Oconee Rivers Audubon Society
June 1998 Vol. 8 No. 6
Upcoming Meetings
< June 4th: Potluck dinner open to all at 6:30 PM at the Princeton Methodist Church pavilion (inside in case of rain). Come and spend a relaxing evening with fellow ORAS members. Topics of discussion will include the birds we may see at the upcoming June bird count and ORAS general business.
< July 2nd: Josh Marks, conservation organizer for the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club will present a slide-show and discussion entitled ACan the Okefenokee Survive Dupont?@
< We meet at the Princeton
United Methodist Church at 7:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month.
The church is located at 2390 S. Lumpkin St., where Lumpkin meets the Macon
Hwy (US441/GA15).
A Note of Thanks to...
< Karl Enter of the Memorial Park Zoo and his birds who gave an outstanding presentation on raptor behavior at the May meeting.
< Mary Case for her full
day of volunteer work at the IMBD celebrations on May 9th.
Spring Bird Walks, Field Trips, and Events
< June 6: Audubon Summer
Bird Count. Details at June meeting.
New Officers and Board Members Elected
May=s meeting
included having members vote on the slate of officers and board members
for 1998 -1999. The slate was accepted by acclamation. New officers and
board members include: Mary Case as the new Vice-President, Marcia Cone
as the new Secretary, Owen Kinney and Jim Hanna as new field trip coordinators,
and Deirdre Allen and Marta Daniels as new members of the ORAS board. Gordon
Gridley has retired from the board, and we thank him for his dedicated
service! Board meetings are typically held every one to two months, and
all members are welcome! A typical board meeting includes eating pizza
and some socializing, along with making more serious plans for the future
of ORAS. Please join us!
Report of the International Migratory Bird Day/Zoo Day Festivities
Thanks to everyone who helped to make this year=s
IMBD on May 9th a great success. Our celebration of the return
of the migratory birds began with a morning walk at Memorial Park with
highlights including a sighting of a Baltimore Oriole and the annual pilgrimage
to the Birchmore Wall. The day=s
festivities continued in the afternoon with a booth exhibit at the annual
Zoo Day at the Memorial Park Zoo. Our booth was well visited and a hit
with the youngsters thanks to the Traveling Bird Show, complete with all
sorts of bird parts to examine, which the Sandy Creek Nature Center generously
loaned to us for the day. We had a prime location above the very popular
otters whose constant antics kept everyone entertained. We were pleased
to have obtained over 150 signatures on the Sierra Club-sponsored petition
to stop Dupont=s strip mine next
to the Okefenokee Swamp. In addition, we were able to increase community
awareness of this very unnecessary and extremely damaging use of land directly
adjacent to one of Georgia=s
and of the world=s greatest natural
resource, the Okefenokee Swamp. Thank you again to all who made this day
a success. If you missed out earlier, we have more IMBD T-shirts and posters!
Sightings
Reported at 7 May Meeting:
< At Kennesaw Mountain on 2 May Jim Hanna saw 15 warbler species, including Magnolia and Golden-winged. At E.L. Huie, which was dry, he saw (Sightings continued next page)
Sightings (continued from previous page)
Pectoral and Solitary Sandpipers, Ruddy Duck and Blue-winged Teal. White Ibis and Coot were seen at North Myrtle Beach.
< Alberta Smith reported a female Kentucky Warbler building a nest on the Orange trail at the Botanical Gardens.
< Near the same area at the Botanical Gardens, Mark Freeman saw a Louisiana Waterthrush singing on the top of a dead snag.
< Owen Kinney reported 15 - 16 Warbler species at the Botanical Gardens, including Blackpoll, Cape May, Blackburnian, Hooded, Prothonotary, Northern Parula, and Magnolia.
< Lee Meinsersmann reported many goldfinches in her yard. She has also seen Indigo Bunting and Black-and-white Warblers at her feeders. She spotted a Golden Eagle flying over the Oconee River.
< Sarah Cliett saw Indigo Buntings and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at her feeders. She also heard Yellow-billed Cuckoos. Acadian Flycatchers and White-eyed and Yellow-throated vireos have shown up recently.
