The annual family camp out weekend was held in a new location this year. We moved to Camp Prairie View, located just south of Arkansas City on the Arkansas River. Twenty five people enjoyed exploring the new place. Some great birds were found, including Bobolinks in an alfalfa field and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at the camp.
The second Twilight dinner was held at Chaplin Nature Center. The weather was rather uncertain, so we dined around the visitor's center. The scavenger hunt, hikes to the river, and campfire stories were a big hit and 120 people had a great evening with lots of good food.
The annual North American Migration Count was held the second Saturday of the month. Teams covered six territories encompassing all of Sedgwick County.
The May program featured our own secretary Julia Hoppes with slides and stories from her trip to the Galapagos. Her title, "Dancing with Boobies in the Galapagos," brought the biggest crowd of the year.
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Rex Herndon was presented with the annual Meritorious Service Award. Rex has been volunteering at Chaplin Nature Center since 1985. He toiled all of the summer of 1989 on the construction of the visitor's center, and donated all his back to pay W A S. He has served as chair of the CNC committee almost continuously since then, and has been invaluable as helper and resource for both Gerald Weins, the first naturalist, and Shawn Silliman, his successor. Congratulations and thanks to Rex.
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The spring field trip to Quivira NWR and Cheyenne Bottoms brought 9 people and thousands of birds. Best birds included 4 Red Knot, 15 Black-bellied Plovers, a Dunlin, and hundreds of Black Terns. The Bell's Vireos and Bobolinks were in their usual places. Cheyenne Bottoms had numerous Western Grebes and 3 Clark's Grebes.
Wichita Audubon became involved in City plans to renovate Oak Park. Because of concerns over the impact of the proposed changes on the birds which use the park, WAS given a presentation by the architects to describe the plans. Our letters, comments and presence at public meetings has had a significant impact on the planner's view of Oak Park and the direction of the plans.
The butterfly walk at Chaplin Nature Center netted such beauties as Red Admirals, Question Mark, Sulphur, and Hackberry Butterflies, and participants learned about butterfly life cycles.
After untold years of being held in July, the annual picnic was moved to June in the hopes of cooler temperatures. The change made picnicking more comfortable, and the picnic will stay in June in the future.
In partnership with the Arkansas City Library, Shawn taught the "Entirely Ecology 2001" learning program for kids ages 7 -12. The kids visited the nature center for five weeks to study insect life cycles, animal adaptations, and land and water conservation. The program concluded with a competitive fair for their ecology projects.
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Who Used the Nature Center
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Ambucks of Arkansas City Arkansas City Convention Bureau Arkansas City Library Arkansas City Recreation Center Belle Plaine Elementary School Camp Horizon Countryview School (Winfield) Cowley County Community College Cowley County Volunteer Core Dexter Family Douglass Middle School FCRV (Winfield) First Lutheran School (Ponca City) Hill Crest Bible School Irving Elementary School (Winfield) Mulvane Elementary School Mulvane High School Oxford Elementary School |
Oxford Scouts PACE Ponca City Boy Scouts Ponca City Christian Academy Ponca City Library Sacred Heart School Southwestern College Sumner County Mental Health Taylor Family Udall Elementary School USD 470 Alternative Middle School USD 470 Elementary Schools USD 470 Middle School Webster School (Winfield) Wellington Soropotmist Club Whittier School (Winfield) Wichita Girl Scout |
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| Shawn Silliman & Gary Straley |
