November 2006

Volume XXXII, Issue 11 ATLANTA AUDUBON SOCIETY

The Best Birding Spots of Central Panama

Presented by Raul Arias de Para
Owner/Operator of the Canopy Tower and Canopy Lodge, Panama
November 12, 2006
2 PM Brook Run Park Theater
4770 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody 30338
M any of our members have already met
Raul Arias de Para at the Canopy Tower in
Panama or other locations. Some of you may
have dreamed of traveling to Panama to add to
that life list and see some of the fabulous birds
you’ve heard so much about; others may be
curious just to see pictures and hear about this
birding hotspot.
Please join Atlanta Audubon at our November
meeting as we host Raul Arias de Para. Raul
will present beautiful pictures of birds and
scenery along with informative maps about the
best birding spots of Central Panama,
including the world-famous Pipeline Road and
Canopy Tower, as well as Achiote Road on the
Caribbean side and the cloud forests of El
Valle de Anton.
Raul Arias de Para is owner and operator of
the Canopy Tower and the Canopy Lodge,
Panama. He obtained a BS at St Joseph's
University in Philadelphia and has a master's
degree in economics from the University of
Virginia. He is also active in conservation. He
is vice president of ANCON, the largest
conservation organization in Panama;
president of Fundacion Avifauna dedicated to
the conservation of bird habitat; and board
member of Fundacion Amador in charge of the
museum of biodiversity, designed by Master
Architect Frank Gehry.
For more information about Raul and the
Canopy Tower, visit this Web site:
http://www.canopytower.com/Raul.htm
I N S I D E
President’s Perch ...........2
From the Exec Dir ..........3
Field Notes .....................4
Field Trips.......................5
Volunteer Ops..................5
Wildlife Sanctuary Tour....6
New Finch Species!.........6
Ivory-bill Sightings? ......7
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid ..7
Classifieds .....................8
By The Way.....................9
Membership ..................9
ATLANTA
AUDUBON SOCIETY
Box 29189
Atlanta, GA 30359
www.atlantaaudubon.org