<Marsha Cone reported Bobolinks in a hayfield, as well as Rose-breasted and Blue Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings.
< DeEtte Walker reported White Pelicans flying over UGA=s campus.
< Dennis Rice saw Red-breasted Merganser in Southport, NC.
< Paul Smith told us that the EPA Lab had set up six bluebird houses on their property on College Station Rd. He checked the houses B four have bluebird nests in them, the fifth had a chickadee nest, and the sixth had been taken over by bumblebees!
Other Sightings Reported:
< 6 May: Dave Grise reported a good day at the Botanical Gardens and Golf Course Maintenance Rd. He had 16 species of warblers, an Olive-sided Flycatcher, 2 Grey-cheeked Thrush, a Baltimore Oriole, and 2 Bobolinks.
< Early May: Deirdre
Allen saw the following with her friend, Tim Murray, at the Lake Burton
Fish Hatchery: a very noise Green Heron, Canada Geese, Mallards, a flock
of Turkey Vultures, Coots, Killdeer, Kingbird, Tree Swallows swooping and
diving over a drained pond (possibly Barn Swallows), Bluebirds, Robins,
Indigo Buntings, Grackles, White-throated Sparrows, and Northern Oriole.
More Sightings . . .
8 - 10 May: Tim Homan, Page Luttrell, and Charles Ratliff hiked in the Big Frog Wilderness Area in Tennessee and saw Ruffed Grouse, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Ovenbird, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Solitary Vireo, and Broad-winged Hawk. Among the many wildflowers blooming were Lily-of-the-Valley, Catesby=s Trillium, Wake Robin, both Pink and Yellow Lady=s Slippers, Yellow Mandarin, False and Solomon=s Seals, and May Apple.
14 May: Paul and Alberta Smith watched the baby
Screech Owls (reported in last May=s
newsletter) leave the nest about 9 p.m. Around 8:51 p.m., the first baby
came tumbling out of the nest, landing on the ground near the base of the
nesting tree. He quickly scrambled over to a young 3" diameter pine, and
by flapping his wings and probably using his beak, he clawed his way straight
up the tree, about one foot at a time, until he rested on the first branch.
At the same time, another owl was peering out of the birdhouse. About 10
minutes later, the second owl flew out and landed on the ground about 10
feet from the nesting tree at the base of a yard light. The owl stayed
on the ground for several minutes, then hopped on a concrete block, waiting
several more minutes before flying to the base of another pine tree. She
then climbed on to a branch using the same technique as the first owl.
The parents were flying about, singing occasionally, often perched near
the fledgling owls. The next morning the babies were gone, but a scolding
Wood Thrush suggested the owls made it down to the trees along a nearby
creek.
ORAS Makes Library Donation Submitted by Page Luttrell
This past year, the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society donated money to Athens Regional Library for the purchase of bird-related cassettes and videos. Most of these items have been received and are in the process of being catalogued. Drop by sometime and check them out. Special thanks go to Mary Jean Hartel at the library for assistance in the selections and for overseeing the orders. Items donated include:
Cassettes: Songs of the Warblers of North America (2), Birding by Ear (3)
Videos: Watching Warblers, Dances with Hummingbirds, Hawks Up Close,
Owls Up Close, Hummingbirds Up Close
Costa Rica: Managing Paradise (Part One) Mary Case
Costa Rica is a country about the size of West Virginia with enough bio-diversity for a country five times its size. The elevation varies from sea level to 12,000 feet, containing 15 life zones, 850 species of birds (more than North America and Mexico combined), and 12,000 species of plants. Twenty-two percent of the land mass is protected in the form of National Parks, Biological Reserves, Wildlife Refuges, and scientific reserves.
The Elderhostel program AManaging
Paradise@ dealt with selected
environmental projects in different ecosystems and determined their impact
on the economy of Costa Rica. Tourism is one of their major industries.
They are trying to manage tourism and provide dollars without destroying
the rest of the economy, such as sugar cane, coffee, and bananas.
