HISTORY MUSEUM I

22 A”0 1994

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OB® newsletter

for members of the Carolina Bird Club, Inc., ornithological society of the Carolinas

Volume 40 July/August 1994 Number 4

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Fall Meeting Field Trips Announced

The fall meeting of the Carolina Bird
iClub will be held in Santee, SC,
September 23-25, 1994. Headquarters
will be the Ramada Inn.

A description of the field trips planned
for this meeting and an advance
registration form is included as an insert
in the Newsletter. Deadline for field trip
registration is September 11, so make
your choices and mail your form to CBC
headquarters today. Please remember that
advance registration for both the meeting
and for field trips allows better planning
I and improves your chances of getting on
the trips of your choice. You will receive
confirmation on your field trips when you
pick up your registration packet during
the registration period on Friday
It afternoon. Any field trip fees can be paid
at that time.

For those coming in on Thursday,
September 22, there will be some birding
on your own suggestions at the front desk
of the Ramada Inn if you wish to bird on

Friday morning. You will need to provide
your own snacks, lunch and drink if you
register for one of the all day field trips on
Saturday.

Registration for the meeting will begin
at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, September 23, in
the hospitality suite of the Ramada Inn
(check at front desk for room number).

The Friday evening program will begin at
8:00 p.m. in the Ramada Inn meeting
room. Robin Carter, author of Finding
Birds in South Carolina, will give a talk
on the area's birds and birding sites. He
will also have some of his fxx>ks for sale.
Following Robin's presentation, we will
discuss Saturday's field trips. Be sure to
attend this meeting as field trip
departure times and locations will
be announced. Also any last minute
changes will be made at this time.

The Saturday evening meeting will begin
at 8:00 p.m. in the meeting room of the
Ramada Inn. There will be a guest speaker
followed by a countdown of species seen

during the field trips. Details on Sunday
morning field trips also will be
announced.

Room rates for the Ramada Inn are
$40.00 single and $44.00 double
occupancy, plus 7% sales tax. For
reservations, use the form provided in the
Newsletter or call (803) 854-2191. The
deadline set by the Inn is August 15, but
rooms may be available after this date.
Other motels in the area are: Best
Western Santee Inn (803) 854-3089, and
Quality Inn-Clarks (803) 854-2141.
Cabins and camping are available at
Santee State Park (803) 854-2408.

The Ramada Inn is located off I 95 at
exit 98. Northbound travelers will see the
Inn on their right as they exit the
interstate. Southbound travelers will see
the Inn on their right after they exit the
interstate and cross the overpass.

If you have questions about the
meeting, contact Lex Glover at (803) 438-
1703 evenings.

INSIDE

Traveling Birdwatcher 2

Backyard Birding 3

NC Big Year 4

Special Field Trip 5

New Members 8

New officers elected at spring meeting at Kanuga Conference Center, Hendersonville,
I NC (L to R) Donna Forsythe, C.L. (Buddy) Garrett, Jennifer Wren, Irvin Pitts, Jr.

n ' ~ ~ " ’

The Traveling Birdwatcher

Warblers From Heaven

"You must go the the cemetery! "

People kept telling me this as I birded my
way from Cape May, New Jersey, through
Brigantine NWR, and into Massachusetts.
I was on the way to pick up my daughter
from college. We were going to be
coming back to North Carolina as fast as
possible, so I wanted a more leisurely trip
up to the Boston area. What better way
than stopping by some of birding's
"meccas" on the way to New England
during spring migration. I had birded a
few areas in eastern Massachusetts on
previous trips but had not heard anything
about a famous cemetery. Birders are
usually quite willing to help a traveler in
their area, but the first couple to mention
Mount Auburn Cemetery didn't remember
its name and just knew it was "around
Boston somewhere." Once I got closer I
found out it was in Cambridge about 1 .5
miles from Harvard Square and quite
famous for attracting warblers in
migration. In fact, it was less than a mile
from the motel I was already planning to
use. Since it had been recommended by
three birders in three different locations, I
just had to go!

