E cobon
December 2008:
No. 296
Newsletter of the Hilton Head Island Audubon Society
Audubon Refuge Keepers
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE DECEMber Program
By Bill Nicol
One of the programs that your
Audubon chapter supports in the winter
is the Great Backyard Bird Count. This
involves members of our chapter mak-
ing presentations on birds to primarily
Middle School students although some
elementary schools are involved. The
presentations are approximately 30 min-
utes long and consist of showing slides
on 20 to 30 birds commonly seen in our
area in the winter and telling the students
how they can participate in the count
and why it is important. The volunteers
work in teams of two and are provided
an outline and the slides (we are graduat-
ing to Powerpoint). The only thing that
limits how many students we reach is
the numbers of volunteer presenters we
have. The more we have the more stu-
dents we can reach. Our program fits in
to the Science Curriculum in the schools
and tries to show how the birds fit in the
environment and how our conduct can
impact their survival. If you can help,
please contact Ken Neitzke at 705-3970.
Any one who has participated has thor-
oughly enjoyed the experience.
The annual Christmas Bird count is
on December 13, 2009 and is an oppor-
tunity for us as citizen scientists to make
a significant contribution to defining the
health of our bird population. Please
donate some of your time to help our
birds.
See you at the meetings and bring
a friend.
by Charlotte White
Tuesday, December 9, 2008, 7:00 p.m. at the Seabrook
Remember that our December program starts at 7 PM with a holiday re-
freshment party of cookies and drinks. The program will then be Barry Lowe’s
beautiful picture review of birds of this area.
Each December in preparation for the Christmas Bird Count, Barry has been
presenting a slide show to review the birds of our area. This year the Bird
Count, the great citizen science count that has been going for over a century, is
on Saturday, December 13. In this refresher, Barry reviews important bird field
marks.
Barry reminds us that while we experience great pleasure all year long in
seeing birds, surely we can step up and devote one day to the birds in participat-
ing in this important count. The individual birds we see during the year may
excite us, but the bird count each December is a major source of information for
tracking bird trends and bird environment. You are each needed in this count!
Participation in counting the birds is fun, involves fellowship and sharpens
learning. SIGN UP PLEASE!
Once again, come on December 9 to the Seabrook to this popular program.
Come WITH A FRIEND AND BE SURE TO COME AT 7 PM to enjoy the
holiday social followed by Barry’s great program.
PS Barry asks again, “Who wants to be the Christmas Bird Count Coordinator
in the future?” Or at least, who will step up and volunteer to assist him in the
coordination and see if they will assume that responsibility later?
ANNUAL 2009 BIRD SEED SALE NEEDS HELP!
Our annual money-raising bird seed sale starting January 2, 2009, needs
HELP! We need more members and friends to be purchasers. The cost of
bird seeds has gone up quite noticeably, and the number of buyers has gone
down. Our historic sales has been to 60-70 buyers, but last year we had only
49 buyers of 310 bags, whereas in 2007 we had 69 buyers of 328 bags of seed.
So, every bag (whether 5# or 20#) counts! A substantial portion of the pur-
chases comes to our chapter to help support our Audubon Adventures school
education program, which is continuing to grow. We now have about 550
Audubon memberships, with probably 90% feeding their birds. Thus, if every
bird-feeding member bought just one bag, we would sell about 500 bags, and
if they all bought two bags we would sell about 1000 bags!!
So PLEASE, order your year’s supply if possible, but if not, please get one
or two bags for sure, and lets’s fully fund the Audubon Adventures program
for our schools.
 HHI Audubon CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT - Saturday, December 13, 2008
Board of Directors:
President
Bill Nicol 671-4721
The Bird Count is HERE!
Vice President In less than two weeks we will all be out counting the birds in our area,
Ken Neitzke 705-3970 both species and numbers. I hope that every member has resolved to rise
Treasurer
Karen McGinty 681-8498 and give ONE DAY out of the whole year to an exercise that will benefit
Fran Baer 686-6348 the declining birds, while at the same time, provide you with a wonderful
Recording Secretary
Steve White 837-4597 day in the out-of -doors, enjoying the fellowship of other birders. At the
Corresponding Secretary end of the day you will feel the satisfaction and gratification that comes
Sherman Barker 342-6596
Members‑at‑Large with participation and giving.
Howard Costa 842-9447
Jim Currie 681-8525
Marianne Currie 681-8525 Don't miss this opportunity. If you counted last year, then join your team
Clem Dietze 837-2612 again. If you missed last year, call me at 671-3537 and I will connect you
Barry Lowes 671-3537
Nan Lloyd 363-2092 with an area of your choosing. Let's make it the best Bird Count ever. No
Betty Walter 842-7147
Joan Wilson 837-2874 excuses - just come with us and do it.
Committee Chairpersons: BARRY LOWES, Coordinator.
Adopt-A-Refuge (Pinckney)
Clem Dietze 837-2612
Karen McGinty 681-8498
Audubon Newhall Preserve OUR TRIP TO COSTA RICA.
Joan Shulman 842-9246
Bird Walks/Field Trips Some of you may know that Audubon member and Coastal Discovery Museum
Kay Hodnett Director, Carlos Chacon and Lowcountry Institute Director, Chris Marsh take 12
Bird House Construction people to Costa Rica every year. Essentially, it is a “Master Naturalist” style trip to
Jim Collins 671-1240
Bird Seed Sale explore the rain forest. Carlos is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the natural
Ed Nash 681-5725 history of Costa Rica, but is especially passionate about plants, ants and birds. Chris
Christmas Bird Count is a marine biologist who is an avid, expert birder who also loves geology. Even our
Barry Lowes 671‑3537
Education driver Ricardo was an excellent birder!
Mary Jane Major 342-5804
Historian
The ten day adventure from August 28th to Sept 7th took advantage of the green
OPEN sea turtle nesting season at Torteguero and the dry season on the Caribbean side.
Hospitality What a trip! We had first hand views of plate tectonics in action - seeing and hearing
Thea Luba 785-3214 the Arenal Volcano erupt! Every morning we woke up with the birds! (sometimes
Legislation
Kay Hodnett 342-7485 with a rooster call). The group took a canopy walk at Arenal Hanging Bridges; a cor-
Membership ridor followed by birds migrating between North and South America. These trails
Thea Luba 785-3214 and bridges brought us close to the birds, flowers and lush vegetation of the primary
Newsletter Circulation
Marianne Currie 681-8525 rainforest. We had three excellent scopes and our binoculars ready.

