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SUN CITY HILTON HEAD BIRD CLUB MAY, 2017
ALERT! OUR CLUB’S MAY 3 MEETING IS CRITICAL FOR SONGBIRDS!! PAGE 1
BIRD NOOZSapelo Island Travelers Doreen Cubie’s Letter (Below) Describes Our Members’ Perfect Day Trip to a Birding Paradise
28 CLUB MEMBERS JOINED THE EXCURSION TO REMOTE SAPELO ISLAND
On Tuesday, 28 members of the Bird Club made the 90-minute drive to Meridian, Georgia to begin our trip to Sapelo Island. As we boarded the ferry that was going to take us to the island, thousands of tree swallows were flying over the nearby salt marshes. On the way to Sapelo, we saw Least, Forster's and Royal Terns, and a Bald Eagle escorted us part of the way.
Once on the island, we were met by our guide, Yvonne, who drove us around Sapelo in a converted school bus, and told us about the history of the island in between birding stops. We drove through
the small community of Hog Hammock, visited the Reynolds mansion, and had a picnic of barbecue chicken next to the beach. Some of the birds we saw and heard were Yellow-throated, Palm, and Northern Parula Warblers, Black-crowned Night Herons, White-eyed Vireos, Summer Tanagers, Willets, Ruddy Turnstones, and also White Pelicans on the return ferry. Unfortunately, we missed Painted Buntings, and the Chachalacas, a Pheasant-like bird that was introduced to the island many years ago. But it was a beautiful day and a fascinating trip.
May Schonaut took our photo. Best, Doreen
SUN CITY HILTON HEAD BIRD CLUB MAY, 2017
ALERT! OUR CLUB’S MAY 3 MEETING IS CRITICAL FOR SONGBIRDS!! PAGE 2
Bird Nooz Staff
Bird Nooz is published by the Sun City Hilton Head Bird Club
from September through June each year as a benefit to Club members.
Questions, comments, and contributions should be directed to:
Editor: Kathleen Leopard843.705.9899
CalendarMay 3, 2017 Club Meeting
3:30 PM Note Early Start!
Hidden Cypress Ballroom
A Call to Action... Addressing the Manmade Hazards in the film The Messenger that the Club viewed at its April meeting.
See page 3 for more info.
2017 Club Officers
Dave Davis, President 843.707.7909517.290.3853
Barbara Barrett, Vice President843.705.2724
Patty Marshall, Secretary843.705.0992
Ed Raney, Treasurer843.707.7085
Susan Farnham, At Large843.705.3210
John Burrack, At Large843.705.3576
Noah Rosenstein, Past President843.707.7122518.496.7301
Art Hoffman, [email protected]
Field Trip OrganizersDoreen & Jim Cubie
843.991.1059 [email protected]
Table of ContentsPage 1Bird Club’s Trip to Sapelo Island
Page 2Club News and Information
NOTICE! May 3 Meeting is Critical for Songbirds Lovers!
Page 3 (May Meeting Topic)A CALL TO ACTION... Addressing the Manmade Hazards in the film The Messenger
Page 4Homes to Help Bluebirds
Page 5Silence of Songbirds.
Page 6Wild Birds Unlimited on HHI
SUN CITY HILTON HEAD BIRD CLUB MAY, 2017
ALERT! OUR CLUB’S MAY 3 MEETING IS CRITICAL FOR SONGBIRDS!! PAGE 3
MAY 3 BIRD CLUB MEETING
A Call to Action! Help Our Songbirds! In April We Viewed The Messenger. On May 3, let’s talk “action!”
After watching The Messenger film at our Club’s March meeting, members have put together the upcoming May 3 meeting as a call to action. (See below for meeting details, time, place.)
How can individual Club members, and our Club as a whole, cooperate with other clubs, as well as regional, state and national groups to address the rapidly declining populations of songbirds?
Representatives of several SCHH groups will join us for an interactive panel discussion. We will examine the feasibility of setting a goal to establish an Audubon International Green Neighborhoods Program here at SCHH.
Did you leave the viewing of The Messenger documentary (shown at the March Bird Club meeting) feeling depressed about the rapid decline of songbirds? Are they the canaries in the coal mines indicating the impact of man upon the environment? Did you leave determined to take action?
Luckily, some members left energized, and are planning a very
different meeting for May 3 -- a call to action.
If you missed the viewing, please consider going to Amazon and watching The Messenger documentary for $4.50. You will find it very enlightening, and it will give you context for our May 3 meeting.
Next, come to the May 3 meeting ready to listen to and interact with SCHH Club reps and others to learn how we can collaborate and cooperate with other SCHH clubs and regional, state and national groups to address critical declines in the songbird populations. Learn what other groups in SCHH already do to alleviate hazards for songbirds and improve their environments.
We will briefly look at next steps if the Bird Club and other groups decide to consider the feasibility of setting a goal to establish an Audubon Inter-national Green Neighborhoods Program at SCHH. May 3 at 3:30 promises to be a very special day/time for the future of our Bird Club and may lead to many interesting and successful projects and presentations over the next few years. (Continued on page 5)
MAY 3 SCHH BIRD CLUB MEETING DETAILSNote! 3:30 -- Early Meeting Start TimeLocation: Hidden Cypress BallroomA Call to Action...Addressing the Manmade Hazards in
" the film The Messenger
SUN CITY HILTON HEAD BIRD CLUB MAY, 2017
ALERT! OUR CLUB’S MAY 3 MEETING IS CRITICAL FOR SONGBIRDS!! PAGE 4
Welcome Your Bluebirds with NestboxesReturning bluebirds are a
welcome sign of spring—but in many places, it’s up to people to give them a home. To keep populations healthy, naturalists are urging people across the country to erect and tend bluebird boxes. Over the past few decades, they’ve helped all three bluebird species—Eastern, Western, and Mountain—recover from a declining population, says Geoff LeBaron, director of Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, and in the years to come, they could help secure the bird’s future.