With visions of being alone in a
cemetery, I arrived at Mount Auburn about
7:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 12. I saw
fifteen species of wood warblers from
about 7:30 to 10:00 a.m., but I was from
from by myself. There were at least fifty
other birders there on a weekday morning,
including some groups of six to ten led by
members of the Massachusetts Audubon
Society. They were gracious enough to
let me join them. Many were local
birders, but some had driven in from miles
away in the pre-dawn hours, and one was

by Robert C. Williams

Common Y ellow throat
even from Finland!

Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded
in 1831 by the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society as America's first
garden cemetery. It encompasses 174
acres, has over ten miles of paved roads
anti paths, and contains 86,000 graves.
This is the final resting place for many
famous Americans including Louis
Agassiz, Charles Bulfinch, Dorothea Dix,
Mary Baker Eddy, Felix Frankfurter,
Buckminster Fuller Oliver Wendel
Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
and James Russell Lowell.

Over the years there has been a bird
committee to arrange the planting of
numerous species of trees and shrubs
especially to attract birds. They have
done a marvelous job!

Of special interest to us are the famous
birders interred there. Thomas M. Brewer
(1814-1880), a friend of Nuttall and
Audubon, wrote field notes from Mount
Auburn describing the sighting of a
Mourning Warbler in May, 1838.

William Brewster (1851-1919) was the
founder of the American Ornithologists'
Union and first president of the
Massachusetts Audubon Society. Ludlow
Griscom (1890-1959), curator at the
American Museum of Natural History and
at Harvard's Museum of Comparative
Zoology, was noted for his expert
identification of birds in the field without
having to shoot them. Harriet Hemenway
(1858-1 960), one of the founders of the
Massachusetts Audubon Society, led the
fight to prevent the killing of thousands

of birds to provide the millinery trade with
feathers for ladies hats. There is an
interesting article in the July, 1994,
Smithsonian describing this campaign.

I wasn't fortunate enough to spot a
Mourning Warbler like Thomas Brewer,
but I did identify the following: Northern
Parula, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Cape May
Warbler, Black -throated Blue Warbler,
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated
Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler,

Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Bay-
breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler,
Black-and-white Warbler, American
Redstart, Ovenbird, and Common
Yellowthroat. The total species count for
three hours of birding was 43 with one life
bird sighted— a flock of White-winged
Crossbills were lingering in the cemetery,
and they were new for me.

Mount Auburn Cemetery can be easily
reached by public transportation. If you
are staying in Boston, take the Red-line
subway (Bostonians call it the "T") north
to Harvard Square in Cambridge and
change to the number 71 or 73 bus. The
main entrance is on the south side of
Mount Auburn Street just past the
intersection with historic Brattle Street. If
you are driving, parking is allowed along
the roads in the cemetery. Look just
inside the gates for a cemetery map and
birding information. Both printed
brochures and a chalkboard listing recent
sightings are available. I saw more birds
in the heart of a great metropolitan area in
three hours than I had seen in a comparable
period of time in any of the other locations
visited on this trip. I hope that you get a
chance to go there, but don't expect to be
alone if it's during spring migration.

July 9, 1994... Backyard Birding is
rather sparse this time because CJ and I
haven't been home to backyard bird. We
did have a nice trip although we didn't
have much time for birding. We did see a
Western Grebe, heard Black-capped
Chickadees, and had Rose-breasted
Grosbeaks nesting near our campsite in
Minnesota. But the highlight has to be
what has become my favorite bird ~
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. They are such
graceful aerialists that 1 gasp every time I
see one take off after an insect. They, like
many other species, are being depleted
through urban development. We saw
fewer than we did last year, but we saw
enough of them to know they aren't
endangered ...yet.

At home, we have our usual summer
birds. The goldfinches are numerous and
their colors seem brighter this year.

