12th Annual Conference

April 29

Bluebirds Across Nebraska’s annual conference is fast approaching. April 29 is the date; the Missouri National Recreational River Resource & Education Center at Ponca State Park is the place. The park is located two miles north of Ponca. The day will be filled with bluebird, as well as other wildlife, education, laughs and camaraderie.

The speakers that have been lined up are outstanding in their fields of expertise. Keith Radel has talked at many BAN conferences and is always a hit. Keith will present two talks this year: one on bluebird basics and the other on advanced bluebirding. Keith’s enthusiasm serves as a catalyst to get everyone excited about bluebirds returning in spring and the start of nesting season.

Darrell Stave from Baxter, Minn., has been a member of the Minnesota Bluebird Recovery Program for 25 years. For the past 12 years he has been licensed to care for sick and injured birds. Darrell is the world’s best Sven and Ollie story teller and will share many of those tales with us at the Friday night dinner. He will also be a speaker on Saturday at the conference.

Harlan Hamernik is the owner of the Bluebird Nursery in Clarkson, Neb. Harlan has been presented with many honors and awards in the landscaping industry. He has done plant exploration, breeding and selection; searching for improved and unique plants for landscaping. Harlan will share his knowledge of plants and teach us what to plant to attract wildlife onto our properties.

Les Ernst, the Assistant Park Superintendent at Ponca State Park, will round out our list of speakers. He is the local authority in the Ponca State Park area on the Lewis and Clark Trail. Les will educate us on this fascinating subject.

In addition to the topnotch slate of speakers, Ponca State Park is a destination in and of itself. The park consists of 892 heavily forested acres located on high bluffs and steep hills along the western banks of the Missouri. From the Tri-State Look Out you can not only view three states (Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota), but you can see the only unchannelized section of the Missouri River bordering Nebraska. There are more than 17 miles of maintained trails throughout the park and it is a paradise for observing wildlife and unusual plants and trees. You might want to check out the “Old Oak Tree” which has been officially aged at 360 years old -- a mere sapling when the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and a rare survivor of the development druing the last 200 years.

The casual dinner on Friday night has become a BAN pre-conference tradition where fellow bluebirders socialize, get acquainted with each other and swap bluebird stories. The dinner will be held in the same location as the conference. After the buffet-style dinner, an oral auction will be held with the conference speakers serving as auctioneers. As mentioned above, Darrell Stave will be entertaining us with his hilarious Sven and Ollie stories. Nobody can tell them better than Darrell!!! Believe me, you don’t want to miss this.

There will be several breaks scheduled throughout the day which will give everyone the opportunity to visit with old and new friends, look over auction and raffle items, and buy raffle tickets. Another BAN conference tradition is all of the delicious goodies that our members bring for these breaks. If you would like to share a dozen cookies, cupcakes, kolaches, etc, your donation will be gladly accepted.

The annual conference is BAN’s main fund raising event of the year. We ask your help in this matter by donating items for the raffle and auctions. Items may be sent in advance to any BAN officer or brought the day of the conference.

Please register as soon as possible. A registration form is included in this newsletter. Fill it out, mail it in, and mark your calendar for April 29.