january-february 2003 mobile bay audubon society newsletters

8/9/2019 January-February 2003 Mobile Bay Audubon Society Newsletters

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Mobile BayJANUARY, 2003

VOLUME XX II NO. 1

A CHAPTER OFT H E NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETYSINCE1971Audubon Society

ContentsHappy New

YearBoard of Directors ................2

Cold Day on Delta ...............2

Plurality of Birds...................2

Artic Drilling ........................3

About Bird Cradles ...............4

Bird Treat Takes Wing .......... 5

Remembering the Ivory-billed Woodpecker ................6

The Highlands of Scotland ..7

Calendar ................................8

New Members ......................9

Sogbird Challenges ...............1 0

Weeks Bay Field Trip ............11


2/12

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A Cold Day onthe Delta

by Celeste Hinds

In spite of liquid blue skies andvery little wind, November 23rd was

a frigid day on the Delta Explorer.Heavy coats and warm hats helpedto keep the 45 hearty souls warm aswe left the Blakeley Docks andmeandered up the Mobile TensawRiver Delta looking for Osprey andKites. The big birds were smarterthan the Audubon members. Theystayed out of sight, perhapshunkered down in low vegetation.

A few Great Egrets, Cormo-

rants, Little Snowy Egrets andplenty of Forester and CaspianTerns were spotted. One NorthernHarrier flew low over the marshes.Laughing Gulls lived up their nameand laughed at the shiveringhumans.

Captain Robert Estices steeredthe Delta Exploreralong interestingshorelines and pointed out histori-cal sites. He said Osprey nests atoppower structures were badly

damaged by Tropical Storm Isidorein September.

Resident botanists, KeithCarter and Melvin Long, looked forexotic wetland plants. Noted birder,Minnie Nonkes, identified GoldenCrowned Kinglets in the brushyarea before we left the dock.

In spite of temps in the 40sAudubon members and guestsenjoyed a full morning on the DeltaExplorer. By the time the picnic gotunderway, coats were shed andlunch was enjoyed in the sunshine.After lunch Audubon PresidentJohn Borom led some of the groupon a tour of the nature center underconstruction in the northern end ofthe park.

All in all, a fine day. Brrrrr!!!

A Plurality ofBirds

By Celeste Hinds

Over the years men havecoined a host of special terms to

describe birds in groups. Hereare some that survive the Englishlanguage. I copied some of thesefrom an old National Geographicand added others as I came acrossthem in different publications.

A siege of HeronsA gaggle of Geese (on the

ground)A skein of Geese (in flight)

A herd of Swans, Cranes orCurlewsA badelyng of DucksA sord (or sute) of MallardsA spring of TealA company of WidgeonA cast of HawksA bevy of QuailA covey of PartridgesA muster of PeacocksA nye of PheasantsA brood of Chickens

A covert of CootsA congregation of PloversA desert of LapwingsA wisp of SnipeA fall of WoodcockA bazaar of MurresA flight of Doves or SwallowsA murmuration of StarlingsAn exaltation of LarksA watch of NightingalesA chattering of ChoughsA host of Sparrows

I clip and paste this list inmy field guides. Comes inhandy for impressing newbirders.


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In the coming days, a House-Senate

Conference Committee is expected to

make a decision on drilling in the

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Last

year, the US House of

Representatives passed a provision

to open the Arctic National Wildlife

Refuge to oil and gas drilling. This

provision was included as a part of

the overall House energy bill. In

April, the Senate voted to keep the

drilling provisions out of its version

of the energy bill. As the two energybills differ, a Conference Committee

comprised of members of both the

Senate and House will make the final

decision.And now, six months later,

they appear ready to do so!

Conference Committee members need

to be reminded that the Arctic

National Wildlife Refuge, including its

coastal plainwhere they look to

drillhas extraordinary value as an

intact ecosystem, with all its native

birdlife. Millions of birds nest, migrate

through, or spend the winter in the

Refuge. Their migrations take them to

each of the 50 states, and they cross

great oceans and follow distant

coastlines to reach the lands and

waters of six continents. Keeping this

Refuge intact is critical for the

survival of these birds. The Refuge

also provides important habitat for

the Porcupine Caribou Herd, polar

bears, musk ox, wolves, grizzly bearsand other wildlife.