Indigo Buntings continue to dine in our
backyard, but we haven't seen our Blue
Grosbeak since we returned. Our male
Summer Tanager has finally learned the
art of sitting on one of the perches to eat
marvel meal. The female tried to teach
him how last year, but he never got the
hang of it. He still tries to hover at the
hanging suet, however. It has to be the
same bird who was here last summer
because he has the same habits.

We have also had two Green Herons
spending time on the pond. We have
never had two at the same time before.

Backyard Birding

with Frances J. Nelson

One of them has gotten used to us, and we
can get fairly close to him. One of tkese
days I'll take my camera with me. The
herons show up when we are outside, and I
can't seem to remember to get the camera
before we walk down to the pond.

Another first is that a young bluebird
has begun bathing in our birdbath/fountain
that sits about twenty feet from the front
door. One afternoon, I noticed the
young 'un sitting on the edge of the bath.
An adult male flew to the bench nearby
and stared at the youngster. Finally, the
adult got in the birdbath and took a bath.
As soon as he left, the young one
followed the example— a teaching lesson
for sure. Now, maybe the young one will
continue to use the birdbath and bring his
brood by next year, unless a hawk gets
him first.

Yesterday we watched a Sharpshin Hawk
chase a House Finch all around the yard.
The finch would swoop and dart around
trees with the hawk staying right with her.
They both finally flew off into the woods,
so we don't know who won. We have had

"Enthuiastic" Bird Club Meets

"This is the most enthusiastic bird club
I've seen, and I see a lot of them! " was
Pete Dunne's response to a boisterous
welcome by Carolina Bird Club members
and guests gathered at the Kanuga
Conference Center, Hendersonville, NC.
The spring meeting record breaking crowd
of 214 registrants came from Virginia,
Tennessee, Georgia and Oklahoma as well
as the Carol inas to look for the resident
birds of the North Carolina mountains and
to hear the famous "low rent birder." He
soon had them hushed and enthralled with
his tale of a "small headed flycatcher." A
true story? Who knows— or cares? It kept
us on the edge of our seats for the better
part of an hour, and when it was over, we
longed for more.

Planned and executed to perfection by
the Transylvania County Bird Club under

the leadership of Susan Mitchell, Jack
Hudson and Becky Huggins, the
spring meeting was a success from the
welcoming social in the lakeside Pavilion
to the Sunday lunch prepared by the
Kanuga staff. Saturday evening's
countdown of 1 24 species led by
Jennifer Wren indicated that field tnp
participants had paid attention to the bird
identification instruction given by Simon
Thompson during Friday evening’s
opening meeting. Of course the
combination a local leader with one of the
Club's more experienced birders for field
tnp leadership made a difference, too.

This was another innovation, along with
advance registration for field trips, initiated
by the Transylvania County Bird Club
which made for an outstanding meeting.

a Red-shouldered Hawk hanging around,
too. He makes a pass over the pond daily
about 5:00 p.m.

We have also been inundated with
squirrels this year. Our flying squirrels
show up every night, and we make sure
we have seed in the feeder they like to use;
The problem squirrels are the grays. We
don't mind their eating— they're hungry,
tot)— but they chew on the feeders. At
least all they go after is seeds. Martha
Frederick, Try on, NC, watched a squirrel
remove the bee guard from a hummer
feeder and lap up the sugar water. So far
we haven't had that problem. We have
had a House Finch try to drink like a
hummer, and chickadees drink regularly
from the water-filled ant guards suspended
above the feeders, but no squirrels have
attacked the feeders.

My only other correspondence was from
Dave Abraham, West Columbia, SC, who
said wrens built a nest in his daughter's
grass catcher for her lawn mower. The
nest has given her a nice excuse not to
mow. Birds are definitely our friends.

If some of you other friendly birders
would just share your backyard birding
experiences, this column would be more
interesting: 1006 Dogwood Hill Lane,
Wake Forest, NC 275X7 (9 19) 52X-
2X27.

