March, 2010 Gene Howard, Editor, eugenefhoward@bellsouth.net
Volume 39, No. 2
MARCH MEETING: Augusta-Aiken Audubon will hold its bi-monthly meeting on Thursday, March 11, at 7 pm. The meeting location is the North Augusta Community Center, located at 495 Brookside Ave. in North Augusta, SC. The public is invited to all meetings, programs, and field trips sponsored by Augusta-Aiken Audubon.
PROGRAM: HORNSBY BEND TO BOSQUE DEL APACHE presented by Gene Howard. Gene and Joan Howard Photographed birds in the Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory near Austin, Texas and then traveled to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, New Mexico to photograph Sandhill Cranes, Snow Geese and other species. Along the way they made stops and photographed at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State park in Carlsbad , New Mexico, Carlsbad Caverns, The Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Roswell, New Mexico, the Very Large array Radio Telescope Observatory near Socorro, New Mexico and the dreaded Jornada del Muerto. Come and enjoy the pictures and narrative of this fabulous trip. (If this program announcement seems familiar it’s because it was scheduled for September 2009 but cancelled due to a scheduling conflict.)
We are saddened by the loss of our friend Kathryn May who died in January after a prolonged and courageous fight against cancer. Kathryn was a long time supporter of our Audubon Chapter and a vocal advocate for environmental causes in our community. We extend our deepest sympathies to her husband Gerald and her family.
Augusta-Aiken Audubon's field trips are open at no charge to all chapter members and the public. We encourage everyone to come out and join us! Some tips to make the trips more comfortable: bring a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, and drinking water. Sturdy walking shoes are recommended as is having raingear nearby. Morning trips during the winter usually begin at 9 a.m. and end around noon; warmer weather trips generally begin at 8 a.m. and end around 11 a.m. If you have questions about a field trip, please contact the listed field trip leader.
March 6, Saturday. Phinizy Swamp Nature Park. 9-12 am. Meet at the Phinizy parking lot for this all walking trip into the park. Anne Waters leads.
March 13, Saturday. North Augusta Brick Ponds Park. 9-12 am. Meet behind the new municipal building in the parking lot to walk to the ponds. Anne Waters leads.
March 20, Saturday. Lover's Lane and Augusta Levee. 9-12 am. Meet at Popeye's to car pool for this field trip. Maybe some early migrants will have arrived? Lois Stacy leads.
April 3, Saturday. " Wings and Things" at Silver Bluff Audubon Center 9-12 am. Meet at the ponds to car pool for this trip to look for "winged" things such as birds, dragonflies and butterflies. Lois Stacy leads. She will also continue into the afternoon so if you want to continue with her, bring a bag lunch to eat at the educational building.
April 10, Saturday. Phinizy Swamp Song Bird Walk. 8-11 am. This hike, sponsored by Phinizy Swamp, costs $3 for members and $5 for non members. We will look for migrants coming into our area and the return of summer birds. Ruth Mead and Anne Waters lead.
April 17, Saturday. Lover's Lane and Levee. 8-12 am. We will look for migrants and returning summer birds. Meet at Popeye's to car pool for this trip. Anne Waters leads.
The 2009 Augusta CBC had 105 species, lower than our last 11 years. Our highest species total was in 2001 and 2005 with 123 species. We had 24 people counting in 11 teams and the weather was good this year so our areas were well covered.
There were a number of species that were the highest counts ever. These include 8 Horned Grebes, 10 Canvasbacks, 31 Redheads, 205 Ruddy Ducks, 6 Osprey, 35 Fish Crows, 24 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and 297 Cardinals. The most numerous bird on the count was the Red-winged Blackbird at 2,645 but this is a big decrease from previous years because airboats are now knocking down the grasses in the constructed wetlands in Phinizy Swamp to discourage blackbird use. The 2nd most numerous bird this year was the Am. Coot at 2,163 but this wasn't a high count for the species. The 3rd most numerous bird was the Double-crested Cormorant at 1,666 which was a high count this year.
There were a few species that had the lowest count for that species. These include Wood Duck(12), Green-winged Teal(10), Am. Wigeon(10), Bufflehead(2), Sora(2), and King Rail(2).
The most unusual bird seen was a N. Parula which nests but usually does not spend the winter. One was seen in Phinizy Swamp. Although unusual, this is the 4th year we've had this warbler on the Augusta CBC so they have wintered before.
