2014-2015 Officers

President Joshua Hodge

Vice-President Kelly O’Neal

Secretary Larry Basden

Treasurer Lin Harper

Committees

Newsletter Larry Basden

Field Trips Diane Lafferty

Education Diane Lafferty

Conservation Joshua Hodge Hospitality Jerri Simmons

Membership Kelly O’Neal

Historian Linda Basden

September 3—Birds Around Patagonia, AZ—Diane & Mike Lafferty

Diane and Mike will give a talk about their trip to Patagonia, AZ to visit PWAS members Larry & Anita Morgan. Larry served as a great guide for the area showing them several birding areas around Patagonia including the Paton Center for Hummingbirds (known world-wide). Join us as they share with us the Western birds seen during their trip.

October 1—Ruby-throated Hummingbird Stopover Ecology—T. J. Zenzal

Ruby-throated hummingbirds, the only species of hummingbird that breeds in eastern North America, are intercontinental migrants but surprisingly little is known about their migration biology. The narrow woodlands along the Gulf Coast are thought to provide valuable habitat for these migratory birds before and after crossing the Gulf of Mexico. T.J.’s research focuses on the stopover ecology of these birds at coastal stopover sites and how these amazing birds face challenges during stopover, including the need to meet their high-energy demands while coping with competition and the threat of predation. T.J. will share information he has obtained in the course of his study of resource use, including stopover duration, use of space, and pattern of passage in relation to age and sex.

September/October Meetings —Joshua Hodge

Pine Woods Audubon Society

Volume 2015/2016 September/October 2015

The Pine Warbler

Pine Woods Audubon Society is a chapter of National Audubon Society, Inc.

Sept. 5—MCAS Field Trip to Seaman Road Lagoons (Jackson County). Meet at Park & Ride in Ocean Springs (I-10, exit 50) at 7:30am. See MCAS website for more details.

Sept. 26—Fall birds at the McSwain Property. Larry Smith will lead this trip. Meet at Midtown Market at 7:30am. Don’t forget water and bug spray as the mosquitoes seem to flourish there.

Oct. 3—Lake Thoreau and October Fest. Meet at Midtown Market at 8:30am (or meet the group at Lake Thoreau). After birding we will eat at the October Fest.

Oct. 10 or 11—National Big Sit Bird Count. This is a dawn to dusk count at the gate of the Hattiesburg Sewage Lagoons. You’re welcome to spend all day or whatever portion of the day fits your schedule for this count. The date will be one of those shown above and will be finalized later.

Oct. 16-18—Fall Migration at Dauphin Island, AL. Make your own reservations for this weekend. Compilation meeting will be held at the Gulf Breeze Motel on Saturday evening.

Oct. 31—MCAS Field Trip to Ship Island. Meet at Gulfport Harbor dock at 9:00am. There is a fee for the ferry. See MCAS website for more details.

Nov. 7—St. Catherine Creek NWR. Details are still being worked out for this trip. It may include an overnight stay in Vicksburg.

These, as well as other events, are included in the calendar pages included with the e-mail version of the newsletter. This can also be seen (and downloaded) at the PWAS website.

September/October Field Tr ips & Events—Diane Lafferty

Meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month (September through May) in the Education Building at the Hattiesburg Zoo. Refresh-ments at 6:30 pm. Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and are open to the public.

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Local Chapter Support—Reminder

The beginning of the meeting year also marks the time for renewing local Chapter dues. As you know, we have a number of Chapter members who are also members of the National Audubon Society. Part of the national dues return to the Chapter to offset our expenses. However, it is not a requirement to be a National Audubon Society member to participate in Chapter activities. It is easy to become a local Chapter member if you do not wish to join the national organization. We suggest a donation of $20 per family to support our local Chapter activities. Feel free to support the local Chapter even if you are also a national member. It is important to note that we do not “check-up” on anyone wishing to join us for meetings or any of our activities to see if you are a member or not. You are welcome at all times. We feel that adults only need a gentle reminder of our honor system support system at the beginning of our yearly activities. If you wish to add your support for the year, just see Lin Harper (Chapter Treasurer) at a meeting or send her your contribution at the Chapter return address shown on Page 4.

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang

there except those that sang best. - Henry Van Dyke -

President’s Message—Joshua Hodge

Dear Pine Woods Audubon Members,

Another year of Audubon is about to start. I have had a hectic summer, and this one really snuck up on me. But now I can look forward to all the great birds, field trips, programs, and fellowship with my favorite group of people. I’m sure we have a great year ahead!

Every year when I send in our Chapter Leader Report, I seem to be reentering the same 4-5 names in every position. I would love for this leadership roster to grow this year. We have a few committees that are effectively defunct at the moment be-cause no one has been willing to step up. There are so many ways to get involved. I know that sometimes people may want to get involved, but they don’t know where to start. I will be providing some information on our email list and at the Sep-tember meeting.

I look forward to seeing each of you at our September meeting.

Joshua Hodge

New Pine Woods Audubon Listserv

With Lin’s retirement from USM, we had to find another host for our Chapter’s on-line communications server. Nabble was tried but did not have all of the features we were used to having. We have now settled on using Freelists.org as the host for our communications. This is the same server used by MissBird and a host of other groups/organizations. Subscribing to the list is fairly easy. The first step is to go to http://www.freelists.org/list/pinewoodsaudubon . Type your email address in the box, choose Subscribe, and click the Go button. You should receive an email at the address you used on the web page. This email gives instructions on how to confirm your request to subscribe. If you have problems with replying to the message, just click on the link included in the message. That’s pretty much it for subscribing (as best I remember). Test that you are sub-scribed by sending a test message to pinewoodsaudubon@freelists.org . If any of this doesn’t seem to be working for you, contact Lin Harper or Larry Basden and we will help you through the process. It’s all new but, once you get subscribed to the list, you will be receiving any messages sent to the list and can fully participate in any of the discussions.

