Long-time MRVAC volunteer Doug Mayo passed away May 6 after a year of illness.

Long-time MRVAC volunteer Doug Mayo passed away on May 6 after a year of illness.

“He was home on hospice in my loving care when he passed peacefully,” his wife Susan reports. She said, “he bore his illness with grace and dignity to the end.” Doug was a 25-year member of MRVAC, serving as president, vice president, treasurer, and board member of the chapter at various times.

Doug graduated from Edina-Morningside High School in 1962 and received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and Ohio University. In late 1967 he began service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho. It was there that he began a lifetime of volunteerism. Doug served on several boards for non-profits that provided services that were near and dear to him.

He retired in 2006 after 34 years in real estate finance and development. In retirement, Doug became an avid birder, a hobby that took him throughout North America and elsewhere in the world. Doug frequently expressed that his life had been wonderful, but that he would miss the beauty of both nature and love.

There will be no memorial service but an open event will be held to share memories and stories July 9 from 4-7 p.m. at City Bella Community Room, 6600 Lyndale Avenue South. Parking and main entrance are on 66th St. on the west side of the building. Overflow parking is in the lot just south of City Bella's driveway on Lyndale Avenue. Parking is also available in the shopping center parking lot across from the building on 66th Street. Dial 092 on the resident index in the lobby and you will be buzzed in. Take the elevator to the second floor and someone will meet you.

For Doug's full obituary please see the Star Tribune posting.


A Golden-winged Warbler perched on a tree branch with leaves and a clear sky in the background.

May Program: “The Conservation of Golden-winged Warblers: Nesting and Fledgling Behavior and Habitat”

The Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter (MRVAC) invites you to join us for:
“The Conservation of Golden-winged Warblers:
Nesting and Fledgling Behavior and Habitat”
Brett Howland: Master’s student at the University of Minnesota- Duluth
Thursday, May 25 @ 7:30 PM

Golden-winged Warblers have the smallest breeding population of any non-protected bird in the United States. Their decline has been attributed to many causes such as breeding habitat loss, competition with the Blue-winged Warbler, and invasion of the Brown-headed Cowbird. In Minnesota, they breed in early successional and shrubby wetland habitat. Because these birds experience high rates of nest failure and fledgling mortality, it is important to understand how habitat influences nest survival and fledgling.

We will meet in person at the Minnesota River Valley Wildlife Refuge Bloomington Visitor Center located at 3815 American Boulevard East in Bloomington, which is also accessible after a short walk from the METRO Blue Line (Hiawatha Light Rail) at American Blvd. Join us for a social gathering at 7:00 PM. All MRVAC meetings are free and open to the public.

The meeting will be simulcast on Zoom. To join the Zoom meeting click on the link below:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86312929090?pwd=VTkwWThCeUdLeWQ4RnhUMUFkcjRMdz09
Meeting ID: 863 1292 9090
Passcode: 523968
One tap mobile: http://+13126266799,,86312929090#,,,,*523968# US (Chicago)