It comes as no surprise that pro-

drilling special interests are using

their political influence and power to

pressure Conference Committee

members to open the Refuge to

drilling. They erroneously claim that

opening the Refuge to oil drilling will

help reduce our reliance on oil from

the Middle East, while others are

using the possible war with Iraq to

heighten the pro-drilling rhetoric.

These claims are baseless. Here are

the facts:

Experts agree that drilling for oil in the

Arctic Refuge will do little or nothing

to reduce US dependence on foreign

oil, nor will it address Americas long-

term energy needs. There is only a 6-

month supply of oil, and even oil

industry officials admit that oilwouldnt be available for 10 years.

Even with the most optimistic

estimates of Arctic Refuge oil added

to the oil fields off our coasts and

everywhere else in the US, we still

have only 3 to 4% of the worlds oil

reserves.

Artic Drilling Back in the NewsFrom The Audubon Advisory, October 4, 2002

(Vol. 2002, Issue 20)


4/12

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Bird nests are not bird homes.Nests are cradles, nothing more...Ilike to think of them as maternitywards.

When birds sit on eggs, they arenot simply relaxing. They areregulating the temperature of theclutch. If too hot, the parent bird

may need to cool the eggs byshading or moistening them. Somebirds make frequent trips to bird-baths or watering places to soaktheir belly feathers, then return tothe nest to cool the eggs. Somespecies cool the eggs by wavingtheir wings.

Keeping the eggs warm maybe a challenge for early springnesters. April can be cool andwet and parent birds must siton the eggs for long periods oftime, without food or water.

According to BirdscopeNews and Views from SapsuckerWoods of Cornell Lab of Orni-thology, ambient temperaturesmay also play a role in deter-

mining the clutch size anddetermining how hard birdsmust work to keep the eggs atproper temperature.

Mourning Doves, Zenaidamacoura, must be architecturallychallenged for their nest con-struction leaves much to bedesired. A pair built theirflimsy nest above our patio andthe eggs could be seen frombelow. The first little breeze

blew the cradle right off thelimb. Their second nest sur-vived and hatched three babiesthat promptly fell out on to theground. I put them in densebrush nearby and hoped theparent birds would come totheir rescue. Although poornesters, Doves prosper and seemto grow in number each year.

Someone brought me the

nest of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher,Polioptila caurela, and it is awork of art. Not only is itlovely to look at, it is sturdy andglued to the limb on which itsat. This work of a mastercraftsman (or craftsbird, if youwill) was saddled to a smallhorizontal branch of a water

oak, and built of plant down,fiber, oak catkins; bound togetherwith insect silk, spider web andcovered with bits of lichen andplant down.

Last year a Carolina Wren,Thoryothorus ludovicianus, raised itsbrood behind the shampoo in ouroutdoor shower. After the nest-lings had fledged I removed thenest and saw that its interior was

white as snow. Upon furtherexamination I saw that the cleverwren had lined its cradle with finewhite fur from our cat that wasbrushed daily. The wads of fur fellonto the grass where the wrenretrieved and made good use of it.

I always put lint from thedryer outside on twigs for easy useof Northern Mockingbirds,Mimus polyglottos. Once a Mock-ingbird was seen pulling strings

from a dirty mop!Peterson Field Guides Eastern

Birds Nests is a good source forlearning more about nests andnesting habits.

For the New Birder About Bird CradlesBy Celeste Hinds


5/12

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Bird TreatyTakes Wing

From Houston Chronicle Dina Cappiello

For migrating birds, cities can

be a deadly pit stop. Mirroredskyscrapers create the illusion of anendless sky to the wary travelersthen, whack. Telephone wires andelectrical lines can catch even theswiftest of wings and the landingstrip of manicured lawns isnothing more than giant dinnerplates for hungry cats.