Celebrate the Holidays with Atlanta Audubon! AAS OFFICE

and Information Line
Friday, December 15, 2006
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
770.913.0511
of Atlanta Social Hall
6-7 PM -- Reception and silent auction GOS RARE BIRD ALERT
7-9 PM -- Buffet Dinner
770.493.8862
cont’d. on next page
 Board of Directors
2006
Executive Director Catharine Kuchar President’s Perch
770.993.9579
kucharc@bellsouth.net
by Kelly Hopkins
Officers
President Kelly Hopkins
404.622.1888
hopkins_kelly@bellsouth.net
President-elect Ellen Miller
404.355.8892
What’s in Your Backyard?
ellen.miller@eclipsys.com
Treasurer David Yon
After the Wildlife Sanctuary Tour, my folks enough to keep the mosquitoes active and in my
404.513.9806 decided to thin out a portion of their backyard. face. I was able to practice my bird
yonkers13@comcast.net
Recording Secy Mark Jernigan They were really motivated by seeing the vocalizations—they were all basically telling me
404.298.8825
markajernigan@bellsouth.net different yards and bought several species of to go back inside and to leave them alone. By
Corresponding Secy Barbara Tarpley ferns at Georgia Perimeter College. All the Sunday afternoon, I had filled four containers
404.687.0079
atlpiaf@aol.com family members have received invitations to see with weeds, first-year saplings and thin, long
Directors the grotto by the lake. They have done a lot of strips of blue tarp from my neighbor's roof. I
Conservation Clark Rushing
crushing05@gmail.com work on it. Mom is determined to have the think Mom and Dad will beat me in certifying
404.373.8585
Education Marcia Klenbort backyard certified as a Wildlife Sanctuary. their backyard, but I am now motivated to make
404.874.9826
marcia.klenbort@comcast.net Based on their enthusiasm, I decided to spend a run at it myself.
Field Trips Dave Butler
404.580.3917 the weekend reclaiming my backyard. The birds Don’t let another year go by without doing
dabutler@co.dekalb.ga.us were aggravated that I kept disturbing their something really special for the birds. Have your
Membership Art Hurt
770.934.7660 eating and bathing patterns. I was aggravated by yard certified by Atlanta Audubon as a Wildlife
artlisahurt@bellsouth.net
Communications and Past President
the number of acorns that had grown into small Sanctuary. Who knows, maybe we’ll be touring
Georgann Schmalz trees. The weather was perfect but still warm your sanctuary some September to come.
706.216.5012
georgannschmalz@alltel.net
Publicity Dave Decker
770.938.3467
m.decker1@comcast.net
Special Events Nancy Hamilton
404.874.2338
nlhamilton@bellsouth.net Celebrate the Holidays
Volunteers Carl Tyler cont’d from page 1
404.634.3892
cwt1@mindspring.com
At Large
Jay Davis Reservations required: $22 per person, payable to Atlanta Audubon Society. Mail your
404.624.4973
webtoad@earthlink.net check to Nancy Hamilton, 1126 Los Angeles Avenue, NE, Atlanta, GA, 30306, or contact
Denese Van Dyne her by e-mail at nlhamilton@bellsouth.net or by phone at 404.874.2338.
404.406.9324
denesevandyne@yahoo.com This year’s holiday banquet promises to be a wonderful, fun and festive time to celebrate
Lisa Hurt the close of the year with door prizes and a great silent auction. During the reception, we
770.934.7660
artlisahurt@bellsouth.net will have appetizers and a cash bar for beer and wine, along with sparkling cider.
Victor Williams We encourage you to donate something special for the silent auction—perhaps a skill you
Earthshare Representative
770.423.1012 have or a service. Field trip leaders and Master Birders, here is your chance to provide a
72064.1017@compuserve.com one-on-one experience to the highest bidder—a private bird walk in your favorite habitat
---
IBA Program Consultant or a consultation in the bidder’s garden. We already have a weekend away in a cabin in
Jim Wilson 770.602.1679
gaiba@bellsouth.net western North Carolina up for bid, and a pet sitter is putting a weekend away up for bid.
Website Please contact Nancy Hamilton with auction items. Many thanks.
Jim Flynn
webmaster@atlantaaudubon.org
Wingbars Editor
Grace Trimble 404.351.0518
gmtrimble@mindspring.com
Design & Layout
Copy Preparation 770.939.2002
copyprep@mindspring.com
Proofreading
Mim Eisenberg
mim@wordcraftservices.com
Newsletter deadline is the first of
the month for material to be
published the following month.
Please submit articles as MS-Word to
gmtrimble @mindspring.com.
Email attachments, if possible. Mission Statement:
Wingbars is the monthly newsletter of Atlanta
Audubon Society. We feature news, upcoming
events, meetings, field trips and projects. We
To promote the enjoyment and understanding of birds and to
hope you will join us. Opinions expressed are
those of the authors and do not necessarily
conserve and restore the ecosystems that support them.
reflect policies of the Atlanta Audubon Society.

