&•/-/ , C33 3 Newsletfe, Carolina Bird Club www.carolinabirdclub.org ISSN No. 0162-7120 For members of the Carolina Bird Club, Inc., Ornithological Society of the Carolina Volume 57 August 201 1 Number 4 Fall Meeting on the South Carolina Coast bon Faulkner When you think of the best birding along the southern South Carolina coast, what comes to mind? Bear Is- land... Donnelley... ACE Basin... Savannah NWR... the Savannah Spoil Site... These sites are hallowed ground to Lowcountry birders, and we will visit them all and more during the upcoming 201 1 Carolina Bird Club Fall Meeting! Field trips will be offered on Fri- day, September 30 and Saturday, October 1. Our headquarters for the meeting is the Quality Inn at Town Centre, in Beaufort, SC at 2001 Boundary Street. There is a 24-hour notice cancellation policy on individual reservations. Check-in time is 3 p.m. and check-out time is 12 noon. Cut-off date for reser- vations to be made under the group block is Septem- ber 12, 201 1. Any reservations made after that date are subject to hotel availability. Contact the hotel at 843-524-2144 to make your reservations and be sure to mention the Carolina Bird Club in order to receive the group rates. and take Hwy 2 1 South towards Beaufort and continue straight approximately 13 miles. Make a left at the light after the K-Mart traffic light and make your immediate right at the hotel’s main entrance. The Quality Inn has plenty of room for our meetings, registration, and the Saturday night buffet. The CBC rates for rooms are $59.99 for king or queen and $49.99 for a double (not including taxes). The king and queen rooms include a microwave and a fridge. All rooms have complimentary Wi-Fi connection, and there is a computer available for guest use in the lob- by. These rates will be available two days before and two days after the meeting for Club members. Break- fast is not included, but the restaurant, Fryed Green Tomatoes located next door, has a breakfast special for $3.99. They will be opening at 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The web site for the hotel is: www.qualityinn.com/Beaufort Directions to the hotel are as follows: from 1-95 N Take Exit 8 to Hwy 278 East. Continue on 278 East and take the Hwy 170 ramp toward Beaufort and turn left onto Hwy 170. When you get to the end of Hwy 170 (approximately 19.4 miles), make a right onto Hwy 21/Boundary Street. Continue straight approxi- mately 1 mile. Make a left at the light after the K- Mart traffic light and make your immediate right at the hotel’s main entrance. From 1-95 S Take Exit 33 to Hwy 17 South toward Beaufort. Continue straight The speaker for Friday night's meeting is Ann Shahid, Important Bird Areas Coordinator for Audubon South Carolina. She is going to speak on the distribution of Swallow-tailed Kites in SC and the Southeast and what we have learned from five years of kite boat sur- veys on six river systems. Saturday night's speaker is Nancy Ricker Rhett, a lo- cal artist, author, and native of Beaufort, SC. The (Continued on page 2) CBC Newsletter (USPS# 023-534), August 2011, Volume 57, Number 4. Published bimonthly by the Carolina Bird Club, Inc., 353 Montabello, Bloomingdale. IL 60108-1037. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CBC Newsletter. Carolina Bird Club. Inc., 1809 Lakepark Drive, Raleigh, NC 27612. Spring CBC Meeting at Blowing Rock Review Katherine Higgins “So, is this trail anything like the Profile Trail?” said the intrepid field trip attendee to the field trip leader on Saturday morning. Friday night the speaker said: “The Profile Trail is the best trail for wildlife. It’s moderately strenuous.” There was laughter from the back rows of the audience. Yes, the most famous or infamous trail of the weekend was The Profile Trail. The birds were good but the trail was very strenuous according to the birders who went there on Friday. It seems like you have to work hard for the best birds. The weekend in Blowing Rock generally defied this rule because the accommodations were excellent, the weather was near-perfect and