But the trip might be eased abit for the millions of birds that

pass through Houston each season.In an agreement signed this fallbetween the city and the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service, Houstonbecame the fourth metropolis inthe country to agree to activelyprotect migratory birds. Nationaland local dignitaries will officiallyannounce the signing early nextyear. Under the two-year pact,known as an Urban ConservationTreaty for Migratory Birds, several

local educational and environmen-tal groups will match $160,000 infederal and corporate dollars toprovide more bird-friendly habitatand better monitor annual migra-tions.

Houston is in a strategicallyvery important location. Anythingwe do good for birds here benefitsliterally all of North America,said Peter Stangel, regional directorfor the National Fish and WildlifeFoundation. The nonprofit, afunding arm of the service, do-nated $80,000 to the treaty. Halfof that money was donated byHouston-based Conoco Phillips,an oil and gas company.

When it comes to bird traffic,Houston is a major rest stop on a

superhighway running from Centraland Latin America to the Artic.Each year millions of neotropicalbirds, geese and other waterfowl,representing hundreds of species,pass through the area en route towarmer weather as the seasons

change. Some stay and nest here,others just pause for refueling.

While some of the projects inthe new treaty could potentially luremore birds to the areaby plantingvegetation in a number of local parksand building bird houses andfeedersothers will enhance re-searchers understanding of themigration.

The projects will be done by August 2004 and include:

Installation of 20 microphoneson schools and telephone companybuildings to record migratory birdcalls at night and to count popula-tions.

Replacement of invasive specieswith native shrubs and trees in LittleThicket, Hermann, Memorial, andE.R. and Ann Taylor Parks.

Development of educationalmaterials.

Construction of an interpreta-tive trail and bird houses and feedersalong the White Oak Bayou.

The scope of these projects willadd to the quality of life here inHouston, said Roksan Okan-Vick,director of the citys Parks andRecreation Department, which ismatching the $80,000 provided bythe federal government largelythrough in-kind services.

Like many major cities,

Houstons bird habitat has slowlybeen eaten away by developmentand sprawl. The native plants thatbirds have adapted to for shelter andfood have been taken over by exoticshrubs. Domestic animalsmostnotably the cathave become birdpredators. And pesticides and

diseases such as West Nile virushave taken serious tolls on avianpopulations.

Of the 836 migratory speciesprotected under federal law, wildlifeexperts estimate one-quarter to bein trouble. Of these, 78 are

endangered and 14 are listed asthreatened on the federal endan-gered species list. More than 250species pass through Houston eachyear, according to the estimates.We sit in a place where the birdshave been coming through foreons, said Ron Jones, a wildlifebiologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Houston.

One of the groups that appliedfor funding wants to use the moneyfor research. The South TexasChapter of the Telephone Pioneersof America, a group of Southwest-ern Bell Co. employees and retirees,plans to erect microphones onbuildings around the city to recordthe calls of migrant birds at night.The recordings will be fed into acomputer to determine the speciesfrom the sound. For some years,we have only been doing radar

tracking at night, said GaryWoods, a member of the group.That only tells us the approximatenumber of birds, it tells us nothingabout the species.

New Orleans, Chicago andPhiladelphia are the other threecities that signed treaties since theproject began in 1999. Portland isexpected to endorse a treaty inspring 2003. And four other citieshave applied, said Julie St. Louis,

national coordinator for the pro-gram. In Chicago, one of theinitiatives called for dimmingdisorienting lights on skyscrapers.(Houston will not follow suit).The program is flexible, St. Louissaid. We expect the number ofcities to increase.


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The Ivory-billed Woodpecker(Campephilus principalis

principalis) is or was one of therarest and largest woodpeckers inthe world. The genus comes fromthe combination of two Greekwords campa (a caterpillar) andphilos (loving). The species nameis Latin meaning principal,referring to the earlier belief thatcaterpillars were the primary foodof this species.

Adults are about 20 inches inlength, mostly black, with a red

crest on the male. The female hasno red on the head. A large whitestripe runs from behind the eyeand down the neck on both sidesof the head. When the bird is atrest, large white patches arevisible near the ends of the wings.While it is flying, white is visible

on both the upper and lowerportions of the inner flight

feathers. The bill is an ivorycolor.Its former range was in the

southeastern United States,including all of the Southeastnorth of southeastern NorthCarolina, west to Missouri, andsouthwest through Oklahomaand Texas. The subspecies inCuba is Campephilus principalisbairdi.