2 Atlanta Audubon Society

 From the Executive Director
by Catharine Kuchar
Something to Caw About
In the past month or so on the job, I’ve been
busy learning a great deal about Atlanta
Audubon. A big part of this work has been
taking a "big picture" view of the
organization—thinking about who we are and
who we want to become. It got me
wondering, of course, about the more
fundamental question, what do we think
about the birds? After all, aren’t they the
reason that Atlanta Audubon exists?
Aristotle once said, "Plants exist to give food
to animals, and animals to give food to
men—domestic animals for their use and
food; wild ones, in most cases, if not in all,
furnish food and other conveniences, such as
clothing and various tools. Since nature
makes nothing purposeless or in vain, all
animals must have been made by nature for
the sake of men." Most of us—if not all of
us—cringe at the thought of Aristotle’s view
of the natural world. It was by no means
unique. Yet central to his thinking is a
profoundly important question for us to ask,
"What is it about birds that we value?"
I’ve always liked what Holmes Rolston, a
professor of philosophy, states are the many
ways that nature is valuable to humans. He
lists these, of course, as a way to begin a
discussion of our own duties to the natural
world. Some of these include:
• Life-support value. Humans depend on
the natural world to survive (airflow,
water cycles, sunshine, etc.)
• Recreational value. We can sit quietly
and bird watch or spend the day rock
climbing, but either way, "people like to
recreate in the great outdoors because
they are surrounded by something
greater than anything they find indoors."
• Aesthetic value. Beyond utility and life
support, we admire nature and seek to
have none of it destroyed.
November 2006
✔ olunteer
Opportunities
GET INVOLVED
IN ATLANTA
• Historical value. Wild lands tell a story
of our history and we want to preserve it AUDUBON
for generations. It’s something everyone We invite you to volunteer
should be able to experience. with these Atlanta Audubon
programs.
• Cultural-symbolization value. Think of
the bald eagle in America, for example, Monthly Programs
and you know the value put on this We need your hospitality
assistance to bring refreshments
special bird. to the monthly meetings.
Contact: Ellen Miller at
• Character-building value. Wild lands 404.355.8892
provide a place to gain humility and a
Publicity
place to "sweat and push oneself." Help us get the word out
through local media about our
Rolston explores several additional values,
field trips and workshops.
all of which push us to think about our own Contact: Dave Decker
770.938.3467
view of nature. Undoubtedly, there is value in
these values. The problem arises when values Membership
Help with mailings to
come into conflict with one another. This is
membership.
very much an ethics issue. Dilemmas don’t Contact: Art Hurt
770.934.7660
appear in "right" versus "wrong" situations;
they appear in "right" versus "right" Events
Represent Audubon at special
situations. It is a good versus a good, a value
functions and displays.
versus a value. Contact: Nancy Hamilton
404.874.2338
Unfortunately, as we all know too well, the
values that we ascribe to nature often come Education
Volunteer for a variety of
out on the losing end and another human educational programs. We
provide training workshops.
value is crowned the "winner." The values
Contact: Marcia Klenbort
that Rolston lists are a big reason why we 404.874.9826
have our national parks and protected areas.
Wildlife Sanctuary
Yet even the protection of these special Support the preservation of
greenspace in Atlanta.
places becomes fragile when it is couched in
Contact: Jacqueline McRae
humanistic terms. Therefore, we must ask jacqueline.mcrae@comcast.net
ourselves if there is something beyond
Conservation
human value that makes our featured friends Become an Armchair Activist
so special. Is it for the very fact that each and keep updated on legislative
action both locally and nationally.
individual creature exists? Is there intrinsic Contact: Clark Rushing
and inherent value in all living things? There 404.373.8585
are many ways that we can begin to think Office and Phone
about this. I know that we can’t possibly Answer the AAS hotline and
assist visitors to our office at
scratch the surface here. What we can do, the Dunwoody Nature Center
however, is continue to ponder the question, Contact: Ellen Miller
"What is it about birds that we value?" 404.355.8892
Important Bird Areas Program
Help distribute information,
monitor input, network
throughout the state with
IBA participants.
Contact: Jim Wilson
770.602.1679
3
 August Field Notes
August was a pretty good
month, as we managed to set
new records for the Atlanta
area both for the month and year-
to-date categories. While the
warbler migration was rather
slow, we still found almost all the usual
species; plus we had a decent shorebird
migration, with a number of rarities being
found. Add a couple very successful pelagic
trips to the mix, and we had a very good
month.
The Atlanta area recorded 149 species (old
record 144), which compares well with the
average of 136.4. The year-to-date total now
stands at 240 (old record 238), which is
well above the average of 223.5. The
Georgia area had 213 species for the month
(ties previous record), which compares well
to the average of 197.1. The year-to-date
total is now at 319, which is much better
than the average of 310.4.
ATLANTA AREA
WATERFOWL THROUGH GREBES – A GADWALL
was rather early at the E.L. Huie Land Application
Facility (ELHLAF) in Clayton County on 25 Aug.
(SB). Also at the ELHLAF, but much more unusual,
was a possible MOTTLED DUCK found there on 30
Aug. by EB. Some photos were taken, so hopefully
we will be able to get a positive ID on the bird. EB
also had a good count of 50 BLUE-WINGED TEAL
at Sweetwater Creek State Park (SCSP) on 18 Aug.
Rare for the summertime was a NORTHERN
PINTAIL in Bartow County on 16 Aug. (MD). Back at
the SCSP, EB found two HOODED MERGANSERS
on 18 Aug. CLa reported two pairs of nesting PIED-
BILLED GREBES at the ELHLAF during the month
plus an EARED GREBE that appeared on 23 Aug.
and remained there for the remainder of the month
(CLa).
HERONS THROUGH FALCONS – Rather rare for the
Atlanta area were two TRICOLORED HERONS at
Lake Horton on 14 Aug. (EB) and two BLACK-
CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS in Spalding County on
