"Photographing Birds and Wildlife" is the topic for River Bluffs Audubon Society’ s  (RBAS) program on Thursday, September 13 at 7 p.m. in Runge Conservation Nature Center’s auditorium.

      Noppadol Paothong,  photographer for the Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC) magazine, will speak about  birds and wildlife found in various areas of the state and tell of the special photographic techniques he uses in the field.

      Paothong was born in Thailand and discovered his love for nature and wildlife photography during a class at North Idaho College. Currently, he works as MDC’s  wildlife photographer.

      Prior to this, “Nop” worked as a photojournalist . He says, “Working for a newspaper helped me sharpen my craft in photography and allowed me to explore different techniques. However, working for conservation gives me such satisfaction and pride in my work and has been such a blessing for me.”

      For more information  about Paothong and to view some of his photographs check out his Web site at http://

www.nopnatureimages.com/about.htm

      Then come hear him speak on Thursday, Sept. 13th for this picture-perfect  program. Following the

On Thursday, October 11 at 7 p.m. Andrew Forbes, from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Audubon Society of Missouri (ASM) office, will speak on "Birds at Eagle Bluffs" in Runge Conservation Nature Center’s auditorium
      Forbes, a wildlife ecologist with MDC , will tell about research that was conducted at the Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area near Columbia.

      “My presentation, Forbes says, “will give everyone an introduction to bird banding in general, and will also present the results of the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) banding station that was run in 2006 and 2007 at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area.”

      The MAPS Program was created by the Institute for Bird Populations in 1989 to learn about population dynamics of over 120 species of North American land birds in order to provide critical conservation and management information on their populations. Since its first season, MAPS has grown from 16 to over 500 stations and received the support and endorsement of many federal agencies and conservation groups.

      MAPS is a cooperative effort designed to monitor land bird demographic parameters. A principle goal of MAPS is to estimate annual survivorship and identify spatial patterns and temporal trends.
      Forbes has a lifetime interest in the outdoors. He enjoys fishing for smallmouth bass and catfish, hiking, and camping, in addition to birding.

presentation, you are also invited to stay afterward for snacks and the first  business of the River Bluffs Audubon Society 2007-2008 year.