The habitat where this

species once occurred was matureold-growth forest and cypressswamps. Its diet consistedmostly of wood-boring insectssuch as beetle larvae, but it alsoate other insects, fruits and seeds.It is or was the only woodpeckerin the United States able to pryunloosened bark off trees. Itmore commonly fed on insects intrees that had recently died, ordying portions of live trees.

The known breeding oc-curred from January to April andrequired snags in mature old-growth forest for nesting. Nestsranged from 15 to 70 feet inheight and the female laid fromtwo to five glossy white eggs.Both adults incubated for ap-proximately 20 days. The maleincubated at night and the femaleincubated during the day. The

young fledged within 35 days ofhatching. The male did most ofthe brooding and nest sanitation.A breeding pair required aboutthree square miles of forest.

According to the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service, the speciesis thought to be extirpated fromthe wild in North America.

Remembering the Ivory-billed Woodpeckerby John Borom

However, it has not been officiallydeclared extinct. The story of the

Ivory-billed Woodpecker is a vividsymbol of a conservation failure of20th Century America.

By 1900, millions of acres ofvirgin pine, cypress and hardwoodstill existed in the Southeast. Fora variety of reasons, those who hadopportunities to do so failed tosave even a single tract of thisprimary forest. A severe popula-tion decline occurred between1885 and 1900, along with

logging activity. Hunting bycollectors for museums hastenedthe decline of the species.

The last confirmed sighting ofan Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Alabama was in 1907. By 1938,the U.S. population had beenreduced to only about 22 indi-viduals. Despite the National Audubon Societys suggestionsthat the Singer Preserve in Louisi-ana be selectively logged, leavingold trees for woodpeckers, the lastgreat virgin bottomland swamp onthe whole North Americancontinent was logged out in 1943.One tree that was felled containedan Ivory-billed Woodpecker nestand eggs. A lone female lingeredabout that year.

The last confirmed sighting inFlorida was in the ApalachicolaSwamp in 1950. However, an

unconfirmed sighting of a bird inGulf Hammock was reported in1963. In 1961 and 1963 uncon-firmed reports came from theSantee Swamp in South Carolina.The last confirmed sightings inTexas were in Big Thicket in1960, 1961 and 1966. In Cuba,mixed hardwood forests were


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slashed away not only for lumberbut also to make way for the sugarindustry. The last confirmedsighting was in Cuba in 1987.

Since then, there have beenunconfirmed reports that theIvory-billed Woodpecker has been

seen or heard in the U.S. In1999, a LSU forestry studentreported that he had seen a pair inthe 35,000- acre Pearl River Wildlife Management Area whileturkey hunting in April. Hisperfectly described sighting led torenewed efforts to find the species,including a series of cooperativeexpeditions conducted by theCornell Laboratory of Ornithol-ogy, Zeiss Sports Optics, theLouisiana Natural HeritageProgram, Department of Wildlifeand Fisheries and the LSU Mu-

seum of Natural Science.From late January through

mid-March, 2002, acousticrecording units (ARUs), devel-oped by the Cornell Labs team ofbioacoustics engineers, recordedsounds, natural and otherwise,

from 12 different positionsthroughout the forests of thePearl River drainage. The ARUshad been deployed by researchersfollowing rugged hikes throughbayous, brambles, and mud.Analysis of more than 4,000hours of digital data have shownno indication of the speciespresence.

At one point, two differentresearch teams independentlyheard loud double raps thatsounded suspiciously like the

distinctive display drum of thegenus Campephilus. Sadly,analysis proved that the soundswere distant gun shots that onlysounded to human ears likedrumming on a hollow snag.Researchers do not consider the

results of this winters work to beconclusive as to the presence orabsence of the species in the PearlRiver forests and investigationswill continue.

