TH TENNES E WARBLER Newsletter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society December, 2007 Editor, Theresa Graham PHESIDENTS MESSAGE Greetings, The TOS Fall meeting was held in Manchester, TN on November 2, 3 & 4. The Highland Rim Chapter organized the event with chapter president Lisa Trail acting as hostess. Her helpers included Joyce and Dwayne Adams among others. The refreshment table, filled with good finger food, never seemed to diminish and kept us going all weekend. The Saturday morning field trip was well attended, led by John Lamb and Don Davidson to spots around Arnold Engineering Development Center and Woods Reservoir. The group enjoyed a variety of late fall migrants. And early winter residents were in evidence. The afternoon paper session was organized and moderated again this year by Chuck Nicholson. The 6 papers presented were interesting and varied, ranging from American Woodcock nesting, presented by David Pitts, to Bald Eagles by Bob Hatcher. Abstracts will be posted on Tnbird.org, also by web master Chuck Nicholson. A good bit of Club business was taken care of at the Board of Directors meeting. Possible highlight was the TOS Bird Records report. Committee chair Dean Edwards gave us an update on improvements he has made of on-line documentation and records. And Dean says more improvements are on the way. Go to the web site and familiarize yourself with this, if you haven’t already, and be prepared to submit your bird records. We owe Dean a hearty thank you for getting this in such good shape. TOS Winter Meeting is set for February 8, 9 & 1 0, 2008, centering at Paris Landing State Park. See notice inside. Spring meeting in Memphis is set for the last weekend in April. See notice inside. Mark your calendars now for these 2008 events. Last year there were 29 Christmas Bird Counts across the state. I hope you can get out and join at least one, if not several, and enjoy some winter birding fun. Richard Connors The Tennessee Warbler December 2007 Page 2 2008 Annual Spring Meeting Memphis, Tennessee April 25 - 27, 2008 The 2008 TOS Spring Meeting will be held in Memphis from Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27. The Memphis chapter is hosting the meeting. Registration Friday evening and the business meeting Saturday will be held at the Plantation Oaks Suites & Inn, 6656 Hwy 51 N, 3 miles south of Millington. Dinner and program Saturday evening will be held at Meeman-Shelby State Park, 91 0 Riddick Road, Millington. This is approximately 15 miles from the Motel. For additional information, contact Dick Preston: dickpreston(g)biariver.net . Lodging : A block of rooms at the Plantation Oaks Inn is being held for TOS. Rate is $69.95 per night. Reservations may be made toll free: 888-422-1459; Fax: (901) 872-1000; e-mail: plantation@bigriver.net. Website: www.admiraltvinns.com . Field Trios : Trips will be held Saturday and Sunday mornings. Destinations will include Shelby Forest, Shelby Farms (Penal Farm), including the Mid-South Raptor Center, The Earth Complex (Pits) and Hatchie NWR. Program Speaker : David Ziolkowski Jr. is a program biologist for the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) at Patuxant Wildlife Research Center, Maryland. He is one of the two coordinators for the BBS conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. David will speak on the BBS effort in Tennessee and discuss current trends among Tennessee birds. Registration and Dinner : The registration fee is $1 0. Saturday dinner and program is $1 8.00. When registering, indicate your choice for dinner: (1 ) Prime Rib; (2) BBQ platter or (3) Vegetarian. We must have your choice by April 1 8. Send checks to: Memphis Chapter TOS, care of Carolyn Bullock, 1914 Poplar Ave, Apt 1016, Memphis, TN 38104-7642. Schedule : Friday, April 25 6:00 PM - Plantation Oaks Inn - Registration, refreshments, announcements and field trip sign-up. Saturday, April 26 7:00 AM - 12 Noon. Field trips depart from the Plantation Oaks Inn. 12 Noon - 1 :30 PM - Lunch Business Meeting - Plantation Oaks Inn. Time to be Announced by the President. 6:30 PM - Dinner and Program. The Group Lodge at Meeman-Shelby State Park (Shelby Forest). Sunday, April 27 7:00 AM - Field trip departs from Plantation Oaks Inn. The Tennessee Warbler December, 2007 Page 3 TOS Winter Meeting Paris Landing State Park February 8, 9 & 10, 2008 The winter meeting of Tennessee Ornithological Society will be at Paris Landing State Park, February 8, 9 & 10, 2008. This is a birding weekend with no formal business or board of directors meeting. But it’s a chance for TOS members to get together for what they like most- bird watching, with informal discussions around dinner Friday and Saturday nights. An all day outing on Saturday Feb. 9 will cover winter birding hot spots in Henry and Benton Counties including Pace Point and Britton Ford. The big water of Kentucky Lake always holds lots of goodies hard to match anywhere else in the state in winter. Bring your scope and your best winter coat, hat and gloves - birding guaranteed to be hot and weather guaranteed to be cold. A block of rooms will be held at a group rate for TOS at the Paris Landing State Park Inn for February 8 & 9. Room price is $68 plus tax. The Inn has a restaurant. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-250-8614. Mark your calendar now. Hope to see you there. Richard Connors Group Photo: TOS Falling Meeting Heid in Manchester, TN standing from left to right: Larry Routledge, Greeneville; Irma Holmes, Illinois; Jerry Ingles, formerly Sewanee, now Illinois; Jo Anne Routledge, Greeneville; Don Davidson, Manchester; Linda Kelly, Nashville; Chuck Nicholson, Knoxville; Sarah Scott, Nashville; Lisa Trail, Manchester; Jay Walko, Memphis; Dwain and Joyce Adams., Winchester; Carl Cadwell, Chattanooga; Janis Chadwell, Chattanooga; Daniel Moss, Clarksville. Kneeling: Mark Campion, Knoxville; Chris Welch, Knoxville. The Tennessee Warbler December 2007 Page 4 Conservation Policy Committee Saving 200 Square Miles of Forest in the Cumberland Mountains On November 8'^ Governor Bredesen announced that largest land protection deal in Tennessee since the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, totaling 1 27,854 acres! The acquisition involved a sophisticated mix of direct purchase, conservation easements, and timber rights in Scott, Campbell, Morgan and Anderson Counties. To accomplish this enormous undertaking, the state of Tennessee joined with The Nature Conservancy, Conservation Forestry LLC, and Lyme Timber Company in an innovative partnership leveraging private equity with state and nonprofit funding. While the Cumberland Plateau is globally significant for its diversity of plant and animal species and harbors increasingly rare species of bats, salamanders, fish and other creatures, it is a rich breeding ground for many Neotropical migrant birds. In conjunction with the adjacent Frozen Head State Natural Area and the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area this land deal effectively puts nearly all of the Cerulean Warbler breeding habitat and a majority of the Golden-winged Warbler habitat in the state under some form of conservation protection. The deal includes 10,805 acres to be added to Frozen Head State Natural Area (this direct acquisition includes mineral rights); 42,000 acres in forest conservation easements on lands acquired by Conservation Forestry and Lyme Timber requiring sustainable forest management and no future development; timber rights for 75,000 acres of Sundquist Wildlife Management Area by the state that will be leased to Lyme Timber for 1 0 years with sustainable timber management restrictions; and 10,000 acres of no-cut Special Management Zones within the managed forest areas specifically to protect prime Cerulean Warbler breeding habitat. This complex arrangement will ensure that the forests remain healthy and diverse and continue to provide forest products and important forest industry jobs in the region. The Nature Conservancy is contributing $13 million to the project, and the two timber companies have invested $40.2 million, but it was $82 million line item in Governor Phil Bredesen’s budget proposal this past spring that made this deal possible. In addition to Governor Bredesen, TOS will be sending letters of thanks to Senator Lamar Alexander and Representatives Mark Norris and Ron Ramsey who actively worked to get the Governor’s budget passed with the $82 million line item intact. More Land for Scott’s Gulf In October another 1 ,988 acres was added to a corridor of protected land in the Scott’s Gulf to Fall Creek Falls Corridor in White County on the Cumberland Plateau. This brings to nearly 53,000 acres the amount of land that has been protected near Fall Creek Falls State Park that began with the donation of 1 0,000 acres by Bridgestone- Firestone several years ago. Protecting large unfragmented blocks of forest that will remain free from the threat of development, forest fragmentation, and poor forest management practices is essential to the health of many of our declining forest interior breeding birds. Congressman Lincoln Davis, Senator Alexander and former Senator Frist worked hard to secure the $1 .5 million Federal earmark for Forest Legacy Area Funds. Congressman Zach Wamp on the Appropriations Committee’s support for this effort was also very important. To complete the deal Governor Phil Bredesen made $500,000 available from the Conservation Heritage Trust Fund. Many groups assisted with this effort but Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation and the Governor’s office were critical to making this acquisition possible. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency now owns and will manage the land. TOS sent letters thanking Senator Alexander, Representatives Davis and Wamp, and Governor Phil Bredesen for their efforts. TOS on Steering Committee for Habitat Conservation Plan for the Cumberlands Melinda Welton will represent TOS on the Steering Committee that is preparing the first Habitat Conservation Plan The Tennessee Warbler December, 2007 Page 5 Conservation Policy Committee - continued (HCP) for Tennessee. Resource users, landowners, conservationists, and state and local government entities will be involved in developing this plan. The purpose of the plan is to protect multiple species of threatened, endangered animals and plants of high conservation concern by proactively planning for their conservation needs into future development and other land use activities while respecting private property rights. This first Forestry HCP will cover multiple terrestrial and aquatic species and forestry activities on public lands managed by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources on the Cumberland Plateau. The Cerulean Warbler will be one of the focal species in this process. A completed HCP will make the state eligible for additional federal land acquisition funds. TOS to be represented at Sustainability Conference Richard Connors will be representing TOS at 2007 Summit for a Sustainable Tennessee. This conference sponsored by The Tennessee Environmental Council and Tennessee Conservation Voters and will be held November 15-17 in Nashville. The primary goal of the summit is to “help create, prioritize and advance a statewide sustainability agenda and action plan.” Bird conservation objectives will now be part of this agenda. Proposed USFWS Rule Authorizing Native Americans to Utilize Non-Eagle Feathers & Bird Parts for Religious Purposes The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act allows the USFWS to provide controlled distribution of eagle feathers and parts to Native Americans. Other federal laws and policies have set the stage for extending this to non-eagle bird species. The USFWS now intends to prepare an environmental assessment for a possible proposed regulation for the legal acquisition by Native Americans of non-eagle feathers for religious/spiritual use. The following are the major four of eleven recommendations submitted by TOS: 1 ) No live native non-game birds are to be allowed to be taken from the wild via hunting or other methods, 2) Sources of native non-game U.S. birds are to be from federally and state permitted bird rehabilitators that are agreeable and authorized to participate. 3) Provide the native non-game bird feathers and other bird parts with same eligibility for receipt as required for eagle feather and part recipients. 4) Provide high deterrent penalties for all persons, including those intended to benefit by the proposed rules, for unlawfully possessing, transporting, using, selling the feathers or parts of federally protected bird species. Melinda Welton and Bob Hatcher, TOS Conservation Policy Committee Co-chairs Colonial Wading Bird and Bald Eagle Monitoring In 2008, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is coordinating a project to monitor wading birds and Bald Eagles across Tennessee. The project is designed to monitor breeding locations of wading birds through documenting rookery locations, species present, and numbers of adults, nests, and young. We also would like to collect data on Bald Eagles nesting across Tennessee, especially along the waterways where rookeries are being monitored. Specifically, we are looking to determine if known eagle nest locations are currently active, document locations of known and all new nests discovered, and determine nesting success. Data collected in this project will allow monitoring of both wading bird and Bald Eagle populations statewide. We are looking for anyone that may know the location of a rookery or an eagle nest to consider assisting in this important statewide project next year. We are also looking for folks that may be interested in coordinating efforts with local birders on lakes and rivers in your area. If you know of a rookery or eagle nest, are interested in monitoring them next year, or have general questions, please contact Michael Bierly at mlbierlv@bellsouth.net or Scott Somershoe at scott.somershoe@state.tn.us or 615-781-6653. The Tennessee Warbler December 2007 Page 6 FALL BIRD COUNT DATA WANTED Data for the recent fall counts are due. All Tennessee Bird Counts should have the following data included with the bird statistics: 1 . miles and hours by foot, car, and other modes (canoe, horse, etc.) for each party. 