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00© NEWSLETTER

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

Volume 42 January/February 1996 Number 1

A Giant Leap to Fontana

It's a giant leap geographically from
Nags Head, NC, where the Carolina Bird
Club is holding its 1996 winter meeting,
to Fontana Village, NC, site of the spring
meeting. However, it promises to be an
exciting change of scene.

Fontana Village is a resort community
developed from the housing units of the
construction workers who built Fontana
Dam in 1941 (an early example of first
class recycling). Fontana Dam, completed
in 1945, impounded the Little Tennessee
River, and the resulting 30 mile long lake
forms the southwestern border of the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park.

This beautiful setting is a favorite with

An Invitation from

square dancers, and they will be occupying
the 94 room Fontana Village inn.
However, there are 250 cottages equipped
with kitchens available to CBC members.
Rates will be $58 per day for a one
bedroom, one bath cottage and $67 for two
and three bedroom, one bath cottages.
Luxury Cottages as well as camp sites
with hookups will also be available.

Mention Fontana Village to CBC
members who were around in 1978, and
you will get a definite opinion about the
spring meeting held there with Tennessee
Ornithological Society and Georgia
Ornithological Society. Most will say
that the birding was wonderful, but there

Partners in Flight

were just too many birders, which may be
why we haven't had much enthusiasm for
joint meetings since. The most vivid
memory for your editor, however, was a
bush full of warblers, including his first
Golden-winged Warbler, on a glorious day
in April.

Harry LeGrand, field trip coordinator
for the meeting, indicates that in addition
to Golden-winged, we might also expect
Blue-winged, Cerulean and Swainson's
Warbler. Higher elevation trips should
include Black-capped Chickadee anti Red
Crossbill. Trips will be run locally in the
Fontana Village area, to the Joyce Kilmer
Memorial Forest, and the Great Smoky
Mountams National Park. Harry is also
working on the. logistics of birding an
eight mile segment of the Appalachian
Trail in the Yellow Creek Mountain area.

With many CBC members currently
involved in the newly-founded Carolina
Butterfly Society, there will a couple of
walks which will include butterflies on the
wanted list. Other combination trips will
feature birds and wildflowers since there
should be two-hundred species of
wildflowers in full bloom on that
weekend.

Sometimes a giant leap is more than
justified. Clyde Smith

The annual North Carolina Partners in Flight meeting will be held at Fontana Village
on Friday. April 26, 1996. at 10:00 a.m. This meeting has been scheduled in
connection with the spring meeting of the Carolina Bird Club in order to acquaint CBC
members with Partners in Flight. We encourage yoUr attendance and participation at
this meeting.

The meeting will begin with an overview of Partners in Flight with committee
reports and updates. In the afternoon the meeting will continue with various technical
reports with research results presented by individuals from universities and organizations
such as the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, U.S. Forest Service, and
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

If there is enough interest, a mini-workshop will be held on Saturday evening, April
27. This workshop would focus on neotropical migratory birds also. Techniques and
activities which can lie used to teach others about birds will be presented. Pamphlets
and copies of the activities would lie available to take home. This information can be
used to teach school groups, boy and girl scouts and other young people, as well as
adults, about neotrops. If you are interested in this workshop, please contact Hilary
Vinson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Environmental Education Coordinator at (704) 258-
3939 and let her know.

Partners in Flight is a program specifically created to conserve neotropical migratory
birds and then habitats by bringing together federal anti state agencies, conservation
groups and the general public. Memberships are not required. Additional details
concerning the North Carolina Partners in Flight meeting will be forthcoming in the
next CBC Newsletter. If you have questions which can't wait, feel free to contact
Megan Martoglio at (910) 576-6391.

INSIDE

Backyard Birding 2

House Finch Disease 3

Special Field Trips 4

New Members 6

January 9, 1996-As I thought about
this column, I felt that our backyard
birding had been relatively uninteresting
until the "Blizzard of ’96” hit. I was
wrong. When I looked through my
journal, I discovered that November had
been pretty active after all.

The bad news is that the House Finches
arrived November 12, but that was a good
day, too, because Dark-eyed Juncos and
White-throated Sparrows finally reached
the yard. We had seen them in the woods,
but they hadn't ventured to the house
before.

The next day we saw vultures on the
power line tower for the first time since
last winter. We saw fewer than last year,
too, and that was the only evening we saw
the vultures. Evidently, they found a
better place to roost. We still see a few
soaring over the trees, but they spend the
night elsewhere.