the crowd was large and friendly. The town of Blowing Rock welcomed the CBC meeting attendees with open arms, even posting professionally made signs at the town entrances just under their “Welcome to Blowing Rock” signs. The special signs said “Welcome Birds and Birders” and the whole community welcomed both. The total species count for the weekend was 129, in- cluding a stellar count of 27 warbler species. Notable sightings included Cerulean Warbler, Swainson’s War- bler, American Bittern, and Virginia Rail. The CBC would like to especially thank the field trip leaders who graciously volunteered their time, energy and expertise for this meeting, including: Bob Hol- land, Kent Fiala, Josh Southern, Bob Cherry, Paul Ser- ridge, Monroe Pannell, Simon Thompson, Taylor Piephoff, Marion Clark, Judy Walker, Curtis Smalling, Gail Lankford and Ron Clark. Special thanks to Ron for organizing so many field trips... so many birders in so little time! Just getting the three different parking areas at the hotel figured out was a challenge this year. Thank you, Ron, for the hard work and great attitude while juggling lists and signs and questions all at once. We would also like to thank the following individuals for contributing personal field trip leadership as door prizes for the meeting, and we congratulate these win- ners as well: Simon Thompson - Winner: Carol Gearhart from Pfafftown, NC Marilyn Westphal (Blue Ridge Parkway) - Winner: Carl Miller from Charleston, SC plus 2 guests Jeff Lewis (Outer Banks) - Winner: Lucy Berry from Ruffin, NC plus 2 guests Paul Serridge (Lake Conestee) - Winner: Herb Amyx from Wake Forest, NC plus 5 guests Bob Cherry from Boone, NC won the free meeting registration and free buffet door prize. Thanks also to Jesse Pope, Andy Sicard and Curtis Smalling for the Friday and Saturday night programs. Overall, it was a busy and fun weekend in and around Blowing Rock! Fall Meeting ( Continued from page 1 ) Rhett family owns the 'Rhett Gallery' on Bay Street in Beaufort that contains Nancy's paintings and books, plus her son William's paintings, and husband Bill's paintings and some of his bird carvings. One of Nancy's watercolors is in the Ronald Reagan Presiden- tial Library: Nancy is going to speak on Audubon's octavo Birds of America. The Saturday night buffet will be $21.93 per person and include Low Country shrimp boil, pulled pork BBQ, collard greens, red beans & rice. Southern-style cole slaw. Pecan pie, tea, and coffee. The buffet is be- ing catered by our breakfast restaurant, Fryed Green Tomatoes. Register for the buffet at the same time as you register for the meeting using the form on page 9. We hope to see you in Beaufort where we plan to en- joy the spectacle of fall migration, enjoy friends old and new, sample excellent cuisine, and most of all, have fun! 2 CBC Rio Grande Valley Trip Report Lewis Burke It’s a parrot... no it’s a parakeet... actually it’s a Pere- grine! On April 16th nine birders from the Carolina Bird Club began a quest to see the birds of Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. Based in Harlingen, we faced hot, dry and windy conditions every day, but leader Bruce Smith- son never let us forget there were birds to be seen, and co-leader Kent Bedenbaugh never let us forget he went to Clemson. On Saturday afternoon we began and ventured out to find Wilson's Phalarope at a sod farm and Ringed Kingfisher, Couch’s Kingbird, Tropi- cal Kingbird and Great Kiskadee at some small ponds. On the first official day, we breached the “Border Fence” and made it to Audubon’s Sabel Palm Grove Sanctuary. Despite Sabel Palm’s condition after being closed for two years during the battle over the fence, we managed to hear the Gray-crowned Yellowthroat and see Least Grebe, Green Jay, Plain Chachalaca, and Buff-bellied Hummingbird. At the University of Tex- as-Brownsville’s pond some of us saw both Green Parakeet and Red-crowned Parrot. Of note was a wa- terthrush (the men saw a Louisiana and the women saw a Northern), but we all agreed that we saw a Stilt Sandpiper. On Monday, we birded