October/November 2003

WINGBEAT
Cullman Audubon Society
PO Box 1444 WELCOME
Cullman, AL 35056 FALL!
Francene Van Sambeek, Editor Volume 8, Issue 1
Inside this issue:
PRESIDENT’S ROOST By Jerry Jacob us, as a regular attending member, in
our meetings. Learn first-hand what November Speaker 2
A new year is upon us and we have your organization is doing to help pro- November Field Trip 2
several challenges. None the least of tect our "great outdoors." Become an Field Trips 2003-2004 2
which is the continuing environmental active part of our effort to do our part
threats to our sport and recreation, the en- and not sit back letting someone else Speakers 2003-2004 3
joyment of the outdoors. As an individual, fight the battles for us. We are Cullman National News 3
one can only do so much. As a group, Audubon, hear us roar! September Field 4
Cullman Audubon, we can do a lot. Join Trip Report

Citizen Science 4
October 17-19 FIELD TRIP: great opportunity to observe many species
Forever Wild Plates 6
(such as a variety of warblers) which most
Gulf Shores By David Pylant of us rarely even think about. Of course Birding Extravaganza 6
The Cullman Audubon Society will there are the shorebirds, wading birds and
be heading to Gulf Shores the weekend of Octo- other such species which we rarely have the
ber 17, 18, and 19. This is the fourth straight opportunity to enjoy.
year in which the Chapter has made a weekend Bob and Martha Sargent will be banding
trip to the Gulf. Previous trips have been to Na- birds at Ft. Morgan during this time, and Coming at-
varre Beach, FL (2 times) and Dauphin Island, Bob has invited our group to come out and tractions
AL. visit. What an opportunity! In addition to • October 14: Meet-
October is an excellent time to visit the Gulf our time with Bob and Martha, we will be ing 7PM. Speaker:
Coast, the weather is mild, the crowds are gone, visiting sites along the Alabama Coastal Dwight Cooley.
and the birding is excellent. Migrants heading Birding Trail, a series of locations which
• October 17-19:
south are here in great numbers, providing a (Continued on page 2)
Field Trip: Gulf
Shores
Act for the Birds 10 years ago, let alone 103 years ago when the
first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held. • November 11:
By Jerry Jacob With these elements in place, we are all able Meeting 7PM.
We have a window of opportunity. to participate in conservation efforts. In fact, Speaker: Chuck
Today, the vast majority of the species of birds in it is our mandate – our obligation – to become Abare
North America still exist in viable numbers in some citizen scientists.
remnant of suitable habitat. Today, we who love Over one hundred years ago, a handful of • November 15:
birds and the natural world in general exist in Christmas Bird Counters began a tradition by Field Trip: North
greater numbers than ever before, and those num- recording the species and their numbers Alabama birding.
bers are growing rapidly. And today, we have the in 25 circles around the continent. This 7AM
tools that allow us to know and monitor that fragile year you can be among the 10’s of thou-
world with depth and breadth that was unimaginable (Continued on page 5)

