Thank you, thank you to all who came on Tuesday night! It was such a great turnout that they had to set up extra chairs! You were a wonderful, receptive audience. I am most grateful to Scott Avetta and the MoNEP Board for inviting me to share this program which challenged me to dig deeper. 

I know many of you are already familiar with Doug Tallamy's work and are doing much in your yards to help our native birds and wildlife, but I did want to post all of the links so they are available if you want to do more 'homework' or share with others. There was a lot of interest in the SONAB (State of North American Birds 2016) report so be sure to delve into that. This report gives the current ranking for all of our North American Birds in regard to their conservation status. Also, check out the species abundance maps. The one I put in the program was for the Magnolia Warbler and it is a visual treat to watch.

The Golden-winged Warbler Working Group website tells all about this beautiful warbler who will soon be listed as an endangered species and what researchers are doing to help its numbers increase again. (This bird was in our yard six days this past spring, photo below.) Last but not least, the article from the Missouri Conservationist on "Bringing Back the Birds" on Full Life-cycle Conservation is so informative and helped me with the initial idea for this program. My profound thanks to the Missouri Department of Conservation and to Brad Jacobs, our State Bird Ecologist, Sarah Kendrick and Andrea Schumann for their expertise and assistance in the Bird ID and Conservation Biology Workshop which was an amazing and inspiring experience for me. "Birds are awesome!"

Resources on Sustainable Naturescaping and Our Native Birds

Bringing Nature Home - How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife In Our Gardens

by Douglas W. Tallamy    

Read about Tallamy’s study and download Recommended Plant Lists: 

bringingnaturehome.net/gardening-for-life.html 

Native Landscaping for Wildlife and People

by Dave Tylka, Missouri Department of Conservation    

On St. Louis Audubon’s Bring Conservation Home program and annual tours:  

stlouisaudubon.org/BCH/index.php

On Missouri Native Plants:  http://grownative.org  

Wild Ones Native Landscapers, local chapter:  http://stlwildones.org

Learn more about Native Landscaping:

missouribotanicalgarden.org/visit/family-of-attractions/shaw-nature-reserve/gardens-gardening-at-shaw-nature-reserve/native-landscaping-for-the-home-gardener.aspx    

Learn more about Invasive Bush Honeysuckle:

missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/gardening-in-st.-louis/invasives/bush-honeysuckle.aspx

On Missouri Birds, checklists and more:  http://www.mobirds.org

Read the SONAB report, look at different species rankings and how you can help our native birds:

http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2016/

Animated species abundance maps:  stateofthebirds.org/2016/resources/species-abundance-maps/

Golden-winged Warbler working group:  http://gwwa.org

MDC article “Bringing Back the Birds” on Full Life-cycle Conservation:

mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2014/09/bringing-back-birds-full-life-cycle-bird-conservation

Dripper for bird bath:  http://birdschoice.com/our-products/field_pd_product_category/bird-baths-7/field_pd_products%253Afield_bath_type/dripper-237?noidx=true

Golden-winged Warbler 5-7-16