Old Port Elizabeth Road in search of Aplomado Falcon and Cassin’s Sparrow. No luck was had on the two targets, but we found Ful- vous Whistling-Duck and Curve-billed Thrasher. On a second trip to this dusty road by four of us, we had a flyby of the falcon and saw a White-tailed Hawk. This visit prompted most of us to return on the last after- noon, and we hand terrific views of two falcons perched in a tree and flying, as well as a Cassin’s Sparrow and White-tailed Hawk with two chicks. Sheepshead Street on South Padre Island was an amazing surprise. We visited six times! In what is essentially two overgrown residential lots we spotted Worm-eating Warbler, Lesser Nighthawk, Baltimore Oriole, Hooded Oriole, Blackpoll Warbler, Yellow- billed cuckoo. Gray-cheeked Thrush, and Audubon’s Oriole. we loved it. We saw Western Tanager, Scarlet Tana- ger. Summer Tanager, Indigo Bunting, Olive Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Cassin’s Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, Baltimore Oriole, Hooded Oriole, Ovenbird, and Blackpoll, Tennessee, Nashville, Chest- nut-sided, and Cape May Warblers. Our lesson from this site (actually Lewis Burke’s lesson) was not to drop your bird book on the sidewalk when someone calls an Orchard Oriole. That tree was empty for a few minutes thanks to my ineptitude. While my fel- low birders were forgiving, they admitted that if a Connecticut Warbler had been scared away by the thumping book, I would be crab bait and my dear wife would be collecting on my life insurance. On the shoreline behind the center we saw Franklin’s Gull, Reddish Egret, Snowy Plover, and much more. On the boardwalk we saw Clapper Rail, Louisiana Waterthrush, and more public displays of affection by gulls, willets, terns, and teenagers than any of us had seen in years. Estero Llano Grande State Park produced multiple Paraque including a chick in a nest and two adults sleeping at another site. Clay-colored Robin was also seen. However, to many of us, the Barn Owl roosting in a tree about fifteen feet from us was the star. Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park is known as one of the greatest birding places in the USA. It lived up to its reputation. We had multiple up-close views of Green Kingfisher and another look at an uncountable-in-the- USA Ringed Kingfisher (however, it became the first bird on my Mexico list). We also got the Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet. Bruce Smithson thought it was the best look he had ever had. But we all had to admit that the tyrannulet must be the dullest bird with the fanciest name of any of our feathered friends. At the park’s hawk watch, we saw many Broad- winged. Gray and Swainson’s Hawks as well as White-tailed and Hook-billed Kites. Off the platform we saw Ash- throated Flycatcher and Grove-billed Ani. Birding up the Rio Grande in search of Brown Jay and Next was the Convention Center on South Padre Is- land. Locals considered it a poor spring migration but 3 (continued on page 6) CBC Beaufort Meeting Field Trip Schedule Friday, September 30 Morning Half-Day Trips Trip 1 - Hunting Island - 7:15 AM Trip 2 - Harbor Island - 7:15 AM Trip 3 - Pleasant Point Plantation - 7:45 AM Trip 4 - Savannah NWR - 7:00 AM Trip 5 - Beaufort & Vicinity - 7:45 AM Trip 6 - Donnelley WMA - 6:45 AM Saturday, October 1 Morning Half-Day Trips Trip 18 - Hunting Island - 7:15 AM Trip 19 - Harbor Island - 7:15 AM Trip 20 - Pleasant Point Plantation - 7:45 AM Trip 21 - Savannah NWR - 7:00 AM Trip 22 - Beaufort & Vicinity - 7:45 AM Trip 23 - Great Swamp Sanctuary - 7:00 AM Afternoon Half-Day Trips Trip 7 - Hunting Island - 12:45 PM Trip 8 - Harbor Island - 12:45 PM Trip 9 - Pleasant Point Plantation - 1:00 PM Trip 10 - Savannah NWR - 12:30 PM Trip 1 1 - Beaufort & Vicinity - 1:00 PM Trip 12 - Donnelley WMA - 12:30 PM All Day Trips Trip 13 - Savannah River Spoils Site - 6:00 AM Trip 14 - Pinckney Is. & Hilton Head - 7:30 AM Trip 15 - Bear Is. & Bennett's Point Rd. - 6:45 AM Trip 16 - Bear Is. & Donnelley WMA - 7:00 AM Trip 17 - Savannah NWR - 7:30 AM Afternoon