THE 7^ TENNESSEE WARBLER Newsletter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society December, 2017 Editor, Theresa Graham PRESIDENTS MESSAGE Many thanks to the members of the Kingsport chapter for hosting a most enjoyable fall meeting. It’s always a pleasure to return to east Tennessee and soak up the splendor of the surrounding mountains. The Friday night reception at Bay’s Mountain was superb, the weekend birding was excellent as expected, and the Saturday night meal and presentation by Dr. Fred Alsop highlighting the ETSU Eagle Cam process was the perfect topping to the weekend. I think it is fair to say that when we consider future meeting sites, Kingsport will be at the top of the list! Speaking of meetings, the 2018 Annual Spring Meeting will be held in Chattanooga April 20-22. The speaker will be Dr. Chris Haney of US Fish and Wildlife. Dr. Haney is renowned for his expertise regarding seabirds. So, make plans to join us in Chattanooga in April. Details to follow. Members of the Conservation and Policy Committee met in Nashville in October. One topic we discussed involves the optimum way to disseminate information on the wide array of conservation issues that we face as a society. While we sign-on as a group to several initiatives, the more voices we have, the better. We will attempt to share this information in as neutral a fashion as possible, via several methods, including, but not limited to, TN-bird conservation alerts, ourTOS webpage (which is in the process of a major upgrading), Facebook pages, chapter web pages, etc. Please look for these alerts and take appropriate action when you can. We will try to provide proper links, addresses and contacts to expedite your correspondences. Finally, I would like to invite everyone to the inaugural Wings of Winter Festival in Paris Landing State Park and surrounding areas, January 19-21, 2018. Please register for the event at this link http:// paristnchamber.com/winasofwinter/ . Lodging reservations for the festival need to be made directly through the Paris Landing State Park Inn. You must use the code that is found on the Wings of Winter registration link listed above. Because this festival will serve as the de facto TOS winter meeting this year, please get your registration and lodging secured no later than December 15 th . A wide variety of field trips, activities and seminars will be offered including those by John James Audubon (portrayed by Brian “Fox” Ellis). Saturday night will feature our keynote speaker, noted naturalist, artist and author Julie Zickefoose. Look for more details regarding this festival inside this issue of The Warbler. Let’s have another fun year of good cheer and good birding!! Hope to see you soon, Steve Routledge The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 2 Ki-tfl A. W III Pl .11- v (ffiKVUlf NEWS RELEASE Department of the Interior/ U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge 1371 Wildlife Drive / Springville, TN 38256 Telephone 731-642-2091 / FAX 731-644-3351 Introducing “Wings of Winter” New Birding Festival for Kentucky and Barkley Lake January 19-21, 2018 Kentucky and Barkley Lakes are well known for their fishing and recreational boating opportunities. The lands around them are full of wildlife and bursting with scenic beauty. However, more and more folks who love to view wildlife, especially bird watchers, are finding this area as a bird-rich resource that can easily add up to a nice long list of birds seen in one journey. This is due in part to the many public lands surrounding these two lakes that are managed for wildlife conservation or outdoor recreational opportunities. Whereas birds, especially migratory birds following the Mississippi flyway, use these lands year round, it’s the winter time when these lakes are filled with waterfowl and birds of many varieties. In light of this, a unique group of agencies and organizations have teamed up to produce “Wings of Winter Birding Festival” on January 19-21, 2018. The Festival will be focused on the areas around Kentucky and Barkley Lake but will be based at Paris Landing State Park. The many birding field trips include Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge, Kentucky Dam, Land Between the Lakes, Fort Donelson National Battlefield and Harmon Creek Wildlife Management Area. Workshops will also be offered in Wildlife Photography, Beginning Birding, and Journaling / Poetry Writing in regards to Ornithology. Featured speakers for the weekend include storyteller, author and naturalist Brian “Fox” Ellis, who will be taking the persona of John James Audubon for the Friday night program. He will also be leading several birding and naturalist walks as Audubon as well as a workshop called “Bird is the Word” which will focus on nature journaling, poetry and non-fiction writing. Fox has portrayed Audubon worldwide in countless birding festivals, museums, nature centers, and schools, and has lead birding hikes in 49 of the 50 states. The Keynote speaker for Saturday night will be Julie Zickefoose, who is a regular contributor to Birder’s Digest. She is the author of “Letters from Eden”, “The Bluebird Effect” and most recently “Baby Birds: An Artist Looks Into the Nest.” In addition to speaking at many birding festivals, Mrs. Zickefoose leads natural history excursions abroad with Holbrook Travel. For more detailed information on the festival, or field trips please see the Paris/Henry County Chamber website www.paristnchamber.com/winasofwinter or call 731-642-2091. The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 3 J V, Save the Date for the TOS Spring Meeting! The 2018 TOS Spring meeting will be April 20 -22 in Chattanooga. Our Speaker will be Dr. Chris Haney, President of Terra Mar Applied Sciences, LLC. Dr. Haney is a seabird expert who has been a scientific contributor to the Defenders of Wildlife Blog and former research Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service along with many other scientific endeavors. Please join us at the Spring meeting to share Dr. Haney’s expertise regarding seabirds. r WISDOM DOES IT AGAIN Wisdom, a Laysan Albatross and the world’s oldest know breeding bird in the wild, successfully hatched another chick in February at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial within Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The chick hatched just about two months after Wisdom, at least 66 years old, was first spotted incubating an egg at the same site that she and her mate, Akeakamai, use each year. Laysan Albatrosses typically mate for life, but Wisdom has likely had more than one mate. “Wisdom...has returned home to Midway Atoll for over six decades and raised at least 30-35 chicks,” said Bob Peyton, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Project Leader for Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Memorial. We know the age of Wisdom because she has been a banded bird since 1956. The much-respected ornithologist Chandler Robbins first put a band on Wisdom in December of that year, and multiple bands, each significantly worn away by time, the sea, and sea air, have been replaced on multiple occasions. Wisdom is estimated to be at least 66 years old, but she could actually be older! “Because Laysan Albatross don’t lay eggs every year, and when they do, they raise only one chick at a time, the contribution of even one bird to the population makes a difference,” added Peyton. Albatrosses start to arrive to return from the sea to breed in late October, and by the end of November nearly every available nesting space on the atoll is claimed by a breeding pair. Wisdom and Akeakamai are not alone in calling the Refuge and Memorial home. The atoll is actually home to the world’s largest colony of albatrosses. Nearly 70% of the world’s Laysan Albatross and almost 40% of Black-footed Albatross, as well as a handful of the endangered Short-tailed Albatross, all rely on the Refuge and Memorial. For more details and shareable social media about Wisdom, visit here: http://bit.lv/WisdomsChick2017 Source: The Birding Community eBulletin The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 4 FALL BIRD COUNT DATA DUE NOW Fall count data are due as soon as possible to allow me to get my report in to the editor of The Migrant in a timely fashion. Besides the actual count data, please be sure to include the following effort data: 1 - Hours and miles by car, foot, and any nightbirding 2 - Number of observers and parties 3 - Any feeder watching hours & names 4 - Start and end times for the count 5 - Weather data for the count 6 - Names of all the participants If you do not have a local compiler, you can send the data directly to me at the address/email below. TOS appreciates your efforts to record and track our bird populations and abundance. Thanks for helping us to archive this data for future generations and researchers. Ron Hoff • TOS State Count Compiler 166 Chahyga Way • Loudon, TN 37774 • 865-567-9679 webe2brdrs@amail.com TOS fall meeting attendees prior to Saturday evening program and dinner in front of the Meadowview Inn in Kingsport. Photo by Belinda Bridwell The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 5 Guidelines for Tennessee Ornithological Society 2018 Conservation and Research Grants The Tennessee Ornithological Society invites applications for Conservation and Research Grants to support projects that will directly or indirectly help to protect the birds of Tennessee, increase scientific knowledge or educate others about the importance of Tennessee’s birds. A total of $3,000 is available to be awarded for the grants, which may be divided among multiple recipients. Anyone with a bird-related project, including students, professionals and individual workers, may compete for a grant. The project may already be in progress at the time of application. Applicants should submit a project proposal using the form that is available on the TOS Website (http://www.tnbirds.org/downloads/ GRANT FORM.docT Needed information includes: name, address, telephone, E-mail address, topic, problem to be addressed, objectives, expected results and significance, project location, beginning and ending dates, estimated field time, estimated total cost of project, itemized budget, funds available from other sources, how grant is to be used, experience of applicant in the project area, willingness of applicant to share results at a statewide TOS meeting and whether the work is under the guidance of a mentor or is independent. A letter of recommendation from a mentor or a knowledgeable associate is strongly encouraged. Up to $50 of a grant may be applied toward the costs of attending an appropriate scientific meeting to present results of the project. Criteria forjudging applications include: — Significance of problem addressed — Clarity of proposal — Adequacy of project design — Adequacy of experience/training — Adequacy of professional guidance — Financial need — Chance for achieving objectives — Potential benefit to the species/resource — Potential for advancing career/studies — Potential for sharing results at a future statewide TOS meeting The application and letter of recommendation should be emailed (preferably) or mailed to Michael Collins, Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN 38112; collinsm@rhodes.edu : (901) 843-3557. The deadline for receipt of applications is February 1. Applicants will be notified of the Committee’s decisions in early March. A check for 60 percent (60%) of the amount awarded will be mailed to the grantee(s) upon approval of award(s). The balance of each award will be paid after the project leader submits a satisfactory progress report with itemized costs and receipts to the Committee Chair, Michael Collins. All grant awards will be announced