Upcoming Meetings
April 1st: Stephanie Brown, president of the Athens Land Trust, will discuss land preservation issues and the Athens Land Trust.
A Note of Thanks to... Former state representative Denny Dobbs for his thought-provoking talk on Georgia=s environmental issues and how we can effectively address these issues both locally and at the state legislative level. Mr. Dobbs identified surface-water runoff as a major problem in Georgia and suggested that there should be a system of rewards for companies who try to minimize their environmental impact and harsher punishments for companies who do not. The take-home message was to get involved in local government and to actively support representatives that share your viewpoints.

Bird Walks, Field Trips, and Events
As you read this newsletter millions of birds are leaving their neotropical wintering grounds and beginning a long and perilous migration back to their breeding sites in North America. Sentinels of the upcoming spring migration, such as yellow-throated and black-and-white warblers, have already arrived and can be heard singing in local woodlots. Tis the season to be outside with your binoculars and field guides, enjoying the sights and sounds of spring. Oconee Rivers Audubon has planned several spring field trips to local migration hotspots that will focus on the identification and natural history of birds. We encourage nature enthusiasts big and small to join us and share in the excitement. For those beginners out there, the opportunities for seeing exciting new birds are great. Veterans, celebrate your favorite time of year by sharing your birdwatching secrets with fledgling birders. Also keep in mind that colorful plumage and delightful songs make spring a perfect time to introduce our non-birding friends to the wonderful world of birds. Bird walks are open to all ages and skill levels and no pre-registration is required. We generally maintain an easy pace and stop frequently. Waterproof footwear and raingear are wise precautions.

April 10: Botanical Garden, Athens, 7:30 a.m. in the lower parking lot at the Callaway Building.
April 24: Cook=s Trail clean-up and bird walk in celebration of Earth Day 1999, 8 a.m. at the Allen House at Sandy Creek Nature Center.
May 1: Botanical Garden, 7:30 a.m., Callaway Building.
May 7-9: Car camping at Kimsey Creek Group Campground north of Standing Indian Mountain and west of Franklin, NC. Wild flowers, warblers, wilderness, waterfalls, one giant tree, Appalachian Trail, and optional hike to the top of Standing Indian Mountain. Call Tim Homan or Page Luttrell for more information at 788-2973.
May 15: Annual International Migratory Bird Day celebration with a walk at Memorial Park in Athens at 8 a.m., meet near front gate, followed by ORAS participation in the Memorial Park Zoo Day with an information and display booth by the Otter pen.
Other events and walks:
April 3: ABackyard Birds@, a presentation by Bill O=Grady at the Botanical Garden from 10 to 12 a.m. with an optional walk led by Karla O=Grady at 8 a.m.  Participants will gain a variety of birding information and resource materials.  Contact the Botanical Garden (542-6156) for more information.
April 16-18: Georgia Ornithological Society meeting in Rome, Georgia.
April 16-18: The Great Louisiana Birdfest, St. Tammany Parish. Includes trips to many unique birding sites and evening programs. For more information call 504-871-9272.

Sightings
Owen Kinney and family and David Galewski on the 2/27 field trip to E. L. Huie saw Pintail Ducks, Gadwalls, and Hooded Mergansers. Owen saw a Winter Wren and Common Yellow Throat at the Sandy Creek Nature Center. Maggie Nettles saw a large flock (several hundred) Cedar Waxwings on the UGA campus.  (Large flocks of Cedar Waxwings appear to be quite common in Athens this winter). Marianna Happek saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk in the Riverbend area of the North Oconee on 2/19. Denny Dobbs saw an Osprey on a nest along Big Indian Creek. Eugenia Thompson and Dennis Rice observed a pair of Great-horned Owls in a mating ritual at their home and Peggy Lowe observed a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks engaged in mating activity at her home. Jim Hanna saw a Loggerhead Shrike at Truett-McConnell College and Mark Freeman saw ~ 45 Sandhill Cranes in Mid-February near Lexington. John and Tammy Posey observed a pair of bluebirds on three occasions checking out the nesting box in their yard off New High Shoals Rd. in Oconee Cty. Walt Cook reported a Merlin in his back yard around 2/23. Birds seen by Norman Giles 3/3 at Lake Herrick, Sandy Creek Park were 3 Scalp, 5 Ring-necked Ducks, 12 Ruddy Ducks, 7 Bonaparte's Gulls, 4 Ring-billed Gulls, Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, Purple Martins. In west Athens on 3/4 were 30 Sandhill Cranes heading north.