2. miles and hours for each nightbirding (owling) party are kept separately. 3. Feederwatching hours are also kept separately; include names of feederwatchers. 4. All count day weather data: temps; wind; precipitation; clouds, storms/fronts. 5. Please include the starting and ending times of the count. 6. Please include the number of observers, number of field parties, and names of all observers. For example, one person in a car is one observer in one party; 4 people in another car are 4 observers in one party; this example results in 5 observers in 2 parties. 7. Please send the data to Ron Hoff, 282 Hackworth Lane, Clinton, TN 37716. E-mail is acceptable at aves7000(g)bellsouth.net . I would like to have the data sometime in the first month after the count. This allows timely reporting to The Migrant e6\\or. These statistics help future researchers make better use of the data. It greatly helps any count compiler to follow the latest AOU checklist order when turning in data. This is the checklist that the compiler follows and it is usually updated every year. The checklist can be found at http://www.aou.ora . If you do not have access to a computer, the species order on the most recently printed yellow TOS field card is correct. It is also important that you keep a copy of the records you turn in to your compiler. This way, if anything gets lost, there is a backup. Count week species (CW) are only used for the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), as this count is conducted over a period of more than two weeks. CW species are recorded 3 days before and 3 days after the CBC date. Spring and Fall counts usually represent a one day event (two at most) and do not have a count period. The CW designation then is not used in any bird count other than a CBC for publication in The Migrant As always, thanks for your efforts. Ron Hoff, TOS state bird count compiler 16 th Annual Cherokee-Crane Days The annual Cherokee-Crane Days event at Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge will be earlier this year than in the past. The corn is expected to not last until February. The event is set for January 1 9 and 20, 2008, which is the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. The plan is for the Martin Luther King weekend to determine the date for future Cherokee- Crane Days. For more information go to: http://www.state.tn.us/twra/news/sandhilldays.html Dan Hicks, with TWRA, promises that there will be more going on at the crane viewing area this year, with two large tents (with heaters) set up, as well as displays in their permanent building. Shuttle buses will run from Birchwood School to the refuge and on to the nearby Cherokee Memorial. Everyone is invited to come see the Sandhills and look for Whooping Cranes. The Tennessee Warbler December, 2007 Page 7 CHAPTER. NEWS STEPHEN M. RUSSELL CHAPTER, BRISTOL - We were very busy the last few months. The club participated in Funfest at Kingsport, leading bird walks on several days. Wallace Coffey led bird walks at the Abingdon, VA festival. Ron Harrington and many others were busy at the Mendota Hawk Watch, where over 5,000 Broad- winged Hawks were counted. The club was involved in a wildlife weekend at Natural Tunnel SP in Virginia, leading 2 bird walks each day. Bill Grigsby and Mary Erwin were leaders. We held our annual banquet at The Centre in Bristol where Allan Trently put on a great program for us. Mendota, Virginia held a Hawk festival on September 22nd. The club display was manned by Ron Harrington at the festival site; while Larry McDaniel and others helped the public see the hawks on the mountain top. Steele Creek Park in Bristol had a Wildlife Weekend on October 19^^ and 20th. The club participated by operating a banding station, Rick Knight and Richard Lewis did a great job. Larry McDaniel was involved in all aspects and Dave Worley manned the BBC display. Our VP of Field Trips, Dr. John Moyle is setting up a trip to Ecuador for next July. If it is not filled by members of the club, it will be opened to others in TOS. Dave Worley GREENEVILLE CHAPTER - Extreme drought conditions since spring resulted in few fallouts of migrating songbirds, and numbers of individuals reported for most species were lower than normal. The decrease in rainfall meant that many farm ponds disappeared, but some of