october 2008 flicker flashes birmingham audubon society newsletter

8/9/2019 October 2008 Flicker Flashes Birmingham Audubon Society Newsletter

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Audubon Teaches NatureAn Introduction to the Bats of Alabama

Presented by Dick MillsSunday, October 19, 2008 at 2:00 P.M.

The Alabama Wildlife Center at Oak Mountain State Park

The Birmingham Audubon Society, in partner-ship with The Alabama Wildlife Center, the Friends ofOak Mountain State Park and the Oak Mountain Inter-pretive Center, is pleased to announce another seasonof Audubon Teaches Nature our eighteenth! Thisyears series promises to be better than ever, with avariety of topics designed to appeal to a wide range ofinterests. Everyone is invited to attend these free pro-grams. Bring a friend with you!

Samford University operates the Oak MountainInterpretive Center under the directorship of DavidFrings, and this past year David has made great stridesin securing funding for the center. Planning for newexhibits is well underway and a new butterfly garden isin place. The future looks bright indeed!

Our guest speaker for the October seminar isDick Mills. Dick is a long-time, active member of theBirmingham Audubon Society who serves on the fac-ulty of the Audubon Mountain Workshop, where heteaches classes on Outdoor Cooking Skills and Bats.Additionally, Dick is an Adjunct Professor in SamfordUniversitys Master of Science in Environmental Man-agement program. He is also the travel coordinator forWorld Discovery Safaris.

Sixteen species of bats are found in Alabama.Some are year-round residents while others are migra-tory. Two of these, the gray myotis and Indiana myotis,are listed as endangered. These unique mammals - theonly true flying mammals - are fascinating but oftenmisunderstood animals. Learn how to identify the batsfound in Alabama and the important ecological rolethey play in our environment. Following the programwe will install a bat house that Dick has donated to theOak Mountain Interpretive Center.

As usual, the Alabama Wildlife Center willserve as our host for the series, serving cookies andpunch in the Observation Room before each seminar.After refreshments and some social time together, wewill wander over to the Interpretive Center for the after-noons program. Door prizes will be awarded at eachseminar but you must register and be present in orderto win. The programs are free but park admission is$3.00 per person.

The remainder of the schedule:

November 16 Birding for the Fresh Air Family ~Birding Fun for Everyone!Greg Harber

January 18 Birds on Parade, Close Encounterswith Alabamas Birds of Prey,Sandra Allinson, Ashley Rozelle-Gaultand Curt Cearly

February 22 Keeping Little Ones Wild ~ Bringing upBaby the Way Nature IntendedSandra Allinson

March 29 Salamanders Galore ~ AmphibiansAbound at Oak Mountain State Park,

Dr. Kristin Bakkegard

April 26 Blooming into Spring ~ Enjoying theWildflowers Around Us,Jan Midgley

Remember, come early for fellowship and refreshmentsin the Observation Room at The Center!

Volume LXI, Number 2 October 2008


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The October half-day field trip, held in memoryof long-time BAS member and author ofAlabamaBirds, Tom Imhof, will be a stroll along the perimeterroad adjacent to the parking area of The BirminghamZoo. And, since we will be at the zoo, this is an idealoccasion to bring your children and grandchildren! Thisouting is an excellent choice for beginners and thosewho like short trips since we will limit our walking to thewoods surrounding the zoo. The fall parade of migrantswill likely have a few treats in store for us so plan now

to attend with your younguns. We will not be enteringthe Zoo proper as part of the field trip.

Meet: 7:30 A.M. at the Birmingham Zoo Auditorium.Patty Pendleton, Zoo staff, will provide coffee, juice anddonuts. Yummy! Thanks, Patty!

Trip Leaders: Harriett Wright, 967-0955, Elberta Reid,879-1935 and John Imhof 995-0688.

