THE WOODPECKER POST

NEWSLETTER OF THE
COLUMBIA AUDUBON SOCIETY
P.O. BOX 5923 COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA 29250
Summer, 2004

Tommie Moody

Butterfly Gardening
Learn about butterflies and their life cycles, including developing
from a caterpillar which eats green leaves of a specific host plant then
forms itself into a chrysalis, from which it emerges as a flying insect.
We will discuss which plants to grow to encourage butterflies in your
garden and how you can avoid killing them while you grow other things.
The presentation includes a slide program.

Tommie Moody is a member of the Carolina Butterfly Society which,

like bird-watcher groups, encourages the study and enjoyment of but-
terflies through field trips and gardening activities. Tommie also is an
area Master Gardener and environmentalist and has presented this
program to environmental and gardening groups throughout the state.
Although not a current Audubon member, she has supported Audubon
for over 30 years both as a member and contributor.

Annual Board of Directors Election at May Meeting

We will hold our annual election at the beginning of the May Member Meeting. The
slate of candidates includes Dan Tufford, who has agreed to serve as President, and
Marcia Watkins, Secretary and Treasurer. These candidates are unopposed.

All other Board positions are appointed by the President. There are still positions
available. Please contact President Tufford or any Board Member soon if you are in-
terested in a position.

Tuesday, May 11, 7:30 PM

Suggs & Kelly Law Center

500 Taylor Street (Taylor at Huger Sts.)

ALL CAS PROGRAMS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

 May and Summer Field Trips
For all field trips we suggest you bring binoculars, field guide, rain gear, water, food, and insect repellent (if you have them). Non-members and
novices are always welcome. The Columbia Audubon Society is a chapter of the National Audubon Society. The Columbia Audubon Society as-
sumes no responsibilities for injuries, personal or otherwise, that may occur while attending Society-sponsored events and will not be held liable
for any such injuries. Attend at your own risk. For more information, please call a Board Member whose numbers are listed on the last page.