Half-Day Trips Trip 24 - Hunting Island - 12:45 PM Trip 25 - Harbor Island - 12:45 PM Trip 26 - Pleasant Point Plantation - 1:00 PM Trip 27 - Savannah NWR - 12:30 PM Trip 28 - Beaufort & Vicinity - 1:00 PM Trip 29 - Great Swamp Sanctuary - 12:30 PM All Day Trips Trip 30 - Savannah River Spoils Site - 6:00 AM Trip 31 - Pinckney Is. & Hilton Head - 7:30 AM Trip 32 - Bear Is. & Bennett's Point Rd. - 6:45 AM Trip 33 - Savannah NWR - 7:30 AM Important notes for your trip: In order to give you a place to obtain additional infor- mation about the trip sites, each site that can be found described in the CBC Wiki, Jeff Mollenhauer's guide or Robin Carter’s guide is noted by CBC, JM, and RC respectively. Be sure to pack a lunch and snacks for the all-day trips, and due to the tight schedules, you might want to pack a lunch for the half-day trips also. Each trip is noted as to availability of public restrooms. All field trips have a participation limit of 15 except for the Savannah River Spoil Site, which has a limit of 20 for each day. available at registration. If you plan to meet your trip at the site, be sure to let your trip leader know in ad- vance. The last day to cancel and receive a refund is Sun- day, September 25th. Suggested reading: Jeff Mollenhauer, "Birding South Carolina: A Guide to 40 Premier Birding Sites," published by Falcon Guides. Robin M. Carter, “Finding Birds in South Carolina” CBC Wiki, http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/wiki/ Main Page All trips will leave from the hotel. If the trip leader is to meet you at the site, one person will be assigned as the guide to get you to the site. Site directions will be 4 Beaufort Fall Meeting Field Trip Descriptions Trips 1, 7, 18, 24: Hunting Island State Park ( restroom available ) This island is over four miles of beach, thousands of acres of marsh, tidal creeks and maritime forest, a salt- water lagoon and ocean inlet. There is a long fishing pier on the south end of the island. The Hunting Is- land Lighthouse stands 132.5 feet tall, giving breath- taking views of the Lowcountry marshland, the Slash Pine/Cabbage Palmetto/Live Oak forest, and the At- lantic Ocean. Admission to the park is $5/adult, $3.25 for SC seniors, so bring your state park pass if you have one. Some of the target birds are Painted Bunt- ing, Piping Plover, rails, tanagers, orioles, pelicans, oystercatchers, skimmers, terns, herons, and egrets. CBC, JM, RC Trips 2, 8, 19, 25: Harbor Island (NO restroom available ) Nestled between St. Helena and Hunting Islands in Beaufort County, Harbor Island is a 1,400-acre private community on the Harbor River & Johnson Creek. Three small ponds on the island provide a roost for egrets and herons, and there is a rather large rookery in the spring. The south side of the island is good for shorebirds. Some of the target birds are plovers, oys- tercatchers, skimmers, wading birds, and terns. CBC, JM, RC Trips 3, 9, 20, 26: Pleasant Point Plantation (NO restroom available) Up until a few years ago, this was an active golf course. Since closing, the vegetation has grown up some, and along with the ponds and lakes, offers habi- tat for a number of bird species. Most of the walking will be along cart paths or on the golf course, which is “roughly” maintained. There are some large alligators in the ponds. Last year Roseate Spoonbills were pre- sent at the end of September. Some of the other target birds are Clapper Rail, Barred Owl, herons, egrets, shorebirds and passerine migrants. Trip 4, 10, 21, 27: Savannah NWR (restroom available at the main parking area ) Half Day Trips - Savannah NWR consists of over 29,000 acres of freshwater marshes, tidal rivers and creeks and bottomland hardwoods. The refuge pro- vides nesting areas for Wood Ducks, Great Horned Owls, Bald Eagles, and Osprey. As many as 13 spe- cies of ducks either live in or migrate through this ref- uge. Other birds found here include coots, gallinules, Soras, egrets, herons, and shorebirds along with other migrating bird species. This trip basically covers the 5 mile driving tour