The real importance of savingsuch things as Ivory-billed Wood-peckers is not so much that weneed them as that we need to savethem. It is time we recognize where the threat comes from: notfrom our enemies but fromourselves.

The Highlandsof Scotland

We are indeed fortunate thatTom Sterling will be with us

again during Film Week, January13-17. During this week, Tomwill be showing the film, TheHighlands of Scotland, tostudents in 10 public and privateschools. He will also show thefilm Monday, January 13 at theGovernment Street BaptistChurch and Thursday, January16 at 7:30 pm at FaulknerCommunity College.

Tom has taken a fresh look atan old and revered land. Thecasual visitor tends to see neatand tidy coastal villages, the largecities of Edinburgh, Glasgow andInverness; castles, bagpipes andthousands of sheep. Well see allof this and much, much more.

As a trained field naturalist,Tom takes us to the wilder partsof Scotlandthe highlands. Herewell see the beautiful Loch Ness,visit Hadrians Wall, watch asheep dog trial, visit a weaver, apottery and Balmorals Castle, theroyal familys autumn residence.When we visit the HighlandWildlife Park, Scotlands onlydrive-through wild animal park, well see red deer, arctic fox andmuch more. High in theCairngorm Mountains well seethe native reindeer. Touring thenorth and west coast, our tripwill conclude with some of

Scotlands most magnificentmountain scenery.This is a trip to Scotland

youll not want to miss. Join us atone the night showingsMon-day, January 13 in Mobile andThursday, January 16 inFairhope.


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Calendar

MarchFlocks of graceful White Ibis (Eudocimus albus ) are feeding in estuarine marshes.

Resembling plant stems, Gulf pipefish (Syngnathus scovelli) are abundant in estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation.

11 Board Meeting. 6:30 p.m.

General Meeting. The Galapagos Islands presented by Bill and Becky

Jones. Faulkner State Community College Fairhope Campus, Centennial

Hall. 7:30 p.m. Bring a friend.

12 Film Series. The Life of BirdsTo Fly or Not to Fly by David Attenborough.

Where: Faulkner State Community College Fairhope Campus, Centennial Hall.

10:00 a.m. No charge. Refreshments provided.

19 Film Series. The Life of BirdsThe Mastery of Flight by David Attenborough.



26 Film Series. The Life of BirdsThe Insatiable Appetite by David Attenborough.



AprilWhen flocks of Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) grace slightly damp, weedy fields, the world seems a brighter place.

Young spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) are abundant in estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation.

2 Film Series. The Life of BirdsMeat Eaters by David Attenborough.

Hall. 10:00 a.m. No charge. Refreshments provided.

5-19 Hummer Bird Study GroupSpring Banding at Fort Morgan, AL. A

flood of neotropical migrants in their finest breeding plumage! Dont

miss it. For more information call Bob Sargent 205-681-2888.


General Meeting. Alabamas Land Trust ProgramForever Wild

presented by John Borom. Government Street Baptist Church in Mobile.

7:30 p.m. Bring a friend.

9 Film Series. The Life of BirdsFishing for a Living by David

Attenborough. Where: Faulkner State Community College Fairhope

Campus, Centennial Hall. 10:00 a.m. No charge. Refreshments

provided

10-13 The Great Louisiana Bird Fest, an event of the Northlake Nature Center,

Mandeville, Louisiana. For more information log on to:

www.northlakenature.org/BirdFest2003

January 13 General Meeting--Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge update7:30 pm Centennial Hall, Faulkner State Community College, FairhopeSpeaker: Allyne Askins, Reserve Manager

February 11 General MeetingNational Audubon Conservation Issues and Legislative PrioritiesSpeaker: Emily Byram, Grassroots Coordinator, NAS, Washington, DCGovernment Street Baptist Church, 3401 Government Blvd.(Intersection of Highway 90 and I-65)


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Welcome to the Mobile BayAudubon Society, the local chapterof the National Audubon Society. Wethank you for your support. A fewfacts about our chapter: Monthlymeetings are held on the 2nd Tues-day from September thru May at 7:30PM alternately in Fairhope and Mo-bile (See calendar for details of pro-grams and locations.) A door prize isoffered at each meeting. Programs of

interest are planned for each meetingand field trips are scheduled regularly. We are a non-profit organizationalldonations are tax deductible. A listof officers is listed in the newsletter;feel free to call any of them for infor-mation. Join us as often as you canwe want to get to know you.