in The Tennessee Warbler. Respectfully, Michael Collins TOS Conservation and Research Funding Committee Chair The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 6 CONSERVATION POLICY COMMITTEE The Conservation Policy Committee (CPC), met on October 19, 2017. Present were co-chairs Melinda Welton and Dick Preston, and Cyndi Routledge. President Steve Routledge also attended. We reviewed the founding guidance for the committee from the Board of Directors in 2002, and we are in compliance. To widen communication and gain added expertise, we decided to add several non-voting advisors to the committee. The first two selected are David Aborn (UTC) and Matthew Heard (Belmont University). The committee is following legislative action on the following issues: 1) Boosting Funding for Migratory Birds. Non-partisan bills (S.1537) and (H.3598) have been introduced to reauthorize the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA). Now called the Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Act, the legislation would provide greater funding to conserve declining species such as the Cerulean Warbler and Wood Thrush. The NMBCA encourages habitat protection, education, research and monitoring to provide long-term protection of Neotropical migratory birds. 2) Protecting Pollinators from Neonicotinoids (Neonics). The Saving America’s Pollinators Act would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to suspend registration of a toxic group of pesticides called neonicotinoids. These chemicals are deadly to organisms that we rely on for pollinating crops and controlling pests. American Bird Conservancy research has found that one seed coated with these insecticides is enough to kill a songbird. 3) Making Federal Buildings Bird-Friendly. Building collisions are one of the greatest human-caused threats to birds. Upwards of a billion birds are killed every year in the United States in collisions with windows. A proposed bill would require the General Services Administration to apply bird-friendly design features, where practicable, to new and existing federal buildings. Please see the accompanying article detailing the project with Nashville Metro Parks spearheaded by Melinda Welton. You may make comments on any of these issues at: www.abc.ora/action The committee is short one member. If you have an interest in conservation and are willing to serve, please contact President Routledge or any member of the committee. During 2017 the CPC recommended and President Steve Routledge signed TOS to the following group letters: 1) Requesting the U.S. Senate judiciary committee properly evaluate the Bayer-Monsanto Merger (Friends of the Earth). 2) Asking Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) to co-sponsor S.571, the National Park Service Legacy Act (Pew Charitable Trusts). 3) Comment to the Federal Communications Commission on potential elimination of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews for communications towers (American Bird Conservancy). 4) Support for dedicated funding to Recover America’s Wildlife (Tennessee Wildlife Federation). 5) To U.S. Congress in support of the Endangered Species Act (American Bird Conservancy and the Endangered Species Coalition). Committee Members: Co-chairs: Melinda Welton (Nashville) and Dick Preston (Memphis) Cyndi Routledge (Nashville), Ashley Heeney (Nashville), Vickie Henderson (Knoxville) The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 7 LANDS UNSUITABLE FOR MINING On September 30, 2010, the State of Tennessee filed a petition with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) to designate certain lands in the State as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations. These lands include the area within 600 feet of all ridgelines lying within the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (NCWMA)-comprised of the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area (WMA), the Sundquist WMA, and the New River WMA (as known as the Brimstone Tract Conservation Easement) and the Emory River Tracts Conservation Easement (ERTCE), encompassing approximately 67, 326 acres of the total 146,000 acres of the NCWMA. On Wednesday, December 7, 2016, the Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management (ASLM), Janice M. Schneider, signed the Record of Decision for the Lands Unsuitable for Mining (LUM) Petition designating approximately 74,968 acres as unsuitable for surface coal mining operations. Parties had 60 days to file an appeal. While no official appeals were filed, a complaint and potential appeal were filed within the time frame. No action had been taken by the Eastern District for Tennessee as of press time. The decision is a significant victory for preserving water quality and protects critical breeding habitat for a substantial percentage of the world population of Cerulean Warblers, among other wildlife. The Tennessee Ornithological Society supported the State’s petition, a process that started in 2006 under the leadership of Bob Hatcher. Thanks to the many members who sent letters and emails during the public comment period. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD Next year promises to be a challenging time for conservationists. Not just funding issues, but the regulatory process itself will bear watching. Whatever your philosophy or politics, making your opinion known to policy makers is your right and will be crucial to protecting America’s birds and other wildlife. Signing a form letter or sending an email is easy, but not nearly as effective as a personal visit with your representative or Senator. If you are not able to schedule an appointment, or simply live too far from the nearest office, the next best method is a phone call. Please consider calling both the local (district) office as well as the Washington D.C. office. Be prepared to request specific actions, rather than supporting a general concept. “Please support the environment” doesn’t mean much, but asking the representative or Senator to co-sponsor a pending bill (i.e. S.1537 and H.3598) is more effective. A number of changes are coming to our website ( tnbirds.org ). Beginning with the new year, the Conservation Policy Committee will post action alerts as critical legislation works its way through Congress. We will provide bill numbers, hotlinks, names, phone numbers and suggested language, which will be consistent with TOS’s position on the bill, for you to consider when submitting your own comments. Some of the issues that we will be following include: the Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Act (formerly the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act); restricting or banning neonicotinoids; reducing bird fatalities from collisions through bird-friendly building design; controlling feral cats; and funding for our National Wildlife Refuge System. The Committee welcomes members input. The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 8 Tennessee eBird Reviewers, Tips and Updates by Stephen Zipperer & Scott Somershoe Many of you may be aware that several new volunteer reviewers have been added to the Tennessee eBird review team over the past year. This process was started before the passing of long-time lead reviewer Bill Pulliam. After the retirement of Steve Stedman from eBird review in summer 2016, Bill began to slowly add new reviewers with a goal of improving the efficiency of reviewing in the state and also lighten his reviewing load. With Bill’s passing in late August 2017, the current reviewers had extensive discussion and developed a plan to add additional new reviewers and add lead responsibilities of additional counties to some current reviewers. Much of the plan that was sent to Cornell to address the loss of Bill had been discussed before his passing. Obviously there were some significant changes to this plan to address the gap left by Bill. All changes have been made and new reviewers are reading through all the instructions and procedures required to review and validate records. The backlog of flagged reports is currently being worked through. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding. We hope to put an article in every issue of The Tennessee Warbler, providing updates and tips on using eBird and making your fun field time binding even better for the researchers and conservationists using it. Tennessee eBird Reviewers: Scott Somershoe - Statewide leader, lead on 39 counties, including Upper Cumberland Plateau and various counties in middle and west Tennessee, and in the background statewide. Email: ssomershoe@amail.com Susan Hoyle - Most of East Tennessee Kevin Calhoon - Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Marion, and Sequatchie counties Mark Greene - Lake, Obion, Dyer, Lauderdale, Weakley, Haywood, Gibson, Benton, and Henry counties Frank Fekel and Philip Casteel - Cheatham, Davidson, and Williamson counties Mike Smith - Robertson and Sumner counties Mike Todd - Carroll, and Madison counties Stephen Zipperer - Bedford, Rutherford, Marshall, and Wilson counties Why use eBird: • eBird is a great personal bird logging system. It keeps count of county, state, country lists and accepts descriptions, photos, and recordings. • Your use of eBird contributes to science and conservation by providing large amounts of data for researchers to use. • It makes you a more accurate birder, keeping track of all birds on a trip as well as the number of each species seen. • It makes you a better birder. Since all rare sightings are reviewed by experts, you are forced to really know your bird ID. • It makes it easy to share your bird list with others on your trip. • It has maps and graphs to explore species in more detail. • You are helping educators, land managers, ornithologists and conservation biologists who use it for bird distribution, numbers, and movements of species. • It documents the presence or absence of species in a given area. Convinced? Now, consider getting the eBird mobile app. It is easy to use in the field and all submitted lists go directly to your eBird web account. So, no reentry of a trip list once you get home. If you have a smart phone, iPhone, or Android, just install the eBird mobile app on your smart phone. The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 9 Winter Hummingbird Returns Again By Cyndi Routledge She’s baack!!! A female Rufous Hummingbird, (Selasphorus rufus), dubbed “Frosty” by her hosts, returned on September 24th for the 3 rd year in a row! She was first noticed in the fall of 2015 and subsequently identified, banded and aged as a hatch-year bird on the cold, frosty morning of December 5 th by yours truly. Frosty returned last year on September 29, 2016. She subsequently spent a second entire winter at the host home in Fairview, Tennessee departing for her breeding grounds in late March. Much to the delight of her host she’s back once again, this year arriving 5 days earlier and immediately letting the few remaining Ruby-throats know that she’s in charge. Winter hummingbird banding began in Tennessee in November of 1990 when the first winter hummingbird was identified and banded by Bob and Martha Sargent in Chattanooga. It was a female Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri), and since then Tennessee has hosted 281 western hummingbirds of six different species. Winter hummingbirds are not lost or sick birds. They often demonstrate great site fidelity and spend the entire winter in one location as Frosty has done. These hummingbirds are cold-hardy and will not be harmed by the winter weather. If they can’t “make a living” in your yard they will migrate to a location where they can survive. _ I’d like to invite you to leave a feeder up year round, placing it where you can observe and easily maintain it. Perhaps