An almost unrelenting rain did not stop 12 teams from participating in the annual Athens Christmas Bird Count on December 16th. The hardy birders enjoyed a delicious potluck in the evening at the Sandy Creek Nature Center and reported sighting 74 species, a lower number than in previous years. Highlights included Ruddy Ducks, Rusty and Brewer’s Blackbirds, Horned Lark, and Forster’s Tern. Detailed results for this year’s (and previous year’s) count can be found by following the links at http://www.birdsource.org
 
 

We will meet in the Athens Tech parking lot on Hwy. 29 north at 7:30 to carpool to the Crider estate on Lake Hartwell. We will be looking for Common Loons but we may also see grebes, herons, gulls, and other winter residents. Bring a lunch to eat on the deck of the Crider home overlooking the lake. Wear warm clothes, especially wind-breakers, and bring your spotting-scopes.

Meet in the Bi-Lo parking lot at the intersection of South Milledge Ave. and Hwy. 441/15 at 7:00 a.m. to carpool. This is a great trip for observing waterfowl. We will have a guided tour by Jim Ozier of the DNR to all the hot birding spots. We may also visit the Piedmont WMA on the way home to observe Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. Bring a lunch and a spotting scope if you have one. Contact David Galewski at 543-1988 for more information.
 

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.

February 22-25: Tidelands Birding Festival, Huntington Beach State Park and nearby sites, Conway, SC. Enjoy guided bird watching trips with expert leaders into protected areas ordinarily not accessible to the general public. The $30 registration includes Friday dinner and 5 guided tours (2 on Friday and Saturday, 1 on Sunday) in addition to speakers and workshops. Registration is required. For info call 1-888-887-2757 (8:30 am—5:00 pm) or on-line at www.ac.coastal.edu/~miles/tbf.html

Lee Meinersmann reported that she has repeatedly observing a totally grey female Northern Cardinal at her birdfeeder. Numerous waterfowl have been observed at Lake Chapman in Sandy Creek Park during the last few weeks of December and the first part of January due to an abundance of fish fry in the lake. David Galewski and Norman Giles both reported over 500 Ring-billed Gulls at the lake. David also reported Herring and Bonaparte’s Gulls, as well as Canvasback Ducks, 60 Hooded Mergansers, and 25 American Coots. Eugenia Thompson reported that it has been a good year for ducks in the Athens area. She also reported sighting an American Woodcock in the middle of Cedar Creek Subdivision. Page Luttrell, during her trip to the Everglades over the holidays, observed both the light and dark phases of the Short-tailed Hawk. Michael Bender observed a White-crowned Sparrow at the golf course pond on South Milledge on 1/2/01, Lapland Longspur, Horned Lark, American Tree Sparrow, and European Tree Sparrow at the Riverlands Environmental Demonstration Area in St. Louis, MO on 12/26/00, and Rough-legged Hawk and Ring-necked Pheasant in southern Illinois. Mark Freeman reported a Great Horned Owl on 12/30, and three Fox Sparrows and an American Woodcock off Whit Davis Road on 1/1/01. Templeton Hill saw two Swamp Sparrows at his feeder and White-crowned Sparrows in Madison County. Jim Hanna reported seeing his 500th species, a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, on September 23, 2000. In November, Jim observed Henslow’s, Swamp, Song, and Chipping Sparrows at Paulk’s Pasture in South Georgia and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed, Seaside, and Savannah Sparrows, Piping Plover, and Bald Eagle on Jekyll Island. In December, Jim reported LeConte’s, Swamp, Song, and Savannah Sparrows, Northern Harrier, Gadwall, Bufflehead, Wood Duck, and Ruddy Duck at the Bradley Unit Eufaula NWR and Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Bald Eagle, and Merlin at West Point lake. In the last two weeks of December, David Galewski reported te following the following sightings at Sandy Creek Park: Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, Green-winged Teal, American Black Duck, Mallard, American Wigeon, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Mallard x American Black Duck, Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot. If it is still possible please include them in the news letter.
    Mark Freeman submitted a a list of birds from the St. Simon's trip. There were 89 speices listed… too much for this space, so you can view the list at
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~jtposey/misc.html
 

