Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter |
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Blue Ridge Audubon
Meetings & Walks are Free and Open to All!
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Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary
Volunteers needed!
Come on out to the Sanctuary this Saturday, August 22nd at 9 am
to help us weed out invasive plants.
Check out the article below to learn more. We hope you'll join us!
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Bird Walks
We are sorry to report that Blue Ridge Audubon bird walks will be suspended through fall due to continuing concerns about Covid 19 and public gatherings.
Please check our website and Facebook page for updates.
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Chapter Meetings
September Program (Online)
Tuesday, Sept 22nd, 7 pm
Offtrack: The Whys of
Vagrant Birds
with Nate Swick
Details in September Newsletter
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Chapter programs will be online this fall via our Facebook page. We hope you'll tune in!
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Blue Ridge Audubon
Board of Directors Meeting
Tuesday, September 1st, 6:30 pm
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Dear friend,
Drum roll, please......
We are now officially the Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter!
If you missed the news on the name change, click here to read about it. In the weeks to come we'll be updating our website, logo and materials... so stay tuned!
Blue Ridge Audubon has been busy this summer advocating on behalf of birds. On June 24, several folks from our chapter, as well as students from UNCA Audubon, participated in the annual Audubon North Carolina Advocacy Day. We talked online with our state senators and representatives about important issues impacting birds, including promoting clean energy to combat climate change and increasing conservation trust funding. Click here to read more about our meetings with Sen. Terry Van Duyn and Rep. Brian Turner (2nd row; 3rd picture). Be sure to click on Rep. Turner's tweet! We appreciate them taking time to meet with us -- and for all of their hard work representing us in the North Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh.
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Even though we won't be seeing you on bird walks and in-person meetings this fall, we sure hope you'll join us for these fun events:
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Audubon North Carolina's Virtual Chapter Day tomorrow evening, Aug. 17th. Learn more and sign up here.
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Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary Work Day on Saturday morning, Aug. 22nd. See the BLBS article below for more information.
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Online Program Meeting with Nate Swick on Facebook Live on Tuesday, Sept. 22nd at 7pm. Check out next month's newsletter for more details.
We hope to "see" you soon!
Stay well and keep on birding when you can,
-Nancy Casey
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Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary Volunteer News |
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We are very grateful for the hard work that our volunteers have put in this summer at the Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary (BLBS) removing invasive plants. Many thanks in particular to Alicia and Art Hulse, Florrie Funk, and Jane and Ed Isbey. We also extend thanks to Dennis Lenaway who filled the parking lot potholes with gravel.
Work on invasive plants at the Sanctuary continues on a larger scale with our contractor, Emily Israel, owner of Eclipse Eco Solutions. Between Porcelain berry and Japanese honeysuckle vines among other non-native plants, there’s a lot of invasive plant mass to be dealt with. But we are making progress and look forward to eventually filling in the gaps with many bird-friendly plantings.
The BLBS Committee will hold a workday on Saturday, August 22, starting at 9:00 a.m. and we invite anyone to come and help. The goal will be to pull English Ivy and other relatively easy to remove invasive plants such as Japanese stilt grass. BLBS Committee members will be on hand to help volunteers identify invasive plants. There is plenty of room to maintain social distance when working, but we encourage folks to wear masks.
Photo collage by Jay Wherley
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Bird Notes by Rick Pyeritz |
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“The herons… have suffered an immense decrease in number…. through wholly reprehensible acts of wantonness. Many have of late been destroyed for their feathers where, in Florida especially, the havoc made with these poor defenseless birds is the subject of painful contemplation and a disgrace to the age. The poor birds are attacked at their breeding grounds and hundreds are slain in a few hours by single parties, whose only use of them is to secure the beautiful plumes with which nature has unfortunately adorned them.” J. A. Allen, 1876
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The above quote from J. A. Allen, first president of the American Ornithologists’ Union, was the opening salvo in the conflict between feather hunters and the AOU and others opposed to the killing of birds for fashion. The elegant feathers of Herons, Egrets and Spoonbills were supplied to milliners in America and Europe who used them in the production of women’s hideous, feathered hats. Many vocal men and women began strongly opposing the wholesale destruction of birds for fashion. But the tireless effort of one man, Dr. George Bird Grinnell, was vital to the eventual success of the bird preservation movement. Grinnell was also the founder of the first Audubon Society in 1886! To find more about Grinnell, follow this link.