The 2nd most unusual bird on our count was the Red-breasted Merganser. Easy to find on the coast, this species is uncommon inland although we have 1 or more here most winters and it's been seen on 5 Augusta CBC's.
Thanks to everyone who helped on the count. Anne Waters
The 2009 Aiken CBC had 74 species which is lower than the last few years, especially compared to 85 species in 2008. We had 15 people counting which provided fair coverage of the count circle.
We found some excellent birds this year such as a Common Ground Dove. This is the 2nd year seen on the Aiken Count with 2 found last year.
Another good find was Green-winged Teal seen on the count for the 2nd year. We are getting more ducks on the Aiken CBC because of lakes on golf courses such as Hounds Lake. In addition to the Green-winged Teal, other ducks included: Mallard, Ring-necked, Hooded Mergansers, a high count of Buffleheads(26) and Ruddy Duck(1) seen for the first time on the Aiken CBC.
Some birds seen on the count are easier to find in Aiken that were missed on the Augusta CBC such as Turkey, Bobwhite, and White-breasted Nuthatch. Other good birds seen were Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, and Vesper Sparrow.
The most numerous species was blackbird species(1,400) followed by Chipping Sparrows(478) and C. Grackles(293). Canada Geese continue to increase in Aiken with 80 seen this year.
2 Fish Crows were found. This species which is fairly common in Augusta near the Savannah River is not common in Aiken. The most ever counted on this CBC was 5.
Other species common in Augusta but not seen on the Aiken CBC this year are: D. Cr. Cormorant, Anhinga, and Great Egret.
What else was missed on the 2009 Aiken CBC that we usually find? Wood Duck, N. Harrier, Barred and Great-horned Owls, Hairy Woodpecker, Am. Pipit, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Common Yellowthroat. There is nothing to explain why these were not found this year.
Thanks to everyone who participated on this count. Anne Waters.
The field trip to the coast had 14 participants. A Great Horned Owl sat on her nest in a Live Oak at the entrance to the wildlife drive and the male perched in the other Live Oak while groups of people looked at them through scopes and binoculars and took photos. And that was just the start!
We went to Tybee Beach first to take advantage of the tides. Even though it was sunny, the weather was very cold and wind gusts made it necessary to hold on to scopes to keep them from being blown over. But the tide was right to see Purple Sandpipers on the jetty rocks along with Ruddy Turnstones. An adult Gannet fished over the rough ocean.
Next we walked to the N. end where birds were congregated on the beach including Great Black-backed Gulls, Royal Terns, and Oystercatcher. There also were Red-breasted Mergansers bouncing around in the waves.
Driving back into Savannah on Presidents Street, we saw Bonaparte's Gulls over the sewer plant and a Loggerhead Shrike on a wire.
In the afternoon we drove the wildlife drive at Sav. NWR. Here we saw 7 species of ducks which included Bufflehead and Ruddy. Since it was about 56 degrees at the time and the sun had been replaced by clouds, we were surprised to see 2 alligators lying out on grasses. We saw a lot of Snowy Egrets, and a few Little Blue and Tri-colored Herons. Also watched an otter swimming in one of the ponds.
A Baltimore Oriole was found sitting up in Spanish Moss on one of the wooded Hammocks the drive passes through. In this same place we had Blue-headed Vireo and Orange crowned Warbler. In a muddy field we were amazed at how well camouflaged the Wilson Snipe and Killdeer were. They were almost impossible to see until they moved.
And if all of this weren't enough, we had Bald Eagle. For 6 of us it was a 3 Eagle Day! We saw our first eagle on a carcass alongside the road near Girard as we drove down. The 2nd one was perched in a tree between Sav. NWR and the city. The 3rd was seen hunting over a pond in Sav. NWR. And all of them were adults. In all it was a great day. It's hard to say how many species the entire group saw but our car had 77 species for the day. There were also several people who had life birds to add to their life list.
Anne Waters
Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society
4542 Silver Bluff Rd.
Jackson, SC 29831
Phone: 803-471-0291
A-AAS Web Site: http://augustaaikenaudubon.org/
Georgia Rare Bird Alert: 770-493-8862
Carolina (No. & So.) Rare Bird Alert: 704-332-2473
A-AAS Elected Officers 2006-07
President: Gene Zielinski, 706-650-8959
Vice-President: Ken Badke, 706-855-1955
Secretary: Nancy Demko, 803-648-7973
Treasurer: Gerald May, 706-860-3249
(Gene Howard)
(Gene Howard)