OCTOBER 14TH SPEAKER: DWIGHT COOLEY, WHEELER WILDLIFE REFUGE

The Cullman Audubon Society is pleased to present Dwight Cooley, the manager of the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, as
the featured speaker for the Tuesday, October 14th meeting. The meeting will be held in the old Science Building
on the campus of St. Bernard Prep School. (See page three for directions.) The meeting begins at 7PM. Young
and old invited to attend.
 2003-2004 Officers/ Committee Chairs
OFFICERS:
President:
(H) 256-734-6775
j8jacob@yahoo.com
(F) 256-734-6288
Immediate Past President:
(W) 256-352-8242
(H) 256-734-5716
dpylant@corrcomm.net
Vice-President:
(W) 256-739-0455
(H) 256-739-3438
hmbeeler@corrcomm.net
Secretary/Treasurer:
(W) 256-734-2363
(H) 256-734-2363
knlindey@msn.com
COMMITTEE CHAIRS:
Conservation/Research:
(W) 256-352-8242
(H) 256-734-5716
dpylant@corrcomm.net
Program:
(W) 256-739-0455
(H) 256-739-3438
hmbeeler@corrcomm.net
Education:
(W) 256-974-6166
(H) 256-739-4589
vmeleski@mindspring.com
Field Trip:
(W) 256-352-8242
(H) 256-734-5716
dpylant@corrcomm.net
Publicity:
(H) 256-734-6775
j8jacob@yahoo.com
Electronic communications:
(W) 256-734-3894
(H) 256-739-0933
wellsjimmy@hotmail.com
Newsletter:
(W) 256-352-8036
(H) 256-775-6407
francene@mindspring.com
Christmas Bird Count:
(W) 256-734-3894
(H) 256-739-0933
wellsjimmy@hotmail.com
Membership:
(W) 256-737-2259
(H) 256-734-1852
Bird Rescue:
(H) 256-739-6431
Earth Day:
Cullman Audubon Website: www.cullmanaudubon.com
National Audubon Website: www.audubon.org
Page 2
NOVEMBER 11, 2003 MEETING: Purple Martins
Chuck Abare, a Purple Martin expert, will talk with us at the
Jerry Jacob
251 CO RD 1401 Tuesday, November 11th meeting on purple mar-
Cullman, AL 35058 tins. The meeting will start at 7PM. There will be
an opportunity for questions and answers at the
David Pylant
403 9th St SE end of his presentation. All are invited to attend.
Cullman, AL 35055
Henry Beeler
900 Shady Lane
Cullman, AL 35055 NOVEMBER 15TH FIELD TRIP: LOCAL BIRDING
Karen Lindsay Saturday, November 15th will be a lo-
247 CO RD 451 cal birding trip with the precise lo-
Cullman, AL 35057
cals to be determined.
David Pylant
403 9th St SE
Cullman, AL 35055 2003-2004 Cullman Audubon Society Field Trips
By David Pylant
Henry Beeler The Audubon Field trips are open to all participants. Each
900 Shady Lane
Cullman, AL 35055 month we will announce the meeting location of the field
trips. Please refer to your newsletter or monthly postcard
Vince Meleski for specific information. Children must be accompanied by an
121 CO RD 1415
Cullman AL 35058 adult.
November 15, 2003 Local Birding
David Pylant December 21, 2003 Christmas Bird Count
403 9th St SE
Cullman, AL 35055 January 17, 2004 Eagles -Guntersville
February 8, 2004 Wheeler Wildlife Refuge
Marcia Jacob March, 2004 Wildflower Walk, Desoto State Park
251 CO RD 1401
Cullman, AL 35058
April, 2004 Bird-A-Thon
May, 2004 Canoe the Cahaba
Jimmy Wells
210 CO RD 469
Cullman, AL 35057
(Gulf Shores Field Trip, Continued from page 1)
Francene Van Sambeek
266 CO RD 699 provide the best opportunities for observing coastal bird life.
Cullman, AL 35055 The plan is to make Gulf State Park our "base of operations."
Plenty of ocean-front rooms are available at the main lodge at the park, but
Jimmy Wells if you had rather stay somewhere else, that's great. If you want to stay at the
210 CO RD 469
Cullman, AL 35057
park, the number is 1-800-544-4853 or (251) 948-4853. Or, call me and I'll
make reservations for you.
Rachel Moody
If you can't come on Friday, then come on down on Saturday. In addition
204 Golf Course Road to birding we'll find plenty of time for relaxing at the beach, eating, and
Cullman, AL 35055 whatever you might desire.
Neal Culpepper If you want to join us, or if you need more information, please get in
545 CO RD 1169 touch with me. You can call me at home at 734-5716, at work at 352-8242,
Cullman, AL 35055
or e-mail me at dpylant@corrcomm.net. Don't miss this great opportunity.
For those of you who can't make the trip, Jimmy Wells is organizing a
local birding trip on Sunday, October 19.
Newsletter Deadlines: Please submit articles, photos, etc by the 20th of the odd
numbered months for publication in the next newsletter. Send to Francene Van
Sambeek at the address or email listed to the left. Please include “Audubon” in
the subject line.
WINGBEAT
 2003-2004 CULLMAN AUDUBON can affect it positively,” Pylant said. “If we can influence just one
more person to respect what has been so graciously provided to us,
PROGRAM/SPEAKERS that person will hopefully influence someone else. It becomes a
by Henry Beeler snowball effect.”
The Cullman Audubon Society is planning a The following speakers have been arranged for this year’s sched-
busy year of activities that will begin in September ule:
2003-2004. Through a combination of guest November 11, 2003 Chuck Abare, Purple Martin expert
speakers and field trips the local chapter of the Na- December 9, 2003 Verna Gates, Flowers of the Bible
tional Audubon Society is emphasizing the envi- January 13, 2004 Ken Marion, UAB reptile expert
ronment and what citizens at the local level can do
February 10, 2004 David Pylant, Birds of Alabama
to have a positive impact.
March, 2004 Archaeologist from Bankhead
According to Past President David Pylant “our
group has been an active group ever since our April, 2004 The WheelerAmerican
count identified
Indian history
119 species. The Waterloo count:
founding more than 7 years ago. We have always May 14, 2004104. The Cullman
Officer count:
elections/social
71.
been interested in enjoying what nature has pro- Meetings are open to the general public; children must be accompa-
vided for us.” “We feel like we can help raise the nied by an adult. See below for directions and a map. For more in-
awareness of our environment and how individuals formation, contact Henry Beeler at 739-3438 or Jerry Jacob at 734-
6775.