Afterthought: although we camped in
an area know to be inhabited by Painted
Buntings, we still have not seen one.

at Kanuga

Pete Dunne discussed birding optics in
special session at CBC spring meeting

Jasper

This is a hirding tale, not a fairy tale.
But, like a fairy tale it has a few dragons
and a tolerably happy ending (at least for
the prince). Unlike a fairy tale, the prince
and princess are already married and have
been birding happily ever after for quite
some time.

* * *

Jasper is not the name of our hero but
the name of a large national park in the
Canadian Rockies, on the border of
Alberta and British Columbia. It
contains, in my opinion, the most
beautiful scenery to be seen in all the
Rocky Mountains— somewhat like an
expanded version of the Grand Tetons,
with the added attraction of large
permanent icefields and accessible glaciers.
And although much of Jasper National
Park is roadless wilderness, the area is
very "user-friendly" and is a major
destination for tourists. The town of
Jasper, in the center of the park, caters to
the needs of many thousands of tourists
each summer (mainly July and August), «
and the nearby park campgrounds are
spacious, attractive and have excellent
facilities. If you decide you would like to
come to Jasper to camp, you will enjoy
your stay in Whistler's Campground. If
you come to Jasper to stay in a lodge or
motel, brings lots of money!

My wife, Paula, and I are school
teachers, and have that glorious two
months from early June until early August
to invest in life list expansion and other
serious pursuits. We told all who asked
about our summer 1994 plans that we
would be birding our way up to the
Canadian Rockies as far north as Jasper.
Those who inquired further were told that
Jasper was the closest place to North
Carolina where we could find Golden-
crowned Sparrow during the breeding
season. Golden-crowned was the last
native North American sparrow which
Paula and I had not yet seen.

There is an excellent little 72-page
birding guide to Jasper available through
the American Birding Association or in
bookshops in Jasper. Birding Jasper
National Park by Kevin Van Tighem is a

and the Golden

A Birding Tale
by

John S. Wright

must-buy item. However, to say that
Jasper is not heavily birded is an
understatement. During the week that we
birded Jasper and its southern neighbor,
Banff National Park, we saw no other
birders. I suppose the reason Jasper is not
heavily birded can be easily seen by
looking at the range maps in your field
guide. Some of the Southern Rockies
birds don't come that far north, and many
of the boreal forest birds of eastern and
central Canada are found only farther east,
in the lower elevations of Alberta. Most
of the truly northern tundra species are
found only farther north. But Golden-
crowned Sparrow, we were told in print by
Mr. Van Tighem, was fairly common at
timberline in Jasper National Park.

As we found out, Golden -crowned
Sparrow was definitely NOT fairly
common. As Roy Richards, the local
expert, explained over the phone as I was
reviewing my "want list" with him:
"Golden-crowned. . .you should have been
here in April, I had one in my back yard. .
.don't you have any easy birds you want to
find?".

We had talked to Mr. Richards only after
trying one of the locations in Banff which
was described by another author as
"reliable." This location might have been
reliable a month later, but had been made
at least temporarily unreliable by the
accumulation of about three feet of late
season snow. The trail was deeply covered
but Paula and I trudged along it for some
distance, listening for the Golden-crowned.
What we heard were White-crowned
Sparrow and Fox Sparrow, which, like the
Golden-crowned, are timberline dwellers.

The depth and slipperiness of the snow and
ice became too much. We had met our
first dragon and it nearly slew us before we
turned back.

A little later that day we looked for
Golden-crowned not far from the major
tourist attraction, which is the Athabasca
Glacier. After doing a little walking
around on the glacier and taking slides for
use with my earth science classes this fall,
Paula and I did a little more walking in the
timberline area nearby. No Golden-

Crown

crowned, but we did hear and see several
Brewer's Sparrows, the alpine race, which
may be split into a new species in the
near future.

