Upcoming Meetings
March 4th:  Former state representative Denny Dobbs from the Newton County area will discuss the most pressing environmental issues facing Georgians, the legislative process in Georgia, and what we can do as an organization and as individuals to address these issues. Mr. Dobbs= interests lie in environmental issues and he is an environmental engineer in his private life.

A Note of Thanks to... Paul McClendon for his fascinating talk on the various ways people can use plants and plant products in their daily lives. The gourd collection was especially interesting. Dr. David Krementz for leading the woodcock walk, providing interesting information on woodcock behavior, and finding the best spots to view the courtship ritual.  It was an enjoyable evening.

Bird Walks, Field Trips, and Events
Note: Field trips are open to the general public and people of all ages and all levels of birding experience are encouraged to attend. The walks are generally at an easy pace although waterproof footwear and rain gear often will come in handy.

Oconee River Audubon/Sandy Creek Nature Center joint Spring 1999 Bird Walk Schedule:
27 March: Sandy Creek Nature Center, meet at 8 am at the Allen House
10 April: Botanical Garden, Athens, 7:30 am in the lower parking lot at the Callaway Building.
24 April: Cook=s Trail clean-up and bird walk in celebration of Earth Day 1999, 8 am at the Allen House at Sandy Creek Nature Center.
1 May: Botanical Garden, 7:30 am, Callaway Building.
15 May: Annual International Migratory Bird Day celebration with a walk at Memorial Park in Athens at 8 am, 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:
25-28 March: St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge Field Trip. Contact Maggie Nettles at 543-8823 for more information.
3 April: ABackyard Birds@, a presentation by Bill O=Grady at the Botanical Garden from 10 to 12 am with an optional walk led by Karla O'Grady at 8 am. Participants will gain a variety of birding information and resource materials. Contact the Botanical Garden (542-6156) for more information.
16-18 April: Georgia Ornithological Society meeting in Rome, Georgia.
16-18 April: The Great Louisiana Birdfest, St. Tammany Parish. Includes trips to many unique birding sites and evening programs. For more information, 504-871-9272.

Sightings
Owen Kinney and David Galewski on 1/30 at Lake Chapman in Athens saw five Canvasback Ducks (4 males and 1 female), Ruddy Ducks, Red Breasted Mergansers, and a Ring-billed Gull. Roy Major on 2/4 saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker at his home and a Great Blue Heron at Memorial Park. The Van Estletines heard a Great Horned Owl on 2/1 at 8 pm at Five Points. Elizabeth Little observed (within 10 ft.) an immature Red-shouldered Hawk eating a rabbit in the middle of the test gardens on the UGA campus in mid-January and saw a large flock of Cedar Waxwings in the Sycamore trees outside the Plant Science building on campus on 2/15. Gary Crider, on 2/16, also spotted 500+ Cedar Waxwings downtown in a Holly tree behind the Athens 1st Bank. Carrie Straight and the lab of Dr. Cooper at UGA took a trip to Biloxi and saw, among others: Marbled Godwit, Black Skimmers, Forsters and Royal Terns, Bonaparte's Gull, Willet, Northern Gannet, Loggerhead Shrike, Bufflehead, Lesser Scaup, Black-Necked Stilt, Snipe, Greater Yellowlegs, Blue- and Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Mottled Duck, Gadwall, and Coopers Hawk.