8 Aug. (EB). Another NIGHT-HERON (SP?) was
seen at Turner Field on 12 Aug. (GK). As many as
27 immature WHITE IBIS were seen at the ELHLAF
on 1 Aug. (CLa). Rare sightings for the Atlanta area
were nine WOOD STORKS in Spalding County on
14 Aug. (EB) and one WOOD STORK in Spalding
County on 31 Aug. (EB). MISSISSIPPI KITES are
becoming much more common in the Atlanta area
now. There were a total of six separate reports
during the month, with the peak count of 12 coming
from Spalding County on 14 Aug. (EB). A single
PEREGRINE FALCON was seen at the Kennesaw
Mountain National Battlefield (KMT) in Cobb County
4 Atlanta Audubon Society
by Terry Moorez
on 30 Aug. (DZ et al.).
MOORHENS THROUGH TERNS – CLa located six
pairs of nesting COMMON MOORHENS at the
ELHLAF during the month. Very rare for late
summer was the sighting of four SANDHILL
CRANES over the Wetlands Center of the ELHLAF
on 16 Aug. (CLa). Interesting shorebird sightings
included a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER in Bartow
County on 13 Aug. (KB), an AMERICAN GOLDEN-
PLOVER at the ELHLAF starting on 29 Aug. (EB)
and continuing at least until 31 Aug. (CLa), a
WILLET at the ELHLAF on 31 Aug. (DV), a BAIRD’S
SANDPIPER in Bartow County on 31 Aug. (WC), a
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER in Bartow County on
29 Aug. (BZ,WC) and an early COMMON SNIPE in
Bartow County on 13 Aug. (KB). Cla reported one
BLACK TERN at the ELHLAF on 17 and 19 Aug.,
and two there on 23 Aug.
NIGHTHAWKS THROUGH SPARROWS – Many
observers reported good numbers of COMMON
NIGHTHAWKS mostly late in the month, with the
best counts coming on 31 Aug., when PB had 210+
over Tucker and SZ had 234 over Roswell. BZ et al.
had a good count of 17 RED-EYED VIREOS at KMT
on 8 Aug. In Bartow County, PB and HG had 25+
BANK SWALLOWS on 5 Aug. Very rare for the
Atlanta was a CAVE SWALLOW reported from
Spalding County on 10 Aug. by EB. Rare warblers
included a LAWRENCE’S WARBLER seen on 28
Aug. at Lawrenceville by KT and a NASHVILLE
WARBLER in Tucker on 31 Aug. by PB. Most of the
usual migrant warblers were seen at KMT but in low
numbers. The only warbler that broke out of single
digits was the HOODED WARBLER, which tallied 10
on both 6 and 9 Aug. (GB et al.). PB and HG
reported a rather awesome count of 45+
GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS in Bartow County on 5
Aug.
GEORGIA AREA
DUCKS THROUGH STORKS – After CKB reported as
many as eight BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS
in Brooks County on 3 Aug., PHi found two adults
with 9–10 young on 25 Aug. for a new breeding
record for the state. There were two excellent
pelagic trips out from Tybee Island on 25 and 27
Aug. The following are the totals for the two trips:
BLACK-CAPPED PETREL (1,1), CORY’S
SHEARWATER (158,108), AUDUBON’S
SHEARWATER (3,11), and WILSON’S STORM-
PETREL (0,2). JSp had a very good count of 48
GREAT EGRETS in Gordon County on 17 Aug. A
REDDISH EGRET seen at the Savannah Airport
ponds on 2 Aug. was somewhat out of place (CLo).
LS reported a count of 60+ WOOD STORKS in
Washington County on 8 Aug.
KITES THROUGH LIMPKIN – Both SWALLOW-
TAILED and MISSISSIPPI KITES were widely
reported from around the state. Unusual sightings
of SWALLOW-TAILED KITES included eight in White
County on 2 Aug. (DD) and one or two in Chattooga
County on 14 Aug. (fide MD). The peak count was
25 in Long County on 16 Aug. (DS). The most
unusual MISSISSIPPI KITE location was one bird in
Dawson County on 6 Aug. (GS) and 11 in Gordon
County on 30 Aug. (JSp). The peak count was 87 in
Oconee County on 11 Aug. (SH,PS). The two
LIMPKINS previously reported from the
Cook/Colquitt County line were still there on 6 Aug.
(fide BB).
PLOVERS THROUGH TERNS – An AMERICAN
GOLDEN-PLOVER was a good find in Morgan
County from 27 Aug. through at least 30 Aug. (MF).
Good numbers of UPLAND SANDPIPERS
frequented the Marshallville sod farm for most of
the month, with the peak count of 52 coming on 28
Aug. (EB). Two BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS were seen in
Gordon County on 15 Aug. (MM, JSp) and a single
bird was in Morgan County on 18 Aug. (BL). Two
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS were seen at
Marshallville on 28 Aug. (EB) and five were in Floyd
County on 29 Aug. (MD). Other counts from the
two previously mentioned pelagic trip were RED-
NECKED PHALAROPE (0,30), POMARINE JAEGER
(1,0), LONG-TAILED JAEGER (0,1), SABINE’S GULL
(0,1), ROYAL TERN (176,57), SANDWICH TERN
(13,2), COMMON TERN (27,13), BRIDLED TERN
(3,23), SOOTY TERN (4,29) and BLACK TERN
(631,174). A LEAST TERN was rare inland at the
West Point Dam on 29 Aug. (MB). The best inland
counts of BLACK TERNS were 20+ at Rum Creek on
27 Aug. (EB) and 38 at West Point Dam on 29 Aug.
(MB).
DOVES THROUGH DICKCISSEL – A WHITE-
WINGED DOVE was a good find at Bostwick Sod,
SW of Athens, on 25 Aug. (EB) and again on 27
Aug. (DM). BARN OWLS are rarely reported, so one
in Murray County on 23 Aug. is noteworthy (JSp). A
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD was already at a Floyd
County feeder on 14 Aug. (RT). Single OLIVE-
SIDED FLYCATCHERS were seen at Chicopee
Woods in the Gainesville area (PG) and at Amicalola
Falls State Park (TK) both on 24 Aug. A YELLOW-
BELLIED FLYCATCHER was a good spot at Rum
Creek on 27 Aug. (EB). JF and EH had an excellent
count of 59 HORNED LARKS at Marshallville on 19
Aug. Rather rare was a NASHVILLE WARBLER in
Catoosa County on 30 Aug. (DH). Also rare for the
area was a CERULEAN WARBLER seen in the
Albany area on 9 Aug. (AA). A SAVANNAH
SPARROW was an early arrival in Gordon County
on 25 Aug. (JSp). A single DICKCISSEL was
reported from the Altamaha Waterfowl Management
Area near Darien on 28 Aug. (SB).
CONTRIBUTORS – Sharon Allsup, Alan Ashley,
Steve Barlow, Giff Beaton, Eric Beohm, Michael
Beohm, Brad Bergstrom, Ken Blankenship, C.K.
Borg, Patrick and Donna Brisse, Walt Chambers,
Vickie DeLoach, Dan Demko, Marion Dobbs, David
Dockery, Jim Flynn, Dot Freeman, Mark Freeman,
Hugh Garrett, Peter Gordon, Phyllis Hiers, David
Hollii, Steve Holzman, Earl Horn, Pierre Howard,
Terry Johnson, Tim Keyes, George King, Carol
Lambert, Bill Lotz, Candice Lowther, Grant
McCreary, Max Medley, Al Mercer, Darlene Moore,
Peggy and Terry Moore, Lynn Schlup, Georgann
Schmalz, Jeff Sewell, Joshua Spence, Diana Swan,
Paul Sykes, Karen Theodorou, Rusty Trump, Dan
Vickers, Bob and Deb Zaremba, and Stacy
Zarpentine
 Field Trips
Compiled by by Dave Butler