They want to buy land corridors between the present protected areas for movement of wild life unmolested.
In two weeks in Costa Rica in early March, 1998, we traveled 607 miles round trip from San Jose, over less than ideal road, primarily along the Pacific watershed. The Monteverde Cloud Forest northwest of San Jose in the mountains was our first stop. This forest is similar to a rain forest, but occurs at higher elevations, 4300 feet upward. The cloud forest is always misty and wet with only an average precipitation. Tree ferns grow in abundance here. This is the home of the magnificent Quetzal, which I saw. The Monteverde Cloud Forest and nearby Santa Elena Reserve are managed by private foundations.
(To be continued)
Shade Tree Coffee Available in Athens
ORAS has focused attention recently on the impact coffee-growing processes can have on bird populations, and many ORAS members have wanted to know how to get coffee that is Abird-friendly.@ Gordon Gridley reports that the Phoenix now carries a whole line of organic shade grove coffee, and he thinks its very good!
Loss of a Strong Friend of the Environment
Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, an environmentalist and activist
who spent most of her life working to save the Everglades, died May 14th
at the age of 108. Called the AMother
of the Everglades,@ she fought
tirelessly to protect the vast wetlands at a time when most people considered
the Everglades a worthless swamp to be drained and exploited. She was best
known for her 1947 best-selling book, AThe
Everglades: River of Grass,@
in which she depicted the Everglades as a vast, flowing river and examined
the beauty and history of this fragile ecosystem. She eventually served
on the committee to create the Everglades and Biscayne National Parks.
Her 1987 autobiography, AMarjory
Stoneman Douglas: Voice of the River@
outlined the role of the Everglades as the major watershed for South Florida.
She was a hard-fighting activist for this unique ecosystem and will continue
on as an example of a life well-lived. One of her quotes says it all: AThe
Everglades is a test. If you save it, you get to keep the planet.@
CATS INDOORS! The Campaign for Safer Birds and Cats
The American Bird Conservancy has launched a citizen education and action campaign to end the massive and unnecessary loss of birds and other wildlife to predation by domestic cats. Scientists estimate that free-roaming cats (owned, stray, and feral) kill hundreds of millions of birds and possibly more than a billion small mammals in the U.S. each year. Cats are not a natural part of the ecosystem and, since they are often afforded some protection from disease, predation, competition, and starvation, cats can exist at high densities and out-compete native predators for food. Unlike other predators, even cats that are well-fed with supplemental food will often retain the desire to hunt. Cats kill not only birds that frequent our backyards, such as the Eastern Towhee, American Goldfinch, and Song Sparrow, but also WatchList species such as the Snowy Plover, Wood Thrush, and Black-throated Blue Warbler, and endangered species such as the Least Tern and Piping Plover. Free-ranging domestic cats may also transmit new diseases to wild animals, such as feline panleukopenia (feline distemper) to the endangered Florida panther. Not only are birds and other wildlife at risk, but cats who roam free often lead short and painful lives, living on average less than 5 years, whereas indoor cats often live to be 17 or more years.
The American Bird Conservancy has prepared informative educational materials on the impact of cats on birds, including documentation on cat predation, health hazards, and other dangers associated with free-roaming cats, legislative solutions, and practical advice on how to convert an outdoor cat into a contented indoor pet. These materials, prepared with the assistance of a technical advisory committee with representatives from the animal welfare, conservation (including National Audubon Society), veterinary, and scientific communities, will be a valuable asset to Audubon chapters, bird clubs, schools, and the general public.
This information is available through the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society or by contacting: Cats Indoors! The Campaign for Safer Birds and Cats, American Bird Conservancy, 1250 24th Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20037, phone: (202) 778-9666, fax: (202) 778-9778, email: abc@abcbirds.org. More information can also be found on the National Audubon Website at: www.audubon.org/bird/cat/. The American Bird Conservancy is a national conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas.
(Excerpts from the report by the American Bird Conservancy)
Oconee Audubon Society
P.O. Box 48132
Athens, Georgia 30604-8132