Report on the Loon Walk to Lake Hartwell:
by  Elizabeth Little
    Fifteen hardy birdwatchers braved cold temperatures and brisk winds to view the Loons on Lake Hartwell on February 13th. On the drive to the lake, a male Harrier, Mourning Doves, and Meadow Lark were sighted. Starting from the Crider home on the lake we obtained immediate views of not only Common Loons but Pied-billed Grebe, Canadian Geese, and a magnificent Red-tailed Hawk. On the walk to the boat launch Bluebirds, Pine Warblers, Goldfinches, White-throated Sparrows, Chickadees, Titmice, Crows, Robins, Cedar Waxwings, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Brown-headed Nuthatch were spotted. Once again on the lake, we immediately saw a Horned Grebe in the same cove where one was observed the previous year together with a Ringed-billed Gull, a Red-breasted Merganser, and more Loons. On the way back to the house Carolina Wrens, Ruby- and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Towhees, and Cardinals were seen in the brush, and a Hermit Thrush was heard.
    After a delightful and sociable lunch by the fire in the cabin on the Crider estate, we once again loaded up the vehicles and headed to the dam area of Lake Hartwell. In a field near the marina, approximately 400 American Pipets were observed feeding. The caravan continued to the new campground below the dam. There, with warming temperatures, Juncos, a Great Blue Heron, Robins, Starlings, Killdeer, Grackles, 12 or more Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures, Phoebe, Common Yellowthroat and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Swamp, Savannah, Song, and White-throated Sparrows were spotted in the surrounding wetlands, field, and woods. A Winter Wren gave everyone a good view as she fed in the grass. The woodpeckers were numerous and varied with sightings of Downey, Hairy, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Pileated, and 3 to 5 Red-headed. The bird watching continued until dusk to end a very successful day. Thanks especially to Minnie and Wally Crider for again letting us use their home to gather and lunch.

Highlights of the Annual Woodcock Walk
by Owen Kinney
   On the afternoon of February 6th, Oconee Rivers Audubon traveled to Greene County in search of our most distinguished shorebird, the American woodcock. Dr. David Krementz, a local woodcock expert and ornithologist at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, kindly led the group. We met at Watson Springs, site of a ghost town abandoned decades ago after it's claim to fame, a medicinal spring, dried unexpectedly. The spring has since returned, along with many of this region's typical bottomland shrubs and hardwood trees.  On a short walk through the old town and the surrounding woodlands, David shared his knowledge of cutting-edge forestry techniques, ecological impacts of non-native plants, and, of course, the elusive diurnal activities of the American Woodcock.
   As dusk approached the group made haste toward a clear-cut area where David had seen woodcocks on previous evenings. Armed with flashlights and binoculars, we crossed the treacherous Watson Gulch (those who weren't there missed some outstanding teamwork) and, eventually, reached a grassy hilltop. Eager to experience the male woodcock's crepuscular courtship ritual, we listened intently to David’s descriptions of the bird's spiraling display flight and subdued vocalizations. As the sun set, we settled down around sparsely vegetated patches of ground, each of us hoping to select a front row seat to the evenings festivities. Just before twilight raspy peeeent! calls began sounding from all directions. Soon we began to see birds springing from the tall grass and flying upward in wide circles. A warbled series of chips and whistles, produced in part by specially modified primary feathers, became audible as the birds descended.  Some lucky birders were even able to hear the quiet clucking call given by males as they strutted through their lek routine.  In the end, although none of us took advantage of the free hydrotherapy, I think seeing such intense wooing may have rekindled some romantic feelings...just in time for Valentines Day.

Breeding Bird Atlas Reminder
   The Georgia Breeding Bird Atlas, initiated in 1994 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR), will be continuing on this year.  Volunteers are needed to survey designated areas in the state and verify breeding of all avian species.  This data will provide the first complete picture of bird distribution and establish a baseline from which future changes can be measured. This information will be used by GA-DNR, other governmental agencies, land use planners, and researchers to aid in conservation of birds in this state.  Some of the interesting observations that have been made as a result of the survey include reports of Cliff Swallow expansion southward in the state, verified nesting of American Kestrels in downtown areas of Atlanta and Blackshear, the first confirmed breeding of Tree Swallows in Georgia, and increased sightings of Swallow-tailed Kites (no confirmed breeding as of yet).
   The Athens area falls within two regions: areas north of Athens in Region 2 (Jackson, Madison, Franklin, Banks, Barrow counties) and areas south of Athens (most of Clarke, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Walton counties) in Region 4.  The Region 2 coordinator is Jim Flynn, 6360 Lillie Lane, Cumming, GA 30040, (770) 886-6029, email: jflynn@america.net; the region 4 coordinator is Joel Volpi, 2680 Sandstone Drive, Lawrenceville, GA 30243, Phone: (770) 963-9283, email: jvolpi@hotmail.com.  For more information contact: Page Luttrell at 788-2973, email: luttrell@calc.vet.uga.edu.