with multiple stops. CBC, JM, RC Trip 17, 33: Savannah NWR: (restroom available at the main parking area ) Full Day Trips - This is the same trip as the above half-day trips except you will have time to take in some of the walking trails. This will allow a chance to see more of those migrants passing through. CBC, JM, RC Trip 23, 29: Great Swamp Sanctuary (NO restroom available ) Located within the ACE Basin, the East Coast’s larg- est estuarine preserve, the 842-acre Sanctuary features what may be the only “braided creek” swamp accessi- ble to the public. Wild Turkeys, Wood Ducks, war- blers, Pileated Woodpeckers, Bald Eagles, accipiters, buteos, falcons, owls, wading birds, kinglets, and a wide variety of other birds have been seen at South Carolina's latest sanctuary. This project has just been completed and appears to have a lot of promise. Trip 5, 11, 22, 28: Beaufort & Vicinity (NO restroom available ) Port Royal Boardwalk Park (JM), Broad River (JM), Chechessee River Estuaries (RC). Port Royal Board- walk is 0.2 miles long. It runs through saltmarsh and mud flats and features a tall observation platform. West of Beaufort there is a series of broad tidal estuar- ies interspersed with salt marshes. Two of these, the Broad and Chechessee Rivers, are easily birded from dry land. Some of the target birds are ducks, rails, ibis, gulls, terns, shorebirds, waders, and migrants. Trip 6, 12: Donnelley WMA (restroom available at check station) Donnelley WMA is 8,000 acres of unique property that is a cross section of the Lowcountry and encom- passes a diversity of wetland and upland habitats in- ( Continued on page 6) 5 Beaufort Fall Meeting Field Trip Descriptions eluding managed rice fields, forested wetland, tidal marsh, agricultural lands, and a variety of upland types, including a natural stand of Longleaf Pine. Some of the target birds here are Black-bellied Whis- tling-Duck, Anhinga, coot, Purple Gallinule, Sora, herons, and egrets. Insect repellent is advisable. CBC, JM Trip 14 ,31: Pinckney Island NWR & Hilton Head (NO restroom available ) Pinckney Island NWR is a 4,000-acre refuge that was once an early 19th century plantation. The island con- sists of saltmarsh, forestland, brushland, fallow field and freshwater ponds. The great diversity of habitat makes for some great birding. Some of the target birds are waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, migrants and large concentrations of white ibis, her- ons, and egrets. CBC, JM, RC Trip 15, 32: Bear Island & Road to Bennett’s Point (NO restroom available ) Bear Island is a combination of old rice fields and marsh and provides some of the best birding in South Carolina. Some of the target birds are Bald Eagle, Mottled Duck, King Rail, waders and shorebirds. If the water levels are low, shorebirds can be found in large numbers. On the drive to Bennett's Point, look for Clapper Rail, Gull-billed, Least and Royal Terns, plus Black Skimmer. CBC, JM, RC Texas Trip Trip 16: Bear Island & Donnelley WMA The information for these two sites has been noted above. This is an opportunity to see two great birding locations in one day. This is the only day during this meeting that Donnelley is open to birding. Trip 13, 30: Savannah River Spoil Site (NO restroom available) This superb birding area is not usually open for visi- tors, however the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has graciously agreed to open the area specifically for the CBC Fall Meeting, allowing access for a maximum of 20 people, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on each of the two days. They will also provide experienced guides. The visit must be made using no more than five high- ground clearance vehicles. Priority for sign-up for either of these two trips will be given to birders with such vehicles. Entry is not allowed in non-high clear- ance vehicles. The area has produced many rarities, and we can expect an interesting mix of birds. Even a “slow day” can be exciting. RC An important fact about Beaufort: The town is pronounced “Biew-furt” (rhymes with “view-furt”) and