Tom Imhof Family Bird WalkSaturday, October 4, 2008, 7:30 a.m.The Birmingham Zoo

The full day field trip in October will visit threedifferent sites in western Jefferson County--the Water-cress Darter National Wildlife Refuge, the McAdoryHouse, and Tannehill State Park. Though the refugeconsists only of 24 acres of bushy vegetation, a 1/4-acre pond known as Thomas Spring lies within theboundary. This spring is vital habitat for the endan-gered watercress darter. Next door we will visit theMcAdory House, built in 1841 of hand-hewn logs andwooden pegs. It sits on a rock foundation at its originallocation adjacent to the refuge spring. Preserved byWest Jefferson County Historical Society, this pioneerrelic will be opened for BAS to visit at no charge. Then

we will go to Tannehill State Park for our picnic lunchand an afternoon of birding.

Travel Plans: Meet at 8:00am in front of the

new Publix located at Exit #1 off I-459. There is limitedparking at the NWR (http://www.fws.gov/watercressdarter/), so we must carpool. Dick Mills willmeet us at Publix and lead us to our first destinationwhere he will introduce us to the refuge. Next, LouiseAyer Tommie will give us a tour of the McAdory House.Then, Jean Folsom will escort the group to TannehillState Park (http://www.tannehill.org/) for lunch andbirding.

This is a full day trip so please bring a picniclunch, water, drinks and snacks. Dont forget your bin-oculars and scopes, sunscreen and insect repellent.

Trip Leaders: Dick Mills, 972-8733, Louise AyerTommie, 428-9652, and Jean Folsom 823-4019.

Watercress Darter NWR, McAdory House, Tannehill State ParkSaturday, October 18, 2008, 8:00 a.m.

Leonardo da Vinci is well known as a pioneer inmany areas of Western Art and the sciences. Through-out his life, Leonardo was fascinated by the flight ofbirds and the possibility of human flight. Although manyresearchers have discussed Leonardo's work on flightfrom a technological perspective, the exhibition at theBirmingham Museum of Art has created the first oppor-tunity to analyze Leonardo's ideas from a biological per-spective.

Dr. Prum will review the modern science of bird

flight, and then ask "How well did Leonardo understandbird flight?" He will conclude that many of Leonardo'sobservations were among the first fundamental contri-butions to the modern science of Ornithology. Illustratedwith images and video of birds in flight, the presentationwill connect the miraculous flight of birds to the work ofthe Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci.

For more information please visit the Birming-ham Museum of Art web site athttp://www.artsbma.org/

Lecture: Leonardo da Vinci and the Science of Bird FlightBy Dr. Richard O. Prum, W. R. Coe Professor of Ornithology, Yale UniversitySunday, October 12, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.Birmingham Museum of Art
http://www.fws.gov/watercressdarter/http://www.fws.gov/watercressdarter/http://www.fws.gov/watercressdarter/http://www.tannehill.org/http://www.artsbma.org/http://www.artsbma.org/http://www.artsbma.org/http://www.artsbma.org/http://www.tannehill.org/http://www.fws.gov/watercressdarter/http://www.fws.gov/watercressdarter/http://www.fws.gov/watercressdarter/http://www.fws.gov/watercressdarter/


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Audubon Sessions Sanctuary WorkdayPlease Join Us for Good Work and Good Company

Saturday November 15, 2008 9:00 A. M. to NoonLunch afterward at the Golden-Rule BBQ in Irondale

The Sessions Sanctuary is underdevelopedproperty in Mountain Brook on Shades Creek that wasdonated to the Birmingham Audubon Society as a birdsanctuary by the late Mr. & Mrs. Tram Sessions.

Please join us for the workday at the Sanctu-ary on Saturday November 15 at 9:00 a. m. Bring your

gloves. We have work tools, but if you have a tool tocut back shrubbery, bring it. We will meet at the end ofForest Glen Drive, near the Sanctuary. To reach the

Sanctuary, in Mountain Brook, proceed east (awayfrom the Zoo) on Montevallo Road, at the Crestlinearea, turn right at the signal light on to Montrose Rd,bear right onto Old Leads Road, turn left onto ForestGlen, proceed to the end of Forest Glen and meet usat 9:00 a.m.