Dawson Forest (Dawson County)
Saturday, November 4,
Georgann Schmalz
Sunday, November 5,
Georgann Schmalz
Meet at gate at 8 AM
Birding focus: Migrants, residents
Directions: From Atlanta, go north on
GA 400 for 30 miles beyond I-285. The
first stop light is GA 369. Continue 6.6
miles to Dawson Forest Rd. and turn
left. Drive 3.9 miles to GA 9, and
continue another 1.5 miles to the gate of
Dawson Forest.
E.L. Huie and Newman Wetlands
Center (Clayton County)
Saturday, November 4,
Carolina Lane
Meet in the parking lot at 8 AM
Birding focus: Shorebirds
Directions: Take I-75 south beyond
I-285 to US 19/41 (Tara Blvd., exit 235);
drive south for 8.2 miles to Freeman Rd.
and turn left. The offices are on the
right. This trip is sponsored by the
Clayton County Water Authority. Call the
Wetlands Center for information about
birding at both sites: 770.603.5606. Visit
www.ccwa1.com for more information.
Piedmont Park (Fulton County)
Saturday, November 11,
Jay Davis
Meet at the Piedmont Park Conservancy
Community Room at 8 AM
Our ongoing Piedmont Park bird walks
will be held through the winter on the
second Saturday of the month. They are
co-sponsored by the Atlanta Audubon
Society and the Piedmont Park
Conservancy. Walks are free. Come with
families or without. Come as an
experienced birder or a rank newcomer
or somewhere in between.
Directions: Directions: The Piedmont
Park Conservancy Community Room is
located at the corner of Piedmont
Avenue and 12th Street. From south of
the city, take the I-75/85 connector north
to the Pine St. Exit (Exit 249B). Go
straight on Pine, crossing Peachtree St.
Turn left on Piedmont Ave. Travel about
one mile to 12th St. From northwest of
downtown, take I-75 south to the 16th
St. Exit (Exit 250). Go straight, crossing
14th Street. Follow the signs to 10th St.
Turn left on 10th. Travel about a half
mile to Piedmont. Turn left on Piedmont
to 12th St. From northeast of downtown,
take I-85 south to the 17th St Exit (Exit
84). Continue straight, crossing 14th St.
Follow directions above.