ST. BERNARD PREP SCHOOL

Cullman Highway 278 East Holly Pond

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Message from National
Audubon President John Flicker
To The Audubon Family:
Two determined women who were com-
mitted to the environment founded the first
Audubon chapter more than a century ago.
After 107 years, Audubon is returning to its
heritage in electing a determined woman who
cares passionately about the environment to
lead the organization. Carol Browner, the
longest serving Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, has been named
Chair-elect of the National Audubon Society
Board of Directors. Carol, who is the head of
the board's Public Policy Committee, will be
Ave Maria
Grotto
Auditorium, Old Science Build-
the first woman to chair Audubon, and one
of the few to ever lead a conservation or-
ganization.
Carol will lead the board when our
Chairman Donal O'Brien completes his
term this fall. Audubon has been truly for-
tunate in having Donal to guide and help
foster the organization for over 12 years.
He has been a tireless champion for conser-
vation and for the Audubon movement, and
has set the standard for what an Audubon
Chair should be. Undoubtedly, he will
continue to be among the most influential
conservationists in America for years to
come.
Carol is one of the outstanding conser-
vationists of our time. Again and again
she has led the way in fighting to protect
America's great natural heritage.
Throughout her tenure at the EPA, Carol
was guided by the philosophy that safe-
guarding the environment meant protect-
ing where people live and how they live.
She partnered with business leaders,
community advocates, and all levels of
government to promote common sense,
cost-effective solutions to the nation's
most pressing environmental and public
health problems.
Carol will chair Audubon at a very
important time in its history as it pursues
(Continued on page 4)

Page 3 WINGBEAT
 Cullman Audubon Society Field Trip:
Mitchell Property on the Mulberry River.
September 13, 2003. By David Pylant.
We had a wonderful field trip on September 13, when we ex-
plored three tracts of land adjacent to the Mulberry River just
west of I-65 and south of SR 91. Mike Roden, who led us on the
expedition, leases the land from the Mitchell estate. The land is
a mixture of active cropland, pine/hardwood forests, small per-
manent openings, and CRP managed land. The weather, unlike
the field trips last year, was beautiful. Clear skies, light breeze,
mid 70's, no bugs!
Those in attendance included: Mike Rhoden, Neal
Culpepper, David Pylant, Bettye Boyd and Lynn Hurley.
Those of you who missed this one missed a good one.
Walking leisurely through one of the tracts we identified
over 40 species in a fairly short period of time. If we had
more time in any particular area the number would have been
well over fifty. We were in particular looking for albino
Wild Turkeys, but no luck. Although we did see many pine
warblers and a few Redstarts, early migrant warblers were
not around (more time and closer looks may have turned up
some though). Also absent were sparrows. Those species we
did see are listed below.

