On May 31, Delaware Audubon, in collaboration with OutdoorAfro Delaware, will be guiding a bird walk in Curtin Mill Park in Newark. The walk is part of the fourth annual Black Birders Week, a series of events nationwide from May 28 to June 3 aimed at highlighting Black nature enthusiasts and increasing the visibility of Black birders, who face unique challenges and risks when engaging in outdoor activities.

Tha walk will begin at 4:00 pm in the parking lot of Curtis Mill Park, which is located at 299 Paper Mill Road in Newark DE. The park, located along White Clay Creek, provides habitat for a wide variety of resident and migrating birds. The park also hosts a large Purple Martin colony and features a long series of nest boxes for cavity-nesting birds.. Most of the cavaties will have active nests on May 31.

People of all ages and all levels of experience are welcome. A limited number of binoculars will be available for those who need a pair for the walk.

Register now for Delaware Audubon's Annual Dinner, to be held on Saturday, December 10th from 6 pm to 10 pm. The event will be held at Timothy’s on the Riverfront in Wilmington.

Timothy’s is located on the Riverwalk side of the Shipyard Center. Ample free parking is available near the Westin hotel, in front of Planet Fitness.

Food and beverages are included. The menu will be announced closer to the event.

Admission is $25 per person. Reservations are required, with a registration deadline of December 9th. This will be a fun night out, and a great opportunity to meet and mingle with Audubon members, environmentalists, and nature lovers.

Conservation Award Presentation:

This year’s Conservation Award will be presented to Jeff and Liz Gordon.

Jeffrey Gordon grew up in Wilmington and has maintained a lifelong interest in wildlife and the outdoors. Birds became a particular area of fascination for Jeff at age 12 and he developed his knowledge of them, and of trip and tour leading, with the generous and enthusiastic mentorship of members of the Delaware Ornithological Society, the Delaware Nature Society, and Delaware Audubon. As a high school student, he served several times as “bird dog” for National Audubon President Russell Peterson on birdathon fundraising efforts. Over his 40+ year career in birding and conservation Jeff has become an internationally-known writer, photographer, tour leader, and naturalist. He served as coordinator of the Delaware Birding Trail working with Ann Rydgren and many others in the late 2000’s. He was President for the American Birding Association from 2010 to 2021, overseeing the move of the ABA headquarters to Delaware and the addition of Hawaii to the ABA Area.

Liz Deluna Gordon started birding 35 years ago in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. After her eyes were opened to the amazing tropical birds and plants there, she decided her goal in life would be to introduce as many people--especially kids--as she could to the idea that birds and bird habitat were worth caring for and protecting. She became a champion of developing the local economy through ecotourism and was a key member of the team that founded the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival.

Liz and Jeff met in South Texas in 1990, beginning a friendship and a professional partnership that has continued for over three decades. In 2003 Liz and her son, Travis, moved to Delaware and in 2006, Jeff and Liz were married. While in the First State, Liz has been a teacher/naturalist for the Delaware Nature Society and the Center for the Inland Bays. Over the 2010’s, she coordinated the American Birding Association’s Young Birder programs, its efforts to support bird conservationists in Latin America through Birders’ Exchange, and the ABA’s events program. Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, Jeff and Liz have resided just across the state line in Media, Pennsylvania.

Annual Business Meeting:

The Annual Meeting of our members is to provide an update on our activities and finances, and to hold an election for board members. Nominations will be considered from the floor. Our financials are reviewable at the meeting upon request.