The day after the vulture sighting, a
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker arrived. He
spent an hour or so on the Bradford pear
drilling holes that later were examined by
a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

The first Purple Finch of the winter
showed up November 15. A female
snacked at the back yard sunflower feeder
off and on most of the day. The males
didn't arrive until late December— at least
they didn't come to the feeder until then.

A similar thing happened with the
Evening Grosbeaks. CJ saw a female on
December 17, but the males didn't show
themselves until the snow came January
6.

On November 2 1 , a pair of Wood Ducks
and three Ring-necked Ducks appeared on
the pond early in the morning. The Wood
Ducks took off pretty soon, but the Ring-
necks stayed almost all day, leaving just
before I got home from work. And we had
a pair of Hooded Mergansers on December
10 to complete our duck list for the
winter.

The day after the Wood Ducks, CJ
watched a Hermit Thrush eating seed from
the ground in the front yard. We have
seen the thrust several times in the yard
and in the woods. He seems relatively
calm around us. He never flies very far
away when we walk near his space back in
the woods near the creek. It's sort of like
he’s telling us that it's ok to walk
through, but we had better not stop and do
anything.

Our Bradford pear has been loaded with

Backyard Birding

with Frances J. Nelson

tiny fruit, and a mockingbird and several
robins have been fighting over the
delicacy. Occasionally, a bluebird will fly
in for a snack, but we were surprised to see
the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker trying the
fruit, too. The mockingbird was not
happy with the sapsucker but failed to
scare him away. So for a few minutes,
both birds were in the pear tree filling their
bellies.

The best news from our standpoint was
seeing a Brown-headed nuthatch in the
front yard on December 29. We love all of
the nuthatches, but we have not seen any
for the past two years. We're hoping to
see a white-breasted before the winter is
over, but we haven't seen them since the
first year we were here, and that was the
winter of 89-90.

Although our yard was a little more
exciting than it has been in recent months,
I also got news from other birders.
Cornelia McSloy of Six Mile, SC
(near Clemson), called to report a late
hummingbird. She had seen the
hummingbird (possibly an immature male
rufous) on November 1 and watched him
preen himself in the sun every day after
that until November 12 when the first
freeze hit. She thought the hummer had
moved south, so she took the feeder in.

She saw the bird again and filled a feeder
to put back outside. She had just gone
out the door and reached back to close it
when the hummer came to the feeder in
her hand and began drinking about a foot
from her face. She called on November
15, and the bird was still in her hard. She
said that since he has no one to bother
him, he just sits a the feeder and drinks
and drinks. Ms. McSloy's sister, who
lives on the same property about a city
block away, put a feeder out, too. The
hummer goes there occasionally but seems
to prefer Ms. McSloy's yard.

I also received a letter from Reece and
Judy Mitchell, Flat Rock, NC. They
have lived in this mountain area a little
more than four years and have 80 species
on their yard list. Mr. Mitchell feels that
is pretty good since their "yard" consists
of a deck with woods almost to the edge of
it. The Mitchells feed sunflower seeds,
white millet, suet, and a peanut butter
mixture. This fall they have had, on a
typical day, two Downy, two Harry, two
Pileated, and one Red-bellied
Woodpeckers, two Yellow-bellied
Sapsuckers and a Northern Flicker. All of
these birds visit the peanut butter mixture.

Lastly, 1 got a letter from Jim and 1 ,iz
Pullman, Durham, NC, who have a
mystery. The Pullmans offer the usual
seed feeders but also have a "bird paste"
feeder that the woodpeckers especially like.
The Downy, Hairy and Red-bellied
Woodpeckers visit the "paste" feeder
regularly during the summer, bringing
their young to the feeder later in the
summer. In five of the last six years, the
red-bell ieds disappeared the first week in
November and returned in late December.
Since Mrs. Pullman is a bander, the
Pullmans know the December red-bellieds
are the same ones at the feeders until the
first week in November. Where do the
red-bellieds go? The Pullmans' land joins
a bottom land forest, so the Pullmans
speculate that something irresistible lures
the red-bellieds temporarily from the "bird
paste." The downies and hairies do not
leave. Why do the red-bellieds? Do any
of you birders have an explanation or
solution? If so, or if you have other
backyard news, please write or call me.
1006 Dogwood Hill Lane, Wake Forest,
NC 27587, (919) 528-2827.

