Spring is well and truly here. Nearly all the ducks are gone and the Humming Birds, Warblers, Flycatchers, Swallows and Purple Martins are here.  Bluebirds are nesting in their (Audubon Supplied) boxes. The Goldfinches have turned from olive to gold, almost overnight. Summer con't be far away.

 

During this summer, your board and committees will undertake important work on behalfo of all the members.  The slate of officers will be presented at the June General Meeting.  We will conduct workshops on using simple visuals, for those who are prepared to share some of their birding skills with others.  We will update our members' directory and some of our brochures.  Most importantly, we will take a critical look at "where we are going."

 

Our current direction is guided by a strategic plan that was developed in 2002 and covers the period to 2007.  It is time to carefully consider the future nature and direction of our club.  The Northern Neck is still "the garden of Virginia", as Washington succinctly put it.  A lot of us are here, exactly because it is so.  But things are changing, and we should consider what these changes mean to us.

 

A healthy bird life is still a valid barometer and a harbinger of things to come.  That will not change.  The fact that habitat is vital for a healthy bird life will not change.  Simply put, the need to "protect dirt and what we do with dirt" (Sandy Spencer) will not change .  As members of the Northern Neck Chapter of the National Audubon Society we, perhaps uniquely, appreciate this reality.

 

In the summer months we will grapple with the reality of change and what it means to us.  Are we a loose collection of relatively kindred spirits or do we pursue a more specific mission? Questions like this will help to lay out plans for the next few years.  We will consider the National Audubon's IBA programs- Important Bird Areas that provide focus on specific areas that need to be protected.  We will try to balance the changes in our immediate and wider backyard.  We will listen to our members and seek to meet their needs.

 

Your inputs to this process are vital.  Tell us what you think.  Talk to each other about how you feel about what we do.  Challenge us to do better.  We want to hear from you.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

Peter Saam