Please join us for the Athens Christmas Bird Count this coming Saturday. It's not too late to sign up - please contact Mary Case (secretary"AT"oconeeriversaudubon.org) if you're interested. Even if you can't join us on the day, be on the lookout for unusual species in the Athens area between 12th and 18th, as they all count towards our count week total. Happy counting, and happy holidays!
The Oconee Rivers Audubon Society will host a field trip to
Phinizy Swamp and the Boral (formerly Merry Brothers) Brick Yard
Ponds in Augusta-Richmond County. We will be leaving from the
Wal-Mart parking lot on the East side of Athens at 6:00AM on
Saturday December 8th. We will try to carpool as much as
possible. For those that would like to meet us there we expect
to arrive in the parking area of Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in
Augusta around 8:00AM. We expect to arrive back in Athens
This Thursday, November 1, 7 p.m. at the Sandy Creek Nature Center, the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society is pleased to have Dr. Betty Jean Craige as our speaker. She will present "Bird Brains: How Cosmo, a Parrot, Has Awakened Us to the Intelligence of Animals." Dr. Betty Jean Craige is Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature and Director Emerita of the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts at UGA. She has published 17 books in the fields of literature, politics, art, and history of ideas, among them a biography of ecologist Eugene Odum. Her most recent book is Conversations with Cosmo: At Home with an African Grey Parrot.
A big thankyou to new Athens resident Jackie Choi for making this fantastic movie of the recent ORAS field trip to Whitehall Forest. How many faces do you recognize?
The Oconee Rivers Audubon Society, in conjunction with the Athens-Clarke County Landfill, will be hosting a special Sunday birdwalk at the landfill on October 21st. The landfill is a new rotation in our schedule, and this year's spring trip there was spectacular as there is rich and diverse habitat. In particular, we are hoping for migrating fall Sparrows. We will be meeting about a quarter mile inside the gate off of Lexington Road.
Our bird walks are open to the public. We typically run 3-4 hours though birders may leave at their convenience. Easy to moderate walking. Please dress for the weather, wear practical shoes, bring insect repellent and snacks/water as desired.
Our first speaker meeting of the fall kicked off in style, with almost 70 people attending our September speaker meeting, social and fundraiser to hear Robert Gallardo talk about the amazing wildlife of Honduras. The goal of the fundraiser was to support the publication of a field guide to the birds of Hondruas, and artist John Sill was also present to showcase some of his beautiful plates. Please join us next month for our annual fall potluck and hear Professor Bob Cooper talk about birds and climate change!
L-R: Robert Gallardo, John and Cathryn Sill, Bob Cooper, Mark Freeman, Carole Ludwig and Richard Hall
Wine and cheese reception, and silent auction in full swing.
The State Botanical Garden was full of both birds and birders. An ORAS birdwalk with 15 participants including John and Mai Whigham, John and Judy Willis, Laura Steadman, Steve Duke, Jim Hanna, Mary Case, Alison Huff and Ed Maioriello met other Athens birders Richard Hall, Mirko Basen, Krista Gridley, Rachel Cass and Steve Holzman who were scouring the gardens for everything with feathers.The birds were not too cooperative for photos, but good looks were had at Yellow-throated Vireo, Northern Parula, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Great-crested Flycatcher and plenty of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