not “bow-furt”. That Beaufort is in North Carolina! (continued from page 3) Red-billed Pigeon was hot and dusty and futile. If you want to save some time and money just ask Bruce Smithson where to avoid. Falcon Dam is no longer open so we had to settle for Falcon State Park. The only “life bird” I had there was a Scaled Quail, but the camp host feeders treated us to up-close views of Greater Roadrunner, Northern Bobwhite, Pyrrhuloxia, Green Jay, Black-throated Sparrow, and more. internet to learn that they like to hang out at a fountain in the Lowe’s parking lot in McAllen. After an hour and a half, we he had seen two parakeets in poor light, no parrots, and a Peregrine on a television tower. Af- ter two hours a local resident told us we were in the wrong location and directed us to a nearby Office De- pot where we found hundreds of parakeets. The CBC’s Lower Rio Grande Valley trip was great fun, and with nine terrific birders and a trip list of 194 species, a terrific success. But the best story comes from a Lowe’s parking lot. Having failed to get solid looks at the Green Parakeet and the Red-crowned Parrot earlier, we scoured the 6 Attention Educators: Hog Island Audubon Camp Contest If you are an educator and a paid member of the Caro- lina Bird Club as of July 1, 201 1, you are eligible for a chance to win tuition, including room and board, to the Maine Audubon’s Hog Island Camp during the summer of 2012. That’s right! An anonymous donor has agreed to sponsor one CBC member who is an ed- ucator to attend this one-week camp in mid-July 2012. The exact dates will be set later this year. You pay your own travel expenses to Maine, but everything else for the camp will be paid for you. Here is the description of the Hog Island Audubon Center and the 201 1 Educator’s Week from the web: Hog Island Audubon Center has been a landmark of environmental education since 1936. Its residential programs have educated adults, children, and families about coastal wildlife in Maine and beyond. Sessions based on a 330-acre island in mid-coast Maine's beautiful Muscongus Bay have been led by some of the nation's most-respected naturalists and environmental educators. Sharing Nature: An Educator's Week Designed for both science and non-science educators, this session will generate exciting ideas for creating and incorporating environmental education activities into your curriculum and teaching. Our inspiring and experienced instructors will discuss the latest trends in environmental education, such as “nature deficit dis- order, ” and will be sharing their favorite approaches, methods, and activities for engaging children with na- ture. Workshops using techniques in art, music, theater, journaling, and other disciplines will be presented, as well as a host of classic Audubon Camp field trips. Jennifer Fee, Manager of K-12 Programs at the Cor- nell Lab of Ornithology, will present activities from the Cornell Lab’s popular BirdSleutli curriculum. These inquiry-based lessons will get your students out- side to participate in citizen science, invite them to conduct their own investigations about local birds, and engage them in high-tech and hands-on activities that will lead to science and math understandings. We ’ll visit the nearby restored Atlantic Puffin and sea- bird colony, as well as explore Hog Island’s magnifi- cent spruce forest and its rich intertidal zones. Great networking opportunities and delicious home-cooking will make this a memorable and fun experience. For more information about the camp, you can check out these web sites: http://www.maineaudubon.ors/explore/camp/ hi overview. shtml http ://p ro jectp uffin. o rg/pdfs/ HoglslandB i rders Wo rl dQct201 0. pdf http://fohi.ors/ If this program is of interest to you, you may submit an entry to the CBC contest by writing a one-page let- ter (no more than 500 words) that describes the fol- lowing: • Your job and responsibilities as an educator; • Your students or audiences; • How attending Hog Island will improve your per- formance as an educator. Please state your willingness