Welcome to the New Year! 2020 was difficult, 2021 holds out hope. Spring is not far off, vaccines are on the way, and migratory birds will be returning. On behalf of the Board of Forsyth Audubon I wish you all a Happy New Year, I hope you are well and remaining safe. Despite the difficulties of 2020 Forsyth Audubon has been busy. New members have joined us, our Board of Directors has enlarged with new voices adding their ideas and enthusiasm. There are new volunteers and new friends. We have entered the Virtual world and expanded our communication reaching a wider population thanks to Heather Moir and Hannah Addair. Audubon Society of Forsyth County is now 50 years old! Celebration is commencing with founding and sustaining members sharing their stories with Ann Robertson in our Newsletters, the 50th Anniversary Committee led by Ron Morris plans for a gala later in the year. We have continued with legislative advocacy, individually and collectively, focusing attention on matters of conservation, education and environmental justice. Participation in Audubon Climate Watch program is ongoing, Cornell Lab's Nestwatch program is revitalized, both recruiting new volunteers. A new nature education program at Bethabara Park was established in partnership with Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, NC Arboretum, and City of WS. Local conservation efforts continue under the leadership of Max Nottke increasing the use of Native Plants in restoring habitat at residential and public spaces. A strong Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity committee has formed, chaired by Joy Rochester, helping us to better support diverse populations in our community and open nature outings to everyone. Our involvement with local College and University students and faculty continues with increasing interest in Audubon and birding. Part of the 50th Anniversary celebration will be original music composed and performed by students of UNCSA in the theme of the Wood Thrush Migration Project. WSSU students plan to join us in Climate Watch and Nestwatch. Salem College students were instrumental in presenting the 4th grade environmental education curriculum. Efforts are ongoing to form a college chapter at WFU. Park Ranger Jesse Anderson and Graphic Designer Barb Borucki designed and installed a beautiful Hawk wingspan mural at Pilot Mountain State Park attracting the attention of lots of kids with outstretched arms. We continue working with many partners including Habitat for Humanity, Gateway Nature Preserve, Piedmont Land Conservancy, City and County Parks, and look forward to collaboration with WSSU, NC State, NCA&T. Goals for the new year are many with primary being re-opening when it is safe, resuming field outings locally and distant, moving ahead with our many conservation projects, and establishing a leadership pipeline to bring Forsyth Audubon into it's next 50 years. I look forward to working with all of you to make this a reality.
Don Lendle
President, Forsyth Audubon
January Chapter Meeting
Tuesday, January 26th, 7:00 PM via Zoom
“Going to Bird Camp: How to Inspire Curiosity, Discovery, and Stewardship of Nature
Through the Wonders of the Blue Ridge Mountains”
Featuring Aaron Floyd of the Blue Ridge Discovery Center, Mt. Rogers Recreation Area,
VA
Wouldn't you love to spend a long weekend or a week or more immersed in the wonders of birds, butterflies, fish, salamanders, geology, wildflowers, rivers, forests. Wouldn't you love to see your children or grandchildren or all children have this experience. How do we reconnect with the natural world in this critical time. Come learn about the innovative, creative programs of education, research and stewardship provided by the BRDC (blueridgediscoverycenter.org). BRDC's programs for adults and children include Summer Camps, three day Naturalist Rallies, school programs, birding outings, research (Golden-winged warbler, Saw-whetOwl, Mtn. forests), kayaking and fishing. Aaron Floyd, a native of SW Virginia, an Architect, an Artist, a passionate conservationist and educator is the Executive Director of BRDC. He and a talented staff are innovative leaders in environmental education for adults and children. Formally residing in Tucson, AZ , where he worked with the Tucson Audubon Society and the Arizona-Sonorian Desert
Museum, he is back home in his beloved Blue Ridge Mountains inspiring us all.
Look for an email announcement with a link to the Zoom invitation.
Jean Chamberlain receives Ramona Snavely Award
Each year, our chapter recognizes a member for his or her long-time service and involvement in Forsyth Audubon activities. The award, named after chapter founder, Ramona Snavely, was instituted in 2007. Jean Chamberlain is a most deserving recipient. A long term member of Audubon Society of Forsyth County she has contributed in so many ways. A good friend to many, a leader on the Board of Directors, a leader in the field. She has worked tirelessly on conservation projects such as the Wood Thrush Migration Study and Native Plant habitat restoration. Her work redesigning and maintaining our Website has helped greatly to make us professional and friendly. Jean is a world traveler and a world birder, a student of birdsong, and a devoted bird rehabilitator. In preparing these remarks I asked several people for their contributions, many responded glowingly. A story Nathan Gatto told says it well: One day on the Hanging Rock Bird Count, Nathan and Jean were birding together, Jean kept disappearing and Nathan could not figure out where she went off to. After the count, Jean explained that she was rehabilitating a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and she stepped away to feed and care for the healing Cuckoo in the back of her car. Such devotion! We are very pleased to honor Jean for years of outstanding service to Forsyth Audubon with the Ramona Snavely Award. Thank you Jean!