For more information contact John Swan, 933-6469 orEllen Mc Laughlin, 595-0806,Co-Chairs Sessions Sanctuary Property

The Birmingham Audubon Society would like to acknowledge the following memorial gifts:

In memory of Mary Agnes Holliman, Al D. Miller, and Virginia Bailey from Elberta G. Reid

OCTOBER MONTHLY MEETINGThursday, October 16, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

Birmingham Zoo LodgeAdam Snyder visits Birmingham Audubon Society

for Conservation Conversations tour.

Adams program will focus on updating Bir-mingham Audubon Society members about activity inthe state legislature, invite ideas about environmentallegislative priorities from attendees, and discuss wayscitizens can get more involved in making their environ-mental priorities a political reality in Alabama. Our So-ciety financially supports The Conservation AlabamaFoundation so this is a good opportunity to learn moreabout one of the organizations we support.

Adam R. Snyder is the Executive Director ofAlabamas only environmental lobbying organization,Conservation Alabama. Adam is also director of thevoter education affiliate, the Conservation AlabamaFoundation. Most recently, Adam served as ExecutiveDirector of the Alabama Rivers Alliance, a river protec-tion and restoration non-profit organization established

in 1997. Prior to joining the Alliance in 2001, Mr. Sny-der worked at Operation New Birmingham, a downtownrevitalization and race relations non-profit in Birming-ham, Ala. He is an honor graduate from the Universityof South Carolina with a degree in print journalism. Anative of Alabama, Mr. Snyder is involved with a varietyof civic and volunteer organizations in his hometown.He is married to Dr. Erin Snyder, a member of the inter-nal medicine faculty at the University of Alabama atBirmingham.

Attend and enjoy this program.

Please come early at 6:45 to socialize and enjoy somerefreshments. Guests are welcome.

Hans Paul, VP Programs

ATTENTION: October Meeting will be held at Zoo Lodgesee details below

The October meeting will be held at the Zoo Lodge, not the Zoo Auditorium. To reach the Zoo Lodge, enter thezoo parking lot as usual but drive to the far right corner and park there. You will see a path leading from theparking lot to the Zoo Lodge. If you dont feel comfortable walking the path, passengers may be dropped off atthe lodge by following the right fork at the traffic island just after you enter the Zoo grounds. Parking is limited atthe lodge, therefore, we request that you drop your passengers at the entrance and return to the regular parkinglot to park your vehicle. We will have a shuttle between the parking lot and the Lodge to transport anyone whoneeds a ride.


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Is that a plane? Superman? No, it a flyingcigar! Thats what a Chimney Swift (Chaetura

pelagica) looks like in the air. These sooty grey toblack birds with a silvery-grey throat emit a high-pitched chippering sound as they fly.

These five-inch birds spend most of their timeflying on their 12 inch arc-shaped wings. Their wingsare the same length as a ruler! They catch and eatinsects, drink water, bathe, and collect nesting mate-

rial as they fly! The chimney swift will fly and grabsmall twigs from trees. Usually these twigs break butif they dont, the chimney swift bounces backwards inthe air. Then they fly back to try to grab the twigagain. They will attach the twigs to the wall of thechimney or the inside of a hollow tree with their stickysaliva (spit). Their tiny feet cannot grasp and perch

on branches. They have long claws to grasp verticalwalls, like chimneys or hollow trees. When our homeswere built with chimneys, these became an easy andperfect place to build a nest. Now we put cages overthe chimney to keep these birds from nesting. Onlyone family of chimney swifts will nest in a tree orchimney at a time. When the birds gather to migrate,there may be several to hundreds of these birdsroosting in chimneys or hollow trees. In the eveningwhen the birds go to roost, tt will look like a black

cloud spiraling into the chimney. These birds will fly tothe Amazon River in Peru to spend the winter. In lateMarch, they fly back to the United States (east of theRocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast) and Canadato nest. Keep your eyes to the sky, these birds arenow heading to the Amazon River.