Bluebirds—and more than 60 other species in North America—are cavity nesters. Rather than make their own nests, these birds take advantage of existing nooks and crannies in trees. But today, as natural cavities have become fewer and farther between, bluebirds increasingly rely on human-made homes.
“There is no one single perfect, ultimate bluebird nestbox,” according to the North American Bluebird Society (NABS). But a good box should be made of untreated wood, and be able to be opened for monitoring and cleaning. Use the NABS guidelines to select an inexpensive prebuilt birdbox, or use this box blueprint to make your own. If you place your box on a pole—and experts recommend poles, rather than trees to better protect against insects—make sure to add a predator baffler: raccoons and cats love bluebirds, too. (Bluebirds prefer to nest at the edges of forests and
fields; they’re less inclined to shack up in city boxes.)
It’s important to monitor the boxes for unwanted residents—check in on the box at least once a week to make sure other birds haven’t taken over the bluebirds’ home. European Starlings and House Sparrows are unwelcome in a bluebird house; these are both invasive species brought over from Europe in the 1800s.
One way you can tell what species has taken up residence in your nestbox is by checking the color of the eggs or the variety of nesting materials. Bluebirds generally favor grasses and pine needles, though the specifics vary by geographic area. Mountain Bluebirds often add wool and deer hair, while Western Bluebirds like to add feathers and ribbons. In comparison, starling nests are bulky, while sparrows use a looser jumble of materials.
If an invasive species takes over your bluebird box, you can remove the nests by hand (some birds will keep coming back and laying new eggs, so you can render eggs infertile by refrigerating them). But the invasive birds don’t like human activity, so just your presence might be enough to scare them off, LeBaron says. Putting up a pair of nest boxes, at least several feet away from each other, can ensure that there is a spot for the bluebirds even if starlings or sparrows set up camp, too.
(Continued on page 5.)
Contact Board members for more information about placement of a Bluebird Box on your property. If you love Bluebirds, consider joining the Bluebird Trail helpers in 2018.
Mountain Bluebird
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
It’s easy to help out this threatened bird -- here’s how. by Shannon Palus, March 18, 2015. Audubon.org
SUN CITY HILTON HEAD BIRD CLUB MAY, 2017
ALERT! OUR CLUB’S MAY 3 MEETING IS CRITICAL FOR SONGBIRDS!! PAGE 5
THE SILENCE OF SONGBIRDS: HOW WE ARE LOSING THE WORLD’S SONG...
!-- by Bridget Stutchbury
"Without songbirds, our forests would face more insect infestations and our trees, flowers, and gardens
would lose a crucial link in their reproductive cycle. Yet migratory songbirds, including wood thrushes, Kentucky warblers, and Eastern kingbirds, are disappearing at a frightening rate. By some estimates, we may already have lost almost half the number of songbirds that filled the skies only forty years ago." "Following migratory birds on their six-thousand-mile journey from the tropics to North America, renowned biologist Bridget Stutchbury leads us on an ecological field trip to explore firsthand the lives of songbirds and the major threats they face. Although some of the threats must be addressed through local and international policy initiatives, there are several things each one of us can do to help save birds, such as buying paper and wood products from sustainable forests, buying shade coffee, avoiding pesticides in our food and on our lawns and gardens, keeping our cats indoors (domestic cats are responsible for a surprising number of bird deaths), and much more. As Silence of the Songbirds shows, we ultimately protect ourselves and our children by taking steps to save songbirds and the environment." --BOOK JACKET.
BLUEBIRD BOXES -- (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4.)Need one more reason why it’s particularly important to help these native birds?
Audubon’s Birds and Climate Report spells bad news for both the Western Bluebird—projected to lose the majority of its winter range by 2080—and the Mountain Bluebird—projected to experience severe loss in its summer range.
“Climate change adds to the pressure on many of these species,” says Audubon’s chief scientist, Gary Langham. “Nestboxes [are] more important than ever to the long-term future of these vulnerable species.”
Once you set up your boxes, report any residents to Cornell’s NestWatch to help scientists and other birders understand the cavity nester population.
A CALL TO ACTION...ADDRESSING THE MANMADE HAZARDS IN THE MESSENGER
(Continued from page 3) We are fortunate to have Audubon International professionals ready to provide us with many resources and expertise, should we set the Green Neighborhoods Program goal. Their experience and knowledge may assist us overcome hurdles
with some current club projects such as the lagoon buffer demonstration site and the wildflower area. We hope to see you at the upcoming Bird Club meeting on Wednesday, May 3 at 3:30 pm in the Hidden Cypress Ballroom.
SUN CITY HILTON HEAD BIRD CLUB MAY, 2017
ALERT! OUR CLUB’S MAY 3 MEETING IS CRITICAL FOR SONGBIRDS!! PAGE 6
JUST FYI: WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED OPENS ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND
