohio State University from 2006-2009 and received a bachelors of science in Zoology. During that time he worked on an undergraduate research thesis on Northern Cardinals with Dr. Amanda Rodewald (currently director of conservation at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology). From 2009-2013 he was a “bio-bum”, working as a field assistant on over 16 different projects studying aspects of avian ecology in many different countries (Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Peru, and the Bahamas) and parts of the United States. From 2013-2016 he was a Masters student with Dr. Michael Ward and Dr. Jeffrey Brawn at the University of Illinois studying pre- to post-fledging carryover effects in juvenile Dickcissels. Currently he is a Phd student under Dr. Ward, examining life history evolution in the context of age-specific mortality and post-fledging ecology of shrubland birds in central Illinois. Todd will be presenting preliminary findings regarding the nesting and post-fledging ecology of Eastern Bluebirds using the nest boxes at Kennekuk Park, and how such findings will be incorporated into aspects of his PhD project.
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