Planetary extinction toll: “Songbirds down 50 percent since 1965; marine birds down 30 percent since 1995.” — “Call of Life” documentary 

Many people think the Audubon Society is a nonprofit standing up for the life of birds. I did. But the mission statement of the Madison Audubon Society says little of saving birds. The group focuses on habitat, funding, education, and administration. John Livingston (1923-2006), executive director of the Canadian Audubon Society in the early 1950s, quit in the early 1960s because “the demands made on me by the Audubon head office in the United States were rather different from saving wildlife — they expected me to concentrate on administrative and financial affairs.” (Farley Mowat interview, 1990)

Jim Shurts is on the board of the Madison Audubon Society. Ironically, he is “board sanctuaries chair.” He is also the contact person for the John M. Keener chapter of the Ruffed Grouse…