Jean presenting a raptor education program
EDI Webinar Opportunity
The third installment of Audubon's Chapter Equity, Diversity and Inclusion How-to-Guide webinars will focus on how to ensure that chapter programming is truly learning from and including different audiences. The webinar takes place on Tuesday, January 19th from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. To register for the webinar, click here. We invite you to email members of our EDI committee with your thoughts following the webinar.
Christmas Bird Count Report
Forsyth Birders,
I'm still cleaning up the data for the final report and working on count week bird totals. Combined, the teams reported 88 species and 9975 individuals birds on count day!
Highlights included a Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Common Goldeneye, and Virginia Rail. The top 5 reported species were European Starling 2647, American Crow 1260, Canada Goose 659, American Robin 526, and Dark-eyed Junco. We had some notable misses like Bald Eagle, Common Grackle, Rusty Blackbird, and Brown-headed Cowbird.
I want to personally thank everyone that contributed this year! It was fun seeing a good chunk of the group on the zoom call.
--
Nathan Gatto
Forsyth Audubon Count Compiler
Celebrating 50 Years of Forsyth Audubon!
As part of our 50th Anniversary Celebration, Ann Robertson continues her series of interviews with members of our organization, so that we can get to know each other while we are socially distanced.
From a Neighborhood Creek in Towson, Maryland to Dallman Bay, Antartica: Marbry “Hop” Hopkins’ Incredible Birding Journey
And this journey was launched, in a sense, with Hop’s Grandmother’s gift of a Golden Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians that she gave him when he was just learning to read. Soon, his parents realized that their precocious child had memorized the book, so they bought him more in the series – geology, astronomy, fossils, and of course, birds. He absorbed each book, and they fueled his fascination with the natural world. He started exploring outdoors when he was very young. His neighborhood had a creek with a small corridor of mature hardwood forest that he roamed in search of the frogs, turtles, and snakes that he had seen in the Golden Guide. Hop described himself as obsessed with books and nature, even at this young age. His little brother wasn’t as obsessed, but he was a willing accomplice for outdoor adventures and they had lots of fun catching critters, some of which they put in little cages that they built for the purpose. Hop said most were released very quickly as he felt guilty about holding them.
All along, birds fascinated Hop just as much as the reptiles and amphibians, but they were not as accessible to him since he didn’t have any binoculars. Still, he vividly remembers the day he saw an Indigo Bunting on a wire. It’s brilliant blue took his breath away, and birds became his focus.
Fortunately, Hop’s parents always had bird feeders, and his father knew quite a few bird names. Hop in fact later discovered that his father had a collection of Arm & Hammer bird trading cards, a series called “Useful Birds of America” that came in baking soda boxes for decades. Neither the cards nor the children’s Golden Guide was as good as a real field guide, but both provided information as Hop sought to learn birds. And, when Hop was in high school, his parents bought a pair of binoculars for the family to use. Of course, we know who used them most often!
The striking thing about Hop’s birding history is how self-taught and motivated he was in his early years, with no direct adult guidance. When he went to college at the University of Richmond, he had a zoology professor who shared his interest in birds, and who sponsored field trips for the class at which he supplied binoculars. By this time, Hop had a camera of his own, and he used it somewhat like binoculars. He said, “you make do with what you have”. The photography passion has developed as fully as birding, as you can see by checking out various databases, where you will find Hop’s beautiful nature photography.
In college, Hop met his future wife, Judy in pre-Med lab courses. They wed, and both attended the UVA School of Medicine, where they graduated in three years. Both were accepted for residencies at Bowman Gray, now Wake Forest – Hop, in Pathology and Judy in Internal Medicine with a focus on Oncology. They arrived in Winston-Salem in 1977.
It was at this juncture, when he began receiving a paycheck, that Hop allowed himself the luxury of a subscription to the National Audubon Society Magazine. He figured it was a famous organization focused on birds, so he would enjoy it. Fortunately for all of us, the local Forsyth Audubon Society received Hop’s address and mailed him monthly newsletters. He attended a meeting, and was impressed with the knowledge and interest of the members. It was the first time he knew people identified themselves as birders. He also didn’t know that you could identify birds by their calls. With Royce Hough, Ramona Snavely, and Patty Culbertson, among others, as early mentors, Hop quickly leaped into a whole new level of expertise and enjoyment of birding. He thrived on the field trips offered by the group as opportunities for learning and fellowship with kindred spirits.