Great Blue Heron Black Vulture Turkey Vulture Carolina Chickadee

Canada Goose (on a lake adjacent to the property) Red-shouldered Hawk Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Bobwhite Killdeer Mourning Dove Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Eastern Phoebe Least Flycatcher (probably)
Great Crested Flycatcher White-eyed vireo Yellow-throated vireo Red-eyed vireo
Blue jay American Crow Barn Swallow Brown-headed Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird
American Robin Gray Catbird Brown Thrasher Northern Mockingbird
European Starling Pine Warbler American Redstart Summer Tanager
Eastern Towhee Northern Cardinal Eastern Meadowlark Common Grackle
Red-winged Blackbird House Sparrow

Citizen Science at a Glance Audubon's Birdathon

Below is a list of selected research projects
and bird conservation initiatives in which
we as private citizens can contribute invalu-
able information and/or support. Included
are the web sites that will provide specific
information and how you can participate.
Some of these require a small fee for materi-
als, etc, while most are free. Some, such as
the Christmas Bird Count, are carried out on
an organizational level.
If you are interested in participating any
of these programs or events you may contact
the sponsoring organization at the e-mail pro-
vided below. If you don't have e-mail please
contact me at (256) 734-5716 at home, or
(256) 352-8242 at work.
David Pylant
Conservation/Research Committee Chair
From National Audubon Society
Audubon's Watch List
www.audubon.org/bird/watch
Identifies North American bird species that
need our help.
Important Bird Areas
www.audubon.org/bird/iba
You can help to monitor habitat loss and deg-
radation of birds and other wildlife. An IBA
is a place that provides essential habitat for
one or more species of birds, whether in
breeding season, winter, or during migration.
www.audubon.org/bird/birdathon
This is a club-sponsored event similar to
a Christmas Bird Count or "Big Day."
Individuals or groups go out on a particu-
lar day and record all the birds they see.
This is a great way to introduce new peo-
ple into birding.
Audubon's Christmas Bird Count
www.audubon.org
This is one of the oldest and largest all
volunteer bird survey of early-winter bird
populations. The Cullman Chapter will
be conducting our survey on December
21, 2003.
From Cornell Lab of Ornithology
The Birdhouse Network
www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse
Collect breeding data on cavity-nesting
birds in your nest boxes.
eBird www.birdsource.org/ebird
Report your bird sightings to this year-
around continent-wide online checklist.
The Great Backyard Bird Count
www.birdsource.org/gbbc
During President's Day weekend in Feb-
ruary, thousands of volunteers count
birds in their areas and report them to a
national clearinghouse. This data pro-
vides a "snapshot" of our winter birds.
House Finch Disease Survey
www.birds.cornell.edu/hofi
Help researchers track the spread of
House Finch eye disease.
Project Feeder Watch
www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw
Count birds at your feeders from No-
vember through March for science.
(Continued from page 3, John Flicker)
a new vision to enlarge the conservation
movement across the country. In taking
up the standard from Donal O'Brien,
who was instrumental in launching this
vitally important 2020 initiative, Carol
will help guide us as we seek to engage
people of all ages and backgrounds in
positive conservation experiences. By
forming lasting partnerships, she will not
only enlarge our constituency, but will
help to better align our work at the local,
state and national levels. Her history at
working with community and grass roots
leaders will strengthen the relationships
between our local Chapter volunteers,
state offices and new constituencies.
Never shying away from a challenge,
Carol's efforts to protect and restore our
environment range from the health of
our children to wildlife habitats.
Some of her many accomplishments
include the strongest public health based
clean air standards ever for soot and
smog, tough new emission standards for
(Continued on page 5)