to pay your travel ex- penses to Maine and to report back to the Carolina Bird Club about your Hog Island experiences. Mail your entry to: CBC Hog Island Contest Carolina Bird Club 1 809 Lakepark Drive Raleigh, NC 27612 The Entry Deadline is midnight September 6, 201 1 (entries must be received by this date) and the winner will be contacted after the CBC Fall Meeting in Beau- fort, SC. 7 Get the Latest Bird and Conservation News on the Audubon NC Blog Ida Phillips Featuring photos and videos of birds and other wild- life from around the state, the Audubon North Caroli- na blog - www.ncaudubonblog.org - offers news dis- patches from the front lines of bird conservation. Audubon naturalists and biologists from the moun- tains to the coast contribute to the site with reports from the field, news about policy issues, and great photos of birds and wildlife from all over North Caro- lina. The blog site also includes a “Virtual Audubon” com- ponent that features virtual tours of the close to 100 Important Bird Areas (IB As) in North Carolina. Audubon’s IB A program is a global conservation road map that Audubon, its partners, and landowners use to identify and safeguard the natural areas and land- scapes that are most critical to birds and their habitats. North Carolina IB As include such birding hotspots as Grandfather Mountain, Cape Hatteras National Sea- shore, and Jordan Lake. This section of the site in- cludes detailed and up-to-the minute information about the priority bird species found at each 1BA. Recent posts on the Audubon NC blog include updates and photos of coastal birds such as Least Terns and Brown Pelicans that have started to nest in coastal North Carolina, the discovery of banded Piping Plov- Updated CBC Logo and CBC On-line Store Unveiled The Spring Meeting featured the unveiling of the new- ly updated CBC logo shown on the front page of this edition of the CBC Newsletter. Created by Josh Southern, the new logo expanded the relative size of our mascot Yellow-breasted Chat and incoiporates the bird's outline into the long coastal bays of the Caroli- nas. What better way to celebrate the new logo than to buy your very own hat, t-shirt, or hoodie? The CBC now has an online store for ordering these and more! Check it out by clicking on the “Online Store” link at: http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/ ers in NC that were banded in The Bahamas, rare bird sightings, and a volunteer opportunity to monitor Ce- rulean Warblers on the Roanoke River. Audubon NC staff are using the blog as a space for bird conserva- tion information from other agencies and conservation groups and local Audubon chapters. “Our goal is to make the blog a vital resource for bird- ers, nature-lovers, and the media,” said Curtis Smalling, IBA coordinator for Audubon North Caroli- na. “The blog is a real team effort, and we hope that it will become the go-to source for information about how we’re working with volunteers, local chapters, and partner groups to research and protect North Caro- lina’s diverse birdlife.” Volunteer Kyle Smalling, a recent graduate of NC State University, is generously donating his time and expertise in designing and managing the website. Visit the blog daily at www.ncaudubonblog.org. Send your blog suggestions to Ida Phillips at: iphillips @ audubon.org. (!h K The most recent editions of the Newsletter and The Chat are online on the CBC website. All CBC mem- bers will use the same username and password to ac- cess these publications. The username is "member" and the password is "birdfun". This is a membership benefit, please don’t share the password with non- members! The password will be changed from time to time, but can always be found in the most recent print edition of the Newsletter. Go to http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/newsletter to access the Newsletter, and http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/chat to access The Chat. CBC Fall Meeting Registration Form Name(s) Address City State Zip. Day Phone Evening phone ( ). Email Fall 2011 Meeting