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TheComaaiit^
of Ornithology
Backyard
Bird
Count
By Yvette Bannen
Mark your calendar
for Valentines Day/
Presidents’ Day weekend
(February 14-17) for the
17th annual Great Back
yard Bird Count. This
project is organized and
led by the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology, the Na
tional Audubon Society
and Bird Studies Canada,
with sponsorship by Wild
Birds Unlimited. Novices
to expert birdwatchers
of all ages count birds
to present evidence of where the birds are during winter. In 2013, almost 135,000
checklists were submitted and over 3.4 million individual birds were counted.
Go to birdsource.org/gbbc, read about this project, sign up, print a regional
checklist, get your binoculars and bird book ready and help the scientists in their
work. The important thing to remember is to count the highest number of indi
viduals of each species that you see at any one time, but don’t add those to previous
sightings because you could be counting the same birds twice.
If you have a bird feeder, or two or three, you are familiar with the usual birds
that come to your yard, but you can count in more than one place (keep a separate
list for each location and each day). Fort Macon has a good assortment of both
backyard birds and shore birds. This is a free and fun activity, and multi-generations
can participate.
Photo Illustration by Dan Law
W/.
Pictured is a small sampling of the specimens found in the bird-friendly yard of Pine Knoll
Shores residents Bonnie and Chuck DeLong and elsewhere in town: Red-bellied Woodpecker,
female and male Cardinals and Cedar Waxwings.
Ga!?^ en Club
By Clare Winslow
An abundance of creative talent was displayed by members of the Garden
Club at their January 8 meeting, held at “Pottery 2 Paint” in Emerald Isle. Jean
McDanal and Karen Zaenker planned the event.
Members chose from among pre-fired bisque plaques, large and small bowls,
flip-flop hooks, coffee and soup mugs and a seahorse dish to add their own
bright colors and designs. A favorite design created on the dishes and bowls
was a beach scene, complete with shovels, pails, sandcastles and sailboats. The
plaques were another popular choice and displayed the most lovely and artful
motifs of all. Finished pieces were left with shop owner Daisy Spell for firing
before being returned to the artists. The club was pleased to welcome Arlene
Terrell as its guest painter for the day. The hospitality committee, Karen Zaenk
er, Susan King and Barbara Yankauskas, provided tasty snacks for everyone to
enjoy as they worked.
Prior to the trip to Emerald Isle, President Donna Belanger conducted a
brief business meeting at town hall. Members Jo Ann Shallcross, Susan King,
Linda Pearson and Karen Zaenker formed a committee to advise Crystal Coast
Country Club Manager Chip Chamberlain on horticultural ideas for landscap
ing the Oakleaf Drive entrance to the country club. Martha Edwards and Mary
Hudak are serving on a nominating committee to elect next year’s Garden Club
officers.
The club meets every second Wednesday of the month at town hall at 9:30
a.m. for refreshments, followed at 10 a.m. by the program of the day. Guests and
visitors are always welcome to attend the meetings and join the club. On Febru
ary 12, North Carolina extension agent Karen McNeill will speak on “Beneficial
Insects and Pollinating Gardens.”
Photo by Karen Zaenker
Heivi Larson shows off her artwork created during the Garden Club’s recent trip to Pottery 2
Paint in Emerald Isle.
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