Page 4 WINGBEAT
(Continued from page 1, ACT FOR THE BIRDS)
sands who gather data in some of those same circles and in
over 1900 additional sites. But now, rather than waiting
months to enjoy or study those data, you’ll be able to see the
results as soon as they are entered into the on-line database.
Right now, 103 years of reports are available for many uses,
but especially conservation. Using this immense vault of CBC
data (found at http://audubon.org/bird/cbc/hr/index.html ), you
can now conduct your own local, regional, or national study
with relative ease. Please tell us what you find.
More than 16 years ago, Project Feeder Watch (visit http://
www. birdsource.org/pfw ) became a continent-
wide project sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Or-
nithology, the Canadian Nature Federation, Bird
Studies Canada, and National Audubon. Follow-
ing a careful protocol, thousands of dedicated ob-
servers – some elderly, some housebound – have collected
data about the status of feeder birds across the continent from
November through April. When participants reported an
illness among House Finches, the network of Feeder Watchers
made it possible to track the disease, identified as avian con-
junctivitis as it spread throughout the eastern half of the coun-
try. Additionally, the huge amount of data gathered during
this project is precious to the understanding of climate’s im-
pact on bird populations as well as of the general health of
these populations. All of this information is now submitted
and quickly available on-line.
The Great Backyard Bird Count or GBBC (available at
http://www.birdsource.com/gbbc/ ) will be 7 years old this
February 14-17, 2004. Submitted entirely on-line, the ap-
proximately 50,000 checklists from every state and province
provide a winter snapshot of the status of our birds on that
count weekend. A monitoring project that is designed to allow
beginners and experts alike to participate, GBBC
aims to engage and educate families and individuals
in the hopes that they will continue their involvement
through other bird monitoring projects. As with
other projects, GBBC data becomes more and more
valuable with each year that the information is compiled. Ex-
plore the results from your state or province, a region of the
continent, or all of North America.
When we began to receive letters, emails, and phone calls in
August 2002 about dwindling bird numbers in a variety of
neighborhoods around the east and mid-west, we were alarmed
and concerned. These reports seemed to coincide with the
spread of the West Nile Virus. As this year’s warm months
came to an end, we could do little but provide information
(available at http://audubon.org/bird/westnilevirus.html ), cau-
tion against inappropriate reactions like rampant pesticide ap-
plication, and educate regarding alternative responses. We had
no broad scale, summer monitoring data for comparison to re-
cent 2002 surveys.
However, this winter, we can all do much more. While no
one was thinking of a scenario like the West Nile threat when
these citizen science monitoring projects were developed, in the
end, we have built a platform for an informed response to just
such an event. The winter projects are in place and years of
data have been collected. So let’s use these tools to learn as
much as possible about the impact of this disease on our winter
bird populations as we continue to collect long-term data. It is,
of course, critically important that we maintain the same proto-
col as in previous years when we collect data this winter.
Heading into the future, take a look at eBird (available at
http://www.birdsource.org ), a new Bird Source tool that al-
lows anyone to report any species, anywhere, and anytime.
eBird opens a new era of citizen science when we can have all
of the baseline data as they are needed, which will help our
birds in a time of increasing threats from habitat loss to West
Nile virus. All citizen scientists can participate in eBird and
other projects through Bird Source at their level of expertise
and as their time allows.
The window of conservation opportunity through which we
gaze must become a door through which we step into action.
Report banded, tagged, and marked birds as well as your obser-
vations of rarities and unusual occurrences. Get involved with
your local Important Bird Area program http://audubon.org/
bird/iba/index.html, helping to monitor birds at some of
their most important places. And participate in citizen
science projects at your level of ability and comfort. Re-
member, you will double your impact if you take along a
friend; and you’ll multiply it many times over if you in-
clude a scout troop or a class of kids.