After our talk with Roy Richards, we
had narrowed down our Golden-crowned
Sparrow locations to two possibilities.
One, the Tonquin Valley, sounded great.
We were told that the trail would not be
very steep and that by one-and-a-half hours
we would be in a small area of suitable
habitat. Great! There was a minor
problem. The Tonquin Valley was
described as a major summer feeding area
for Grizzly Bears. We wondered what
Grizzly Bears like to eat in the summer
and hoped that they were strict
vegetarians. I will admit that the trail
provided one of the most beautiful walks
we have ever taken, but we did have some
concerns about the bears. We did a lot of
talking, singing and whistling along the
way to make sure that bears knew we were
coming. A surprised Grizzly is not what
we wanted to find around the next bend in
the trail. What we did find was a trail
somewhat steeper than advertised.

Another dragon, but drag on we did. (I
reminded Paula that the trail up the
mountain in Big Bend for Colima Warbler
was steeper and hotter.) After about two
hours we reached the little patch of
Golden-crowned habitat. With keen
anticipation we listened for the distinctive
song which, as Roy Richards had said,
sounds like the first three notes of the old
war tune "Over There." Sadly, there was
no Golden -crowned Sparrow over there.

All we heard besides juncos were the
songs of White-throated Sparrows. (I will
add that the White-throats in western
Canada sing a rather different and inferior
version of the "Old Sam Peabody" song
we all know.) Yet another dragon in our
path. But with a determination founded
on ignorance we plunged ahead, certain
that there would be better habitat for our
bird farther on. It didn't turn out that way.
We walked a total of about twelve miles
on that path, and by the end, we had
nothing to show for it but sore fee and

(continued on next page)

CBC Fall Field Trip

Congaree Swamp National Monument

Leader: Bob Wood

October 1, 1994

Limit: 15 Participants Cost: $20

A fall migrant trip to the Congaree
Swamp National Monument (near
Columbia, SC). After hireling, we will
drive over to nearby Wavering Place
Gardens and Nursery tor a box lunch and a
lecture and demonstration oh landscaping
with native plants to attract wildlife. Cost
of the trip includes the box lunch and soft
drinks. .

Meet at 7:00 a.m. at Williams Brice
Stadium at the comer of Bluff Road (SC
Hwy. 48) and George Rogers Boulevard in
Columbia, SC, or at 8:00 a.m. at the
Monument headquarters. The entrance to
the Monument is reached by Road 734
(Old Bluff Road) off SC 48 southeast of
Columbia.

There are numerous accomodation

options in the Columbia area, and Bob
Wood can give suggestions as well as trip
details when you call to reserve space.

t

Registration: Contact Bob Wood
at (803) 786-5186 evenings to reserve
space. Mail registration form wit fee to
CBC headquarters.

A Birding Tale

(continued from previous page)

"hearti-only" White-winged Crossbills.

We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and
early evening, birding out the windows of
our truck. Getting in an out was just too
painful for our sore backs, legs and feet.
And because that day (June 23) marked the
31st anniversary of our falling in love, we
decided to end the day with a little romance
by watching the sun set over the
mountains at beautiful Medicine Lake.
Problem is, at 53 degrees north latitude,
on the longest day of the year, the sun
doesn't set until after 10:30 p.m. That’s
past my bedtime! Of course, we had more
than romance in mind, since the Medicine
Lake area is supposed to be the best area
around for Boreal Owl, a decidedly
nocturnal little owl. The sky was still
pink with the fading glow of sunset at
11:30. At about midnight we finally gave
up on the little owl and returned, quite
exhausted, to our campground.

Falling asleep should have been easy.
However, the prospect of getting up and
out at 4:00 a.m. the next morning was on
our minds. 1 worried whether I would hear
the alarm on my watch, and whether 1
would have the courage to get up, and
whether Paula would have the courage to
get up. Neither of us slept very well. So
it was with grim determination rather than
joy that we crawled out of bed the next
morning. The major decision about the
day’s activities had already been made. 1
would go alone this day up the trail to
Signal Mountain, the last place we knew
to look for the Golden-crowned Sparrow.

