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| winter 2007 meeting. . . |
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Hopefully you know first-hand that our Tybee Island meeting was a big success. Our first two winter meetings in recent years took us to Alabama and Florida, where we found terrific birding and an abundance of hospitality. However, attendance at both was fair, which could be attributed, at least in part, to the distance from here to those somewhat far-away destinations. Of course, the Alabama ice storm and the Florida flooding might have kept a few people away! This time, there were no excuses for poor turnout, and we didn’t need them. One hundred people attended our third consecutive winter meeting, and the question I heard most often over that Martin Luther King Jr. weekend was, “Why did we wait so long to come here?” The weather was gorgeous, even though a small craft advisory was posted just before the weekend, nearly torpedoing all the pelagic trips. One of the pelagic trips sailed anyway, on fairly smooth seas I might add, and field trips took us to sites in and around the Tybee Island community and Savannah, as well as into South Carolina. In fact, the Bear Island Wildlife Management Area and Savannah spoils site field trips (both in South Carolina) were very popular, and the folks who participated in those two trips really racked up the bird species count. On the second day of the meeting I found myself on the Little Tybee Island boat tour commanded by Capt. Rene Heidt, and was treated to a truly remarkable day filled with great company, facts about island ecology and history, visits to sandbars and remote islands, and great birding, including fabulous close-up views of both sharp-tailed sparrow species. The species total for the four-day weekend was 173 (see the complete list in this newsletter), and highlights included Tundra Swan, Mottled Duck, Black and Surf scoters, Pacific Loon, Manx Shearwater, Roseate Spoonbill, Merlin, American Avocet, Purple Sandpiper, Red Phalarope, Parasitic Jaeger, Calliope Hummingbird, Western Kingbird, Prairie Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, and Le Conte’s Sparrow. Those of us who attended the trip to the Glennville Water Treatment Plant on Friday encountered a stunning treat: as many as 12 Baltimore Orioles visiting a feeder filled with grape jelly on private property near the treatment facility. I’m not so sure the lady who invited us to her property knew what she was getting herself into, as about 25 cars covered her yard (whatever happened to carpooling?), resembling a caravan come to pay our respects to some deity. Friday evening started with an enthusiastic and informative update on the Georgia IBA (Important Bird Areas) program by Mary Elfner, the new coordinator. Renee Carleton, DVM and University of Georgia graduate student, then presented a program featuring a fascinating and unusual mix of bluebird biology and disease ecology. (Note: Do the birds a favor once they’ve completed nesting activity – clean out the nest boxes!) Saturday night started off with John Swiderski, GOS historian and “historical artifact” (his self-imposed title), presenting the Earle Greene Award to Bob and Martha Sargent for their decades of service on behalf of hummingbird research and conservation (see the full story in this newsletter). Then Mallory Pearce awed the audience with his truly fierce imitation of an American Crow’s call. Tybee Island’s Mayor, Jason Beulterman, succeeded Mallory to the podium and graciously welcomed everyone, noting that he had no idea what to expect when he attended the banquet, and much to his surprise and delight, accidentally ended up seated next to Pierre Howard. Obviously he didn’t realize just how diverse birder demographics can be! The evening was capped off by a presentation given by Christopher Cokinos, English professor and author of Hope is the Thing with Feathers. Chris read excerpts from his eloquently sad tales about the extinction of six North American bird species. Just as fascinating and haunting were his stories about his encounters with relatives of people who witnessed the last wild individuals of some of those species, and his pilgrimages to the properties where the last wild Passenger Pigeon was shot and where the last (?) “population” of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers was observed. My sincere thanks, as always, go to the people who work so hard behind the scenes and on site to make these meetings run so smoothly: Bill Lotz, Anne Mursch, Steve Holzman, Jeannie Wright, and Barbara Brigham, as well as all the gifted field trip leaders. A special thank you is also due to Mallory Pearce for his hospitality, and for bringing our Society and our meeting to the attention of the Tybee Island community and political leadership. I look forward to seeing all of you in Brunswick in April. And start planning ahead now to attend our next winter meeting in January 2008 in Bainbridge, Georgia. Submitted by Bob Sargent
Steve Holzman, Compiler The following table contains a
combined list of the species
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07/2007