the higher ones were reduced to a size more suitable for shorebirds. In general, this fall was an unusual one in Greene County. Notable finds included Northern Pintail (2-3 on October 31 and November 4), American Bittern (on October 3), Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (a juvenile on August 1 8, one of very few YCNH reported in the last decade). Merlin (on November 4), Sora (1-2 on several dates from August 31 to October 1 3), Baird’s Sandpiper (a juvenile on October 24, a very rare bird for the county). Stilt Sandpiper (7 on October 3), Eurasian Collared- Dove (observations in October marked the 40th consecutive month at a site in the western part of the county). Least Flycatcher (on October 1), Warbling Vireo (on September 16), Red-breasted Nuthatch (the general abundance of this irruptive species in the region was shared by Greene County), Blue-winged Warbler (on August 24 and September 14), Golden- winged Warbler (2 on September 12), Swainson’s Warbler (on August 2), Vesper Sparrow (2 on November 4), Lincoln’s Sparrow (1 -2 on several dates from October 7 to November 1 ), and Purple Finch (on November 4 and 11). For information about the Greeneville Chapter or upcoming events, please contact Don Miller ( pandion(g)em barqmail.com ) or Jim Holt ( jimbouh@comcast.net ). Don Miller CHATTANOOGA CHAPTER NEWS - Chapter member Ken Dubke headed up fund raising efforts to sponsor the construction and installation of a sculpture that was unveiled on the Tennessee River Park in September. This sculpture depicts a silhouette of a birder peering through a scope over the Tennessee River where a pair of Peregrine Falcons has nested for the last several years. We hope this piece of art work will help raise awareness of rare and endangered wildlife and will promote the past time of birding. Funds raised through sales of bluebird boxes and members contributions were used to award student memberships to seven promising young birders in the Chattanooga area. Please help us in welcoming these new members to our organization; Bill Alexon, Zack Barrow, Jake Dedeker, Jason Dedeker, Jenna Dedeker, David Holley, DrewStinnet. David Vogt The Tennessee Warbler December 2007 Page 8 CHAPTER. NEWS The LEE AND LOIS HERNDON CHAPTER of Tennessee Ornithological Society held its annual Fall Bird Count on Saturday, Sept. 29. A total of 26 observers in seven parties as well as two feeder watchers participated. Areas covered included Carter County and parts of the adjacent counties of Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington. A total of 1 30 species was found, which is above the average of 124.4 species for the previous 20 years. The all-time high for this count is 137 species found in 1993. Those participating in the count included Tom McNeil, David Kirschke, Jim and Darla Anderson, Fred and JoAnnAlsop, Paul Haynes, Mark and Marci Dunaway, Gary Wallace, Bryan Stevens, Reece Jamerson, Tess Cumbie, Brookie and Jean Potter, David Thometz, Glen Eller, Wallace and Carolyn Coffey, Joe McGuiness, Kim Stroud, Rick Knight, Gil Derouen, Mark Hopey, Kathy Gunther and Cleo Mayfield. Feeder watchers included Brenda Wallace and Peggy Stevens. It’s not often that the European Starling gets knocked off the top spot for most common bird on a count. But the European Starlings, with only 580 individuals on the count, settled into third place behind Chimney Swift (1 ,270) and Canada Goose (592). Two different flocks of Great Egrets set high count records for Northeast Tennessee. Tess Cumbie, Reece Jamerson, Bryan Stevens and David Thometz found one flock of 75 birds soaring over the Watauga River. The flock eventually came to rest in a stand of tree on a bluff overlooking the river. Later in the day, a flock of 41 Great Egrets flew over Rick Knight’s home in Johnson City. Both flocks represented more Great Egrets than previously seen at one time in the region. Rick Knight held the prior record of 31 birds from October of 1 988 at Austin Springs on Boone Lake in Washington County. Bryan Stevens The Lee & Lois Herndon Chapter TOS enjoyed a good turnout at its annual summer picnic at Rotary Park in Johnson City. The Tennessee Warbler December, 2007 Page 9 CHAPTER. NEWS The September meeting of the KNOXVILLE CHAPTER was a covered dish-picnic social. KTOS member Mark Armstrong an employee of the Knoxville Zoo hosted us. After the meal, members toured the Kids Cove area of the zoo that includes an aviary. At the short business meeting a new slate of officers were presented and voted into office by the membership. The officers for 2007-2008 are: President, Mark Campen; Vice-President, Mark Armstrong; Treasurer, Marie Oakes; Secretary, Kathy