Michiana Audubon Club

01/26/2026

Monday's meeting has been cancelled due to the inclement winter weather. Stay safe and warm and we hope to see everyone next month!

01/06/2026

The National Audubon Society featured a photo on their page of a Henslow's Sparrow taken by our very own Karen Brown, who is our club secretary as well as a bird and nature photographer. Congratulations Karen! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BvtahQLwj/the

This fall, habitat restoration work began on 300 acres of newly acquired land at Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center to transform the ecosystem into native tallgrass prairie perfectly suited for threatened grassland bird species like the Henslow’s Sparrow. Read more at the link in comments.

12/06/2025

It is both amazing and heartwarming what was done to help this Eagle. Such a remarkable team of people who made this happen.

Alert🚨 : Someone in hate added a community note that this story is incorrect and shared for likes but this story is 100% true and shared after research. See comment section for sources. Enjoy the story.

When rescuers first found Beauty, a bald eagle in Alaska, she was barely alive. A single gunshot had destroyed her upper beak, the tool she needed for everything: eating, drinking, grooming, and defending herself. Without it, she was trapped in a slow, inevitable decline. In the wild, she would have survived only a few days.

But a handful of strangers refused to accept that ending.

A wildlife rehabilitator contacted a mechanical engineer. The engineer brought in a dentist. A dentist reached out to a 3D-printing specialist. Piece by piece, a small, unlikely team formed around a single goal: to give a wounded eagle a second chance at life.

They spent months studying Beauty’s injuries, scanning her skull, designing prototypes, and testing materials that were both light enough for flight and strong enough for daily use. Every millimeter mattered. The prosthetic had to match the shape of a beak that no longer existed.

When the final 3D-printed beak was ready, the team attached it with careful precision.

Then, in a room full of people holding their breath, Beauty did something miraculous.

She reached down…
gripped a piece of food…
and fed herself for the first time since the gunshot.

Some cried. Others laughed in disbelief. All of them knew they had witnessed a turning point — not just for one eagle, but for the future of wildlife rehabilitation.

Over the following months, another surprise emerged. Protected by the prosthetic, Beauty’s natural beak began to regrow underneath it. The device had not only restored her function — it had given her body the chance to heal.

Beauty became the first bald eagle in history to receive a fully functional, 3D-printed beak.
Her story remains a powerful reminder that when compassion and innovation work together, even the most broken lives can be rebuilt.

If one eagle can inspire this level of devotion… imagine what could happen if we offered the same determination to every living being

🐾" They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but some stories are too big for just a caption.
I've written a book: a tribute to compassion, resilience, and the magic of kindness we share with the animals we love.
It's coming in just a few days! I want you to be part of the inner circle to get the earliest updates.
Here's how to join: The launch link will drop exclusively in my broadcast channel first.
Tap my profile and hit JOIN: "Born Legend: Inner Circle" in the intro.

11/27/2025

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

10/28/2025

We had a wonderful program last night at our monthly meeting! Our speakers were Dennis and Andrea Badke of Foxwood Raptor and Wildlife Rehabilitation Center located in Bristol, Indiana. They brought along a Great Horned Owl, a young (and very feisty) Turkey Vulture, and a very sweet brown and white skunk. It was a treat to see them all up close, and we learned a lot. They also rescue foxes from fur farms and unscrupulous breeders. https://www.facebook.com/share/1BkXN4qZew/

08/08/2025

FISHERMEN: Please be diligent about recovering any lost fishing line, hooks, lures, etc. It can have devastating consequences to birds and wildlife as is shown in this post. I have collected significant amounts of discarded fishing line and hooks while out kayaking. Please consider the consequences to birds and wildlife and collect your lost fishing line and tackle.

06/25/2025

Exciting news! Our very own Harlan Blood is one of the recipients of the 2025 Sturgis Citizen of the Year Award, along with Mary Haylett. Both are wonderful community-minded people and were longtime educators at Sturgis Public Schools. Congratulations Harlan & Mary for this well-deserved honor!

Harlan and Mary will also be in the Electric Parade on Friday night, June 27th, as part of Sturgis Fest.

05/14/2025

As with all Audubon chapters, the Michiana Audubon Club is a conservation-minded group of individuals with our main focus being birds and wildlife. We can't stress enough how important our county parks are for the birds, wildlife, insects, and plants that call them home. It has recently been proposed by one of the St. Joseph County commissioners to divest in three of our county parks and has even gone so far as to suggest selling and privatizing them. The implications of such a proposal are very concerning. The three parks being scrutinized are Plumb Lake County Park, Cade Lake Park, and Covered Bridge Farm in St. Joseph County Michigan. County residents: if you utilize our county parks and they are important to you and you do not agree with this misguided notion, please attend the county commission meeting on Tuesday, May 20, at 5:00 pm at the county courthouse in Centreville, MI and make your voice heard.

04/20/2025

Our monthly meeting on Monday, April 21st has been cancelled. Hope to see everyone next month!

03/23/2025

Do not pull spring dandelions! They are one of the first sources of food for bees in the spring.

03/15/2025

It's that time of year! There are several maple syrup events going on in the area this weekend: Butternut Creek Sugar Shack in Mendon, MI, Maple Row Sugarhouse in Jones, MI, and Maplewood Nature Center in LaGrange, IN. See our previous post for more information on these events.

03/13/2025

This weekend, March 15-16, 2025, is Michigan Maple Syrup Weekend. There are several locations in our area having events: Butternut Creek Sugar Shack in Mendon, MI, Maple Row Sugarhouse in Jones, MI, and Maplewood Nature Center in LaGrange, IN. See flyers for more information. If you are looking for something to do this weekend, check out one of the events near you. Enjoy some pancakes with genuine maple syrup! Mmm! 🥞