Ottilie Halstead, Membership Chairman

New Members

Daphne

Mrs. John C. HornMr. & Mrs. R. WoodsFairhopeNancy Miller Jule MoonGulf Shores Judy HocuttLillianM. Baxter

16 Film Series. The Life of BirdsSignals and Songs by David

Attenborough. Where: Faulkner State Community College Fairhope

Campus, Centennial Hall. 10:00 a.m. No charge. Refreshments provided.

18-20 Alabama Ornithological Society spring meeting at Dauphin Island,

6:00 a.m. Friday until noon Sunday. For more information call

Dr. John Porter 861-2120.

23 Film Series. The Life of BirdsFinding Partners by David Attenborough.

Where: Faulkner State Community College Fairhope Campus, Centennial

Hall. 10:00 a.m. No charge. Refreshments provided.

30 Film Series. The Life of BirdsThe Demands of the Egg by David

MayBeautiful Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula ) are nesting in shrub-covered wetlands.

Young Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) are abundant in estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation.

3 Kids Fishing Fun Day. Safe Harbor R.V. Park. 8:00 a.m.-l:30p.m.

A project of the Weeks Bay Reserve Foundation and ADCNR.


General Meeting. The Natural History of the Mobile-Tensaw River

Delta presented by Eric Soehren, Alabama Department of Conservation

and Natural Resources, State Lands Division. 7:30 p.m. Bring a friend.


10/12

10

The fact that hundreds ofmillions of tiny neotropical (New World) songbirds, many weighing

no more than a few pennies each,make a grueling journey betweentwo continents twice a year is oneof natures greatest marvels. Theurge to fly north in spring andsouth in fall is most likely trig-gered by changing day lengths.For weeks before they depart, thesongbirds gorge on food, buildingup fat reserves for the demandingflight. Some warblers may get200 miles of flying at peakefficiency from stored energy inone gram of fat.

They leave Mexico, LatinAmerica and the Caribbean afterthe sun sets, fly at night whentemperatures are cooler andpredators are not as prevalent, andcontinue up to 20 hours nonstopover more than 600 miles of theGulf. They navigate using thelocation of the setting sun, the

moon and other natural light, thepattern of the stars, topographicfeatures, and the Earths geomag-netic field. That such tiny livingfluffs of colorful feathers can travelsuch great distances against manyodds is among the reasons humansare so entranced by wild song-birds.

Their goal is to make a reststop in the first line of extensiveforest on the mainland, perhaps

20 to 30 miles inland. Untoldnumbers never make it that far.Some simply run out of fuel fromfighting head winds, and they fallinto the Gulf. Others maystruggle until they see the firstsliver of land along the coastwhere there is any woodland andsimply plop down.

Songbird Challengesby John Borom

The millions of songbirds thatdo continue their journey rest for aday or so, and consume hordes ofinsects, spiders, and fruits andseeds to rebuild their fat. Then,flying only at night, they make aseries of four to six hour flights,each spanning 50 miles or so.

These flights are punctuated bystopovers that last from a few hoursto a few days.

As the songbirds move north-ward, they often follow rivercorridors, where dense foliage offersprotection against daytime preda-tors and abundant food. Manychoose Alabama for their nestingplace. Others will fly as far northas the Canadian tundra to nest.Stopover areas are vitally importantfor migrating songbirds. Unfortu-nately, they are disappearing atalarming rates.

Coastal wild places vital tosongbirds are now prime realestate. Critical habitat is givingway to vacation resorts, malls,houses and other development.

Other resting stopsforests,grasslands, old fields and pitcherplant bogs have become parti-

tioned by development into smallplots, places where predators are amajor menace.

Fragmentation can bedevastating to songbirds. Studyafter study shows that the birdshave trouble raising their youngin small blocks of woods sur-rounded by clear cuts, farmlandand suburbs, as compared withlarge forest tracts. Fragmentationcreates places where predators

such as house cats, snakes,raccoons and opossums arevirtually funneled into nestingsites.