May Birding Activities at Local Parks INTERNATIONAL MIGRATORY BIRD DAY

Upcoming Field Park
at Saluda Shoals Trip
Columbia City Parks - Saturday, May 8, 9:00 AM -12 Noon
WEDNESDAY WARBLERS BEFORE WORK!
Riverfront Park 7:00 to 8:00 AM—May 5 Saluda Shoals staff and volunteers (including
Steve Dennis) will lead a 3 or 4 walks that morning
The early bird gets much more than the proverbial each. Interested people will have to sign up for the
worm! This walk series is for all bird enthusiasts; be- walk. Jay Robinson will also be walking folks
ginners are encouraged to attend. Members of Colum- through our eastern bluebird trail. Saluda Shoals Park
bia Audubon society will join us at one of our city’s has 20 bluebird boxes 300 feet apart through their
best green spaces. We’ll see both migratory and resi- SCE&G right of way. The boxes have been monitored
dent birds. Bring binoculars, and wear comfy walking daily for the past 2 weeks. In the last week we have
shoes. Meet by the pedestrian bridge. begun to get a lot of activity. Three of the boxes have
3 or more eggs.
PADDLE THE SALUDA RIVER - CANOEING Home Depot will provide a birdhouse building
FOR KIDS ANNUAL FUND-RAISER workshop, there will be a birdfeeder building work-
Saturday, May 8 shop, Wild Birds Unlimited will show folks how to
attract certain birds using certain seeds, Carolina
If you’ve always wanted to see the river, this is Wildlife Care will bring baby birds such as woodpeck-
your best opportunity! This family friendly trip is ers and spring migrants that they are hand feeding and
great fun for all ages. You’ll get a tee shirt, some getting back out into the wild, and there will also be a
great food, expert guides and the satisfaction of help- few hunting conservation groups present such as
ing one of the Midland’s best non-profit organizations. National Waterfowl Assoc. and the Nat. Wild Turkey
Call 791-1727 for details and fee. Fed. just to keep things balanced. It will be a great
day of avian education no matter what your interests
BIRDS and LILIES on the RIVER are! There is a nominal fee to enter the park.
Saturday, May 22, 4:00 PM
Beidler Forest, Mizell Tract with Charleston
Come see our city’s most beautiful spot: the con- Natural History Society
fluence of the Saluda and Broad rivers! This guided Saturday, May 16, 8:15 AM
twilight canoe/kayak trip will depart from Riverbanks
Zoo, and include a section of whitewater. The tract is approximately 900 acres that was
acquired late last year. Most of it is bottomland
Paddlers will see Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies, and hardwood and fantastic migratory bird habitat.
an abundance of birds, especially herons and osprey, Meet at the Beidler Forest gate at 8:15 a.m. We
maybe a Bald Eagle. Dress to get wet. Meet at 4:00 will then travel to the site. April Stallings will lead
p.m. across from EdVenture and the State Museum on the field trip. It would be wonderful if others from
Gervais St. We reserve the right to cancel the trip or our extended Audubon family could join us as
use rafts if the river runs at unsafe levels. You must well. If you're not a member of the Charleston
pre-register for this event (call 343-2923 for details). Chapter please RSVP directly to April Stallings
Cost: $25. (843-462-2150).
 ride, let us know. If you are planning to go and
Columbia Audubon Society willing to take one or more riders, let us know.
Field Trips Potential riders and drivers should contact Caro-
line Eastman at 803-782-8820 or ceastman@sc.
Field Trips—Caroline Eastman rr.com, preferably at least two days before the
field trip.
We are rapidly approaching the official start of
summer and have already reached its hot muggy North American Migration Count Day
weather. So why have field trips? For one thing, Saturday, May 8
not everyplace is overrun with mosquitoes. (And
even those that are often are still worth visiting.) The North American Migration Count is held
Some birds are most easily seen in our area dur- on the second Saturday in May each year. Al-
ing the summer months, and some migrate though many CAS members participate and we
through starting in midsummer. We will have a sometimes have an associated field trip, we do
trip to look for such summer birds, including kites not sponsor this event. So count in one or more
(swallowtail and Mississippi) and Purple Galli- of the counties of your choice on that day. Then,
nules. We will have a later trip to look for migrat- submit your list (species and numbers) either to
ing shorebirds at the Orangeburg sod farms. your county coordinator or state coordinator if the
There will also be a trip to Congaree NP as the county does not have a coordinator; the list must
first in a series of Swamps through the Seasons include habitats visited, the time spent, and the
field trips. For those who want a brief respite miles driven as well. Bob Ellis (Ellis29205@aol.
from our summers, there will be a field trip to the com; 803-790-1549) is the South Carolina coordi-
highest mountain within a day’s drive. nator. Molly Bonnell (803-359-6280) is the Lex-
ington county coordinator; Lloyd Moon
One spectacular natural show (most years, (lmoon@sc.rr.com) is the Sumter county coordi-
anyway) is the blooming of the endangered rocky nator. Tim Kalbach plans to coordinate the Cal-
shoal spider lilies, which are found only in South houn County count. His email address is
Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia. If you have grebe@mindspring.com.
never seen these plants in bloom, you should
take advantageWINGED of this opportunity.MIGRATIONThis year, we returns
Landsford to CanalNickelodeon
State Park, Birds ! and
will have two ways to experience and enjoy the River Shoals Spider Lilies
rocky shoal spider lilies – one wet and one dry
The Nick brings back this breathtaking favorite as a Saturday, holiday treatMayfor 29, 10:00 AM
our patrons! This acclaimed film is a
(we hope). You can also attend the official
love letter to birdwatchers, flying enthusiasts, roller-coaster fans, and anyone who has ever stood still and
Lansford
watched a Canal
hawk sailState Park
in the Lily Fest
clouds. on Sunday,
Director Jacques Perrin’sMeet at theMIGRATION
WINGED Landsford Canal looksvisitor
on thecenter
world with
May 23. See the state park website http://www.
an eagle’s eye and lifts us soaring over 40 countries in all 7 continents, as he and a crew of over prepared
next to the parking lot at 10 am. Be 450 for
southcarolinaparks.com
(including 17 pilots and 14 for further information
cinematographers) a short
spent 3 years walk along
following dirt trails
the journey to see the
of hundreds spider
of birds, lil-
some
about this festival (and also the directions to the ies. We will also look for birds;
migrating over 10,000 miles. Filmed from remote control gliders, ultra-light aircraft and hot air balloons, the eagles are some-
park). Everyone
cast includes flocksisofhoping that
pelicans, the Lansford
ducks, geese, bald Ca- times
eagles, seen atturtledoves,
albatrosses, this park. Bring
swans,arobins,
picnicmacaws,
lunch.
nal lilies have recovered
and Perrin himself as the Narrator. from last year’s flooding. There is a small fee to enter the park.
France. 2002. English narration. Rated G (for all audiences). 89 minutes.
Since our current system of meeting at a des- Congaree National Park
ignated
.DECEMBER rendezvous and arranging
26-30 FRIDAY carpooling
– TUESDAY Saturday, June 26, 7:00 AM
from there is not resulting in much in the way of
Show times nightly at 7:00 & 9:00 (+ 3:00 matinees Saturday & Sunday)
actual carpooling, we are going to try another Meet at the after-hours parking lot for a morn-
system involving prearrangements. If you would (Continued on page 4)
like to go on a field trip and need (or prefer) a
 National Audubon Society
Directors & Chairs 2004 Chapter Membership Application
Volunteers are always welcome!!
Yes, I’d like to join.
Please enroll me as a member of the National Audubon
President: Dan Tufford 782-6848
Vice-President: Available! Society and of my local chapter. Please send AUDUBON
Secretary: Marcia Watkins magazine and my membership card to the address below.
Treasurer: Marcia Watkins 779-7570 My check for $20 (introductory rate) is enclosed.
marcia.watkins@gte.net name__________________________________________
Conservation: Ron Newton 739-9190 address________________________________________
theronster@sc.rr.com city___________________________________________
Programs: Available! Please make checks payable to the National Audubon Society
Field Trips: Caroline Eastman 782-8820 Send this application and your check to:
ceastman@sc.rr.com National Audubon Society
Membership: Available! Chapter Membership Data Center
Education: Paula Feldman 787-5818 P.O. Box 51001 Boulder, CO 80322-1001
Publicity: Ross Taylor ---------------------------LOCAL CHAPTER------------------------
Newsletter: Steve C. Dennis 788-1854 Columbia Audubon Society U52
stevecdennis@sc.rr.com P.O. Box 5923 Local Chapter Code
Webmaster: T. Parkin Hunter hunt776@bellsouth.net Columbia, SC 29250 7XCHA