Photo of Great Egret by Sarymely
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Board member Susan Richardson volunteered for the July SEE Camp for visually-impaired/blind children, an annual event sponsored by Industries for the Blind Solutions. Our participation was originally planned as a one-day Birding by Ear/Nature adventure at the Arboretum. Due to the Phase 2 restrictions with the ongoing pandemic, IFB Solutions opted to hold shorter virtual camp sessions. Susan led two morning sessions for 11 elementary school children. She provided them with a sheet in large print and in Braille that listed 10 common birds with phrases to remember their calls and songs. A Backyard Bird field guide was sent in advance for the families to share with their children, and a turkey feather was part of their ‘Camp in a Box' materials. The two sessions, using Zoom, included interactive discussions on topics such as what makes a bird a bird and fun facts about specific birds with song i.d. help. Susan is looking forward to next year and the originally planned, in-person camp full of outdoor birding adventures. Thank you, Susan! |
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Blue Ridge Audubon partners with numerous local plant nurseries in order to spread the word about the value of gardening for birds. In upcoming newsletter issues, we will highlight some of our nursery partners. Today we salute Reems Creek Nursery which is located at 76 Monticello Road in Weaverville. In business for over 40 years, Reems Creek is a family run nursery that focuses on plants grown sustainably without using harmful neonicotinoid insecticides. Their nursery hosts a Xerces Society designated Pollinator Habitat as well as a Monarch Waystation. They are also certified as a Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation
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Educating gardeners is a mission at Reems Creek Nursery. They recently hosted a Zoom presentation for 60 folks on Bird-Friendly Gardening by Blue Ridge Audubon board member Tom Tribble. While it wasn’t recorded, Tom did that same presentation for BRAC in April and it can be viewed at this link on our Facebook page (his talk begins at 35 mins). Tom noted that “the single easiest action that individuals can take to help birds is to make your own yard more bird-friendly by planting native plants.” You can find many bird-friendly native trees, shrubs and perennials at Reems Creek Nursery. Fall is a great time to plant, especially with birds in mind.
Photo of Black-throated Blue Warbler by Will Stuart
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Beaver Bits
Text and photos by Jay Wherley
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While August in the mountains can be pleasant for outdoor activities, birding may be a little slow compared to prime-time migration seasons. There are still things to look for as post breeding dispersal and extra-early migration bring interesting birds in. Last year, a juvenile Osprey appeared at Beaver Lake in August and stuck around for a few weeks. Neither of the kite species seen in Buncombe County in August have been noted flying over Beaver Lake *yet*, but it is a good time to keep an eye on kettling vultures for Mississippi Kite and even Swallow-tailed Kite. |
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The bursting orange jewel-weed blooms are now providing the best viewing of the year for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in the sanctuary.
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Notable recent sightings at Beaver Lake include Great White Heron (white morph of Great Blue Heron, possibly a future split into separate species) and Summer Tanager.
Images from Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary:
Osprey (juvenile), August 16, 2019
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, August 26, 2014
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About the Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter |
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Blue Ridge Audubon is a chapter of the National Audubon Society, serving Buncombe, Henderson, and surrounding counties in western North Carolina.
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are
tax-deductible to the extent
allowed by law.
Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter
PO Box 18711
Asheville, NC 28814
Raven's Nest Editor:
Marianne Mooney
mooney.marianne@gmail.com
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Blue Ridge Audubon's mission is to protect birds and the places they depend on. We believe that a world in which birds thrive is a world that benefits all living things.
Our vision is a vibrant and just community where the protection of birds and our natural world is valued by everyone.
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For the latest information and schedule changes,
check our Website or Facebook/Instagram page.
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