Check Out Some of Our Current Volunteer Opportunities

The work of Atlanta Audubon Society is run
almost exclusively by volunteers. Please take a
look at the listing below and let us know if you
are interested in volunteering for these very
important programs! We need you!
Event Chairperson and Event Co-
Chairperson Needed
International Migratory Bird Day (May 2007). A
big celebration of migratory birds: their amazing
feats and what we can do to ensure their futures.
A festival for all—kids and families, adults—with
activities for all age levels, at a location to be
decided. Georgia Department of Natural
Resources, Watchable Wildlife division, will
partially fund our 2007 IMBD. For more
information, please contact Marcia Klenbort at
Marcia.klenbort@comcast.net
Photography Show Assistants
We will hold our first ever AAS Photography
Show for the entire month of January 2007 at the
UUCA. On Thursday, January 4, the show will be
hung. Ruth Gogel, an AAS member and chair of
the church art committee, needs three or four
folks to help her hang the show. Folks interested
in this volunteer activity need to be available on
January 4 from 1:30 PM until 5 or 6 PM. For more
information, please contact Nancy Hamilton at
404.874.2338 or nlhamilton@bellsouth.net
Echols and Barnsley Scholarship Committee
Members
AAS is committed to sponsoring opportunities
for adults and children to increase their birding
skills and knowledge. The Echols Scholarship is
awarded annually to an adult who has
opportunities to share the knowledge gained
with others in the Atlanta area. The Barnsley
Scholarship aims to deepen birding skills of a
young birder. Each winner is able to attend a
week-long Audubon camp, with a stipend to help
with airfare. We need volunteers to serve on the
scholarship committee to help us coordinate our
2007 selection process. For more information,
please contact Nita Wynn at neat.47.@att.net or
Marcia Klenbort at Marcia.klenbort@comcast.net
Many of our bird programs for kids are lively
activities. We provide all the materials for
teachers and leaders to use. Spend an evening
with others assembling the learning kits. No
experience or knowledge is necessary. For more
information, please contact Marcia Klenbort at
marcia.klenbort@comcast.net
Freedom Park Garden Volunteers
We need help tending Freedom Park Garden. In
addition to garden maintenance, we could also
use someone who'd be willing to help us get
some name plates for the plants, and someone to
help establish a Web page. For more information,
please contact Carl Tyler at
cwt1@mindspring.com