Help the Chimney Swift Find the Chimney

Created by Puzzlemaker at DiscoveryEducation.comClipart from FreeClipartNow.com


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Chimney Swifts Released at Alabama Wildlife Center

The Alabama Wildlife Center held their Migration Celebration on August 30, 2008 at their facility in OakMountain State Park. As part of the festival the AWC staff released several Chimney Swifts that were ready tobe returned back into the wild following a successful rehabilitation period. Among those selected to help with therelease were our very own Louise Ayer Tommie, and young birder, Gabriel Wright. Gabriel sent the followingaccount of the release plus his drawing of a Chimney Swift. Thank you, Gabriel!

Yesterday I got to hold a chimney swift. It felt

soft and its feet were so tickly. The swift looked

really cute up close. I didnt know their necks

were so long. When I was holding it between my

hands it stretched out its neck to try to fly away.

Releasing it was fun because Ive never gotten to

hold any type of animal related to a hummingbird.

Theyre pretty good fliers. They only rest in the

evening and at night when theyre not flying.

Chimney swifts are really cool to me because they

are fast and they eat so many insects. It is funnythat they like to live in chimneys. The Alabama

Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is one of my favor-

ite places to visit because there are so many ani-

mals that are being helped to survive. I felt good

that the swift did not have to live in a cage any

more.

Gabriel Wright Moore

31 August 2008

7 years old

WANTEDBirmingham Audubon Societys Kids Corner wants to publish your pictures, poems, orstories about birds, just like the drawing and story about the Chimney Swift. Send yourwriting or artwork to:

Birmingham Audubon SocietyKids Corner

c/o McWane Center200 19th St NBirmingham, AL [email protected]

January is a wonderful month to see Bald Eagles in Alabama. Are there any fledglingAuduboners out there who would like to share a story or a drawing about Bald Eaglesthey have seen? If so, send your writings and drawings by October 20th and maybewe can include it in the January issue of the Kid's Corner.

Kids Corner contd


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Recycling News

If you dont have recycling available with your trash pickup, remember the Alabama Environmental Council recy-cling center is located at the corner of 25th St and 2nd Ave. No. and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.Here are some of their guidelines:

The Recycling Center accepts the following recyclable items:Glass (all types, please rinse out and remove any lids/tops)Mixed paper (cereal boxes, box packaged foods, phone books, magazines, office paper, junk mail, etc.)NewspaperCorrugated cardboard (broken down)Steel, aluminum, & tin cansPlastics #1-7 (now accepting ALL forms!), lids removed, contents emptied)Cell Phones

Printer & Toner CartridgesComputers - NOW ACCEPTING all parts and pieces of computers

Please DO NOT BRING the following recyclable items:Wax-coated milk or juice cartonsBatteriesStyrofoamPlastics that contain hazardous material, such as motor oil,pesticides, or other chemicalsScrap metal that's not in can formLiquids of any kind, including paint, antifreeze, or motor oilClothing or fabricsWoodTiresWax or metal-coated papersPlastic grocery bagsStuff that you don't want!

If you have electronics that you wish to recycle, you can take the computers to the AEC Recycling Center down-town. Other electronics, except TVs, are accepted by the e-cycling center in Homewood (567-4222). The Foun-dry in Bessemer is accepting old TVs. Their phone number is 424-2400 and their address is 727 9th Ave. No.,near the Bessemer Flea Market. They are open 8am 9pm.

If you have questions about recycling, visit the Alabama Environmental Council web site:http://www.aeconline.org Their recycling hotline is: 1-800-982-4364.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website, gas mileage usually decreases rap-idly at speeds above 60 mph. As a rule of thumb, we can assume that each 5 mph we drive over 60 mph is likepaying an additional $0.20 per gallon for gas. The more gas we use, the more emissions we spew into the air.The more emissions, the more greenhouse gases. Let's slow down a little on the road - it's better for the environ-ment, better for our wallets and better for our longevity.