CAS WEBSITE:
www.columbiaaudubon.org
(or use the link from www.audubon.org)
(Continued from page 3)
ing trip to see (or at least hear) breeding birds of
the swamp forest.
Mount Mitchell State Park, NC
Saturday, July 3, 11:30 AM
We will go to the Blue Ridge Parkway and
make our way to Mt. Mitchell. Mt. Mitchell is the
highest mountain in eastern North America at
6684 feet. A visit there will allow you to break out
some of your winter (or at least fall) clothes and
observe an interesting and highly stressed envi-
ronment. If you plan to go on this trip, you must
register with Steve Dennis at 788-1854 or
stevecdennis@sc.rr.com ahead of time.
Savannah NWR
We are considering scheduling a field trip this
July to the Savannah NWR. This is the most reli-
able place in the state to see Purple Gallinules.
There will also be some areas to look for kites.
Contact Caroline Eastman if you are interested
in such a trip.
Shorebirds at the SuperSod Farm,
Orangeburg County
Sunday, August 29, 2:00 PM
The Super Sod farms in Orangeburg County
often have migrating shorebirds in late summer.
Meet at 2 pm at the Texaco station at Exit 154 of
I-26. Robin Carter will lead.

SOUTH CAROLINIANS COMMITTED TO CONSERVATION

Columbia, S.C.
PERMIT No. 1371
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA 29250
P-A-I-D
P.O. BOX 5923
U.S. Postage
Non-Profit Org. COLUMBIA AUDUBON SOCIETY