Audubon Delta

Happy Friday from Rainey Sanctuary! 🌅 Wide-open sky and miles of marsh that birds depend on. We can’t imagine a more gorgeous place to wrap up the week.

Tag someone who needs to see this beauty! 🔥

📸: Karen Westphal

Need a last-minute Halloween costume? Might we suggest... a bird? 🎃🪶

's Dori Edwards has done the hard work for you and shares 3 easy tips:

1️⃣ Focus on field marks (orange combat boots = Mallard feet)
2️⃣ Work with what you’ve got (green polka-dot top = Green Catbird)
3️⃣ Invest in a cheap multipack of beanies, bandannas, or sunglasses (red shades = Roseate Spoonbill)

Which bird would you dress as this year? Tell us below! 👇 Full story at the link below.

https://buff.ly/582tFP8

📸 Photo: Jimena Peck

Twenty volunteers, one big cleanup. 🌿 Last Friday, volunteers joined staff at the Little Rock Audubon Center as part of the Keep Arkansas Beautiful initiative. Together, they collected trash in and around Gillam Park, cleared invasive wisteria and debris from 1.5 trail miles, and weeded the native gardens ahead of cooler weather.
We’re so grateful for everyone who gives their time to make our Centers more beautiful. You make a real difference! 💚

Want to lend a hand? Volunteer projects happen year-round at Little Rock Audubon Center and throughout the Delta. Visit https://buff.ly/hCTK0Yn

📸 by staff and volunteers including Ricardo Ramirez and Margaret Castro

It's National Pumpkin Day! 🎃To celebrate, we’re swapping the pumpkin for an American Robin.

Orange glow? ✔️
Dark top? ✔️
No carving, candle, or costume required. 🧡

Have you spotted one lately? Tell us in the comments: what’s your favorite pumpkin-colored bird? 🧡

📸 Turdus migratorius. Photo: Kevin Cress/Audubon Photography Awards

A washed-out nest. A second chance. And a visit to J. Rainey Sanctuary. 🐦

We spotted this Piping Plover on our beach, and it has a remarkable backstory. It began life as a captive-reared chick from the Great Lakes, which is rare. When its nest was washed out and abandoned, the eggs were given a second chance through captive-rearing.

The sighting matters for another reason, too: Piping Plovers are federally listed as endangered, and this one turned up at our very own Paul J. Rainey Sanctuary. It’s a reminder of how important our coastline is for imperiled species.

To learn more about the captive-rearing process: https://buff.ly/E40P6jZ

Check out this resighting by our Audubon Delta - Mississippi Coastal Stewardship Program friends!

👀Look who was spotted in Waveland!

🔭During the recent Ladner Pier survey in Waveland, MS, Audubon Delta volunteer Misty Manning resighted a very special visitor: Brown Pelican W(4Z3)!

🪶This resilient bird was originally banded as a flightless chick in 2010 at Breton Island in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Today it is roughly 16 years old and still going strong!

🌊It’s absolutely amazing to see this beautiful pelican thriving nearly two decades later!

Happy Monday! What was the first bird you saw this week?

Here's ours: a female Vermillion Flycatcher visiting Paul J Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary.

Vermilion Flycatcher. Photo: Karen Westphal

Beach-nesting birds everywhere share a fundamental challenge: raising their babies amid the people, pets, and developments that share the shore with them.

A new film by Audubon provides a heartfelt look into the struggles of one species: Snowy Plovers.

Shoreline Sentinels of Great Salt Lake follows National Audubon Society, Tracy Aviary staff and volunteers as they embark on a journey to learn how recreation at Great Salt Lake is impacting them.

🎥 Watch it now at https://buff.ly/Ze8Czcs!