outside the window where you eat breakfast in the morning or where you first observe the weather for any given day. Partially fill your feeder with a mixture of the standard 1 part white table sugar and 4 parts water. Please remember NO RED DYE is necessary. You can leave it up overnight if temperatures are above freezing or bring it in at dark and hang it back out at first light. If you see a hummingbird at that feeder or even in your yard between November 15th and March 15th please contact me. Then, with your permission, either I routledaes@bellsouth.net (Middle and West TN) or Mark Armstrong woodthrush@bellsouth.net (East TN) would love to come to your home to band the bird and release it there. In doing so you will not only help advance winter hummingbird research but have the distinct pleasure of being a winter hummingbird host. Photographer is Graham Gerdeman of Nashville. The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 10 CALLING ALL LISTERS Yard lists, county lists, State lists, life lists, eBird, ABA, AOU lists. These are just a few ways a birder can keep track of birds they’ve seen, heard or encountered. We post these lists in various places, we share them on Facebook, write lists in journals and post them to listservs. And when we get bored with conventional listing we often find a new way to challenge ourselves with a new list or new goal. It’s part of the sport of birding.. .the tangible, the measure of success, the feather in your cap. One cannot deny that listing is a vital and important way to collect and report data, to keep a history, to follow trends in populations, to record that rare species that might show up. But I often wonder that if some of the effort and work put forth to list was used for active conservation efforts how many species could potentially be saved or moved off those endangered species lists or perhaps never even find their names on those lists? We are about to turn the calendar on another year and my challenge to you is that as 2018 rolls around and you begin once again to plot and plan those new bird lists that you’ll consider adding ‘activism’ to your list. Perhaps find the time to take a more active role in your local bird club or Audubon group. Volunteer for a clean up day or event at your local nature center. Get involved in the overall national conservation efforts for birds and their habitat by writing a letter or calling your congressman and let them know you care. Make 2018 the year you personally become a voice for the amazing and wonderful species that adorn your bird lists. Together we can make a difference. Cyndi Routledge NTOS President OPERATION MIGRATION 2017-2018 On October 1, 2017 the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conducted an aerial survey of Whooping Cranes in the Eastern Partnership flock. This population numbers 101 birds, including 89 in Wisconsin. Also, seven hand-raised chicks should migrate with these to add to the total numbers. By the time you read this most of the cranes will have completed their migration to Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee. For the best viewing opportunities journey to Alabama’s Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in mid-January. Operation Migration (OM) continues its work to ensure the protection of Whooping Cranes and the expansion of the Eastern Migratory Population. Replacing non-functioning transmitters on birds is quite a feat - OM’s website entry for October 27 details this effort. Your financial support of OM will allow them to continue their important work. Monthly contributions are especially appreciated as they are processed the most efficiently, resulting in a higher percentage of your gift being diverted to their work. Though the cranes are gone from Wisconsin for the winter, the OM staff will still be at work, tracking those that have transmitters. Bird On! Tony King, Certified Craniac The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 11 Bill Pulliam - A Memorial We lost one of Tennessee’s most avid and knowledgeable birders unexpectedly on August 23, 2017, at the young age of 56. Growing up in Atlanta, Bill started birding with his junior high science teacher. Georgia birders still remember how dedicated he was in his birding, and he applied this interest towards college in California, culminating in a Ph.D. in Ecology at the University of Georgia. He then moved to Colorado to further pursue an academic career, but decided to make a dramatic career change. After several years of truck driving (and birding all across the country while doing so), he and his wife Peggy made the move to Hohenwald, TN to live in part by applying sustainable farming practices, including raising animals. While becoming a dedicated farmer, he also became a prolific writer/blogger with topics ranging broadly from living off the land (the first entry to his blog “Notes from Soggy Bottom” ( http://bbill.bloaspot.eom/ l dated February 26, 2004, was entitled, “Blame it on the chickens”) to physics and astronomy (he had a strong interest in chasing eclipses and other celestial events, and notably started planning in 2009 to see the eclipse that passed this year near Hohenwald on August 21 st ), politics, music, the environment, updates on home renovation “this old house” style, and other topics with an entertaining writing style while always exhibiting a strong intellectual flair. Sadly, he was in the hospital fighting lung cancer when this year’s eclipse occurred. And of course, he was most prolific in his writing about birds, both local observations, including recounting the Common Redpoll he found at his Mother’s house, and his past experiences from across the country. There has been some discussion about compiling his ornithology-focused blog posts, including those involving the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and especially his Moss Island Adventure