Please join us for the 2021 Vulture Festival on Saturday, October 9th 2021! The festival is hosted by Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department and will be held at the Athens-Clarke-County Landfill (map). The event features bird walks led by members of the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society, as well as educational activities, guided tours of the facilities at the landfill, live birds-of-prey demonstrations, and more! Please visit the event website for a detailed schedule: https://www.accgov.com/6785/Vulture-Festival. If you would like to volunteer for the event, please register here: https://givepul.se/z9gjl7

we hope to see you there!

Artwork designed by: David Hale

We are excited to announce that the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society will be hosting a fundraiser from 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. on Thursday, September 16th at Southern Brewing Company (map) in Athens, GA. The event will feature live music and a percentage of the proceeds will go directly to Oconee Rivers Audubon Society. Tickets can be purchased on site or online (https://bit.ly/SBCSept16). Mention Oconee Rivers Audubon Society for a discounted ticket price ($5).

The Oconee Rivers Audubon Society is excited to announce that our monthly meeintgs will begin on Thursday, Sept. 2nd. We are offering options to attend the meeting in person at the UGA Odum School of Ecology auditorium and online via Zoom. Doors will open at 6:30pm and the talk will begin at 7pm. Our speaker will be Dr.

Please join us for a picnic potluck and annual officer elections at 6pm on Thursday, June 10! The picnic will be held at the Lake Herrick Pavillion at University of Georgia (111 Lake Herrick Dr.). Please check our website for updates on any weather cancellations or delays. Free parking is available in the intramural field parking deck after 5pm.

Please use this link to register for the event: https://forms.gle/AUVyrX9NQGqusxUb9 

We miss our members and hope to see you there!

Please join us virtually for our monthly meeting at 7pm on Thursday, May 6th where Georgia Southern University Masters student, Abbie Dwire, will talk about her research on Henslow's Sparrow habitat selection in Georgia coastal plains. Please use this link to register for the meeting: https://forms.gle/GXMZET5p3qm4z4eo8. More details about the talk below:

Please join us virtually for our monthly meeting at 7pm on Thursday, March 4th where Bradley Wilkinson will talk about his research tracking brown pelican movement to gain insight on threats facing the species. Please use this link to obtain a link to the Zoom meeting: https://forms.gle/w24waXSyKmiEdUHi6. More details below:

The Oconee Rivers Audubon Society was horrified to learn of the reported sexual assault committed by a well-known member of the birding community. We support and stand with Aisha White and all other survivors of rape and sexual assault. We wish Aisha, all survivors, and BIPOC birders healing and justice. Safe access to the benefits of birds and nature is our highest priority. ORAS will not tolerate activities or behaviors that threaten the wellbeing and safety of any birder, and we are reflecting on ways to achieve this.

National Audubon official statement: https://www.audubon.org/news/audubon-responds-serious-allegations-against-prominent-birder 

The Oconee Rivers Audubon Society has opened the Spring 2021 application cycle for the Conservation Grants. The purpose of the grant is to support local research, community service, and education activities related to conservation of wildlife and their habitat. Please visit the ORAS Conservation Grant page: http://oconeeriversaudubon.org/grant for more information on the application process and past funded projects. 

Get your binoculars ready for the Great Backyard Bird Counts! This annual event is a collaboration between National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Birds Canada to learn about the status of bird populations in the world by taking a "snapshot" of where they are and what they are doing using citizen science.The event will run from Friday, February 12th through Monday, February 15th. To participate, locate a place where you can find birds and record what you see for at least 15 minutes, then share your observations using the Merlin Bird ID app or eBird. Anyone can participate! Follow this link to learn more about the event: https://www.birdcount.org/