Kitsap Audubon Society

President's Message

Kitsap Audubon's President - Jim Ullrich
president@kitsapaudubon.org

Welcome to 2012 and another great start to our Kitsap Audubon Society year. We finished up 2011 with a very, very successful Christmas Bird Count (CBC), thanks to wonderful weather and great coordination by our CBC chair, Gene Bullock, and his entire committee, managing their individual zone’s of control. Gene’s results for KAS are in this newsletter.

Then our January program speaker, Julia Parrish, gave a magnificent talk on Citizen Science and what the birds are saying about Puget Sound. You are encouraged to get involved with her “Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team” by visiting www.coasst.org or email her at info@coasst.org.

After the great storm of Jan 18- 20, 2012, you get a great appreciation for all the hungry birds in our backyards. Despite all the starlings, pushing and shoving at your feeders, all the other backyard birds seemed to find space to get their fill, as well. This leads us to The 15th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count,” or GBBC, sponsored by Cornell University. During February 17-20, 2012, you can take part in a family friendly, educational activity that is lots of fun, costs nothing, and helps your local birds. Participants count birds in their backyards, at work, in an area park, or anywhere over this fourday period. Enter your data, explore results online, enter photo contest, and win prizes. Just register at www. birdcount.org. Let’s light up Kitsap County on Cornell’s website with hundreds of daily sightings of OUR Backyard Birds!

See you February 8th at the Poulsbo Library for our educational program on Northwest bats.

 

 

Notes from the Board :
2011 recipient of the Kingfisher Award is:


Sara and Byron Kane

 

The 2011 Kingfisher Award will be presented to Sara and Byron Kane at our May meeting. This annual award is Kitsap Audubon’s highest honor, and is awarded to an individual or couple who have given outstanding service to Kitsap Audubon for five or more years. Recipients are selected by the previous three Kingfisher Award recipients. The Kanes became involved in early 2006, when they took over maintenance of our data base, mail lists and membership dues reminders. Byron became a member of the KAS Board in 2007 and Sara joined the Board in 2010. Byron’s technical support of our digital projector has been invaluable. Whenever there is work to be done, festivals, special events or projects, the Kanes are among the first to volunteer. They almost never miss a Kitsap Audubon meeting or Board meeting, and always pitch in to help. They are known for their warmth and enthusiasm, their generous spirit and their willingness to help, whether it’s sorting through the archives, staffing the Audubon booth at EcoFest, or taking responsibility for the mitten tree and food bank donations at our December program.


The KINGFISHER AWARD is Kitsap Audubon Society’s annual recognition of the member or members who gave extraordinary effort to the KAS mission throughout the year. This award is given to a KAS member who has been an active supporter of KAS for at least five years and has been an advocate for the environment and wildlife.

1. 2010 winner was Jim Ullrich
2. 2009 winner was Sandy and Gene Bullock
3. 2008 winner was Dawn and Hans Hansen
4. 2007 winner was Dee and John Finkbeiner
5. 2006 winner was Glenn Anderson
6. 2005 winner was Richard Anderson
7. 2004 winner was Ernie and Fay Linger
8. 2003 winner was Nancy Ladenberger
9. 2002 winner was Morry Walsh
10. 2001 winner was Morna Blessing.
11. 2000 winner was John and Claudia McDonald
12. 1999 winner was Ivan and Phyllis Summers
13. 1998 winner was Paul and Joan Carson
14. 1997 winner was Jack and Martina Hendry
15. 1996 winner was Ken Short
16. 1995 winner was Frank Beyer
    

KINGFISHER AWARD SUGGESTIONS NEEDED
Put on those thinking caps! The KINGFISHER Award Committee welcomes your suggestions for next year's recipient of KAS's highest honor. This award, to be presented at our annual general membership dinner meeting in May, honors a KAS member who has a history of volunteer excellence with our organization. To be considered, the candidate should have demonstrated the following characteristics: 1. Has actively participated in the chapter for at least 5 years. 2. Has produced work of high quality. 3. Has demonstrated the ability to complete tasks responsibly and in a timely fashion. 4. Has advocated for wildlife and for the environment. 5. Has shown a dedication to the KAS chapter. Please submit any suggestions for the Kingfisher Award to the president@kitsapaudubon.org. Many people work very hard to make KAS the great chapter it is, and we want no one to be overlooked. Thanks! We appreciate your help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Mission is to preserve the natural world through education, enivronmental study, and habitat protection; and to promote awareness and enjoyment of local and regional natural areas. Check out our new Brochure!