series, so that they can be archived for future reference. His extensive writings on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker particularly led to many largely civil debates recognizing the intense controversy swirling over this species. His exceptional use of science-based reasoning towards evaluating the evidence earned respect from many across the spectrum of opinion, including from many of the most notable skeptics. That all said, and with an ironic twist (at least to us birders it would seem) that despite the global reach of those reading his Ivory-billed Woodpecker and other birding-oriented posts, Bill would point out that his most-linked posts were ones he had written about chicken farming, especially the one entitled, “The pastured poultry scam.” Over the last decade or so, Bill spent most of his birding time close to his farm in Hohenwald, where he conducted several Breeding Bird Survey routes and participated in Christmas Bird Counts across southcentral Tennessee. Since Bill focused his time and energy close to his farm, most people only knew him through regular posts on the TN-Bird list serve and from eBird where he was a reviewer for middle and west Tennessee for many years. Although many folks only knew Bill through the digital world, Bill had a significant effect on birding and ornithological history of Tennessee. Bill was one of the few folks to spend significant time in the field in Lewis and adjacent counties in recent years. Through his efforts, countless rarities were documented, but, more importantly, his intense local birding provided unprecedented and unparalleled information on the birds in that part of the state. For the last decade Bill also worked tirelessly to promote eBird, both in Tennessee and beyond. Bill gave countless volunteer hours to eBird as an observer, an exemplary regional editor, and mentor to new regional editors. Bill led by example by submitting lists with high precision and detail and used this as a tool in working with observers. His approach to being an eBird reviewer was always positive, and he encouraged and challenged observers to increase the quality of details about sightings. Bill’s influence with observers across Tennessee is apparent in the quality of the database and with those following in his footsteps. Bill’s passing is a huge loss to his friends, family, and the Tennessee birding community. However, Bill left a lasting legacy with his friends and colleagues across Tennessee, the country, and the world. He will be greatly missed. -Scott Somershoe and Chuck Hunter The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 12 CHAPTER. NEWS The JOHN W. SELLARS CHAPTER of TOS started its Fall season with a talk on Fall Warbler identification provided by John Connors of the Nashville chapter. John provided us with a lot of good information on identifying fall warblers. Thanks John. We held our officer elections at the August meeting. Our Officers are now Melissa Turrentine, President; Linda Robertson, Vice-President; Stephen Zipperer, Treasurer; and Greg Tomerlin, Secretary. We would like to thank Ann Holladay, the club’s long-time Treasurer, for all the work she has done over the years. She decided to turn over the treasurer’s duties this year to someone new. Thank you so much Ann. In September club members Bob and Amy Swanson treated us to an excellent presentation on their volunteer work at the Bosque MWR in New Mexico over the past winter. Thanks to Bob and Amy for their presentation and showing their Tennessee Volunteer spirit so far from home. In October, we opted fora bird outing to Sumner County instead of a meeting. Mike Smith of the Nashville Chapter met us at Drakes Creek Park where we enjoyed a nice morning of birding the Greenway there and traveling to a few other spots to bird. Thanks so much to Mike Smith for and enjoyable morning of birding. Stephen Zipperer, Treasurer KINGSPORT CHAPTER - Birding Kingsport had the privilege of hosting the Fall TOS Meeting in early October. We had over 60 attendees and hosted field trips to several interesting birding locations in the Upper East Tennessee Area, including Shady Valley, Roan Mountain, and Cattails on the Kingsport Birding Trail. The Saturday night dinner featured a presentation by Dr. Fred J. Alsop III on the Eagle Cam Project that began at East Tennessee State University in 2015. We appreciate everyone who traveled to our end of the state for this fun and informative weekend! Presenters at our monthly meetings included Chris Duncan on Bird Photography and Mark Hopey who gave an update on the good work that is being conducted by Southern Appalachian Raptor Research at the Big Bald Banding Station (BBBS) on Little Bald Mountain inside the Appalachian Trail corridor in the Cherokee National Forest, Unicoi County Tennessee. Our club also had a field trip to the Big Bald Banding Station and donated funds from our conservation budget for a mist net to support the monitoring work conducted by BBBS. We hosted 85 total “walkers” at the four bird walks we sponsored in conjunction with Kingsport FunFest community summer celebration held the third week in July. In addition, our birdwalk/field trip planner extraordinaire, Gary Bailey, continued to keep our calendar busy with walks at numerous locations including Rankin Bottoms, Natural Tunnel State Park, the Holston River, Laurel Run Park, and Steele Creek Park. We also participated in the Herndon (Elizabethton) Club’s five county bird count on September 30 th . Our bluebird nest box monitoring project for 2017, led by Bill Grigsby and Kim Pruden, concluded in September. As part of our community outreach, Birding Kingsport now has a regular “fourth Friday” radio spot on WKPT Radio’s “The Dave Light Show”, a community focused discussion show where we promote birding, conservation and, of course, invite the public to join our group. Birding Kingsport