Summerseat Farm, 26655 Three Notch Road, Mechanicsville, MD 20659
Free Community Event. Southern Maryland Audubon will be hosting bird walks and bird info exhibits. Event will include children’s activities, vendors, food trucks, live music and tons of info on how to live a more sustainable life.
Sponsored by St. Mary’s Commission on the Environment
Southern Maryland Audubon will be hosting bird walks, views of an occupied Bald Eagle nest through scopes, children’s nature events and bird tips at this family friendly celebration. (Heritage Festival has admissions charge)https://sotterley.org/event/southern-maryland-heritage-festival/
Join Southern Maryland Audubon for our monthly ZOOM nature talk, “How Mockingbirds Dupe Us” @ 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 2.
Mockingbirds have fascinated humans for thousands of years with their ability to imitate the sounds of other species, but scientists have studied vocal mimicry in this species for only a few decades. For the past 20 years, Dave Gammon’s research has focused on basic questions like “Which species get mimicked by mockingbirds and why?” and “How do mockingbirds vary over time in their mimicry?”
Zoom link will be sent to our Osprey email subscribers 3 days prior to the event and the day of. If you aren’t on our list, you can subscribe for free by signing up at the bottom of our home page @ www.somdaudubon.org. If you sign up and do not get a link, please check your spam.
Talk may qualify for education hours for Master Naturalists.
Southern Maryland Audubon urges you to write, call or email your Maryland state legislator on these two urgent issues with huge impact on the birds, natural habitat and people of our state. Your voice can make a difference!
Please express your opposition to a current proposal to slash all funding for some of our state’s most important conservation programs for the next four years: the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Fund, Program Open Space, Waterway Improvement Fund and Rural Legacy Fund. Please ask to keep these programs funded!
Please oppose HB 1270 that would allow construction of transmission lines through protected Wildlands and Important Bird Areas in western Maryland.
You can find your state delegates’ email and phone number here. If you put in your address, you will get a list of elected officials. You will want to reach out to your state delegate.
Here’s the background on these two issues:
Right now in Annapolis, legislators are debating a budget proposal to cut all funding from Program Open Space, the Waterways Improvement Fund, Rural Legacy Fund, and the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund for four years. This revenue would be diverted to offset general operating funds, and would be in addition to already proposed budget cuts to our state’s Department of Natural Resources and Department of the Environment.
Without this funding, there will be no new Maryland parks or trails and deferred maintenance of our favorite places. There will be no funding for bird habitat protection through conservation easements and Program Open Space, which is critical for the creation of Important Bird Areas and parks across the state to preserve green spaces for people and birds. There will be no resources to sustain the restoration of tidal salt marshes that are necessary for supporting our economy, protecting threatened birds, and buffering communities from climate change.
We respect the challenge legislators face with a projected $2.9 billion deficit and understand we all have to play role in reaching a balanced budget this legislative session. But cutting all funds to these important programs for four years is completely disproportionate to the cuts proposed for other programs.
This is not only a blow to the environment, but to some of Maryland’s most important industries—agriculture, fisheries and tourism which bring billions of dollars and thousands of jobs to our state.
Our other priority issue, HB1270, would allow construction of large transmission lines through some of western Maryland’s most protected Wildlands.
Construction of transmission lines should never be allowed to be erected in established protected wildland areas. The limited amount of unfragmented habitat that remains in the state of Maryland must be retained. These areas are meant to act as corridors for native biodiversity not corridors for power lines.
Constructing NextEra transmission lines would require clearing large swaths of protected public lands and dividing habitat for plant and animal diversity as well as introducing large-scale land disturbance, opening the habitat interior to invasive plants and predators.
The intact and unfragmented habitats that a wildland designation is meant to protect are vital to preserving vulnerable interior birds and other species along with the health of the ecological systems that support them. This bill represents a dangerous precedent of constructing on valuable preserved lands which must not be tolerated.
Please contact your state delegate today on these two important issues. Speak up for birds and conservation!
Barking Treefrog by Scott Smith/MD Department of Natural Resources
Recording now available @ https://www.somdaudubon.org/our-work/program-archive/
Naturalist Kerry Wixted introduces us to the amazing variety of calls, scents and colors that frogs, toads and other amphibians use to engage with each other and other wildlife. Much of this talk’s focus is on amphibians in Maryland, but it also covers unique species from around the world.
If you do not already receive our Osprey newsletter, you can sign up at the bottom of this homepage and we will send the link for all our monthly nature talks.
This presentation may qualify for continuing education for Master Naturalists.