House Finch Disease: Facts, Figures, and a Call for Help

Since early 1994, bird watchers
throughout much of the East have
been noticing House Finches with
red, swollen, crusty eyes. These
birds have a respiratory disease
caused by Mycoplasma galli-
septicum, a bacterium that usually
infects poultry. The disease poses no
known risk to humans, but it can
be fatal to the finches. Sometimes
the birds’ eyes swell so much that
they can’t see, so they have a hard
time finding food. They may starve
or die from cold weather.

“At first the disease was concen-
trated in east coast states between
Massachusetts and Maryland,” says
Andre Dhondt, director of Bird
Population Studies at the Cornell
Lab of Ornithology. "But over the
winter of 1994/95 it spread north
to Quebec, south to Georgia, and
west to Iowa and Missouri.” Dhondt
also notes that so far House Finches
are the only species known to be
affected.

The seriousness of the disease
is so far undetermined. Many indi-
vidual birds will certainly die, but
the species as a whole is not likely
to be affected. “Most diseases in wild
animals go through periods of in-
crease and decrease without caus-
ing permanent changes in popula-
tions," says George Kollias, Profes-
sor of Wildlife Medicine at Cornell
University. “However, the total ex-
tent of this outbreak, how the dis-
ease is transmitted, whether species
other than House Finches in the wild
may be affected, and whether in-
fected birds can recover and survive
is not yet known.”

Shaded area represents Eastern' states
and provinces included in the House
Finch Disease Survey.

Bird watchers can help answer
some of these questions, because
the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is
conducting a House Finch Disease
Survey with the help of thousands
of birders throughout the East.
Data collected at backyard feeders .

“By tracking this out-
break, we’ll learn how to
respond if declining spe-
cies are ever threatened
by disease.”

and sent to Cornell will go into a
huge database that Lab biologists
can analyze. “By combining survey
data with another of our volunteer -
assisted programs. Project
FeederWatch, we ll be able to tell
whether the disease is affecting
House Finch numbers,” says
Dhondt. “Also, while House Finches
are not endangered, other birds are.
By tracking this outbreak, we’ll
learn how to respond if declining
species are ever threatened by
disease."

. Last November, diseased birds
showed up at about 20 percent of
sites in Maryland, Delaware, and
Pennsylvania. About 19 percent of
sites in New Jersey and Massachu-
setts had sick birds that month, as
did 17 percent in Rhode Island and
Connecticut, and about 10 percent
in New York, South Carolina, and
Virginia.

If you see infected birds in your
yard, do not become alarmed. The
disease is not a threat to humans,
and it’s safe to continue feeding
birds. But you can take some steps
to keep the disease from spreading:
Clean your bird feeders regularly —
at least once at the start and again
at the end of the winter feeding sea-
son— with a mild bleach solution
(one part bleach to nine parts wa-
ter). Dry the feeders well before fill-
ing them. Prevent overcrowding by
adding extra feeders to your yard;
the disease spreads when birds are
in close contact. And report sick
birds to your state wildlife agency.
By law, only licensed wildlife spe-
cialists may handle wild birds.

Also consider participating in
the Cornell survey. “We’d love to
have more help,” says Rick Bonney,
director of education at the Lab of
Ornithology. “Being part of the
project is easy. We’ll send you a sur-
vey kit with data forms and instruc-
tions. All you have to do is watch
your backyard feeders as you usu-
ally do and record whether any
House Finches visit. If they do, you’ll
note whether they show any disease
symptoms. Then, once a month,
you’ll send your data forms to us so
we can add your observations to our
databank.” Results of the Survey are
published in the Lab’s newsletter,
Birdscope, which all participants
receive.

Participants in the Lab’s Project
FeederWatch can receive survey kits
for free. Other participants are
asked to send a $7.00 fee, which
helps to cover the costs of printing
and mailing data forms, as well as
the newsletter. For more informa-
tion, or to sign up, write: House
Finch Survey, P.O Box 11, Ithaca,
NY 14850; or call 1 -800-843-BIRD
(2473) (sign ups only).