meetings are currently held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm. Details of the meetings and activities, including location, can be found at www.birdinakinasport.ora . Helen Sirett, President KNOXVILLE CHAPTER TOS - Officers: Jimmy Tucker, President; Merikay Waldvoge, Vice President; Morton Massey, Treasurer; Talissa Ralph, Secretary. State Directors: Ron Hoff, Dollyann Meyers, and Michael Plaster. The 7 th annual Festival of Hummingbirds was held at Ijams Nature Center. The public was invited to watch hummers being banded and to listen to some great talks on birds, butterflies, plants and nature. This annual festival is an awesome way to reach people and help them to enjoy more of what nature has to offer. The estimated attendance of 850 people visiting the banding and various speakers’ programs enabled Ijams to provide 642 educational hours. Our The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 13 CHAPTER. NEWS Knoxville - Continued from Page 12 hummingbird numbers were up this year! We banded 24 hummingbirds plus 2 Goldfinches and 1 Carolina Wren compared to 14 hummers in 2016. A big thanks, as always, goes to Mark Armstrong our master-bander as this festival would not be possible without him. Also I want to thank the banding team, Jane Kading, Patty Ford, Eddy Whitson, Richard, Gar and Keane Secrist, Steve McGaffin and Colin Leonard along with all the other KTOS members who helped to make this a special day. A big thank you goes to Ijams Nature Center for taking over the festival duties from KTOS. At the September Potluck at Ijams Nature Center we welcomed our new president Jimmy Tucker. President Tucker gave a rousing and visionary speech regarding bringing KTOS up to 21st century speed. Changes include streamlining social events and more digital input into newsletters including photos and more e-mail correspondence with club members. Amy Tucker is the hard working editor of the KTOS newsletter. During this fall KTOS continues its community outreach through the Discover Birds program. Volunteers from KTOS lead bird walks and give presentations at local schools. Support of on-going projects include the building of a Chimney Swift tower in Seven Islands State Birding Park. This tower is still being constructed. October speaker Morton Massey gave an overview of birding apps available on smart phones and how best to use them. He has also offered small group classes in using birding apps. He focused on the different types of birding apps that you can load and use on your smartphone. Including apps for reporting your sightings, field guides, helping to identify birds from photos or recordings and bird locaters. There are apps now for beginners all the way up to the fanatics. MEMPHIS CHAPTER - At our September meeting the Memphis Chapter’s first program of the season was our traditional “Member Travels and Photos from Recent Trips.” We had two presentations. Allen Sparks showed photos taken by him and his wife, Dawn, and Thomas Blevins shared photos taken by him and his wife, Andrea. In October, Lindsey Day, a Naturalist with the World Bird Sanctuary, spoke about the center located near St. Louis in Valley Park, Missouri. The sanctuary’s mission is to preserve, protect, and inspire to safeguard bird species for future generations, and Lindsey described the sanctuary’s four main efforts: raptor rehabilitation, propagation and reintroduction of endangered species, research, and education. Lindsey also brought an assistant, a Tawny Owl named Mr. Peabody. Fall birding trips include The Pits Earth Complex, the Wolf River Restoration Trail, Shelby Farms Greenline, Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, and Wapanocca Wildlife Refuge. Thanks to all MTOS and other volunteers who helped make the Hatchie Bird Festival in June, the Strawberry Plains Hummingbird Festival in September, and the Reelfoot Lake Pelican Festival in October big successes. Our Conservation Committee Chairperson, Dick Preston, encouraged members to participate in Germantown’s effort to collect lists of birds seen in the parks of Germantown. The Wolf River Green way/Grove Park, Riverwoods State Natural Area, Cameron-Brown Park, and W.C. Johnson Park are top priorities. Michael Collins, MTOS President FEBRUARY 28 th DEADLINE The deadline date for the April issue of The Tennessee Warbler is February 28th. Please submit all articles, announcements, reports and items of interest by this deadline date. Meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month at 6:45 p.m. in Room 118 of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. Submit Material To: Theresa Graham, Editor PO Box 366, Oakland TN 38060 (901)465-4263 (home) e-mail: 2araham@bellsouth.net y Talissa Ralph, Secretary V The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 14 CHAPTER. NEWS It’s been a busy autumn season for the LEE & LOIS HERNDON CHAPTER of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. The organization kicked off its 2017-2018 year in September with meetings continuing at the Elizabethton campus of Northeast State Community College. The chapter helped lead field trips for the recent TOS state fall meeting, which was hosted by the Kingsport chapter. Herndon members helped conduct field trips to birding hot spots in the region. In addition, chapter members helped conduct bird walks at the 55th annual Roan Mountain Fall Naturalists Rally. In October the chapter held bird walks at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton. The walks were held every Saturday morning in October. The walks are a long-time tradition. Although they have been held at Sycamore Shoals for the last several years, the walks have also been held along the linear trail in Erwin and at Winged Deer Park in Johnson City. The chapter held its 48th annual Elizabethton Fall Bird Counton Saturday, Sept. 30. Fifty-four observers in 12 parties covered