    Once again, ORAS birders headed to the coast for a weekend of birding and relaxation. Great weather meant a good weekend of birding. The high point was a guided field trip to St. Andrews Island in Brunswick on Sunday organized by Page Luttrell and graciously led by Gene Keferl of the Coastal Audubon Society. Many species were seen and several people added to their life lists. Among the many bird species observed were LeConte’s, Sharp-tailed (Saltmarsh and Nelson’s), Seaside, and White-crowned Sparrows as well as Clapper Rail, American Avocets, American Oystercatcher, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Greater Yellowlegs, Orange-crowned Warbler, Caspian Tern, and a Bald Eagle. A trip to Paulk’s Pasture followed where Henslow’s Sparrows were observed. In between other recreational activities, a combined total of at least 127 species were recorded by the various attendees. Other species of mention were all the various common peeps, Common Moorhen, Yellow- and Black-crowned Night Heron, Greater Black-backed Gull, Lesser Scaup, and numerous Red-breasted and Hooded Mergansers.
   In addition to the above, Eugenia Thompson sent in this list of her exceptional sightings over the weekend on the coast: “Contrary to popular belief, the Laid?back Birders (a.k.a. the Casual Observers) did do something other than sit on the porch, eat seafood, attend estate sales, and kayak creeks. We had some very significant bird sightings:
Medium Scaup
Gluttonous Gull
Right-legged Sandpiper
Left-legged Plover
Peg-legged Peep
Harried Eagle
Wire Bird
Garbled Modwit
Scarfed Scoter

    We expect more and better sightings next year as we now know the best places to look!”

   The ninth annual Cherokee Indian Heritage and Sandhill Crane Viewing Days' event is set for February 3?4, 2001 at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's Hiwassee Refuge and the nearby Birchwood School. Last year, over six thousand visitors observed portions of the population of more than 35,000 sandhill cranes that passed through the area on their yearly migration south and enjoyed the guest speakers, displays, and related vendors at the Birchwood School. The event, which is free to the public, will feature programs and displays all day on Saturday, February 3, at the Birchwood School and crane viewing on both days at the Hiwassee Refuge. For more information call Meigs Cty Tourism, 423/334-5850, go to www.state.tn.us/twra/sandhill.htm, or call Ken Dubke, Event Coordinator, at (423) 499?3584. 
 

You're invited to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, a scientific project sponsored jointly by National Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Now that winter has gripped much of the continent, where are the birds? Bird populations are dynamic, they are constantly in flux. We want to take a snapshot North American bird populations and you can help us. Where are the finches and other irruptive species? Compared to last year, how has this winter's weather influenced bird populations? Will late winter movements of many passerine and waterfowl species be as far north as they were last year? In a recent year, sizable flocks of American Robins were noted in the Canadian Maritimes ? Nova Scotia, New Brunswick ? leading BirdSource researchers to detect a correlation between snow cover and presence/absence of robins. Vast numbers of Red?winged Blackbirds and Grackles were reported in parts of the Northeast, coinciding with early wildflower appearances in regions as varied as Texas and Maine.
    Everyone's contribution is important. It doesn't matter whether you identify, count, and report the 5 species coming to your backyard feeder or the 75 species you see during a day's outing to a wildlife refuge. The data that you collect will be combined with Christmas Bird Count and Project FeederWatch data to give us an immense picture of our winter birds. Each year that these data are collected makes them more important and meaningful. So as we see patterns, discover new questions and insights, we'll update you via our website. There were 419 species reported last year during the third annual Great Backyard Bird Count. This year, even more bird enthusiasts are expected to participate. Count the birds in your backyard, local park, or other natural area on any or all of the four count days. Watch the birds for at least 15 minutes on each day that you participate. We recommend watching for a half?hour or more, so that you'll have a good sense of what birds are in your area. Here's what you do: On the day(s) that you count, watch your bird feeders, or take a short walk (less than 1 mile) in your neighborhood or park. For each kind (species) of bird that you see, keep track of the highest number of individuals that you observe at any one time. At the end of the day use the State/Province Great Backyard Bird Count Checklists to submit your  highest counts for that day. It is that easy and your participation is so important! There's no fee and  no registration. Materials can be provided for libraries, nature clubs, and other community?based organizations that would like to accept and enter reports for participants who do not have Internet access. For more information, instructions for submission of data, and other information on birdsource projects go to www.birdsource.org.