Our Chesapeake Bay Ospreys and wildlife need your help immediately! Please take one minute to show your support for ending over-harvesting of menhaden in the Chesapeake.
Commercial menhaden fishing by the foreign company Omega Protein inside the Chesapeake Bay is threatening the primary food source for Ospreys, dolphins and other Bay wildlife.
Southern Maryland Audubon, along with other area conservation groups and sport fishers, support a rule now under consideration by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to end or reduce commercial menhaden fishing inside the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia is currently the only state that allows commercial menhaden fishing inside the bay.
But Omega Protein apparently has organized an effort to flood the commission website with negative responses on the proposed changes.
Help counter their actions NOW! Please take one minute and register your support for this petition by going to
For this year’s camp dates and more information on the application process, click here.
Mountains to Sea Birding for Teens: For teens aged 14-17
Field Ornithology: For other adults (18+) with an interest in bird watching, environmental or nature studies
The scholarships cover tuition, room, and board. Scholarship recipients can apply for a stipend to help offset travel costs. For details about each camp, go to the Audubon Hog Island website at https://hogisland.audubon.org/programs
CAMP PROGRAMS OFFERED
Birders Field Ornithology, for adults (18+) June 15 – June 20
Teens Mountains to Sea Birding for Teens(ages 14-17)June 29 – July 4
Applicants must be residents of Southern Maryland. To apply please send a one page letter explaining:
How will you benefit from the Hog Island opportunity?
How will you use the experience and knowledge to benefit others in Southern Maryland and support the SMAS mission?
Your signed letter must include: Mailing Address
Email Address
Phone Number
Age for teen applicants
One or more signed letters of recommendation describing your interests, abilities, and how the experience will benefit either your organization or the SMAS mission.
Please also submit a recent photograph of applicant.
Scholarship recipients must submit a written article for our Osprey newsletter about their experience by August 5, 2025, and possibly a brief presentation at one of the Monthly Meeting Programs for 2025 – 2026.
Please send applications to:
Annette Cook
Scholarship & Education Committee Chair Southern Maryland Audubon Society acook.somdaudubon@gmail.com
(Photo by 2024 scholarship recipient Pam Brumbley)
Coming this Wednesday, Jan. 15 @6:30 p.m.! Charles County Community Climate Action Plan Interactive Webinar
Please join an interactive webinar designed to provide information and gather ideas for Charles County’s Climate Action Plan.
During this 1.5-hour meeting you will have the opportunity to learn more about climate change inventories and forecasts, as well as participate in open discussion related to Climate Action Plan strategies.
Register here. Please note that this meeting will be recorded.
Charles County is in the early stages of developing a Climate Action Plan (CAP)! The Office of Climate Resilience and Sustainability has spearheaded the effort based on the recognition that there is a critical and urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect our natural environment, and safeguard our communities against the effects of climate change. The Climate Action Plan will serve as an important roadmap to help Charles County achieve these goals.
The current phase of the CAP process involves obtaining stakeholder feedback and conducting public outreach on CAP goals and strategies. Which is where YOU can get involved!
The Charles County Government is currently conducting community outreach and hosting webinars to help inform the Climate Action Plan contents and priorities. If you are interested in participating in the Climate Action Plan process, there are a few simple steps that you can take now to get involved. Two surveys are currently active on the Charles County Engage page related to public outreach scheduling and soliciting general input on climate action planning priorities. Both surveys should take no more than a few minutes of your time to complete: Charles County Climate Action Planning
In addition to the surveys, a recording of the first public webinar (held on November 13, 2024) is available to view on the Charles County website and provides an overview of climate change basics, an introduction to the CAP and planning process, and reinforces the desire for community engagement: Climate Action Plan
Upcoming webinars will be held in early 2025 regarding the below topics. Make sure to join the Climate Action Mailing List to be notified of these future meetings!
· January 15, 2025: Where are we Heading? Inventories, Forecasts, and Initial Strategy Discussion
· February 26, 2025: Deep Dive on Mitigation and Resilience Strategies
· March 26, 2025: Climate Action Plan Strategy Analysis Results
This is a great opportunity to show support for the Climate Action Plan and to advocate for goals and strategies that will protect the environment for our feathered friends.
Learn how you can join the 125th Christmas Bird Count at a hands-on workshop Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Lexington Park Library in St. Mary’s County. Southern Maryland Audubon leaders will share how to participate in the count and demonstrate how the data you and thousands of other volunteers collect is used to help guide conservation for birds. Beginners and experienced birders welcome.
Presentation may qualify for continuing education hours for Master Naturalists.
