• Date: February 16, 2016
  Time: 7:00pm
  Location: Northwest Community Center lunchroom
  51st and Franklin Avenue
  Des Moines,

Tim Gedler, Park Manager for Walnut Woods State Park, will present a program on Purple Martins at our February meeting. His program will highlight many aspects of the largest member of the swallow family in the United States. The Purple Martin has had a close relationship with mankind dating back to Native Americans who were among the first people to place natural gourds around their settlements to attract these beautiful birds. The program will focus on the life history of the species as well what it takes in the “modern” world to attract nesting martins. Learn all about the hard work involved as well as the many benefits of becoming a Purple Martin “Landlord”.

Tim is a graduate of Simpson College (1986) with Environmental Science Degrees. His past work experiences include National Audubon and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, the National Park Service in Wind Cave National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota. He has worked with Iowa DNR state parks bureau for nearly thirty years at Prairie Rose State Park, George Wyth State Park, and currently at Walnut Woods State Park in West Des Moines.

Des Moines Audubon meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. and are held in the lunchroom of the Northwest Community Center, which is located at 51st and Franklin Avenue in Des Moines. The Center is just west of Franklin Library and is not far from the church where we met for years. There is ample parking and the building is accessible. If you have questions about this meeting place, please contact Jane Clark at 515-223-5047.