American Redstart Summer Breeding Success Depends on Winter Feeding Habitat:
   Researchers in a recent paper in the journal Science (282:1884-1886) were able to correlate the type of winter habitat that the American redstart occupied in the Caribbean with the physical fitness of the birds at the end of the winter and with the time of arrival at breeding grounds in New England. Birds were observed to occupy two types of habitat in Jamaica: a black mangrove forest in which males predominated (65%) and a drier, second-growth scrub habitat in which females predominated (70%). Birds wintering in the mangrove forest were found to have maintained or gained body mass while those in the scrub lost up to 11% of body mass. Dominance behavior by older males forces younger males and females into the drier and poorer-quality habitat. Body mass was inversely correlated with departure time for the northern breeding grounds and implies that redstarts in better physical condition can leave sooner and occupy the best breeding grounds. Previous research has shown that arrival time at the breeding grounds is a major determinant of fitness in migratory birds. The level of an isotopic marker in the tissue of birds caught as they arrived in the north was used to determine in which habitat each bird had wintered. The researchers found that the early arrivals in the breeding grounds, which were predominantly males, had wintered in the richer mangrove forest.  However, mangrove forests are in decline worldwide and the results of the research suggest that the optimal wintering grounds for redstarts may be saturated and therefore limiting. This conclusion has important implications for the long-term stability of migratory bird populations, many of which are declining and of concern to conservationists.

Did You Know?? (from Energy Technology Choices) Before DDT, American farmers lost about a third of their crops each year to insects, weeds, and disease. Today, with an annual pesticide bill exceeding 1 billion dollars, farmers still lose the same one-third share.

Legislative Update
by Marta Daniell
    SB 57, the Governor’s Georgia Regional Transportation Authority Bill, passed the Senate on a 45-10 vote on Friday, February 5th. The House Transportation Committee plans to examine the bill on February 11th. With a vote coming as early as February 17th.
    This bill will have a tremendous impact for Atlanta and the rest of Georgia by improving Atlanta’s air and traffic, preserving rural farm and forest land and improving the mobility of Atlantans and those who visit there.
   Many of you are aware of the issue involving large hog operations. I late January the state Board of Natural Resources voted unanimously in favor of a moratorium on state permits on new hog farms with more than 2,500 swine. The State Department of Agriculture is concerned that farmers were not given an opportunity to express their views on the subject.
   The Sierra Club and other environmental groups are concerned that Georgia’s rules are too lenient and will result in the pollution of some of our land and water resources. In 1995, a 23 million gallon hog sewage spill into the New river in North Carolina led to severe pollution of 17 miles of the river.
   Hog farming regulations must be approved by the Department of Natural Resources Board before they can become effective. A meeting to discuss the regulations will be held on February 23rd in Atlanta. Please contact your DNR Board member and let him/her know that you are concerned about lax regulations that favor the hog farmer
 over the environment. Your Board member is from your Congressional District. I’ve listed the members in surrounding Districts.

Tenth District (Charlie Norwood—Congressman)
Ben Seay III, Ph: 770-483-6961 (business)
1900 Highway 212, Conyers, GA

Eleventh District (John Linder—Congressman)
Vacant, so contact Member-at–large:
Jamie Reynolds, Ph: 706-453-2397 (business)
2561 Lake Oconee Pkwy, Greensboro, GA 30642

Georgian Wildlife Federation has native plants for sale
The Georgia Wildlife Federation (GWF), a state affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation, has a program entitled Wingsong which offers native plants for sale from September 1 through April 15. Currently, they offer over 100 species of trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, and grasses as food and cover plants for wildlife. All plants are adapted for growing in the southeast, and information is provided on growing conditions and hardiness zones. For example, there are several species of buckeye, holly, and dogwood, dozens of perennials such as coneflower, wild indigo, ironweed, and lupine, and vines including yellow jessamine and crossvine. Check out their website:
 http://www.gwf.org/sales/plant.html
 

In the April Newsletter:
Bats— Nature’s Best Insect Control
Bird Tables— Risks of Poor Hygiene
 

Oconee Audubon Society

P.O. Box 48132

Athens, Georgia 30604-8132