November 2006 5
 Better than EVER—6th Annual Wildlife Sanctuary Garden Tour
By Nancy Hamilton
What a glorious day we had for the Wildlife
Sanctuary Garden Tour Saturday, September 16!
We honored three homeowners and one public
property on the tour. All the
owners have created gardens
that are truly sanctuaries for
wildlife and birds as well as
restful, pleasurable spaces for
people. The variety in size and
dimension of the gardens was
wonderful and, for many, quite
inspiring. Thanks to each of
our garden owners: Debbie and
Claus Sinex, Carol and Aubry
Bush, Mary Jane Kettler and
George Sanko, representing the
Native Plant Botanical Garden
at the Georgia Perimeter
College Decatur Campus.
Nearly 150 visitors toured the
four sanctuary sites, 10 of
whom became members of
Atlanta Audubon Society that
day while others took home membership
information. This year’s tour raised some $2,500
for Atlanta Audubon’s conservation efforts and
education programs.
Special thanks go to Jacqueline McRae, chair of
the Wildlife Sanctuary Certification program, for
selecting the sites and working with the owners
to open their gardens for the tour. This year she
also coordinated the volunteers who so
graciously greeted visitors and were the face of
AAS at the sites. Thanks go to our volunteers:
New Finch Species Discovered in Colombia
Conservationists have found a
colorful new bird in a previously
unexplored region in the Andes.
The Yariguies Brush-Finch gets
it name for the indigenous tribe
that once lived in the area. It
features a bright red head, black
back and yellow breast.
Fortunately for the little bird,
the Colombian government has
decided to create a 500-acre
national park in the cloud forest where the
bird lives. The small bird is a close relative
of the Yellow-breasted Brush-Finch but
lacks the white markings on the wings.
According to Thomas Donegan, a member
6 Atlanta Audubon Society
Tom and Jane Blaisdell, Sharon Brekke, Anita
Chilcutt, Nannette Dooley, Virginia Dunbar,
Marilyn Harris, Sally Hodges, Kelly Hopkins,
Mary Kelly, Marcia Klenbort, Catharine
Brockman Kuchar, Mary Lou McCloskey, Anne
McCallum, Page and Graham McDonald, Sandy
Miller, Suzanne Norman, Janice Page, Tom
Painter, Georgann Schmalz, Carol Vanderschaaf,
Gary Wehner and Jim Wilson. A very special
thanks to Victor Williams for making available
to each site volunteer a wonderful Melnor water
wand. What an unexpected treat!
Tickets for the tour this year were available in
advance from AAS board members and at two
garden centers. Several other garden centers
offered to make our tour brochure available to
customers. Special thanks to Hastings Garden
Center and Ashe-Simpson Garden Center for
selling tickets in advance and to Habersham
Gardens in northeast Atlanta, Smith Hardware
in Decatur and The Urban Gardener in
southeast Atlanta for having brochures
available. Many thanks to AAS board members
for selling tickets in advance of the tour to
family and friends.
And last, but not least, thanks to Ellen Miller
and the Peel and Stick Crew for inserting the
Wildlife Sanctuary flyer into every Wingbars
newsletter for September. What a great job you
all did!
This year’s tour was a great success and it could
not have happened without everyone’s
participation as a visitor or volunteer.
of the Anglo-Colombian research team,
"There are about two to three new birds
found in the world every year. It's a very
rare event."
The new finch is about the size of a fist and
is native to Colombia's eastern Andean
range. It is considered by its discoverers to
be near threatened and in need of close
monitoring to prevent it from becoming
endangered.
With as many as 1,865 different species,
Colombia has long been considered a bird
watchers' paradise, albeit a risky one
because of the country's four-decade-old
civil war.
 More Ivory-Bill Sightings?
This time the news is from the Florida in 1935. Only occasional sightings of the
Panhandle. A team of researchers birds were reported after that, so few
reports sighting the Ivory-billed that many scientists concluded the
Woodpecker in the Choctawhatchee species was extinct.
basin. Their evidence includes a
The birding world sat up and took
collection of recordings of the birds’
notice last year when an Ivory-bill
vocalization as well as recordings of
was supposedly spotted in the Cache
"double raps," a sound the birds are
River National Wildlife Refuge in
thought to make when their bills hit a
Arkansas. That research included
tree. The team also reports sighting the
blurry video footage and recordings
birds more than a dozen times between
of kent calls. However many experts
mid-2005 and April 2006.
remain skeptical about this sighting.
The last known recording of an Ivory-
The Florida reports have yet to be
billed Woodpecker was in Louisiana in a
confirmed. Stay tuned.
swampy area known as the Singer Track