Beaufort, SC 9/30-10/1 Meeting Registration (Member) x $20 = $ Meeting Registration (Non-member) x $25 = $ Saturday Buffet Dinner (each) x $21 .93 = $ *To pre-register for field trips, place the trip number(s) in the boxes to the right. *If you signed up for trip # 13/30 (Savannah Spoil) please indicate if you have a high-clearance vehicle: Total Enclosed = $ Club policy requires all field trip participants to comply with the field trip leader’s assessment and requests concerning the physical ability of each participant to make or complete the trip. Meeting registration at the door costs $30. I release and discharge (and will not make a claim against) Carolina Bird Club for injury, death, or property damage arising from my participation at this meeting and/or Club field trips. This release of liability is entered into on behalf of all members of my fami- ly, including all minors accompanying me. I certify that I am the parent or legal guardian of any such minors and that I am over 18 years of age. Signature Date Signature Date Make check payable to Carolina Bird Club and send to: CBC, 353 Montabello, Bloomingdale, IL 60108 Please note that Sunday September 25, 2011 is the last date for any refunds for registration or dinner can- cellations. Cancel by contacting the Headquarters Secretary (contact info is on the back page of this news- letter). If you have to cancel after the refund cutoff date, please notify the Headquarters Secretary so we can give your field trip space to someone on the waiting list. Field Trip Sign-Up A.M. 1 st/2nd Choice P.M. lst/2nd Choice All Day 1 st/2nd Choice Friday / / / Saturday / / / Welcome New Members! Chandra Biggerstaff Greenville, NC Diana Doyle Eden Prairie, MN Frances Ogasawara Asheville, NC Gray Tuttle Lewisville, NC Charley Winterbauer Wilmington, NC 9 Carolina Bird Club, Inc. 1809 Lakepark Drive Raleigh, NC 27612 Period” fMITHSONIAN institution libraries Bloomi ao _ . . 3 9088 0161 9 3658 offices 8*r******MIXED ADC 270 142 0/3000 SMITHSONIAN LIBRARIES NHB25-MRC 154 BOX 37012/SERIALS WASHINGTON DC 20013 .|l.lll.|l..|.|l..|.l.ll||l|l||l|||.l|.||.|||,|.,|,|||||||||||||| Upcoming CBC Meetings Beaufort, SC Sept 30-Oct 1, 2011 Southport NC January 27-19, 2012 CBC Board Members President, Marion Clark Lexington, SC 803-996-0480 mclark66@sc.rr.com Vice-Presidents Dwayne Martin, Hickory, NC Paul Serridge, Greenville, SC Eastern North Carolina— Vacant Secretary Phil Fowler, Concord, NC Treasurer Judi Durr, Kernersville, NC NC Members -at -large Ron Clark, Kings Mountain Katherine Higgins, Mouth of Wilson, VA David McCloy, Southern Pines John Voigt, Emerald Isle SC Members -at-large Irvin Pitts, Lexington Don Faulkner, Easley Immediate Past President Taylor Piephoff, Charlotte, NC Editor of The Chat, Kent Fiala, Hillsborough, NC Website Editor, Kent Fiala, Hillsborough, NC Editor of CBC Newsletter, Steven Shultz 4201 Sentimental Lane, Apex, NC 27539 919-779-2826, newsletter@carolinabirdclub.org Deadlines for submissions are the 15th of December, February, April, June, August, and October. Headquarters Secretary, Dana Harris, Bloomingdale, IL 630-453-8270, hq@carolinabirdclub.org CBC Website: www.carolinabirdclub.org The CBC Newsletter is published bimonthly by Carolina Bird Club, Inc. Founded in 1937 the membership is open to anyone interested in birds, natural history, and conservation. Current dues are: Individual A non-profit, $25; Associate (in household with individual), $5; Student, $15; Patron, $50 and up; Sustaining & businesses, $30; Life, $400; Associate Life (in household with Life Member), $100 (both Life memberships can be paid in four annual installments). Membership dues of $25 include $4 for a subscription to CBC Newsletter and $5 for a subscription to The Chat. Cost for CBC bird checklists, including postage: 10@$2.50, 25@$6, 50@$11.75, 75@$17.75, and 100@$23.50. Submit application for membership, change of address, and payment for checklists to: CBC Headquarters Secretary, 1809 Lakepark Drive, Raleigh, NC 27612. Copyright © 2011. 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