Newsletter Editor
At Waterfall Gardens we walked through a hummingbird garden, a butterfly garden
Joan Wilson 837-2874 and a trail with six impressive waterfalls. We drove to La Selva Biological Station known
Programs as (OTS) The Organization for Tropical Studies. Within La Selva, we experienced virgin
Charlotte White 837-4597
forest, secondary forest at different stages of growth, lowland rivers and swamps.
Publicity & Public Relations
Clem Dietze 837-2612 On day six we boarded a boat to the Mawamba Lodge in Tortuguero. We took a
Sales Table
OPEN 686-6406 guided night walk on the beach to see the nesting sites of the green sea turtles. (Carlos
Shorebirds/Conservation is very active in the protection of loggerhead turtles who nest on Hilton Head Island.)
Howard Costa 842-9447
Special Projects In the mountain trails around Savegre Lodge over 170 bird species have been ob-
Richard Shulman 842-9246 served. Throughout the trip someone would yell out “Stop the Bus” and we’d all pile
Sun City Representative out while Carlos, Chris and Ricardo adjusted the scopes. Here are our pictures of the
Kevin Cahill 705-3570
Wetlands/Conservation resplendent Quetzals, male and female!
Sally Krebs H: 757-2973 O: 341-4690
When we returned home, Carlos and Chris emailed us a list of birds, frogs and
Website: www.hiltonheadaudubon.org
toads, cocodillians, and turtles we saw (and where we saw them). If you are interested,
The Ecobon is a monthly publication (September through May) of
the Hilton Head Island Audubon Society. Subscription is a benefit
Doug and I would be happy to share our photos. What was the most surprising thing?
of membership. Direct inquiries to P.O. Box 6185, Hilton Head
Island, South Carolina 29938 or call one of the above officers
We didn’t get a single mosquito bite until we got back to Hilton Head.
or chairpersons.

