Meetings

The Loess Hills Audubon Society meets at the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center, 4500 Sioux River Road on the first Thursday of the month during the months of September through May at 7:00 PM.

Summer Break - June, July and August - each year. Check out our bird outings offered in the Summer.

Each meeting features a quality program with an expert on a variety of natural history subjects.

The public is invited and welcome to attend these meetings.

Sparrow Identification with Thane Dinsdale

thursday, october 1, 2026

7:00 pm at dorothy pecaut nature center

sioux city, ia

*Henslow’s Sparrow at Spring Creek Audubon Prairie near Lincoln NE*
*Image copyright 2026 by Thane Dinsdale, used with permission*

We welcome back Thane Dinsdale! Thane is based in Omaha, NE. He says that he started "real birding" in 2020, and enjoys seeing different habitats, interesting behaviors and adaptations. He is active in bird ID and photography groups on FB. and has lead bird walks, field trips, and taught bird ID classes for various local clubs.

Thane will present a Sparrow Identification Program:

Many beginning birders who are used to seeing house sparrows at their feeders think of "Sparrows" (non-native House Sparrows) as a nuisance bird, but there are over 40 species of sparrows native to the U.S., including beloved birds like Dark-eyed Juncos and Towhees.

The focus of this program is on learning how to identify the approximately 30 species of sparrows found in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota with a focus on key field marks and habitats.

Hopefully this program will help demystify this group of "little brown birds" and encourage birders of all experience levels to get out and enjoy our native sparrows. The timing of this program is a great time should be around when some of our most prized species such as LeConte's Sparrow and Harris's Sparrow should be arriving during fall migration.

Spotted Towhee image taken in the Panhandle of NE

Honey Bees, Native Bees, &Wannabees

thursday, november 5, 2026

7:00 pm at Dorothy pecaut nature center

sioux city ia

Join us in welcoming Loess Hills Audubon Society and South Dakota Honey Beekeeper, Phil Breed, for this interesting program on the different kinds of bees.

*Above image copyright 2026 by Phil Breed, used with permission*

Holiday Slide Show

thursday, december 3, 2026

7:00 pm at dorothy pecaut nature center

Plan now to attend and participate in the annual Holiday “Show and Tell,” where members show their photos and tell the stories surrounding those images. Images can include experiences in nature, and birding adventures - far afield or in your own backyard.

Phil Roisen is our host for this year’s show. Send your images to Paul by Monday, November 9 at the latest. More details on number of photos and the required formats will be shared at the October meeting by Paul.

Bring a Holiday treat to share with your fellow Auduboners and enjoy the fellowship of other birders and nature lovers!

a look at our previous programs

Thank you to our presenters!

A Look at our past programs during the 2026-2027 season:

Amie Adams - on Iowa Naturalist Olaf Wolden, 3 September 2026

A Look at our past programs during the 2025-2026 season:

Daniel A Soluk, PhD — Conserving an endangered dragonfly, 4 September 2025
Thane Dinsdale — Birding in Newfoundland, 2 October 2025
Brian Buckmeier and Darren Maurer — Dinosaurs of Hell Creek, 6 November 2025
LHAS Member and Friends Holiday Slide Show with Paul Roisen, 4 December 2025
Danielle Metzger — Native Gardens in the Home Landscape (LHWO), 8 January 2026
Tucker Lutter — Wildlife of Siouxland: the Past, Present, and Future, 5 February 2026
John Buntsma — Why Garden? Explore the Benefits of Gardening (ISU Extension), 5 March 2026
Jillian Murphy — Cutaneous Water Loss in Nestling Songbirds (USD Research Student), 9 April 2026
Bill Huser and Jerry Probst - Siouxland’s Challenging Bird Identification, 7 May 2026

A Look at our past programs during the 2024-2025 season:

Steve Backus — Antartica, 5 September 2024 Zoom presentation
Victoria DeVos — Rediscover Plymouth County Conservation, 3 October 2024
Rod Tondreau — Western Prairie Plants in Iowa, 7 November 2024
Loess Hills Audubon Members and Friends Holiday Photo and Video Show with Traveler’s Tales with Randall Williams, 5 December 2024
Matt Anderson — Cartoonist and Conservationist Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling, 9 January 2025
Brian Hazlett and Ryan Allen — Campfire Tales at the Midpoint of Winter, 6 February 2025
Vicki Baker — Wastewater Treatment Past, Present, and Future, 6 March 2025
Mark Dixon — Floodplain Forests along the Missouri River: Past, Present, and Future, 3 April 2025
Ty Smedes — Eagle Hunters of Mongolia, 1 May 2025