Shan Cammack with the Georgia Natural Heritage Program will explain the Heritage Program and discuss examples of some of their special projects including The Rock and Shoals Natural Area located on the Oconee River in Athens Clarke County. Shan is a conservation ecologist with the DNR Natural Heritage program and works on rare plants, mussels, fish, and natural communities in the coastal plain, piedmont, and the fall line sand hills of Georgia. She is past editor of the Georgia Botanical Society publication Tipularia (the Tipularia is an orchid that grows in every county in Georgia). Currently, Shan is on the board of the Chattahoochee/Flint Rivers Land Trust.

May 4th:  Hugh Nourse, author of Wildflowers of Georgia, will present a talk, title TBA. The photographs and writings about wildflowers of Hugh and Carol Nourse have appeared in American Gardener, Backpacker, Nature Photographer, and Wildflower magazines, and they have lectured widely on the subject.

June 7th: Annual picnic, place and time TBA

No meetings in July and August, have a good summer!

Oconee Rivers Audubon/Sandy Creek Nature Center joint Spring 2000 Bird Walk Schedule:

March 31: Botanical Garden, meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Callaway Building lower parking lot.
April 14: Botanical Garden, meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Callaway Building lower parking lot.
April 28: Sandy Creek Nature Center, meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Allen House.
May 12: Botanical Garden, meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Callaway Building lower parking lot.
May 19: Zoo Day at Memorial Park in Athens. Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the parking lot for a bird walk. Oconee Rivers Audubon will have a booth at Zoo Day in the afternoon. Come by and see us.
May 26: Botanical Garden, meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Callaway Building lower parking lot.
 

April 14: The Dauset Trails Nature Center in Jackson, Georgia will hold the first annual Bluebirds and Bluegrass Festival at Dauset Trails from 9:00 a.m. to ?. There will be wildlife exhibits and demonstrations, a Young Artist Fair, a plant sale, hay rides, an Easter egg hunt for kids 10 years and younger (at 11:00 a.m.), food for sale, and live bluegrass music all day long. There is no charge for admission. For more info, contact Dauset Trails at 770-775-6798 or visit http://www.dausettrails.com

April 28: The Fourth Annual Upper Oconee River Rendezvous will be held at the Sandy Creek Nature Center beginning at 9:00 a.m. Oconee Rivers Audubon is again a co-sponsor of this event and volunteers make this event happen. Please mark your calendars for the day of the event and, if you can, get involved with the planning. River Rendezvous documents a day in the life of our watershed and the results from several different chemical analyses on various streams become part of a database of information on the Upper Oconee watershed. It is intended to: INCREASE public involvement in water quality issues by training volunteers in stream monitoring and clean?up activities; COLLECT water quality information to share with citizens and government officials working to protect Georgia's rivers and streams; and, CELEBRATE our communities' commitment to the environment. Contact Libby Ormes, Rendezvous organizer at
libbyo1@yahoo.com or Melanie Ruhlman, President, Upper Oconee Watershed Network at 549-8916.

Mark Freeman spotted 3 Lesser Scaup on Lake Herrick in Athens on 2/19 and a Rough-legged Hawk north of Comer at Ghould’s Stand on 2/17. Dennis Rice observed a Northern Harrier on 2/28 on Morton Road and a Brown Creeper on 3/1. Sarah Cliett spotted a Ring-necked Pheasant crossing Route 29 near Danielsville on 3/1. John Willis saw a Ruffed Grouse on Oconee St. in Athens near the river. Judy and John Willis observed a “fairly large flotilla of ducks” near the dam of Lake Chapman at Sandy Creek Park on 3/9 including at least two Northern Pintail males, about a dozen Ruddy Ducks, a few coots (and I quote “not including us”) and numerous Ring-necked Ducks and Lesser Scaup. On 3/8 at the Brick Ponds in Augusta, Judy and John observed wild Turkeys flying up off the road and an Osprey carrying a fish, and Judy observed a Swainson's Warbler. In addition, the Willis’ reported that “there were gazillions of Yellow-rumped Warblers.” Templeton Hill observed 3 Ospreys at Lake Oconee on 2/15 and a Purple Finch in early February. Carol Ludwig on 2/16 observed migrating Sandhill Cranes over Watkinsville and more than 100 gulls at the Alabama border on Rte. 85. Terry Russell saw a White-breasted Nuthatch and a Pileated Woodpecker on 2/24 at his residence and Wood Ducks near his house in trees on 2/25. On the field trip to Rum Creek and Piedmont WMAs on 2/17 it was reported that 25 Sandhill Cranes and 3 Red-cockaded Woodpeckers were observed in addition to numerous water fowl on Lake Juliette.