' Whi t e- 1 h r oa t e d
Sparrow

The reason was simple. We knew the trail
to be a steep and unrelenting grade of over
six miles that would climb more than
3500 feet. Paula's aching muscles needed
a day of rest.

Paula drove me to the trailhead. By
5:00 a. m. I was on my way up, hopeful
that Golden-crowned Sparrow would be
singing for me when I reached its home at
timberline. I was somewhat concerned
about the numerous mounds of bear scat
(excrement) in the middle of the trail, so I
whistled and sang my way up. I. also
breathed hard and sweated a lot. I was in a
rush to reach timberline early in the day.
About 8:00 a.m. I came out onto a lush
alpine meadow— soft like a carpet and
covered with thick mosses and mats of
wildflowers. In the wetter areas, dwarf
willows only a few inches high bloomed
in profusion. Their pussy-willow-like
blooms were nearly as big as the rest of
the plant. Here and there were clumps of
Subalpine Fir, standing no more than five
feet tall. The wind was surprisingly calm,
making listening for bird songs very easy.

All across this vast meadow cam the calls
and songs of American Pipits and an
occasional Fox Sparrow. For a while I
wondered if I would be successful, but
finally, at 8:42 a.m. came the
unmistakable "Oooh-ver-There" song of a
Golden-crowned Sparrow. It is a very
plaintive song, very similar in tempo and
tonal quality to the familiar White-
throated song which we hear each spring.

I didn’t see the bird, and for several
minutes I listened as the sparrow, now
more distant, moved from one perch to
another, singing only sporadically. I
moved into what I thought might be the
center of its territory, sat on a rock and
waited. Finally the singer returned, and
for a few brief moments it perched and
sang from a small fir only 30 feet away,
The simple yet beautiful song, conung
from that little bird with the bright yellow
crown stripe, made the exertion of the
climb worthwhile and clearly validated the
wisdom of our journey to this beautiful
comer of Alberta. It was with great relief
that I walked on, triumphantly, to the
summit of Signal Mountain. The
panoramic view from the summit revealed
the splendor of the many snow -capjxxl anti
ice-bound peaks of the park. Below
numerous small lakes anti ponds formed a
watery maze lining the broad valley of the
Athabasca River.

I slew no dragons that day. but on the
way down the mountain to meet my
princess I did carve a notch on my "lucky"
hiking stick and painted it w ith bright
yellow' from the petals of dandelion found
along the way.

Raptor Extravaganza

On September 17 & 18, 1994, the
Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, Inc.
will be sponsoring a Raptor Extravaganza
and Bird of Prey Weekend 9-5 each day at
the FENCE Center, 500 Hunting Country
Road, Try on, NC. The weekend will
include many activities including an
ongoing hawkwatch on Hawk Hill
adjacent to the FENCE Center, birds of
prey from the Carolina Raptor Center in
Charlotte, educational programs on animal
adaptations, owl pellets and raptor videos.
Slide presentations will feature Allen
Boynton's Peregrine Program, Birds of
Prey of North America and the Partners in
Flight migratory bird program. Bird of
prey rehabilitators will be present to
explain their work and hands-on activities
will include owl pellet dissection and up-
close microscope work.

Many CBC members are planning to
help with the different activities, and if
others are interested in helping with this
unique educational weekend in any
capacity, they sould contact Simon
Thompson at (704) 859-9021.

Panama Rainforest and
Cloudforest Adventure

Simon Thompson, FENCE Nature
Director, will be leading an adventure to
Panama November 5-13, 1994.

According to Simon, Panama is a very
comfortable destination in Central
America with convenient access to both
rainforests and cloudforests and a wide
variety of birds, including the Resplendent
Quetzal.

For full details contact Simon
Thompson at (704) 859-9021.

Rio Grande Valley
Birding Festival

The first annual Rio Grande Valley
Birding Festival will be held November 3-
6, 1994, in Harlingen, Texas. Speakers
include John Bax and John Tveten. There
will also be sessions on photography,
landscaping for birds, shorebirds, rarities
of south Texas and Partners in Flight.

