Letter from the President John Wright

Welcome to one of the more exciting times of the year for our chapter. We are currently underway of several projects that many of our members can and do assist with.

Our annual BirdFest is scheduled for April 20^th 1-3 p.m., this is our biggest community outreach and once again we will be partnering with the zoo’s educational department and other area groups. We have already started contacting several state organizations to assist with our BirdFest. They will be discussing what is going on in conservation and environmentally and how their organization assists our community and state. These organizations participation helps to grow our BirdFest, as well as develop partnerships with this organization in the future.

Junior Birders started the Spring season off with a bang. We made the press this past month and have had several other interested parties wanting to join us in the future. It is truly great to see parents and their children sharing a common interest together. It is our hope to retain many of these new birders and have them join us for our regular meetings. Our hope is that at the April Jr. Birders we hang a few birdhouses around the walking trail, in the hopes of attracting more birders to nest, where all can later observe them. So if you have some birdhouses lying around bring them by the zoo and we will get them up in time for BirdFest.

And last big thing going on this time of the year is Spring migration and a trip to Honey Island. This is always an interesting trip to see many birds coming through our area and just seeing the importance of this region to many of the birds. It is also fun to share so time and stories with fellow outdoors people and birders alike.

Of course many of these projects/activities are done and participated by many of the members of this chapter. For their hard work we should take the time to get to know them, thank them, as well as offer to assist in the future. Many of the members have great ideas and I encourage you to seek those of us out to assist in making those ideas come about. If you are not too creative, then we are always willing to receive help on other projects. As my wedding approaches, I think about how much better of a person I am and how much more I can accomplish with the support of those in my life. Just something to think about, when looking at making a small change in your life.

Bird Quiz Larry Smith

As you prepare for your trip to Dauphin Island for the 2008 great Spring Migration, your review of wood warblers probably makes it easy for you to name three warbler species that have stripes on their crowns.

Answer to March Bird Quiz

I tried to trick up the last bird quiz by using big words like granivorous, which by now everybody must know means feeding and subsisting on grain. Put that together with popular winter feeder bird in Hattiesburg, and you probably immediately came up with American Goldfinch, even if you didn’t know that these colorful little birds migrate in the daytime. The majority of species, especially passerines, migrate at night, among the speculative reasons being less air turbulence, and less stress from heat and dehydration. I have not read any explanation of why A. Goldfinch has contrary habits. It is easier to understand hawks’ diurnal migration, since they depend on thermals, and swifts and swallows which feed as they migrate. But such mysteries are what makes birding, and bird quizzes, especially fascinating. I learned all of this good stuff by diligent study of my Cornell Lab of Ornithology Home Study Course on Bird Biology.

April Field Trip Chuck Gramling

As field trip note writer, who normally writes the who, what, when, and where for each trip, it is a challenge this time with no lodging available at our normal places for our April 25-27 Dauphin Island trip. I guess it just points to the fact we need to do our bookings way ahead of the date; don’t wait until a month or week ahead of these trips to Dauphin Island during bird migration times! Still if you want to catch the birds of migration, come! There are places in nearby towns, along I-10, or rental properties on island still open. Let me know if I can help.

The real point of an April Field Trip note is that April is bird migration everywhere along the gulf when we get to see all those special birds that only pass through here once or twice a year. So, if you’re not planning to come to Dauphin Island, there are a lot of events going on for bird lovers during April.

First, the Pascagoula River Nature Festival is from April 12 -20 promoted by Pascagoula River Audubon Center (228-475-0825). This event is about migrants in Mississippi along the Pascagoula River (http://pascagoularivernaturefestival.com/site/).

Louisiana is also a great place to find migrating birds. Check out their website called BirdLouisiana.com (http://birdlouisiana.com/) that offers contacts. Note that dates for this year’s activities have not been updated recently.

Birds have been doing migration for many thousands of years, and they know their spots. For sure, we find them at Shell Mound and the Mulberry trees each spring migration! From now until early May, enjoy birds in migration. That is THE REAL FIELD TRIP OF LIFE. Let me know if I can help you connect to any of our wonderful gulf coast migration events or trips. Mainly, go see the brilliant colored birds of migration sometime in April!

Chuck Gramling, 601-286-3859 / clgramling@comcast.net

Bird Fest Reminder Josh Hodge

Birdfest, in conjunction with the Hattiesburg Zoo’s Earth Day Celebration will take place this year on Sunday, April 20, from 1-3 p.m. Pinewoods Audubon is very appreciative of a chance to support our Zoo, our very best partnership! In setting up tables and booths, activities, and give-aways, we are doing valuable community outreach for Audubon and introducing the joys of bird-watching to others. And, in doing so, we are accruing good will with the Zoo through volunteer hours. In return for our participation, the Zoo lets us use their Education Facility to house our monthly meetings. Please, sign up at the April 3^rd Chapter Meeting to volunteer! Support Birdfest by giving your time, creativity, and energy.

Officer Elections Nomination Committee

It’s that time again: Officer Elections. On the block are the following positions:

- President

- Vice President/Program Coordinator

- Secretary

- Treasurer

In asking around, it was difficult to get someone to agree to take on the monthly challenge of these positions. Here is the slate of officer candidates we can up with:

- President: John Wright

- Vice President/Program Coordinator: Chuck Gramling

- Secretary: No volunteers, so we need someone to step up.

- Treasurer: Lin Harper

Please be sure to attend the April Meeting to vote on your officers for the coming two years, or perhaps to volunteer to take on an office. If you think you might be interested but don’t want to assume full responsibility, talk to the officer and volunteer to be an “assistant” or a “co” for a year to see if you might want to take that role later on.

Or, if you might rather be involved on the committee level rather than as an officer, that’s great, too. Just mention to any of the officers what you are interested in, and they will hook you up with the right person to work with. Committees are not elected but appointed and they are always in need of more people to volunteer to help with fun things like Audubon Adventures, BirdFest, Junior Birders, and other projects.

See you in April for Elections!

Calendar of Events

April 3, 2008 (Thursday): Pine Woods Audubon Society Board Meeting, 6:15 p.m. in Hattiesburg Zoo Education Center. The Public is invited to attend.

April 3, 2008 (Thursday): Pine Woods Audubon Society Chapter Meeting, 7 p.m. in Hattiesburg Zoo Education Center. PROGRAM: Protecting Wild Alaska (presented by Taldi Walter). Contact Program Chair Josh Hodge (601-606-3440) for information.

April 8, 2008 (Tuesday): Pine Woods Audubon Society Birding Committee Meeting, 5:30 p.m. at Keg & Barrel. Contact Ron Blackwell (601-543-0091) for information.

April 20, 2008 (Sunday): BirdFest @ Hattiesburg Zoo from 1-3 p.m.

April 25-26-27, 2008: Dauphin Island, AL Field Trip (travel arrangements on your own). Compilation will be held about dark on Saturday at Gulf Breeze Motel. Contact Chuck Gramling for information or assistance (601-286-3859 / clgramling@comcast.net).