May 3 (Thursday).  Board Meeting. 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Monthly Board Meeting to be held at the National Seed Storage Lab, 1111 S. Mason St. (map).  Read minutes of past board meetings

May 3 (Thursday) RMBO Program
Hummingbirds of South America and Colorado Come to the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) in Fort Collins on Thursday, May 3, at 7 p.m. to see Eric DeFonso’s photos of South American and Colorado hummingbirds. Seating is limited, so contact Lauren DeRosa, wbufortcollins@gmail.com, or 970-225-2557 to RSVP. The RMBO office is located at 230 Cherry Street, Ft.

May 10 (Thursday).  Program.  Social Gathering 7:00 p.m., Program 7:30 p.m.
Fort Collins Senior Center-Multi-Use Room, 1200 Raintree Drive.  History and Management of the Poudre Canyon Bighorn Sheep Herd.  Mark Vieira, Wildlife Biologist with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, will present a brief overview on Colorado bighorn sheep management, local history on the sheep in northern Larimer County, and some information from re-cent (2005-present) management and research projects. Mark Vieira, grew up largely on the East Coast and Portugal, and attended undergraduate school at St. Mary’s College of Mary-and. He spent a summer on a National Science Fellow-ship at Rocky Mountain Bio-logical Lab near Crested Butte and returned again to attend graduate school at CSU; he received an MS in Wildlife Biology in 2000. His graduate work focused on elk movement to private land in response to early season hunting pressure. After graduate school, Mark worked for U.S. Geological Survey in the Bad-lands of North Dakota on an elk project before returning to Fort Collins in 2001 to work with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Join us on May 10 at the Senior Center in Fort Collins. This program is free; the public welcome.

May 11-12. Birdathon!
Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12, will be our annual fundraiser known as the Birdathon. On those two days we will have several teams of birders roaming around northern Colorado trying to see or hear as many different species of birds possible within a 24-hour period. Prior to that time, team members as well as other FCAS members will have collected pledges from other Audubon members, family, and friends. Pledges may be of two types—either for a fixed amount or for a specified amount per species. As the Birdathon Coordinator I’m trying something new this year. I have asked board members to seek five pledges each. I also would like to ask every FCAS member to try to solicit at least two pledges each. If we are all successful in this effort we will be that much closer to establishing a meaningful scholarship fund. You are responsible for collecting any funds you solicit and for turning them into either me or our Treasurer, John Waddell. Also, please consider volunteering to serve on a team. If you don’t know a team leader let me know and we’ll assign you to a team. This is an important and fun event, and more eyes spot more birds! Let’s all try to make this the most successful Birdathon in several years.

May 13 (Sunday).  Bobcat Ridge Natural Area Bird Survey.
Leader: Denise Bretting (dbretting@swloveland.com, work: 669-1185, or home: 669-8095). Call for any change. Meet at 7:00 am. FCAS performs a monthly bird census for the city of Fort Collins. All levels welcomed.

May 19. Birds of Colorado Field Trip Series.
Eastern Plains.  Visit Birds of Colorado for more information.

May 19 (Saturday).  Field Trip
Birding the Big Thompson. Leader: Connie Kogler zblueheron@gmail.com. Meet at 7:30 a.m. at Railroad Dr/Fairgrounds Park in Loveland.

May 24 (Thursday).  Program.  Social Gathering 6:45 p.m., Program 7:00 p.m.
Loveland Museum and Gallery 503 N Lincoln Ave., Loveland. "Life In The Amazon: A 5-Month Reality Show Wherein I, Eric, Help Save The World" Presented by: Eric DeFonso Naturalist, Birder, Bird-Sound Recordist.  In contrast to Eric DeFonso’s March presentation on several diverse and intriguing habitats in South America, this talk will be entirely about his five months in the Amazon in 2011. The very name "Amazon" evokes ideas of impenetrable jungle, simmering heat and humidity, and face-painted indigenous peoples shooting arrows or rowing canoes. Eric will puncture some of these myths, but also will create some new ones as he relates his consider-able time spent as a volunteer in Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. He'll talk about the projects he worked on, his bird-guiding and surveying efforts, and more. You won’t want to miss this continuation of Eric’s travels in South America. This program is free and the public is welcomed.

May 24 (Thursday) Birdwatchers at Equalizer Lake
Once more, FCAS volunteers will provide guided opportunities for Audubon members and members of the public to experience the changes of the seasons at Equalizer Lake in Loveland, west of the Medical Center of the Rockies. The Bird Watches will be held on the fourth Thursday of each month at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. The dates are: May 24, June 28, July 26, August 23, and September 27.

June 16. Birds of Colorado Field Trip Series.
Rocky Mountains.  Visit Birds of Colorado for more information.

June 23 (Saturday).  Field Trip
Burrowing Owl and Mountain Plover Field Trip. Leader: Bill Miller, 5mcorp@comcast.net, 970-493-7693. Reservations and car pooling required. Limit: 15 plus leader. Meet at 6 a.m. at the Harmony Transportation Center at I-25 and Harmony. Travel to the Pawnee National Grasslands is search of Burrowing Owls, Mountain Plovers and anything else we encounter. Bring your hats, sunscreen, water, snacks, binoculars and scope if you have one. We’ll try to return by 1 p.m.

July 21. Birds of Colorado Field Trip Series.
High Plains of North Park.  Visit Birds of Colorado for more information.