Bivens Kevin Przewrocki is our new field trip coordinator. Kevin hails from Upper Michigan and was brought to Knoxville via the Air Force. Ginger Goolsby is our new newsletter editor with assistance from Patty Ford (distribution). Tony and Denise King have graciously volunteered again to be our refreshment coordinators this coming year at the monthly meetings. Our October meeting topic was “A Working Summer in Pristine Alaska” Our speaker, Prescott Weldon, is a senior in the UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries. This past summer Prescott worked with National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service biologists conducting avian and mammalian research in Alaska’s pristine Denali and Kenai wilderness areas. Prescott’s presentation included spectacular landscapes, photographs of Alaskan fauna and flora, and his personal experiences in one of Earth’s special places. Hummingbird banding was our November program topic. Our own Mark Armstrong shared with us some of his experiences banding hummingbirds across East Tennessee. He demonstrated the tools and traps he employs to capture the hummingbirds and showed us some of the actual bands he uses to identify the birds. His photographs were wonderful and his information was very timely as many hummers extend their visit well into fall and winter at some special feeding stations in our area. Recent Field Trips Wood Thrush Ridge (Loudon County) Annual Hawk Watch on Foothills Parkway (Blount County) The Big Sit - October 14 (Loudon County location) 2007 Knox County Fall Count - September 30 Hastie Park Natural Area (Knox County) Kyker Bottoms Wildlife Area (Blount County) Hunting Hills Park (Knox County) Outreach Activities Go! Knoxville - KTOS sponsored a booth at the first annual “Go! Knoxville” event on May 12. This event highlighted things to do in Knoxville and was held at Victor Ashe Park. Janet McKnight and Patty Ford staffed our booth with the help of our president, Mark Campen, Sharp’s Ridge Clean Up - our Chapter has adopted an important birding area in Knox County. Two times a year volunteers show up for the Sharp’s Ridge Clean Up. Our primary activities there are to remove trash, clean up graffiti, and remove exotic invasive plants. Sharp’s Ridge Memorial Park is a city park overlooking downtown and it is a wonderful place for wildlife and has especially good birding during spring migration. Knox County MAPS Station - we continue to support and volunteer at the MAPS project at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge. This year bird banding continued well past the usual breeding season. This is an important activity by our citizen scientists. Adopt a MoSI Station - At the November meeting a motion passed to grant $300 to go towards this migratory birds wintering ground station research project. MoSI’s efforts are focused on Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands, where the majority of Neotropical migratory birds spend the winter. These areas, unfortunately, continue to struggle with poverty and escalating environmental degradation and very little money for research. The Tennessee Warbler December 2007 Page 10 CHAPTER NEWS MEMPHIS CHAPTER - Knox Martin hosted a summer picnic at the Mid-South Raptor Center. Attended by more than 50 chapter members and other friends of the center, it provided an enjoyable evening for sharing news of summer activities and touring the Center. Many members had never seen the facilities nor observed the ten species of raptors currently under Knox’s care. Chapter members Jim and Martha Waldron have contributed an extraordinary number of hours maintaining the grounds and assisting in the TEC needed to return these magnificent creatures to the wild. The chapter sent 18 observers to the field to collect data for the fall North American Migration Count. They tallied 109 species, including such unusual or locally declining species: Wood Stork, Loggerhead Shrike, Barn Owl and Buff-Breasted Sandpiper. 