The other ASFC members were just as appreciative of Hop as he was of them. Hop is the sort of person who is ever ready to give and to teach. He’s an affable field companion with a big smile, always eager to help others find birds. He is also technologically adept. He was one of the few in the group with a camera. He began giving slideshow presentations at the meetings, which was at that time uncommon. He was one of the first to have a computer, so he was drafted to be the Membership Chair, in part because he could generate mailing labels for the newsletters. I think it is remarkable that a young physician doing his residency and fellowship was still willing to take time to generate mailing labels for a newsletter. It is a hallmark of Hop that he is grounded, humble, and has a generous, giving spirit – not to mention endless patience.
Hop was also ASFC President early on, because the group feared he would leave when he completed his residency and fellowship. But, happily, both he and Judy were offered jobs by Bowman Gray, which they accepted. Hop joined the teaching faculty, where he worked for many years before moving to a pathology group in High Point. Judy eventually moved to private practice, and she still enjoys seeing patients in Kernersville. Hop retired a few years ago due to a medical issue.
Along the way, Hop served ASFC as Count Compiler for several years, and has been on the Board multiple times. He has given many presentations at Chapter meetings, including one on the trip to Antartica during which the picture above was taken.
No mention of Hop is complete without reference to his birding companions, David and Susan Disher. The Dishers introduced Hop to international travel in search of birds, and it quickly became another passion. Their first joint trip was to Trinidad and Tobago, where they stayed at the Asa Wright Lodge, which Hop describes as a hard place to get to, but worth it. That first morning, he, David and Susan had 25 life birds while walking to breakfast – or, rather, TRYING to get to breakfast. The feast of bird sightings quickly overrode eating!
The next venture was to Costa Rica, where Hop said he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of species, many of which were hard to quickly discern. He thought he had studied well, but he learned he needed to be better-prepared for the more complicated birds. He highly recommends traveling to find birds as a lot of fun, in spite of the sometimes uncomfortable conditions.
I asked Hop his favorite birding destination outside North Carolina, and he quickly answered, “Texas”. He has accompanied Judy for many years to a conference in Austin. Hop said Texas has World Bird Centers with great birding trails and bird blinds for photographers. If you use e-bird, you can get data on what is being seen, and there are almost always folks at the centers to guide you.
In spite of his passion for birding, it wasn’t until the early 2000’s that Hop invested in a more expensive binocular, a pair of Swarovskis. He also learned that he needed a spotting scope. Ramona and Patty had huge Questars that were so heavy they used them from their cars. But, he didn’t go for that weight or expense.
It’s good for the birding world that Hop developed a fondness for scoping out Archie Elledge Sewage Treatment Plant. On January 30, 2009, he noticed an usual duck that turned out to be a Tufted Duck, which more properly belongs in Europe or Asia. For those interested in a full report, which includes assistance from John Haire and David & Susan Disher, here’s a link (UNDER the Duck photo) to the Carolina Bird Club write up. Hop holds the NC State Record for a Tufted Duck!
As mentioned in the article, about 700 birders descended upon Archie in the 2 weeks of the celebrity duck’s appearance. The security guards had concerns, of course, but they were also proud of their special duck. Hop presented key personnel with photos of the duck when the fuss was over.
I asked Hop for his advice to new birders. He said that everyone learns differently, but he still recommends that new birders buy a field guide and study it. If you buy a guide that covers the entire United States, pay careful attention to each species’ range map so you understand where you are likely to encounter it.
He also thinks it is important to buy a decent pair of binoculars. He said you don’t have to buy the most expensive ones, but try to purchase the best quality you can reasonably afford. He mentioned available examples at Wright’s Bird Center. I can testify to that as I purchased a lower-end Zeiss pair there a few years ago and they are very good.
He also encourages new birders to learn and use e-bird. He said his hardest job was to upload all his old sightings to e-bird, some of which were questioned because of how bird populations have shifted over the past few decades. For instance, Hop said that Loggerhead Shrikes, Screech Owls, and Evening Grosbeaks used to be fairly common.
Times have certainly changed, but one thing has not: The Audubon Society of Forsyth County is very lucky to have Marbry “Hop” Hopson as a member!
And now, here are Hop’s answers to Heather Moir’s questions. Thank you, Hop!!!!!
