At the Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center we have an untapped resource that we want to share worldwide, the visible natural environment from our Center overlooking the Mississippi River and the Upper Mississippi River National Fish & Wildlife Refuge.
The WOA Wildlife Viewing Project seeks to bring many different views of our unique natural environment to the public as well as educational videos to enhance the public's experience. The first four phases of this project have been completed and we are looking to complete the 5th phase, web cam viewing, in the near future.
Phase 1: "Deck" Viewing from the Center's 50-foot viewing deck overlooking the Mississippi River and providing scopes and binoculars for a first-hand "live" view of wildlife, eagles, swans and birdlife in the wild. Viewing also available from Rieck's Lake Park.
Phase 2: "In The Wild" Viewing with sponsored trips into the backwaters and the many natural areas surrounding the Center.
Phase 3: "Video" Viewing from within the Center of amateur and professionally produced wildlife videos on a 48 inch monitor provides "taped" views which enhance our educational mission.
Phase 4: "Live, In Person" Viewing presented through educational programs hosted by the Center. In 2010 WOA hosted 10 Nature Talks with four presentations featuring live birds: bald eagle, golden eagle, red-tailed hawk and great horned owl.
Phase 5: "Web Cam" Viewing involves the installation of a streaming web cam broadcasting live year round from our website. We anticipate completion of this phase soon.
We are passionate about wildlife viewing and the nearness of the Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center to this environment makes live observation and broadcasting possible without any disturbance to birdlife or wildlife. Won't you join us in this passion by making a donation to the Wildlife Viewing Project?
11/18/2011, Tundra Swans, Big Lake, Mississippi River
11/18/2011, Canada Geese, Buffalo River
12/10/2008, Eagle On Ice, Alma
WILDLIFE VIEWING Funds Raised: $7,300
Initial Funding Goal:
$7,000 to purchase viewing equipment and 1st year's internet bandwidth
Annual Funding Goal:
$1,200 to maintain equipment & purchase internet bandwidth
Funding Timeframe:
2008-2011
Donations Received, Thank You!!! This project is funded 100% by donations from corporations, members, visitors and the public. As a not-for-profit organization, your donations to the Center's Wildlife Viewing Project are tax deductible.
Leo Family
$ 500
Oct 2010 Donation, Allocated To Web Cam Viewing Project
Alexander Family
1,000
Oct 2010 Donation, Allocated To Web Cam Viewing Project
Brunkow Hardwoods
1,000
Sept 2010 Donation, Allocated To Web Cam Viewing Project
Visitor Donations
500
2010-2011 Donations, Allocated To Web Cam Viewing Project
TDS
500
May 2010 Donation, Allocated To Web Cam Viewing Project
Xcel Energy Foundation
1,000
Nov 2009 Donation, Allocated To Web Cam Viewing Project
IBM Corporation
1,000
Used To Purchase 48" Flat Screen TV/Monitor
Member Donations
500
Used to Purchase Scopes For Live Viewing
Ashley Furniture
500
Furniture Donation to House Video Equipment
Memorial Donations
250
Used to Purchase Binoculars For Live Viewing
Alliance Bank
250
Used to Purchase DVD/Blu-Ray Player
TOTAL
$ 7,000
WEB CAM VIEWING The web camera's normal pan will be below Lock & Dam #4 with a view of the river and the river sand island on the western shore. The Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center will periodically pan the web camera to other angles to obtain the best view of bird and wildlife, especially eagles.
During the summer months, views will be focused on "eagle trees" on the island across from the Center where eagles are known to settle for hours at a time eating and digesting the results of their hunting efforts.
Winter months bring an unprecedented close-up view of eagles (from 40 to 200 at a time). Known in Alma as "Eagles On Ice", the eagles actually sit on the ice eating their most recent catch. In the winter months ice forms on the river but the release of water through the dam allows for open water year-round. The eagles have found this to be a favorite spot for winter fishing along the 2-mile stretch of Alma's river front.
Equipment & Expertise Needed For Web Cam Phase -- Industrial Video Camera with remote pan-tilt-zoom lens which puts out a composite video -- purchased -- Weatherproof Housing -- purchased -- Server to process data from the video camera to the computer -- purchased -- Computer with Pentium 4 processor or better with 1 gig of random access memory (RAM) -- purchased -- Recorder with video capture card and ability to translate compressed video to flash video for internet broadcast -- purchased -- Professional to consult with the Center & installation of equipment
Leo Family Donation Received On October 4th, Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center received a donation of $500 from Burl & Nadine Leo Alexander Family Memorial Donation Received On October 1st, Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center received a donation of $1,000 from Joan & Dick Alexander in memory of their daughter, Paula Alexander
Brunkow Hardwood Corp Donation Received On September 27, 2010, Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center received a donation of $1,000 from Brunkow Hardwood Corp
TDS Telephone Donation Received On May 18, 2010, Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center received a donation of $500 from TDS. Xcel Energy Foundation Environmental Grant Received On November 24, 2009, Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center was awarded an Environmental Grant of $1,000 by the Xcel Energy Foundation.
These donations and grants will be used to complete the Web Cam Phase of the Center's Wildlife Viewing Project. We are thankful to the Leo Family, Alexander Family, Brunkow Hardwoods, TDS and Xcel Energy for their community support of the environmental efforts of the Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center.
MANY THANKS FOR SUPPORT OF OUR WILDLIFE VIEWING PROJECT!
WOA Nature & Art Center 118 N Main Street, Alma, Wisconsin (608) 685-3303 center@wingsoveralma.orgHours: 10am-5pm Copyright (c) 2007-2012 Wings Over Alma All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesty of Katherine Goodman and all rights are reserved.
