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ChAPterS5. ProtectingAlabama’s CoastsWhile perhaps receivingless media attention thanother Gulf Coast states,Alabama’s 60 miles of tidalcoastline provide muchneedednesting, stopover,and wintering habitat for avariety of birds, includingpriority species like theLeast Tern. That’s why thestate is playing an importantrole in Audubon’s GulfCoast restoration work. TheMobile bay and birminghamAudubon Societies,Audubon Mississippi, andMississippi’s PascagoulaRiver Audubon Center havejoined forces with otherlocal partners to monitorand restore a number ofsites that are part of theDauphin Island birdSanctuary system. Thisyear their combined effortspaid off in a $5 milliongrant to the Town of DauphinIsland for shorelineprotection and restoration.7AuduBon CenTeRAT RIveRlAndsThis Center is set on 3,700acres of restored prairie marshand forest on the Mississippi.More than 300 species of songbirdsand waterfowl live in ormigrate through the sanctuary.6. Mapping IBAsin MichiganHenslow’s Sparrow populationshave been decliningfor decades, mostly due tohabitat loss. Now NationalAudubon and MichiganAudubon, along with theu.S. Fish and WildlifeService and several otherpartners, are takinga stand for the species,mapping out key spotswithin the Hillsdale CountyPrivate Lands Importantbird Area, then workingwith landowners to createa long-term conservationplan. The goal, saysMichigan IbA coordinatorCaleb Putnam, is to promotehabitat managementand restoration on privateproperty. The project,currently in its first year—the mapping phase—willculminate in a workshopfor farmers early next year.The Henslow’s Sparrow isa good motivator species:It’s rare, the work ishappening in the bird’shistoric range, and theparticipating groups cancreate real change. AsPutnam puts it, the projectis an example of IbAconservation action on theground. In the long term,Henslow’s Sparrows andother grassland speciesshould have the habitatthey need to thrive.FrIeNDS7. Mary lee dayton, wayzata, MinnesotaFor Mary Lee Dayton, singling out a favorite birdis like naming a favorite child—it’s impossible.“I love them all!” she says (though she admitstaking a shine to a certain baltimore Oriole thatused to frequent her yard each spring). Dayton,who lives outside Minneapolis, attributes herconservation ethic to her late husband, Wally,a “great outdoors person and a birder.” Inthe late 1960s Wally quit the family business(a progenitor of Target) to pursue an environmentalavocation. “He worked with young kidswho were so impassioned about the environment,”says Dayton. Donating to Audubon is justone of the ways she and Wally have contributedto conservation. Over the years, for example,Wally also served on the boards of Audubon andThe Nature Conservancy. Audubon Minnesota’sLights Out program and the Mississippi Flyway’sbird-friendly forest management initiative inspireDayton to continue her support. Put simply,she says, “Audubon cares about the birds.”AuD ubON 2012 ANNu AL R EPORT 39