Call to enroll * 800-843-BIRD

(Toll-free number for U.S. residents only)

Name -

Address :

City . ;

State/Prov. Zip/P.C. _

□ My check for $7.00 is enclosed
(U.S. funds)

(please make checks payable to Cornell
Lab of Ornithology)

Please charge my credit card:

□ MasterCard □ VISA

□ DISCOVER

Card No. — — —

Expiration date

Signature

Return this coupon to

House Finch Disease Survey/BC
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
P.O. Box 11

Ithaca, NY 14851-0011

CBC Winter & Spring Field Trips

Holly Shelter Game Land, North Topsail Island February 17 &18, 1996

Leaders: John Fussell, Buddy Garrett Limit: 15 participants Cost: $10 (+ $8 for boat)

This day-and-a-half field trip will include
Holly Shelter Game Land, Topsail Island,
Atlantic Beach and Bird Shoal.

(See the November /December, 1996 CBC
Newsletter for full details.)

Registration/important
information: Call John Fussell at
(919) 473-3427 evenings before 9:30 p.m.
to reserve space and for additional
information. If he is not in, leave your

name, names of everyone that will be in
your car, and your phone number on his
answering machine to assure that earliest
callers get the first reservations.

Mail registration form with $10 fee to
CBC Headquarters.

Participants are responsible for arranging
their own lodging. There are numerous
motels: Ramada Inn, Holiday Inn, Cricket
Inn, Lemon Tree Inn and others— along
US 17 North at Wilmington. These are

about 30 minutes from our Saturday
morning meeting place. Participants are
urged to stay at the Hampton Inn (919)
240-2300 at Morehead City on Saturday
night. When you call, be sure to to tell
them that your are with the Carolina Bird
Club to get the best rate of $40.50. For
the trip to Bird Shoal bring knee-high
boots. I f anyone wants to go on the
^Saturday portion of the trip only, that is
acceptable.

South Carolina Winter Coastal Birdirsg February 17 &18, 1996

Leaders: Lex Glover & Bert Fisher Limit: 20 participants Cost: $35

This weekend hireling trip will begin on
Saturday at Huntington Beach State Park.
We will spend the day birding the park,
focusing on the birds at the jetties.

On Sunday, Coastal Expeditions will
take us out to Raccoon Key, a barrier
island in the Cape Remain National
Wildlife Refuge. Besides being a premier

shelling site, this area is known as a
wintering site for a small group of Long-
billed Curlews.

The fee includes lunch on Saturday and
the boat trip in Cape Romain NWR.

(See description in November /December,
1995 CBC Newsletter for full details)

Registration: Call Lex Glover at
(803) 438-9855 to reserve space, and if .
you have questions. Send the registration
form along with your check to the
Carolina Bird Club Headquarters.
Registrants will receive details on meeting
location and times along with some
suggestions for accommodations.

Birding the Blue Ridge Parkway May 10-12, 1996

Leaders: John & Paula Wright (CBC) Limit: 20 participants

Bob Alderink (NC Museum) Cost: $45 (includes transportation)

This is a North Carolina Museum of
Natural Sciences sponsored trip in which
Carolina Bird Club members are invited to
participate. The fee includes
transportation from the Museum in
Raleigh. Participants are responsible for
their food and lodging arrangements. We
will lie staying at the Holiday Inn in
Oteen, NC (just east of Asheville). It is
offering special rates for the group. The
telephone number is (910) 458-8273.

The Museum's vans will depart from the
Museum at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
Participants from the eastern part of the
state will probably wish to leave their cars
at the Museum and ride the vans.
Participants from the western part of the
state may wish to join the group at Oteen.

The field trip on Saturday will explore
the Blue Ridge Parkway and nearby lower
elevation areas as far south as Shining

Rock. Sunday's trip will explore areas
north on the parkway at least to Craggy
Gardens. The emphasis will be on the
warblers and vireos, with lots of
opportunities to work on birding by ear.
However, we will attempt to get good
looks at as many of the species as
possible. And, we won't pass up an

opportunity to check out butterflies and
wildflowers.

The trip will conclude back in Raleigh
late Sunday aftemixm.

This is the second year we have offered
this trip. Last year's trip was lots of fun.
We ended with a nice bird list and
everyone got to see many of the warblers
up close. Most of the trip participants
Were C BC members. Best of all, by
riding in the Museum's vans we can at the
same time increase the fim and decrease
the cost of the trip. If you have
questions, call John Wright (919) 756-
5139 evenings before 9:00 p.m.

