The Ridgway chapter of the Audubon Society intends to “promote the perpetuation and appreciation of native plants and animals and the habitats that support them.”
The chapter meets about seven times a year. Meetings are open to the public and can be found on the Ridgway Chapter Facebook page.
Typical annual activities include:
- Illinois Natural History Survey Spring Bird Count
- Illinois Ornithological Society Christmas Bird Count
- Bird Haven Cleanup
- Spring Wildflower Walks
- Visit to a local Blue Heron Rookery
- Program Speakers
The Ridgway Chapter’s namesake Robert Ridgway was a great American ornithologist that retired to our town of Olney, Illinois, after a long career working at the Smithsonian Institution. In his lifetime, he was unmatched in the number of North American bird species that he described for science. He used his own paintings and outline drawings to complement his writing. He also published two books that systematized color names for describing birds, A Nomenclature of Colors for Naturalists (1886) and Color Standards and Color Nomenclature (1912). Ridgway also acquired a tract of 18 acres in Olney, to be called Bird Haven, which he developed as a private nature reserve for birds and as a nursery for cultivation of non-native plants. Some of Bird Haven remains today open to the public.