Legislation Would Increase Federal Funding for Wildlife and Habitat Conservation
(From Audubon Advisory, 2/26/99) Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced "Permanent Protection for America's Resources 2000" on Feb. 23, legislation that would use Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas revenues for a variety of conservation programs. The bill guarantees approximately $2.3 billion annually for the acquisition of public lands by federal and state governments; restoration of national and urban parks; preservation of farmland and open space; preservation of historic buildings; and restoration of depleted fish and wildlife resources. It would also fully fund for the first time the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), established by Congress a quarter century ago to acquire and protect public lands and other natural resources. The LWCF was intended to provide $900 million from oil and gas revenues annually for these purposes, but Congress has consistently appropriated much less than that amount. One of the most significant provisions in the Resources 2000 bill is a guarantee of annual LWCF funding outside of the congressional appropriations process.
    The Resources 2000 legislation comes on the heels of two bills introduced earlier this year in the House (H.R. 701) by Rep. Don Young (R-AK) and in the Senate (S. 25) by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Frank Murkowski (R-AK). The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has already held one hearing on the Landrieu-Murkowski legislation, and the House Resources Committee will begin hearings on Rep. Young's bill on March 10. These bills also would use revenue from OCS leasing for coastal impact assistance, federal and state land acquisition, and wildlife programs. However, conservation organizations have expressed concern that the localized coastal-impact provisions in these two bills could lead to expanded oil and gas development. Resources 2000 removes this potential development incentive and significantly "ups the ante" for funding of conservation programs. While the previous two bills would allocate approximately $1 billion, Resources 2000 would provide $2.3 billion for a wide range of conservation issues.

 Bird Tables, Risks of Poor Hygiene
   Keeping bird tables piled high with nuts, bread and dripping could be killing birds with kindness, according to a team of researchers. They say that overcrowded tables are rife with Salmonella and E. coli, diseases fatal to birds. The three-year study found further danger in the stress triggered by scrabbling for food among a flock of hungry birds which can also kill species such as the Chaffinch and the Greenfinch.
   Encouraging the congregation of large numbers of birds in a small area, sometimes for prolonged periods, is likely to result in heavy microbiological contamination of the feeding stations,' the team from the Scottish Agricultural College in Ayrshire reports in the scientific journal Veterinary Record. 'The small amount of feeding space available to each bird leads to aggressive behavior and male dominance at the feeding stations, stressing the birds and increasing their susceptibility to infectious disease.
   The study based on the examination of the bodies of 116 birds found in gardens with bird tables, found that 9 out of 10 died from the bacteria E. coli 086, or a strain of Salmonella. These infectious diseases may then infect other species of wild birds in the vicinity. There is a possible threat to human health, but neither of these particular bacterial strains is found in humans. Greenfinches and chaffinches are thought to be most at risk during the struggles for food. House sparrows, blue tits, pigeons and doves are also vulnerable to diseases spread through droppings. Many of the infected birds die from lung or liver disease, while others become weak and are an easy target for hungry cats.
    Geoff Foster, one of the authors of the report, said: 'What could be happening is that the bird tables are bringing together birds that are carrying agents causing infection and the bird table provides the potential for the spread of the disease. 'The bird tables certainly create a focal point for the infection to transfer.'
   Royal Society for the Protection of Birds [RSPB] warned against abandoning the age-old tradition of feeding birds in winter. Instead they urged nature lovers to make their tables more hygienic by clearing up old food and removing droppings.
   Spokesman Chris Harbard said: 'We would certainly advise people to continue to feed birds in their gardens. By offering these birds food we are offering them a chance to survive that they would not otherwise have. What we would advise people to do is treat bird tables as an eating place and keep them as clean and tidy as possible. The problems are probably caused when people put a lot of food in the one place. This will attract a lot of birds to the one place and if the birds are carrying something it will spread.' Although birds are most at risk from starvation in February and March, the RSPB recommends year-round feeding.
   Experts suggest that instead of piling up food on one large table, bird lovers could leave out smaller amounts of food in several locations around the garden. Hanging bird feeders full of nuts, mixed seed and bread from trees can also cut down on the spread of disease.
   Bird tables and feeders should be moved around the garden regularly, while the water in bird baths needs to be changed daily. And to lower the risk of bacteria spreading to people, rubber gloves should be worn when handling and cleaning feeders.