The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency estimates thatthere are more than 100 milliondomestic and feral cats nationwide. Clawed or declawed, well-fed or hungry, bell or no bell, allcats that spend time outside will

hunt and kill wildlife includingbirds. Nationwide the number ofsongbirds killed by cats is cer-tainly in the hundreds of mil-lions.

Human-made structuresare an increasing hazard tomigratory songbirds. It isestimated that 100 million birdsare killed each year by collisionswith buildings and skyscrapers.Many millions more are killed by

towers, such as those erected forcell phones. A study released bythe American Bird Conservancyreleased last summer says thegrim toll runs as high as 40million birds annually. Presently,there are over 1400 towers in Alabama. The number continues


11/12

11

Weeks BayField Trip

By Celeste Hinds

Audubon member CindyMcDonald missed the boat, butshe was determined not to be leftbehind. She hailed a fishermanand begged a ride out to catch upwith the Estaurine Queen makingway out of Weeks Bay down tothe Magnolia River.

It was a cool crisp morning onOctober 19 and we enjoyed a slowboat ride on smooth waters. EricBrunden was captain for the

morning and Sarah Johnston wasfirst mate. Eric is ResearchTechnician at Weeks Bay Reserveand Sarahs position is GIS (geo-graphic information systems).

The boat had a full comple-ment as we searched for water fowlalong the banks. Osprey were

sighted, along with Cormorants,Laughing Gulls, Caspian Terns,Foresters Terns and Brown Peli-cans. Trees along the banks held a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron,Kingfisher, Red-Winged Black-birds and Red-Bellied Woodpeck-

ers. Someone thought they saw aBald Eagle but I didnt see it.

Although we did not find anabundance of birds we enjoyedthe water and the foliage. Seeingmailboxes where mail is deliveredby boat to homes along theMagnolia River was new to someof the passengers. It was fun toobserve the remote brackish areasalong the river and learn that afew very pristine areas still exist inbeautiful Baldwin County.

Thanks to John Borom forarranging this trip. He wasotherwise engaged and but wemanaged to have a good timewithout him. Thanks to EricBrunden and Sarah Johnston forkeeping us safe.

to increase. The more towers, themore dead birds. Other problemsconfronting migrating songbirdsinclude collisions with automo-biles, pollution and nest parasit-ism by Brown-headed Cowbirds.

In the fall, they make

their return trip to the tropics.From Mexico to Colombia, manysongbirds winter in coffee planta-tions, where coffee bushes havetraditionally been grown under ashady canopy of native forest trees.Unfortunately, this habitat isdisappearing as plantationsintensify and replant with higheryielding, sun-tolerant coffeevarieties that do not require shade.The result is that songbirds mustsearch even harder to find suitablewintering territory.

In recent years, spring hasgrown noticeably quieter and fallskies more still. Dozens ofAlabamas most colorful, sweet-sounding songbirds are in serioustrouble.


12/12

NationalAudubonSociety

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The United States invented the national park. Have we so lost our way a century later that we are prepared to sacrifice a one-of-a-kind wilderness for a shot at a small and temporary supply of oil? Similarly, are we so desperate for a fast buck that other natural

treasures in Alaska are for sale to the highest bidder? Jimmy Carter, Los Angeles Times, 1 December 1990

Mobile Bay Audubon Wants You!

Join Us Today!Every membership supports Audubons vital efforts to protect birds, wildlife and natural habitats.

As a member, youll become an important part of our dynamic chapter and receive a host of benefits including:

A 1-year subscription (6 bi-monthly issues) of our chapter newsletter.

Automatic membership in National Audubon Society, and a 1-year subscription (4 issues, one per quarter) of

Audubon, its award-winning magazine;

Admission to Audubon Centers across the country

A 10% discount on products at select Audubon Nature Stores, and more!

Yes! I want to join Mobile Bay Audubon and National Audubon Society!

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january-february 2003 mobile bay audubon society newsletters

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