Weekend Conference in Sandstone

I attended a weekend conference of the Master Naturalists in Sandstone at the Audubon Center. I had a great time. I enjoy being around people who appreciate nature and who are interested in learning more about it. I went on three birding hikes. Among other things I saw a clay colored sparrow, rose breasted gross beaks, gold finches, song sparrow, swamp sparrow, cliff swallows, barn swallows, tree swallows, bald eagles, redstart, yellow rumped warbler, palm warbler, brown thrasher, and loons. Ann Bancroft was a keynote speaker and she was wonderful. She is surprisingly understated and very funny. I went to classes on sounds of the nights, birds and sprawl, traveling with pets, global warming, things that glow in the night, birds of prey, and the use of costumes in nature lessons. We went on a field trip to the Moose Lake Depot and Fire Museum, Blacklock studios, Moose Lake State Park Agate & Geological Interpretive Center, and to a gravel pit to look for agates. The food was excellent and the accommodations were good. We saw snow Saturday morning and a heavy frost on Sunday morning. As usual for weekend trips, the weather got really nice as it was time to leave.