Nature’s Best Insect Control
by Carrie Straight
    Bats are mammals, in fact the only mammals that have wings and the ability to fly. Bats occupy almost every habitat worldwide and are the primary predators of vast numbers of insect pests that cost farmers and foresters billions of dollars annually. Bats also pollinate flowers and disperse the seeds that make the rain forests grow and the deserts bloom.
    Bats eat an unbelievable number of mosquitoes and other insects each evening— one bat can eat between 1,000 and 3,000 insects each night! In the tropics, there are a few bats that will have a meal of a frog, fish, or small bird. Other bats drink nectar, eat pollen, or feast on fruit. In the hot humid areas of Central and South America, the infamous vampire bat lives who feeds on the blood of mammals and birds. But remember this is only one species. Practically all bats are shy and harmless. In fact, one scientist has likened their behavior to "winged hamsters."
    A colony of Mexican free-tailed bats living in the Old Orient Mine in Colorado consumes nearly two tons of insects nightly, largely moths. Just one of the many moths that such bats eat, the Heliothis moth, attacks a wide variety of crops, from corn and cotton to tomatoes and pumpkins. Since each female moth is capable of laying thousands of eggs, as few as 100 can force a farmer to spray a hundred acres of crops.
    Baby bats, called pups, are nursed and taken care of by their mothers for an extended period of time. Moms hold their babies close to them, wrapping their wings around the babies for warmth and protection. At night a very young pup will cling to his mother's fur as she finds food for them. When it gets too heavy, she will bring back food for him until it begins hunting with her at about 4 weeks of age.
    Bats in cold climates may migrate in the spring and fall or they may seek shelter in caves and hibernate. In the fall, bats gain body weight, putting a layer of fat. If a hibernating bat is awakened before the warm spring, there is a great possibility that it will die from starvation. Why? Because the bat's metabolism speeds up when it awakens, using up its stored food supply too quickly.
    Bats produce high-pitched noises that echo off objects and are heard by the bats, allowing them to know that is
 ahead. (Echos locating objects.) Moths often become dinners of hungry bats. Some moths have developed a unique defense: they have the ability to make bat-like sounds that the real bats hear. The bat continues on, leaving the moth alone, believing the object is just another bat instead of something tasty. Score one for the moth.
Myths about Bats
1. Bats fly into your hair. NOT TRUE. Bats have an extremely good sense of where they are going, even at fast speeds. Most bats use echolocation, a type of sonar, to navigate. Most bats eat insects. They, hopefully, are not
going to find any in your hair. Bats don't want to get tangled
 in your hair anymore than you want that to happen.
2. Bats carry rabies. POSSIBLE BUT NOT LIKELY. Bats, like all mammals, can get rabies. Of all the rabies deaths each year, 99% are from dogs. Of the very few bats that do contract rabies, these rabid bats very rarely bite. If they do bite, they are afraid and are doing so in self-defense.
   If you find a bat on the ground during the day, most likely it is sick. Call an animal control center, a vet, or a wildlife agency in your area for assistance. Do not handle the bat unless absolutely necessary. If you must move the bat, wear heavy leather gloves and try to place a box over it and perhaps a piece of cardboard underneath, to scoop the injured or sick bat into the box. Keep it covered and warm until help arrives.
Bat Conservation
Bats are disappearing from the earth at alarming rates. One of the major reasons is that their food supply is dwindling. When wetlands are destroyed, so is the bats' supply of insects. As man kills insects with pesticides, the food supply becomes scarcer. However, man has become increasingly aware of these unique animals and there is growing concern
 about the impact of pesticides, disturbance and habitat destruction on their populations. Another threat to the bat is the lack of knowledge and fear that most people have regarding bats.
Books about bats:
"Bats and Mines" available through Bat Conservation Intl., P0 Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716, Attn: Dan Taylor.
"Bats: Masters Of The Night Sky" is available free of charge from the Bureau of Land Management, Public Affairs, 1849 C St. NW, Room 5600, Washington, D.C. 20240, phone: (202) 208-5717, fax: (202) 208-4152.
    There are now organizations, govt. agencies as well as private groups. Check these organizations to see how you and help in conserving our bat friends:
Bat Conservation International
P.O. Box 162603 Austin, TX 78716
1-800-538-BATS.  The Bat Conservation Trust
15 Cloisters House, 8 Battersea Park Rd, London SW8 4BG.
Did you know?...
1.) Bats are considered nature's best bug control.
2.) Trees in Africa and South America depend on bats to spread their seeds.
3.) Night blooming flowers depend on bats and moths for pollination.
 4.) The largest bat has almost a 6-foot wing span
 5.) The smallest bat weighs less than a penny
Web sites to learn more about bats:
www.nyx.net/~jbuzbee/bat_house.html
www.wbu.com/chipperwoods/photos/bats.html
www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1998/housebat/review.html
 

Oconee Audubon Society
P.O. Box 48132
Athens, Georgia 30604-8132