Page 2 December 2008

NOTES FROM THE NEWHALL PRESERVE
by Joan Shulman
The Work Day on November 13 went well. We accomplished
almost everything we wanted to do. The temperature was perfect
for outside work. We trimmed tree branches near the entrance to
make sure our sign was clearly visible from Palmetto Bay Road.
We also trimmed back plants along the edges of the trails and
around the pond. A new owl box was hung in the pine/flatwoods.
(It is easily visible from the entrance to that area.) A tree that had
fallen into the pond was pulled out. Thanks to all Audubon mem-
bers who came out to help: Connie Voight, Niki and Dave Jordan,
Sherman Barker, Jack Colcolough, Marianne and Jim Currie. We
also owe thanks to nonmember Shari B, who showed up because
she saw the sign about the Work Day on the Preserve bulletin
board.
Thanks also go to Karen McGinty for monitoring the Preserve
trails in November.
The Preserve recently received a very generous gift from All-
Care Tree, a local professional tree surgery company. When ap-
proached to take down a large pine tree that had fallen over the en-
trance to the pine/flatwoods area, AllCare offered to cut the tree,
chip it up, and spread the chips along the trail around the pond--all
at no charge. We thank them very much for their generosity. (All-
Care does do work at private homes.)
Do keep in mind that the Preserve is a perfect place in which to
take a walk after holiday feasts and to find respite from the busy-
ness of the holiday festivities. The Preserve offers peace and quiet
and the beauty of natural surroundings every day of the year.
recent AREA bird sightings
by Jack Colcolough
We have just experienced our “Best Ever” migration this
fall in the HHI area and it may be many years before it oc-
curs again. I can’t say enough about this fantastic migration
in which an amazing thirty (30) warbler species plus six other
migrants were reported by seventeen (17) different birders
over a period of two and a half months. Many of the birds
were rare and unusual migrants. During a normal migration
we sight 15-20 migrants. The only new migrating warbler not
reported last month was a rare Bay-breasted Warbler.
Our “hot birding spot” this fall was Crystal Lake in Indigo
Run where migrants were found for seventeen (17) consecu-
tive days before the migration ended. It is speculated that the
unusual recent storm activity altered the normal flyaway paths
for migrants and our HHI and other areas benefited from
that.
Winter arrivals continue to be reported including: Pip-
ing Plover (23 at our recent bird walk at Port Royal), Red
Knot, Greater & Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Brown Creeper,
Hooded Merganser, Blue-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck,
Marsh & House Wrens and Sparrows ... Seaside, Nelson’s
Sharp-tailed, Savannah, Song, Lincoln, Swamp, Chipping &
White-throated.
Other good birds sighted were: American Bittern, Hairy
Woodpecker, late Black-throated Blue Warbler (11/9), migrat-
ing Swainson’s Thrush and late Painted & Indigo Buntings.

--- REMINDER --- Thanks to all whom enthusiastically reported your sight-
ings: Kay Hodnett, Doris Stoner, Doris McCullough, Howard
SCHOOL PROGRAM SPEAKERS AND
Costa, Dottie Bass, Karen McGinty, John Crawshaw, Richard
COMMITTEE PERSONS
Shulman, Annette Houseman, Wendy Hansen, several visitors,
GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT
et al.
Our next meetings:
To report a rare, uncommon or first-of-the-season (FOTS)
JAN. 5th. @ 9:30 am. Visitor Center, bird sighting in our area, please e-mail: JackColcolough@
(next to Crazy Crab Restaurant)
aol.com, call at 689-3455 or send a blank e-mail to: Birding-
AGENDA:
Friends-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to join the group and
• Learning Powerpoint
• Time and date for schools report your sighting.
• Bring your Volunteer Application (Background Check)
FEB 2nd @ 9:30 A.M. Visitor Center,
(next to Crazy Crab Restaurant)
AGENDA:
• Finalize - Speakers, Time and dates In Memoriam
IF ANY MEMBER WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER Jean Williams
TO BE A SPEAKER OR COMMITTEE PERSON,
PLEASE CONTACT ME ~ a long time supporter of our Audubon chapter.
PH. 843-705-3970 E-MAIL: kenjeanschh@hargray.com
THANK YOU, KENNY NEITZKE, V.P.