President
          Elizabeth Little                                                                  795-5017
          E-mail: elittle@arches.uga.edu
Vice-President
          Mary Case                                                                        548-3848
Treasurer
          Tom Shelton                                                                    795-3959
Secretary
          Page Luttrell                                                                     788-2973

Conservation
          Marta Daniell                                                                   546-9808
          Carrie Straight
Education
          Maggie Nettles                                                               543-8823
Field Trips
          David Galewski                                                               543-1988
Hospitality
          Mary Case                                                                       548-3848
Membership
          Sarah Cliett                                                                      795-3927
Programs
          Gary Crider                                                                      543-8823
Publicity
          Deirdre Allen                                                                  769-4628
Yellowthroat Editor
          John Posey                                                                     769-1417

Articles, artwork, notices, and sighting reports welcomed.  The deadline for submissions is the 15th of each month.  All articles and artwork or copyrighted, and all rights are reserved by the authors. Opinions expressed in articles are those of the respective authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official views of Oconee Rivers Audubon Society.

     We have been honored with receipt of this year’s Alec Little Environmental Award in recognition of our conservation activism efforts in the community. John (Alec) Little, who died in 1991, was one of Athen’s most knowledgeable and active authorities on environmental matters. A Senior Natural Resources Specialist with UGA’s Institute of Community and Area Development (ICAD), he worked throughout Georgia assisting state and local government agencies with issues such as solid and hazardous waste disposal, water and air pollution, and preservation of natural resources. In addition, Alec volunteered his expertise and energy to many environmental groups, civic organizations, and government agencies. As an advisor to the ACC government, Alec helped to formulate recommendations on garbage collection, recycling, composting, landfills, and litter. Under his leadership, the Recycling Committee of the local Georgia Conservancy chapter initiated a Green Day celebration, which evolved into the annual GreenFest event in Athens. 
    The Alec Little Award was established by his fellow workers in ICAD, the Recycling Committee of the NE Chapter of the GA Conservancy, and the ACC Clean and Beautiful Commission. This award is a lasting tribute to Alec’s commitment to environmental responsibility and recognizes efforts to improve environmental quality including implementation, improvement or expansion of programs, advocacy efforts, educational activities, information development through research, or promotional projects for environmental awareness. At least one award is presented annually to an individual or group of individuals, or to a non-profit organization in the NE GA Regional Development Center’s 11-county jurisdiction. The award consists of a plaque featuring an original work of art and a cash prize of $200. Expenses are paid from an endowment fund and tax-deductible contributions can be made to the Alec Little Environmental Award at P.O. Box 741, Athens, 30603. An award ceremony will take place on April 20th at 5:30 p.m. at the Treanor House on S. Lumpkin St. Members of ORAS are welcome to attend the ceremony.

The range and numbers of the Swallow-tailed Kite have been greatly reduced and the ST Kite is listed as a species of Extremely High Conservation Concern. ST Kites winter in Brazil and return to GA in early March. Originally found in 21 states as far north as Minnesota, severe population declines reduced the distribution to the extreme southern US from South Carolina to Texas. The estimated US breeding population is 800 to 1,200 breeding pairs. Florida harbors about 2/3 of the population. You can help determine their distribution and concentrations in Georgia by watching for kites from March through September and reporting the information including date, time of day, number seen, specific location, habitat type, and behavior (especially breeding bird behavior). The ST Kite has striking black and white plumage, a deeply forked tail, and long, narrow, pointed wings. The size is of a medium-sized raptor (24" long, 48" wing span) and ST Kites are extraordinarily graceful in flight. This is third year of a three year study and finding kite nests and roosts is critical to determine distribution, habitat use, and management needs. Nine nests were located in 1999 and 20 in 2000. All were located in the tops of very tall loblolly pines usually associated with large coastal plain rivers. ST Kites are found most often in the Coastal Plain in bottomland forests and associated open lands (marshes, fields, clearcuts, cutovers).Your sightings are very important. For more information (including forms) or to report a sighting contact the GA DNR Wildlife Resources Division, Nongame Program, 116 Run Creek Dr., Forsyth, GA 31029, Attn: EJ Williams (ej_williams@mail.dnr.state.ga.us). Phone: 912-994-1438. Reports can also be made on-line at www.gos.org using the links to Species Accounts.