It's time to donate to this year's Birdathon. We have a great lineup of grants this year and fourteen teams will be taking to the field soon for their big days. We wish all the teams luck as they scour the state in search of birds. And a special welcome to the new teams this year. We will be updating counts on the Birdathon page as the teams finish and report their totals. For more details on this year's grants, take a look a the Birdathon page, or go directly to the donation page to help us raise the $31,000 for this years grants. As always, thank you to all the generous donors that have made Birdathon a success for over 30 years. Make a difference! Make a pledge!

In March the Greenfield Birders installed 16 bird houses at Beckenholdt Park, one of their favorite local parks in Greenfield, Indiana. Adam and Sara Wilson, along with Carole Blaser, were the proud recipients of grant money funded by the National Audubon Society and the Amos Butler Audubon Society to purchase, construct, and install these 16 birdhouses. Their hope is that the newly provided housing will replace some of the lost habitat for cavity nesters such as Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows.

This year Granite City is again generously supporting ABAS by donating 20% of your tab when you dine there on August 22. It's good at either location – downtown on Maryland St. or north on 96th St. near Meridian. Be sure to click on Read More to print out the flyer below and hand it to your server.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Amos Butler Audubon Society Birdathon. With this year’s donations of $25,670, we have raised a grand total of $720,675 since 1987. It would not be possible to continue such an endeavor without the generous support of our donors, volunteers, and teams who have shown a remarkable commitment to our mission to promote the stewardship and enjoyment of the birds of central Indiana. The Noddy Little Gulls team took top honors as the fundraising champs followed by Bud & Carl’s Legacy team. Our cycling team, Carbon Neutral, placed third. The highest species count turned in by any team was 177 by the Horned Grebes.

Join us in welcoming Whitney Yoerger as the new editor of our LifeLines Newsletter. Whitney and her husband Jonathan are relatively new birders in the area. They started birding while living in Hong Kong and moved to Indiana in summer 2016. We’re guessing they have a few birds we don’t have.

Lori Braden found this sparrow on May 25. She was visiting a home about 5 miles southeast of Mooresville. From her picture, it certainly seems as thought this is an albino house sparrow. It completely lacks any color pigmentation though it's eyes appear to be a bit darker. Some believe encountering a white bird or animal brings luck. Click "Read More >" below to see the photo and learn more.

Will joined Eagle Creek Park in Summer of 2016 as the Assistant Manager, and has since been promoted to Park Manager, in charge of the Ornithology Center. Join us in congratulating Will in his new position. We all wish him the best.

The VA and Crown Hill Cemetery have agreed to pursue a land swap so the old growth forest will be save for now. Senator Joe Donnelly and Mayor Joe Hogsett both expressed pleasure the agreement. Our thanks to all the people who wrote letters, called, and participated in the many actions that led to this success.

We look forward to another great fundraising year to benefit the birds of Central Indiana thanks to our generous donors. With your help we will raise the $30,000+ necessary to fund our nine grant requests. This year we have 14 teams competing in the Big Day as well as fundraising. Details of the grant recipients, teams, and how to donate can be seen on the Birdathon Page.