Help Fight the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

By Georgann Schmalz
Many of you know that Jim and I moved
to Dawsonville to be closer to the north
Georgia Mountains, our favorite habitat in
the state. Two of our most loved places
up here are the cove hardwood and the
white pine-hemlock forest communities.
Many of you have been on birding trips to
Sosebee Cove, Ivy Log, Brasstown Bald
and Burrell’s Ford.
These forests are composed of Eastern
Hemlock, which is a vital part of the
ecosystem that supports many of our
songbirds, including neotropical warblers,
vireos, tanagers and thrushes.
Eighty percent of these hemlocks may die
in the next six to ten years. Why? An
invasive foreign insect called the hemlock
woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) has been
spreading rapidly through forests in the
eastern United States. Adelgids attach
themselves to the base of hemlock
needles and suck the sap, eventually
killing the tree. Individual trees can be
treated with insecticides.
Chuck Gregory, resource manager for
Georgia State Parks, said the bug has
infested Unicoi, Black Rock Mountain,
Moccasin Creek, Vogel, Tallulah Gorge
and Smithgall Woods. I have seen the
infestation at Lake Winfield Scott just last
week. What would the loss of the
Eastern Hemlock do to our birds? It
would be a total disaster, as the moisture,
temperature, soil and vegetation changes
would destroy their habitat. In addition to
birds, trout and many invertebrates all
depend on the hemlock.
Insecticides are not a viable control in
this problem. The only way to combat
adelgids on a large scale is to introduce a
Don’t let
predator that will eat them.
The University of Georgia is establishing
our
a lab for breeding three species of lady
beetles that prey on adelgids. While the forests
state and federal governments are doing
their part to fight the adelgid, renovation die.
of a building at the University of Georgia
is being paid for with nongovernmental
money, including $56,000 raised by Our
private organizations such as Georgia
ForestWatch and the Lumpkin Coalition. favorite
The Lumpkin Coalition is sponsoring
HemlockFest 2006 November 3 and 4 just
a few miles from Dahlonega. The
birds
weekend will feature music and fun, and
all funds raised will go toward saving the thank
hemlocks. The Coalition is working to
secure matching funds for a Turner you.
Foundation grant and is currently $35,000
short of first-year funding of the lab. All
contributions are tax-deductible to the
extent allowed by law.
Plan to attend if you can. Go to the
Lumpkin Coalition Web site for more
information: www.lumpkincoalition.org.

November 2006 7
 CLASSIFIEDS
Rates for business card size ads are $20/month or $45/quarter. Ads must be consistent
with the conservation and birding mission and agenda of Atlanta Audubon Society.
You may also design your own ad. Call for pricing.
Send ads and payment to:
Wingbars Ads Atlanta Audubon Society, P.O. Box 29189, Atlanta, GA 30359

When You
When You Come Black Oil
To The
To TheMountains
Mountains Sunflower
Visit the best bird store
in North Georgia! 20lb Bag $7.00 always
We have fresh Cole’s with Audubon Membership Card
seed and a HUGE
array of squirrel-proof Proud Supporters of Environmentally
feeders, Bushnell optics,
hard to find hardware, Conscious Organizations in our Local
great books (including
ABA Guides), stained Community.
glass, unique gifts & the
best candles you’ve Wild Bird Centers
ever smelled!
Cumming –– 2825 S. Vickery St. 678-456-6900
Dunwoody—2472 Jett Ferry Rd 770-396-3353
Johns Creek—3630 Peachtree Pky 770-813-9476
Under the big maples in downtown Blue Ridge
611 E. Main St. • Blue Ridge, GA 30513
(706) 258-BIRD (2473) • blueridgebirdseed.com
WWW.Wildbird.com

CANINE SHOWCASE
& WILD BIRD INC.
1874 Piedmont Ave. Suite 101-A
Atlanta, Georgia 30324
404•875•0611
We’ve moved to a bigger and better location.
We are located in Piedmont Pointe next to Einstein Bagels on
Piedmont Road. We are expanding our already great selection
of bird supplies to include:

• Swift Binoculars
• Droll Yankee Feeders
• Coveside Houses
• Garden & Yard Art

Cat and Birds

American Bird Conservancy has published a
new report, Impacts of Feral and Free-
ranging Cats on Bird Species of Conservation
Concern: A Five-State Review of New York,
New Jersey, Florida, California, and Hawaii.
This report analyzes the effects that feral
and free-ranging cats are having on some of
our most at-risk bird species including
Piping Plovers. The report also addresses
the growing trend of managed cat
colonies. It is available online at
www.abcbirds.org/cats/NFWF.pdf

8 Atlanta Audubon Society

 By The Way highlights information, announcements, short updates and miscellaneous items. If you have brief items of interest to
Friends of Atlanta Audubon members, please send them to the editor.

The holidays are coming, and what makes a better,

✔
more significant gift than the new Federal Duck
Stamp, available from Bass Pro Shops or your
local Post Office for a mere $15? For every dollar
you spend on Federal Duck Stamps, ninety-eight
cents go directly to purchase vital habitat for
protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System
of a huge complex of birds, including, if they are
indeed found to exist, Ivory-billed Woodpeckers.
Buy one for yourself and another one or two for
your friends or relatives. Duck stamps also get you
into national wildlife refuges for free. Visit
http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/ for more
information on the history of the Federal Duck
Stamp Program.

Join the Atlanta Audubon Society

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November 2006 9