(Continued from page 4, JOHN FLICKER)
cars, SUVs, diesel trucks and buses, greatly
expanded public right-to-know efforts, ac-
celerated clean up of hazardous waste sites,
which resulted in more than three times the
number of Superfund clean-ups than in the
entire history of the program; she created
the successful Brownfields program to re-
claim and redevelop abandoned, contami-
nated urban properties, significantly in-
creased funding and strengthened standards
for clean water and polluted runoff; and she
worked closely with Congress to pass two
pivotal environmental laws -- the landmark
Food Quality Protection Act and the Safe
Drinking Water Act.
In addition, she anticipated the opportu-
nity of using technology to leverage
emerging science, and created the EPA's
first Office of Children's Health Protec-
tion, a new Office of Environmental In-
formation, the American Indian Environ-
mental Office, the National Environ-
mental Justice Advisory Council, and the
Office of Reinvention.
Carol is currently a partner at The Al-
bright Group, a global strategy firm. She
is also a senior fellow at the Aspen Insti-
tute's Program on Energy, the Environ-
ment and the Economy. Her numerous
awards and honors include the American
Lung Association's prestigious President's
Award in 2000. She was also the recipient
of the Mother of the Year Award from the
National Mother's Day Committee, the Ad-
vocate for Children Award from the Ambu-
latory Pediatric Association, and Glamour
magazine's Woman of the Year honor.
Prior to leading the EPA, Carol served
as Secretary of Florida's Department of
Environmental Regulation. She also
served on the staffs of Senators Albert
Gore, Jr., and Lawton Chiles. Audubon of
Florida gave Carol the Guy M. Bradley
Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998 for
her work on restoration of the Everglades.
Please join me in extending a warm
welcome to Carol as she begins what we
know will be an exciting and productive
term as Chair of the Audubon Board of
Directors.

Page 5 WINGBEAT
 Cullman Audubon Society
PO Box 1444
Cullman, AL 35056

FOREVER WILD PLATES By Joe Copeland personalize your tag at no additional cost. The
Forever Wild License Plates are now available at all the tags are very attractive, featuring a Great Blue
county courthouses and annexes throughout the state. The pro- Herron, both male and female Wood Ducks,
ceeds from the premium paid for these tags will be used exclu- and a Bald Eagle. For more info, contact the
sively to purchase land for conservation throughout the state. All tag dept. at your local courthouse or annex.
land purchased is open to the public.
Since its inception, Forever Wild has preserved over 85,000
acres in Alabama. Two of the most recent purchases was a 40
acre addition to Monte Sano State Park and a 160 acre addition to
DeSoto State Park.
If you registered for a free tag, just carry the tag receipt you re-
ceived with you to your courthouse when you renew your tag, and
get your Forever Wild Tag to replace your present one. You can

EARTH DAY BIRDING Cola. The prizes

were provided by Lowe’s, Big Cedars Nursery, Chamber’s Seed and
EXTRAVAGANZA A SUCCESS! Feed, Wild Delight, and Peinhardt Living History Farm. Participants left
By Rachel Dawsey with birdhouses, feeders, seeds, and more. Event t-shirts were also pro-
vided for all participants thanks to our sponsors: Cullman Audubon So-
Over 100 people gathered at the Peinhardt Living
ciety, Werner’s Trading Company, Cullman Power Board, and Willing
History Farm to celebrate the 33rd Earth Day. The
Corp.
Peinhardt Farm joined forces with the Cullman Audu-
The Birding Extravaganza was a fun and educational way to celebrate
bon Society to host a first annual Birding Extrava-
Earth Day. All the participants took home ideas to make their homes
ganza. The idea originated from a series of birding
friendlier to wildlife as well as to appreciate the beauty of nature more.
classes held at the farm during the summer of 2002.
One theme of the day was to get outside and learn about nature. We
This Extravaganza was limited to 100 pre-registered
hope that the Earth Day Birding Extravaganza can be an annual event.
participants. More than 90 participants came to the
event despite the cold and dismal weather. Volun-
teers from both the Audubon Society and Peinhardt
Farm ran the event.
After a welcome and introduction to the day, the
group dispersed into four groups. Each group rotated
through four teaching stations. The stations included
a habitat walk, basic birding course, bird watching
walk, and an attracting birds to your yard talk. Each
station was an educational talk given by an Audubon
member. Many birds were spotted on the walks in-
cluding brown-headed nuthatches, little green herons,
barn swallows, and purple martins.
After the stations concluded, all the groups re-
joined in the barn. Lunch was served and door prizes
were given away. Drinks were donated by Coca-