Field trips are secheduled to Santa Ana

Chip Notes

National Wildlife Refuge, Laguna
Atascosa National Wioldlife Refuge,
Brownsville, Bentsen State Park and
Falcon Dam.

Registration is $25.00 in advance or
$35.00 at the door. For more information
or to register, call the Harlingen Chamer
of Commerce at 1-800-531-7346 or write
to PO Box 189, Harlingen, TX 78551.

Rodent poisons may be
killing pets, wildlife in
form of birdseed

Some poisoning of dogs, cats and
wildlife man not be malicious and
deliberate but, instead, the unfortunate
result of careless use of rat and mouse
poison and other toxic products.

I have recently seen a product described
as "rat bait" that appears to be a wild bird
seen mixture impregnated with chemical
poisons. The directions on the package
state that the rat bait is for use in and
around homes and other buildings.

The directions make it clear that "the
treated baits must be placed in tamper-
proof bait boxes or in locations not
accessible to children, pets domestic
animals or wildlife."

That is all well and good, but how many
purchasers even read the directions and
how many fewer follow them? Besides,
the package gives no idea of what a tamper
proof bait box is, or how it would lie put
together. At the very least, there should
be a diagram of such a box.

If this bird-seed rat bait is thrown on the
ground outside of homes and other
buildings, one can well imagine how
many birds and seed-eating animals might
die. Our dog has been known to eat bird
seeds, and I doubt that she is unique.

The truth is that Joe (or Jessie) Q.

Public is very naive about the use of
poisons. And I don't mean just one brand
of rodent poison, I mean all of them, to
say nothing of household chemicals and
all the frightening concoctions used to
douse lawns and gardens in the sacred

name of perfection.

(The foregoing is a portion of the June
13, 1994 column "The Naturalist" written
for the Lake Wales, Florida newspaper,
The Highlander, by K. D. Morrison, CBC
member from Balsam, NC and Babson
Park, FL)

Stick-ons Stop Deaths

According to a May 24, 1994 article in
the Raleigh, NC, newspaper. The News &
Observer, workers and executives in the
Carolinas headquarters of Nationwide
Insurance Co. became concerned over the
daily mortality of birds which smashed
into a two-story, 70-foot-long bank of
reflective windows facing a garden
courtyard of their building. Charlie
Broughton, manager of the company's
document-control division, saw a
migrating flock of Cedar Waxwings slam
into the glass wall on Saturday last fall.
Nine of 16 birds died of broken necks.

Broughton and several other bird-lovers
at Nationwide— whose logo is an eagle in
flight— heard about black plastic
silhouettes of winged predators such as
hawks and owls, which cling to windows.
Songbirds veer away from the scary
shapes, saving their necks.

The silhouettes were available for about
$3.00 each from local bird-supply shops,
and the company bought seven of them.
After two weeks the death toll Was only
two birds. "I wouldn't have believed this
would work as well as it has," said office
services manager Guy Dodson, who put
up the silhouettes. "You could walk out
there and see a spot of feathers where a
bird had hit it. You don’t see that
anymore."

Mark Your Calendar

The CBC winter meeting will be held
January 27-29, 1995, in Washington, NC.

CBC Rare Bird Alert
(704) 332-BIRD

Membership Application and Order Form

Name

Address

City__ State.

Enter/Renew Membership As Indicated

Individual ($12) Life ($200)

Family ($15) Patron ($50)

Student ($6)

Affiliate Club ($ 15)

Library /Institution ($15)

Zip Tel. ( ) ( )

(home) (business)

Send Materials Indicated

CBC Cloth arm patch $1.50 ea., $1.25 ea. in quantity

CBC Decals (vinyl stick-on) $1.50 ea., $1.25 ea. in quantity

Daily Checklists 10/$1.00, 25/$ 1.25, 50/$2.50, 75/$3.75

100/$5.00

Make check payable to Carolina Bird Club, Inc. and mail to PO Box 29555, Raleigh, NC 27626-0555

Registration Form

CBC Special Field Trips

Name(s)_

Address

(list each participant)
City

State Zip

Enclosed is my check in the amount of $ for the following field trips: Congaree Swamp National Monument, October

1 , 1994 ($20). 1 have called the appropriate trip leader to ensure that space is available.