Registration: Contact Jan Weems,
NC Museum of Natural Sciences, PO Box
29555, Raleigh, NC 27626-0555. Phone
(919)733-7450.

Membership Application and Order Form

Name Address

City_ State Zip Tel. ( )_ ( )

(home) (business)

Enter/Renew Membership As Indicated Send Materials Indicated

Individual ($15) Life ($250) CBC Cloth arm patch $1.50 ea., $1.25 ea. in quantity

Family ($20) ^Contributing ($35) CBC Decals (vinyl stick-on) $2.00 ea., $1.75 ea. in quantity

Student ($10) Patron ($50) Daily Checklists 10/$ 1 .00, 25/$ 1.25, 50/$2.50, 75/$3.75

Affiliate Club ($20) 100/$5.00

Library/Institution ($15)

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.

Tel. ( ) (

(day)

)

(evening)

Enclosed is my check in the amount of $ for the following field trip: Holly Shelter/Topsail Island ($10)

SC Winter Coastal Birding ($35). 1 have called the appropriate trip leader to ensure that space is available.

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

Nominating Committee

CBC president, Teddy Shuler, has
announced the appointment of the
following persons to the nominating
committee: Dennis Burnette,

chairman, 4209 Brainlet Place.
Greensboro, NC 27407, (910) 299-4342;
Bob Maxwell, 202 Wilmington Road,
Greenville, SC 29615, (803) 244-2382;
and Harry LeGrand, 331 Yadkin Dr.,
Raleigh, NC 27609, (919) 832-3202.

Offices to be filled for which the
incumbents are eligible for reelection are
president, secretary, treasurer, member-at-
large (ENC) and member-at-large (WNC).
Offices to be filler! for which the
incumbent is ineligible or has declined
reelection are vice-president (ENC) and
member-at-large (SC). Please contact the
nominating committee member in your
area if you have recommendations about
any of these officers to be elected at the
spring meeting in Fontana.

Visions of

The North Carolina State Museum of
Natural Sciences and the Woman’s Club of
Raleigh will host Visions of the Tropics ,
an evening with nature artist John Morgan
Matyas, Friday, February 16, 1996, from
IS p.m. The evening will launch a new
Museum initiative for teachers, the
Educator Endowment Fund. Proceeds from
the Fund will provide a stable funding
source for the Museum's Tropical Ecology
Institute in Belize.

Mr. Matyas will speak about his
commitment to tropical conservation, and
will remarque limited-edition prints. The
Museum has specially commissioned the
artist to produce a watercolor and 500
prints of Hummingbirds in Winter. These
limited-edition prints depict a beautiful
Ruby-throated Hummingbird during the
winter in a Central American dry tropical
forest.

Signed limited-edition prints of

the Tropics

Hummingbirds in Winter will be
available before and during the program in
exchange for a contribution. Prints no. 1
($1,000), 2-10 ($500), 1 1-25 ($250), 500
($1,000), all others ($100). During the
evening event, Mr. Matyas will remarque
prints no. 1 , 500 and 2- 1 0.

Mr. Matyas is internationally respected
for his expressive, colorful and realistic
watercolor paintings of the flora and fauna
of South and Central America's tropical
rainforests. Exhibitors of his work
include the British Royal Botanical
Gardens at Kew and the Hunt Institute of
Botanical Art.

CBC Rare Bird Alert

(704) 332-BIRD
(2473)

Welcome New Members

Jonathan Bennett

Chapel Hill, NC

Buren & Luanne Blankenship

Pendleton, SC

Jason Blevins
Raleigh, NC

Sharon L. Brown
Adams Run, SC

Andrew Core

Columbia, SC

Larry & Carol Fldridge

Jackson, SC

Margaret Estahrook
Vass, NC

Bryce Fleming
Southern Pines, NC

Cynthia Fox
Richard Billings

Durham, NC

Henry C. Hammond

Raleigh, NC

Myrna & Roger Harris
Mocksville, NC

Jane Jackman
Gold Hill, NC

Jeffrey A. Lewis
Manteo, NC

Larry & Joyce Mack
Pinehurst, NC

Barbara K. Passmore

Valdosta, G A

l>e8gy & George Pickels
Columbia, SC

Joan & Ben Yelverton
Rocky Mount, NC

Neill C. Yelverton
Raleigh, NC

Life Member

Russell Rogers
Seattle, WA

Deceased

David Abraham

West Columbia, SC

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,

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

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