We had a real advantage with Lin as the list administrator to lead us through the process for the USM system but the Freelists system performs the same way. There may be a few bumps in the road, but there are no walls to keep us from re-establishing what we had before—a very handy communications channel for the Chapter.

The two field trips to Dauphin Island (spring and fall migration) are highlights of the year for many of us. They are the chance to see MANY species that do not spend time in our area. While the spring migration tends to be the more concentrat-ed with the always present potential for a “fall out” event, the fall migration has much to offer also. In fact, with regard to warbler species it is the most challenging. There is a reason you hear some say “Oh those confusing fall warblers.”

In the fall many of the warblers passing through are often less colorful than they are in the spring when they are on the way to their breeding grounds. After all, in the spring there are only so many days available to get to the breeding grounds, claim a territory, woo a partner, and set up housekeeping. They really need to already be in their best plumage because the action starts as soon as they arrive. But in the fall the frantic activities have waned and now all they are trying to do is get back to the area where they will be able to maintain themselves until the next breeding season. The plumage has been well worn and often molted into the drabber look to enable keeping a low profile for safety. The newly hatched are also in their drab winter outfits.

If you are planning to spend the weekend on the island, there are 2 popular choices available. The Gulf Breeze Motel is the usual site for the Saturday evening compilation meeting and typically has several Chapter members in residence for the week-end. The contact number for the motel is (251) 861-7344. The motel is located on the western part of the island. For those who enjoy camping, the Dauphin Island Campground is available. It is located at the eastern end of the island near the ferry terminal. The campground adjoins the Audubon Bird Sanctuary and has entrances to the sanctuary. The contact number for the campground is (251) 861-2742.

Even if you are not planning to spend the weekend, Dauphin Island can be an easy day trip from this area. You can always find birders (including PWAS members) at Cadillac Square Park, the Shell Mound, the Airport, or the Goat Tree. Come join us for the chance to experience “warbler neck” as we scan the treetops for migrating warblers.

The Dauphin Island fall migration is our big event for the beginning of our meeting season just as the spring migration is our big event for the end of our meeting season. Please consider joining us as we prowl the island looking for as many species as possible. Spending time in the “bowl” shooting the breeze and keeping a sharp eye out for birds is an enjoyable way to spend time. There is always good food, good friends, and good birds.

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Welcome, New Members!—Kelly O’Neal

Here are the new members who have joined Audubon at the national level since the last issue of The Pine Warbler. If you know any of these people, please take a few minutes to welcome them, to tell them about PWAS, and to invite them to join us at a meeting, field trip, or other activity.

Anelle Ingram—Hattiesburg

Ellen & Steve Ramp—Hattiesburg

Judith Tepper—Hattiesburg

Shirley Ducker—Purvis

Linda Foshee—Hattiesburg

A. Gray—Hattiesburg

Kathleen Messenger—Hattiesburg

Sharline Wells—Soso

Fal l Migrat ion at Dauphin I s land

Pine Woods Audubon Society 544 West 4th Street Hattiesburg, MS 39401

Address Service Requested

The Pine Warbler

We’re on the Web!

www.pinewoodsaudubon.com

It has been a long summer. While I can’t vouch for what the birding has been like in the pine woods, all reports I have received indicate that it was the typical “slow time” for most members.

Backyard birding was limited to “the usual suspects” who live here year-round. These included Northern Cardinals, Northern Mockingbirds, Carolina Wrens, Eastern Towhees, Tufted Titmice, Red-bellied (and Red-headed) Woodpeckers, Carolina Chickadees, and the summer hummingbirds. There has been a bit of traffic on MissBird recently about whether the hummingbirds are at their normal levels or scarcer than normal. The answers have really been mixed—some seeing lower than normal numbers, some seeing about the normal numbers, and even a few who are seeing increased numbers. So, as they say, “Your Mileage May Vary”.

A recent trip to the Chick resulted in a hard time finding ANY birds. There were more heard than seen. None of our summer residents were seen (have they all gone already?). The single surprise of the day was seeing a Great Horned Owl—a first for me in the Chick.

Bird S ight ings & Field Tr ips

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PWAS Mtg. Zoo Educ. Ctr. 7:00 pm

MCAS Field Trip Seaman Road Lagoons

K & B Meeting Keg & Barrel 5:30 pm

PWAS Field Trip McSwain’s 7:30 am

PWAS Mtg. Zoo Educ. Ctr. 7:00 pm

K & B Meeting Keg & Barrel 5:30 pm

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PWAS Mtg. Zoo Educ. Ctr. 7:00 pm

K & B Meeting Keg & Barrel 5:30 pm

PWAS Field Trip Big Sit Lagoon Gate

PWAS Field Trip Big Sit Lagoon Gate

PWAS Field Trip Fall Migration Dauphin Island

PWAS Field Trip Fall Migration Dauphin Island

PWAS Field Trip Fall Migration Dauphin Island

MCAS Field Trip Ship Island

PWAS Mtg. Zoo Educ. Ctr. 7:00 pm

PWAS Field Trip St. Catherine Creek NWR

Big Sit will be held on one of the 2 days shown (to be determined later) Ticket for Ship Island ferry required for MCAS Field Trip on 31 October. St. Catherine Creek NWR Field Trip may include an overnight in Natchez. To be determined later.