-TBS S % 12- B OB© NEWSLETTER RRITI.CH MIISCIIM VOLUME XXXII FALL 1986 FALL MEETING ON OUTER BANKS BRITISH MUSEUM (WflTHRfll HISTORY) - 6 APR 1992 PURCHASED THING LIBRARY NUMBER 3 Nothing could be finer than to be on the Carolina Outer Banks in the fall. Forget those confusing fall warblers — let's look for those confusing fall shorebirds instead. The Carolina Bird Club will hold its fall meeting in the Bodie-Pea Island area of North Carolina October 3-5, 1986. Headquarters will be the Best Western Armada at Nags Head. Rooms are at a flat rate of $40.00 (plus tax) each regardless of the number of occupants. Reservations must be made by September 3 to assure a room. This has become a very popular time of year for vacations in this area. A reservation form is provided in the Newsletter for your convenience. REGISTRATION begins at 3:00 P.M. Friday, October 3 at the Best Western Armada. The Friday evening program will be presented by KEN KNAPP of Cary, NC who uses a high ranking position with the Environmental Protection Agency as a cover for his world-wide birding expeditions. A recent trip to India will be thebasis for his talk. Saturday evening we will hear from MICHAEL L. DUNN of the Parks and Recreation Division, North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development on an as yet undisclosed topic. Field trip coordinator, JOHN FUSSELL, III, has provided the follow- ing information: FIELD TRIPS General Information: Field trip leaders will be introduced at the meeting Friday night. All trips will leave from the Best Western Armada at 7:00 A.M. Trips will run until about noon depending on the number of birds being seen. No afternoon trips are scheduled. Rare birds and birds of special interest will be recorded on the log sheets outside the door of the Pea Island Refuge office, and you may want to use the afternoon to search for some of these birds. Participants should bring insect repellent and be prepared for a wide range of weather. It might be windy and rainy, warm and muggy, or (let's hope) cool and dry. The North Pea Island and Bodie Lighthouse Pond trips, especially the latter, will require some wading and you will have to get your feet wet. Waders are NOT recommended, as they get stuck in the mud. (Editor's Note: John is rumored to have webbed feet, but I would recommend that you bring a pair of old sneakers if you want to go wading for birds.) Unless changed because of weather and water levels the following trips are scheduled: 1) Bodie Island Lighthouse Pond. Led byJohn Fussell. Emphasis on shorebirds. Be prepared to get your feet wet. We will look for a Hudsonian Godwit and a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper. Some landbirding if appropriate. Wanted: one participant with a scope . 2) North Pea Island. Led by Ricky Davis. Tour from the salt flats north to the shrub thickets next to Oregon Inlet. Shorebirds, and, weather cooperating, excellent land- birding. On this same weekend in 1985, the shrubs next to Oregon Inlet hosted Lark Sparrows, Clay-colored Sparrow, Western Kingbird and other goodies. 3) South End of North Pond/New Field Area. Led by Robert Hader. Bob promises that he won't make you wade on his trip. This area has a good ocean overlook, good shorebirding usually, and a site that often concentrates landbird migrants. (continued top of page 3) LETTERS TO AND ABOUT MS. UROPYGIAL The letters for and against the Ms. Uropygial feature again came out dead even. Thos against tended to be rather terse. If enthusiasm could carry the day, those in favor of more Ms. Uropygial would certainly win. One wrote "A smidgen of revolt and degradation tends to keep the 'blahs' at arms length." Another, obviously a little flighty, wrote "Ms. Uropygial is the greatest thing to happen to CBC since .. .well , since Clyde Smith became editor of the Newsletter." However, in the hope that we can satisfy both sides here are a few more letters to Ms. Uropygial along with the promise that they will be the last. Dear Ms. Uropygial: How do I keep the Hoary Redpolls away from my squirrel feeders? Flocks of them arrive in the morning and eat all the seeds long before the squirrels get up. I have tried everything. Up to Here in Redpolls Dear Up: I called my friend, an expert on keeping hords of hungry Hoary Redpolls off feeders, and explained your desperate situation. He suggested getting a stuffed immature female Gyrfalcon and placing it near the feeder. Another approach, noble as it seems, would be to call the CBC hotline. The hoards of expectant birders will scare anything away, but there are several among them that may prove frightening to squirrels. * * 7*C * -k * * Dear Ms. Uropygial: Who should get credit for a new state bird — the person who finds it or the one who identifies it correctly? Confused about the Rules Dear Confused: Not necessarily either. You get 10 points if you are the first to get it in the newspaper, 8 if you get it on a Hotline first, 8.5 if you get your name next to it in AMERICAN BIRDS or "Briefs for the Files," and 15 if you write it up for publication. The person with the highest number of points can multiply their life list by 1.013 or add 3 to their year list (but not both). Credit is the wrong word, let's get your priorities in order buster! American Leisure Time A Look at How We’ve Changed Outdoor Concerts & Plays 1965: 14% 1983: 25% Picnicking 1965: 60% 1983: 48% 1965 1983 Sightseeing 54% 46% Driving 59% 48% Bicycling 19% 32% Camping 12% 20% Tennis 6% 15% Jogging 1 7%* 26% Birdwatching 6% 12% *1977 Source: National Recreation Survey Associated Press If it seems to you that there are more birders in the field these days, its probably because its true! FIELD TRIPS (continued) ^ South to Cape Hatteras Point. Led by Merrill Lynch and Derb Carter. A long drive. Birders with 4-wheel drive vehicles are encouraged to sign up for this trip. If there are enough such vehicles, it could mean a lot less walking for the group. This trip will mix some landbirding (a Connecticut Warbler search), birding around the big pond at the point, and a search for something wild and wonderful off the point. Hope for an easterly gale! OTHER TRIPS?? Any volunteers to lead some other trips, perhaps to Pea Island's South Pond or north to Nags Head Woods/Wright Brothers Memorial, etc? Come on, Harry . Some birders may want to do some exploring on their own; perhaps going on down as far as the Hatteras Inlet ferry (often excellent birding — look for White Pelican), or on to the Ocracoke "flats." If anyone would like to try to get out to the Portsmouth Island flats, get up with me at the meeting Friday night, and I'll tell you what I know about getting to Portsmouth Island from Ocracoke. ++++++++++++++- - + + +++++- -++++++- Membership Application and Order Form* Name. Address City Telephone ( ) (home) ( )_ ENTER/NEW MEMBERSHIP AS INDICATED Individual ($12) Life ($200) Family ($15) Patron ($50) Student ($6) Affiliate Club ($15) Library/Inst itut ion ($15) Make check payable to Carolina Bird Gub, Inc. and mail to P. O. Box 27647, Raleigh, NC 27611. State Zip ( business) SEND MATERIALS INDICATED CBC Cloth Aim Patch $1 50 (1), $1 25 each in quantity CBC Decals (water type) 75c (1) 50c each in quantity Daily Checklists 10/$ 1 ; 25/$ 1 25; 50/52.50; 75/53.75; 100/55.00 Birds of the Carolinas $ 1 3 .45 plus $ 1 25 for mailing ___Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas $1 3.45 plus $125 for mailing ++- -++- -+ + + + - -++++++++++++++++++++++• -+++ MOTEL RESERVATION FORM Carolina Bird Club Fall Meeting, October 3-5, 1986 NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP Please reserve room(s) at $40.00 per night plus tax. My check for the first night's lodging is enclosed. I will arrive and depart . Mail with deposit to BEST WESTERN ARMADA, PO Box 307, Nags Head, NC 27959 Tel. 919/441-6315 REGISTRATION FORM CBC Fall Meeting, October 3-5, 1986 NAME ( S ) ADDRESS CITY __ STATE ZIP Enclosed is my check in the amount of $ for member registrations at $4 each and nonmember registrations at $5 each. Mail to CAROLINA BIRD CLUB, INC., P0 Box 27647, Raleigh, NC 27611 Welcome New Members OLETA HALL BEARD West Columbia, SC LORING M. DANFORTH Research Triangle Park, NC MAXINE DICKEY Washington, DC THOMAS GRAHAM McClellanville , SC CELIA LEWIS Asheboro, NC JOHN K. MCKAY Taylors , SC ETIENNE C. MARCHOT Durham, NC DEBORAH MEADOWS & GARY DAVIS Greenville, SC * * * DO YOU REMEMBER? * * * (Editor's Note: In 1987 the Carolina Bird Club will celebrate its 50th anniversary. If you would like to share your memories of some of the special times or special people you have known during your association with the Club, please send your contribution to Newsletter Editor, 2615 Wells Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608. The initial item is from Louise Lacoss of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.) How many CBCers remember the spring trip to Whiteville, NC in April, 1961 when we saw the Cattle Egret in a field and the freight train stopped and the engineer walked over to ask if there had been an accident? He couldn't figure why so many people were out there otherwise. For most of us it was our first Cattle Egret. RARE BIRD ALERT Seen any good birds lately? If so I hope that you called in a report to the CBC Rare Bird Alert. If you want to make a report only you can call 704/875-6521 and Dick Brown or one of the Raptor Center volunteers will take your report. If you want to listen to a taped description of where to see recently reported birds, call 704/875-2525. After listening to the message an opportunity will be given for you to record your report. Speaking of rare birds — John Fussell reports a Curlew Sandpiper and a Long-billed Curlew at Portsmouth Island on August 8. If you would like to order John's book on finding birds in Carteret County, the correct address is 1412 Shepard Street, Morehead City, NC 28557. The address given in the CHAT was incorrect. NECROLOGY The Carolina Bird Club notes with regret the death of Mrs. Contance C. Skelton, a life member in Clinton, South Carolina. CBC NEWSLETTER is published quarterly by Carolina Bird Club, Inc., the ornithological society of the Carolinas, with headquarters at Raleigh, N. C. CBC is a nonprofit corporation, founded in 1937, with membership open to anyone interested in birds, natural history and conservation. Members are encouraged to submit items of interest to CBC Newsletter, Clyde Smith, Editor, 2615 Wells Ave., Raleigh, NC 27608. CAROLINA BIRO CLUB tac CB@ Nonprofit Organization U. S. Postage Paid Permit No. 1654 Raleigh, NC 27611 P. O. BOX 27647, RALEIGH, NC 2761 1