Favorite Bird: Baltimore Oriole. I grew up near Baltimore and I always thought it was a beautiful bird (I was also a big fan of the baseball team!) I remember seeing my first one near where I lived growing up and I wished I had a pair of binoculars to soak up the color. I still enjoy finding them as they arrive in spring.
Favorite Birding Spot: Archie Elledge Wastewater Treatment Plant. I always feel like something unusual could be present so I regularly stopped by to check it out when I could. I hope we can again get access in the future.
Do you have a “spark bird?” (a bird that you saw that helped you first fall in love with birds and birding?) I was always fascinated by nature and started searching for reptiles and amphibians, but birds were also on my radar. Since I did not have binoculars, birds represented a challenge. One day I spotted an Indigo Bunting on a telephone wire and it was breath taking! Birds became my primary focus after that.
Do you have a “nemesis bird” (a bird that you have tried over and over to find and that has eluded you ?) I have had several nemesis birds over the years. My longest nemesis was the Black Rail. I listened for that bird in marshes up and down the East Coast and even a few spots out west. Finally, in 2017, I heard a couple at Cedar Island NWR in eastern NC. Seeing one might take a miracle. My favorite nemesis bird was the Purple Gallinule. My young son could remember that name and asked me every time I went birding if I saw a Purple Gallinule. He would then laugh and assure me I would see it next time. This went on for years and provided a great bond between us. Then in 1991 when he was 7 I came home from a trip to Texas and told him I had seen 3 of them. He stopped asking about my birding adventures and I wished I had not seen that bird for several years.
Favorite binoculars? I have enjoyed my Leica Ultravid 10 X 50 for many years but when I developed back problems I bought a Swarovski EL 8 X 32 that is amazing. I carry this when I walk but use my Leica from the car.
What do you like to do when you’re not birding? I enjoyed traveling and hope that I will be able to do more of it post Covid. I still enjoy reading, organizing my photographs and working on family history.
How did you first become involved with Forsyth Audubon? My wife and I came to Winston Salem in 1977 to do our residencies at NC Baptist Hospital. I had never met another birder and did not realize others shared my interest. I joined the National Audubon Society and they forwarded my name to Forsyth Audubon. I started receiving newsletters and decided to see what the meetings were like. At the time they were meeting in the Biology building at Wake Forest and I was impressed with the knowledge and interest of the members. I went on local field trips to find out where to go birding and the rest is history.
What has been the most rewarding thing about your involvement with Forsyth Audubon? I learned so much about bird identification and habitat from Ramona Snavely, Pat Culbertson and Royce Hough that I became a much better birder. Meeting the Dishers when they became members broadened my travel horizons tremendously as we became fast friends and traveling companions. I cherish all the friendships I have developed at Audubon over the years.
Hop on Pipeline Road in Panama. Bird on, Hop! And thanks for sharing what you find with us!
New Memorial Bench at Hathaway Park
Hathaway Park is a relatively small city park located off of Country Club Road. You can get there by turning from Country Club Road onto Lawndale Drive near the Forsyth Country Club tennis courts. It is a reliable spot to find Brown-headed nuthatches, and often Pine Warblers and a variety of Woodpeckers. A lovely recent addition to the park is this memorial bench, provided by Susan Hammond, in memory of her husband Bill.
Order "Birding Guide to Forsyth County"!
The fifth edition of "Birding Guide to Forsyth County," by David Disher, is now available. David's book, in a handy 6 x 9 paperback format, compiles documented observations for 280 bird species in Forsyth County. Learn what birds can be seen here and during which weeks of the year you are most likely to see them. Photos of uncommon sightings are included. Information on local birding spots also is included. For $15, this is a great gift for your favorite birder. All profits go to our chapter. Copies are available at Wright's Backyard Birding Center, 3906 Country Club Rd., Winston-Salem, and at Wild Birds Unlimited, 1589 Skeet Club Rd, High Point. Copies also are available for sale at our monthly chapter meetings. If you have a smart phone or tablet, download the electronic version available for $4.99 from www.lulu.com.
Follow us!
Forsyth Audubon is pleased that Hannah Addair is managing Forsyth Audubon's Instagram! We now have a presence on Facebook and Instagram. Visit us on Social Media! Tell your friends!
Forsyth Audubon T-shirts are here! They are available now at most of our chapter events, or you can pick one up at Wright's Birding Center during business hours. There are two different styles to choose from, both with our fabulous brown-headed nuthatch logo. The soft cotton poly blend shirts are $20.00 and the polyester tech tee with the cool dri wicking fabric is $25.00.