Carter County and parts of the adjacent counties of Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington. The participants tallied 122 species, which is slightly below the recent 30-year average of 126 species. The all-time high for this count was 137 species, which was reached in 1993. This year’s count featured some other notable misses, as well, according to long-time count compiler Rick Knight. Birds missed include Northern Bobwhite (which has been found only four times in the last 24 years), Broad-winged Hawk, Spotted Sandpiper (first miss in the last decade), Winter Wren, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Several birds set new high records for the number of individuals tallied, including Double-crested Cormorant (70); Great Blue Heron (66); Black Vulture (330); Turkey Vulture (215); Red-shouldered Hawk (6); Belted Kingfisher (40); and Red-bellied Woodpecker (90). Fish Crow made its debut on a Fall Bird Count when two individuals were found in Kingsport along the Holston River. A birding column penned by chapter member Bryan Stevens recently celebrated its 22nd anniversary. The column was first published Nov. 5, 1995, and has appeared weekly without interruption in various Tennessee newspapers, including Bristol Herald Courier, The Erwin Record, Jonesborough Herald and Tribune, and Elizabethton Star, as well as the McDowell News in Marion, North Carolina. Since February of 2014, Stevens has also been posting the column as a weekly online blog on birds and birding. Long-time chapter member Reece Jamerson passed away Aug. 1, 2017, at age 83. He was an honorably discharged U.S. Army Veteran, serving during the Korean War. He moved to Jonesborough in 1955 and started a 42-year career in education. He was principal at Asbury Elementary School, Johnson City, and later Gray Elementary and Boones Creek Elementary Schools. Educating children was his passion, and he had an impact on the lives of thousands of children in this community and beyond. In his retirement, he was an avid birder. The chapter will be holding its annual calendar sale again during the holidays. With photos of various birds contributed by its members, this chapter fund-raising project has been very successful over the years. The calendar features various full-color bird photographs. This year’s cover features a photo of a Red-headed Woodpecker taken by Chapter President Debi Campbell. For information about the calendar, send inquiries to ahoodedwarbler@aol.com . Bryan Stevens, Editor The Tennessee Warbler December, 2017 Page 15 CHAPTER. NEWS It’s been a busy fall for the NASHVILLE CHAPTER of TOS. Tarcila Fox, our field trip coordinator, has organized a variety of fun and birdie field trips each month, and Danny Shelton, our Program Chair, has provided a myriad of interesting speakers and programs. Barbara Harris coordinated our fall bird count the last day of September and Marion Pratt will be heading up our Christmas Bird Count. Scott Block continues to compile these counts for us, a vital part of each effort. I’d like to personally thank these hard¬ working individuals for their time and efforts. As fall migration began so did our annual Radnor Lake Wednesday morning walks. The walks are always a popular member event as well as an outreach event. This year about 320+ people joined NTOS and enjoyed the migration surprises that Radnor Lake offers. Many thanks to Mike Smith, Graham Gerdeman, Danny Shelton, Kevin Bowden, Pam Lasley, and Susan Hollyday for volunteering to head up a walk this year. Our “Cats Indoors” and “Window Strike” awareness programs continue. NTOS members continue to speak with family members, neighbors, veterinarians and other community leaders about the importance of keeping cats safely indoors. Melinda Welton and Ashley Heeney continue to work with Denise Weyer at Shelby Bottoms Nature Center in Nashville in hopes of getting some of the latest designs in window strike prevention installed on the large windows there at the Nature Center. It’s our hope that in doing so the Center will act as a showcase and example for other conservation-minded business owners and nature centers in the Nashville area. Ashley, Melinda and Denise have ideas and designs aplenty. It’s the funding that has this project at a current stalemate. But these ladies won’t let dollars and cents stop them from this most important project. So stayed tuned for more updates in the future. Finally, as we turn the page on our collective calendars and move into 2018, conservation issues remain in the forefront of our minds. NTOS will do its best to continue to work together with TOS, The American Bird Conservancy, the American Birding Association and other conservation entities not only to remain aware of the threats to our important natural resources and endangered species but to ensure the current laws remain in place and continue to protect all that is natural and vulnerable, not only here in Tennessee and the United States but beyond our borders as well. We hope you, too, will join the effort. As always...Good birding! Cyndi Routledge, President Reece Jamerson, a long-time member of the Lee and Lois Herndon Chapter of TOS, is pictured scanning for birds with a scope near Austin Springs on Boone Lake. Jamerson, a retired educator, passed away Aug. 1,2017, at age 83. Photo by Bryan Stevens Send corrections & Change of Address Requests To: npmcwhirter@amail.com “THE TENNESSEE WARBLER” Published by the Tennessee Ornithological Society 274 Beech Grove Rd McMinnville, TN 37110 PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID MEMPHIS, TN PERMIT NO. 238 Want to save a tree, unclutter your mailbox and save mailing expense for the Society? If you would prefer to read each edition of The Warbler online at the TOS website http://tnbirds.org/warbler.htm please drop Mac McWhirter an email at npmcwhirter@gmail.com The Tennessee Warbler - December, 2017