Mail with check to Carolina Bird Club, Inc., PO Box 29555, Raleigh, NC 27626-0555

Registration Form

CBC Fall Meeting, September 23-25, 1994

Name(s)

Address

(list each name for name tags)
City

State Zip

Enclosed is my check in the amount of $ for member registrations at $4 each and nonmeinber registrations

at $5 each. Registration at meeting will be $5 for members and $6 for nonmembers.

Mail with check to Carolina Bird Club, Inc., PO Box 29555, Raleigh, NC 27626-0555

Ramada Inn Reservation Form

Carolina Bird Club
Fall Meeting, September 23-25, 1994

Name

Address

City.

State

Zip

Please reserve single occupancy room(s) at $40 plus 7% tax per night and/or double occupancy room(s) at $44 plus

7% tax per mght. Arrival Departure . My check for the first night's lodging is enclosed.

Mail with deposit to Ramada Inn, PO Box 501, Santee, SC 29142 or call (803) 854-2191

Welcome New Members

Jon Ahlquist

Charleston, SC

Carter & Max Brown
North Augusta, SC

Mary Britt Cottle
Wilmington, NC

Brenda & William Dukes

Seneca, SC

Jerry Griggs
Columbia, SC

Loraine Severns Grubb
Raleigh, NC

Few South Carolinians realize the
impact Ted Beckett had on bird study in
the Lowcountry for over 40 years. A
gifted field ornithologist, Ted was one of
the first to conduct breeding bird surveys,
was a devoted participant in Audubon
Christmas Bird Counts, and a pioneer in
bird banding in South Carolina. Ted was
particularly interested in colonial wading
birds, and was instrumental in the
protection of key rookery areas such as
Blake's Reserve, Pumpkin Seed Island,

Elizabeth Hansen
Raleigh, NC

Sandra Hickman

Cassatt, SC

•

Gail B. Ice
York, SC

Inge Larsen
Chapel Hill, NC

Ruth & Andy Mannich
Oxford, NC

Nicole McKay
Clemson, SC

Drum Island, and Deveaux Bank. He
travelled thousands of miles and banded
thousands of birds, at his own expense,
during a time when no government agency
was willing to conduct this work. His
interest in marine birds on Deveaux Bank
at the mouth of the North Edisto River led
to his discovery of the impact of pesticide-
related egg shell thinning in the early
1960's. A nationally recognized expert on
the Red-cockaded Woodpecker and
Bachman's Warbler, Beckett's work

Merilyn & Walter Roll

Camden, SC

Alan & Therese Schultz
West End, NC

Barbara & Toy Vick
Lancaster, SC

Robert M. Wilson

Asheville, NC

Deceased

E. E. Hansbrough
Asheville, NC

banding the endangered woodpecker in the
Francis Marion National Forest was a
major contribution to its protection
locally. He had observed more Bachman's
Warblers, North America's rarest songbird,
than any other modem ornithologist.

Always a cheerful teacher and
companion, Ted was as eager to assist
novice birders in learning common species
as he was to discull minutia with the
experts. His intellectual curiosity and
environmental advocacy will be greatly
missed by birders and friends alike.

. . . David Chamberlain

Theodore A. Beckett, III, 1919-1994

CBC Newsletter is published bimonthly by Carolina Bird Club, Inc., the ornithological society of the Carolinas, with
headquarters at Raleigh, NC. 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 Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608. Submission deadline is the 10th of January, March, May, July, September, and
November.

CAROLINA BIRD CLUB, INC.

CB@

Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Post Office
Raleigh, NC
Permit No. 1654

P.O. BOX 29555, RALEIGH, NC 27626-0555