December 2008 Page 3

 PROJECTFEEDERWATCH Education ~ Audubon Adventures
SEASON BEGINS
The inquiry-based
The 2008-09 season of ProjectFeederWatch began Satur-
Audubon Adventures 2008-
day, November 8. You can sign up at any time. FeederWatch-
2009 program offered to our
ers keep track of their birds through the winter and report their
local schools is designed to
tallies each week.
help school children connect
Watching birds benefits science, but it can also be a healthy with nature. Titled “ Feats of
part of your routine. Hundreds of studies have verified that Nature”, it consists of four
time spent watching nature can reduce stress. So why not study units: migration, animal
slow down and watch the birds? builders, animal defenses and
Visit the PFW web site to learn more and to sign up. New plants. To date, 34 teachers
participants receive a kit with a handbook, a bird-identification with approximately 950 stu-
poster, calendar and instruction booklet. There is a $15.00 fee dents from 9 schools have ordered 39 class kits. The schools
($12. for Cornell Lab of Ornithology members) are as follows:
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Elementary Schools: HHI, Okatie, Daufuskie Island,
BOOK REVIEW M.C. Riley and St. Francis
“Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Middle Schools: HHI, Whale Branch and H.E. McCracken
Time - A Story about Birdwatching” by Sean Dooley.
High School: HHI
Birding is known as twitching in Britain and the Common-
wealth. Serious twitchers chase rare birds to rack up serious Three additional teachers at two different schools are
life birds, and really serious twitchers try to see more species considering the program for their classes. The program has
in one year than any of their peers. Dooley, a comedy writer, run smoothly to date thanks to Betsy Pehrson’s counsel as
tried to break the Australian record of 700 bird species seen well as her organization of the materials and processes to be
in 365 days, and he records the events in this marvelously followed.
funny memoir. He loves birds and twitching, but also sees his
hobby with the clear, sarcastic eye of a man who is aware that MARY JANE MAJOR HAS REPORTED THAT
most others find serious birders seriously weird. As the au- 39 TEACHERS (11 SCHOOLS) HAVE REQUESTED
thor takes a year off work, blows through his inheritance and AUDUBON EDUCATION MATERIAL FOR OUR
travels thousands of miles crisscrossing the Australian con- SCHOOL PROGRAM. AS OUR SCHOOL PROGRAM
tinent his hilarious commentary on his own sanity will keep
GROWS WE WILL NEED ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEERS
even the nonbirder readers in stitches. Prepare to laugh out
KENNY N.
loud. (Nancy Bent)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Please Note: Current members are encouraged to use this membership form to sign up friends, relatives, and neighbors as new
members. Our Chapter benefits significantly from a “return of dues” from National if our local form is used for new memberships

National Audubon Society Chapter

Membership Form  New  1 YR. - $20  2 YRS. - $30
NEW MEMBERS ONLY  Senior  1 YR. - $15  2 YRS. - $30
 Junior  1 YR. - $15  2 YRS. - $30
Name _ ______________________________________________________________
Address______________________________________________________________________
City ___________________________________________State__________ Zip_ ________________
Phone__________________________ Preferred First Name(s) ____________________________
Full Year Resident ______ Part Year Resident ______ I/We first joined Audubon in _______________
Mail a check payable to National Audubon Society U50
National Audubon Society, Chapter Membership Data Center, P.O. Box 51001, Boulder, CO 80322-1001 7XCH

Page 4 December 2008

 Please remember!
December 9th is our Annual Holiday Party 7 pm at Seabrook. Bring your
favorite dessert and friends! The Program begins at 7:30. Barry Lowes
will review the birds in our area to prepare us for the very important
Christmas Bird Count!

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December 2008 Page 5

296 Issue #:
Hilton Head, South Carolina 29938
P.O. Box 6185
Hilton Head Island Audubon Society Organization:
Monthly Sept.-May Frequency:
December 2008 Issue Date:
Permit #39
Title: Ecobon
Hilton Head Island, SC
PAID
U.S. POSTAGE Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 29938
Non Profit Organization
P. O. Box 6185
Ecobon

DECEMBER 2008 ~ JANUARY 2009 Calendar

0
DECemBER B E Q U E S T S
Thurs. Dec. 4 Board Meeting at the Seabrook .......................... 2:00 pm If you wish to honor a family
member or friend with a memorial
Tues. Dec. 9 Monthly Meeting at the Seabrook . .................... 7:00 pm
gift, or remember the Audubon Ne-
Sat. Dec. 13 Christmas Bird Count........................................ All Day whall Preserve or the Hilton Head
Island Audubon Society in your will,
your gift may be in the form of secu-
rities, cash, life insurance, real estate,
or other property.
Contact your own estate planner
or our Audubon Chapter at P.O. Box
JAnuary
6185, Hilton Head Island, South
Thurs. Jan. 8 Board Meeting at the Seabrook .......................... 2:00 pm Carolina 29938.
Tues. Jan. 13 Monthly Meeting at the Seabrook . .................... 7:30 pm Sharing your estate with Audubon
not only reduces the taxes on your
estate but will help protect birds,
Monthly meetings of the Hilton Head Island Audubon Society are regularly scheduled wildlife, and their habitat in the years
at 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month, September through May, in the to come.
Auditorium at the Seabrook, 300 Woodhaven Drive. Members and guests welcome!

Page 6 Printed on recycled paper December 2008