18 species of warblers was also noteworthy. Chapter members David and Betty Blaylock provided a donation to sponsor another MoSi (Monitoreo de Sobrevivencia Internal - Monitoring Over-wintering Survival) site. This brings the total number of sites funded by MTOS to five. Along with banding data, genetic and isotope analysis of feathers collected at MoSi sites (and banding stations in North America) can be used to determine the relationships between wintering and breeding bird populations. The chapter voted to continue its financial support of the Mid-South Raptor Center. Injured raptors are rehabilitated at the center and released in appropriate habitat. MTOS will support the Center with $500 per year for the next three years. Chapter member and licensed songbird rehabilitator, Brenda Bostick, delighted the twelve birders on our Wapanocca NWR field trip, when she released a juvenile Virginia Rail. Most had never seen one, and the only disappointment was that it wasn’t “countable”. Richard Preston & Margaret Jefferson In Memoriam Knoxville TOS member Mary Elizabeth Carpenter passed away June 25, 2007, at home surrounded by family and loved ones. Mary is survived by her husband of 53 years, Kenneth B. Carpenter M.D. and her three sons, David Bentson Carpenter (Asheville NC), Steven Edward Carpenter (Knoxville TN) and Michael Alan Carpenter (Knoxville TN). A loving wife, mother, student of life and generous teacher of others, her interests and talents were diverse. Mary founded Carpenter Clock Repair in 1978. Her interest in Clocks was born of her love of antiques, an artist’s eye for beauty, and her mechanical gifts she discovered through jewelry making. She was a passionate and accomplished photographer, which was something she shared with her husband. In her spirit of adventure, she sailed with the Memphis Delta Sailing Club and Concord Yacht Club. She was also a pilot flying as a member of the East Tennessee Pilots Club. She loved animals and worked with Welsh Corgis as a member of Knoxville and Oak Ridge Dog Training Clubs. She was also an avid birder and enjoyed watching them in her beautiful yard where she had several feeders and numerous places for birds to drink and bathe. She was a member of the Knoxville Chapter Tennessee Ornithological Society and National Audubon Society. Mary will be missed by all who knew her. FEBRUARY 28™ DEADLINE The deadline date for the April issue of The Tennessee Warbler \s February 28th. Please submit all articles, announcements, reports and items of interest by this deadline date. Submit Material To: Theresa Graham, Editor PO Box 366, Oakland TN 38060 (901)465-4263 (home) (901)748-9324 (fax) V e-mail: 2araham@bellsouth.net y The Tennessee Warbler December, 2007 Page 1 1 Polk County Breeding Bird Foray Memorial Day Weekend May 24 - 26, 2008 The Chattanooga Chapter and Cherokee National Forest are teaming to host a breeding bird foray in the east Tennessee, Polk County during the 2008 Memorial Day weekend. Many members are familiar with this long-time tradition of county forays going back into the early years of our 90 year old organization. Traditionally, forays are held in Counties that are distant from heavily populated areas and consequently get little birding attention. Members from all corners of the state converge to survey the county to document the breeding bird communities present. During the Tennessee Breeding Bird Atlas project more systematic protocols were adopted to make data collected more valuable. Counties were divided into manageable study blocks. A variety of breeding bird codes were adopted to rank the evidence of breeding for all birds recorded in the study areas and “mini routes” (shortened versions of the Breeding Bird Survey Routes) were established. This breeding bird atlas protocol will be used to survey Polk County during the Foray weekend. Polk County includes a variety of habitats including elevations over 4000 feet and there is potential to gather breeding evidence for some species that are rarely found in the state. Yellow- bellied Sapsucker, Raven, Swainson’s Warbler and Golden-winged Warbler are a few potential ‘target species”. And, remember, Polk County was one of the last known locations for breeding Red- cockaded Woodpeckers in the state! Look for details to be posted on the TNBIRDS list serve and on the TOS website: www.tnbird.ora Or, contact: David Vogt at 423/877-81 29 or dfvoat@netzero.com Laura Lewis at 423/476-9752 or larualewis@fs.fed.us An orientation get together will be held on the evening of Friday May 23, instructions will be provided for participants who are not familiar with methodology, parties will be assigned blocks and field work will be conducted in the county Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There will be evening gatherings for parties to share results and socialize. Inexperienced workers can be paired with the more experienced so all birders are welcome. Mark your calendars and plan on spending the 2008 Memorial Day weekend in the mountains of east Tennessee! ‘‘THE TENNESSEE WARBLER” Published by the Tennessee Omithologieal Soeiety RO. Box 22682 Memphis, TN 38122 PRSRTSTD U.S. Postage Paid Memphis, TN Permit No. 1286 Send Corrections & Change oe Address Requests to: The Tennessee Warbler ♦ P.O. Box 22682 Memphis, TN 38122 ♦ treasurer@tnbirds.org The Tennessee Warbler - December, 2007