This GO GREEN Tip" is excerpted from the Levite Jewish Community Center newsletter.
http://www.aeconline.org/http://www.aeconline.org/


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Clip along dotted line

~ Membership Application ~Birmingham Audubon Society/ National Audubon Society

Name:_______________________________________________________Address: _____________________________________________________

City:_______________________________ State:__________ Zip:_______Phone: ( )

My check for $___________ is enclosed.Please make check payable to: National Audubon SocietyMail this form and check to: Birmingham Audubon Society

P.O. Box 314Birmingham, AL 35201

Birmingham Audubon Society *AOO7XCH8

Introductory membership ~ $20.00Includes quarterly subscription toAudubonmagazine and 8 issues ofFlicker Flashes, thechapter newsletter.

Senior (62 & older) and student (full-time)memberships available for $15.00.

(Preferred method of payment for all newmembers is through the chapter, using this

form).

Membership Renewals ~ $20.00The National Audubon Society handlesmembership renewals through theirMembership Data Center. Contact them at1-800-274-4201 or write them at:P.O. Box 52529,Boulder, CO 80322-2529.Submit renewals directly to NAS.

What: Alabama Wildlife Centers FallCelebration

Where: Alabama Wildlife Center at Oak MountainState Park

When: Saturday, October 25, 2008, 1:00 p.m. to5:00 p.m.

Rain Date: Sunday, October 26, 2008

Why: Each year the Alabama Wildlife Center treatsan average of 2,500 animals from 100 different spe-cies. Many of these animals are nocturnal. The AWCwould like to share the fascinating aspects of thesenighttime creatures so that people can learn and ap-preciate their importance to a healthy ecosystem.

Programs at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Among theguest speakers (TBA) will be Dave Holloway, theever-enthusiastic naturalist from Camp McDowellwho will give a presentation on reptiles and am-phibians.

Sweet treats, prizes and activities for the children!

Guests will have the opportunity to visit withRachel, the Great-Horned Owl, and Coosa, theBarred Owl!

Two story times (TBA): Stellaluna and The OwlWho Was Afraid of the Dark.

The celebration will culminate at dusk with therelease of a rehabilitated owl!

Make your plans now to bring your children or grand-children and join in this fun-filled afternoon!

Youre Invited!Creatures of the Night


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October 2008

1 Flicker Flashes articles due, November/December issue

4 Family Bird Walk-Birmingham Zoo, 7:30 a.m.10-12 Alabama Ornithological Society meeting,

Dauphin Island, AL

16 Board Meeting, BZA, 5:30 p.m.General Meeting, BZA, 7:00 p.m.Adam Snyder, Executive Director,Conservaation Alabama

16-19 Alabama Coastal Birdfest, Fairhope, AL18 BAS Field Trip, Watercress Darter NWR,

McAdory House & Tannehill S.P.19 Audubon Teaches Nature, The Wildlife

Center, 2:00 p.m.25 BAS Fall Campout, Bankhead National

Forest, Houston Campground

November 2008

1 BAS 1/2 day Field Trip, Turkey Creek NaturePreserve

15 BAS Sessions Sanctuary workday (1/2 day)16 Audubon Teaches Nature, The Wildlife

Center, 2:00 p.m.

20 Board Meeting, BZA, 5:45 p.m.General Meeting, BZA, 7:00 p.m.Chris Oberholster, Executive Director, TheNature Conservancy of AlabamaProgram on Ecuador plus an update on TNCactivities in Alabama

22 BAS Field Trip, Wheeler NWR, Decatur, AL

Flicker Flashes is published eight times a year bythe Birmingham Audubon Society.Editor: Bianca J. Allen (205) 854-5233Asst Editor: Greg Harber (205) 251-2133

Birmingham, Audubon SocietyA Chapter of the National Audubon SocietyP.O. Box 314Birmingham, AL 35201

Business Office:200 19th St. No.Birmingham, AL 35203(205) 714-8227

DATED MATERIAL

Please deliver by September 30

Birmingham Audubon Societywww.birminghamaudubon.org(205)879-7709

Printed on recycled paper

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 3794Birmingham, AL

october 2008 flicker flashes birmingham audubon society newsletter

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