Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2B
^Reporter
March 11, 2009
Monroe County Outdoors
Feeders popular during snowfall
A female cardinal on a snow-covered bush during the winter stom in Monroe
County last week.
Both birds spent their time
feeding on white millet seeds
scattered on the ground close to
American Beautyberry and
Blueberry bushes.
For the past couple of
weeks, I have enjoyed watching a
male Purple Finch dine on sun
flower seeds. During the storm
he was joined by another male
and a female. In years past,
Purple Finches were common
winter visitors. However, nowa
days I see but a handful of them
annually. They are larger than
the House Finch, which has
become a permanent resident
locally. Males have a pleasing
raspberry-colored wash over
rump, back, head and breast.
Females are heavily streaks with
a broad light-colored eye line.
The red on a male house finch is
brighter and darker. It displays a
red eyebrow, chin and forehead,
streaked breast and brown cap.
Female House Finches lack the
female Purple Finch’s light eye
line. Both House and Purple
Finches prefer sunflower seeds
over all seeds offered at feeders.
By far the most unexpected vis
itor was a female Rufous
Hummingbird. My wife, Donna,
spotted this rare western
migrant soon after it began to
snow Sunday morning. The bird
flew up to investigate a flower
featured on a sun catcher hung
in front of one of the glass panels
in our sun room. The bird hov
ered in front of the flower for a
few seconds and then flew off. I
hurriedly filled a hummingbird
feeder and hung it near where
the bird was seen. It didn’t
return until after 6 p.m. It fed
twice and disappeared into the
gathering gloom of the evening.
The next morning it returned to
dine once again at the feeder.
As I write this column only a
few patches of snow that trans
formed our yard into a winter
wonderland remain. The Rufous
Hummingbird, White-throated
and Song Sparrows are gone.
What hasn’t faded away are the
memories of a yard blanketed
with white, fluffy snow, bright
red Cardinals perched on tree
limbs festooned with snow while
scores of birds scurryied about
looking for food on a rare snowy
day in Monroe County. This
scene will be forever etched in
my mind.
Terry Johnson is the retired
Program Manager of the Georgia
Nongame-Endangered Wildlife
Program. He is currently
Executive Director of TERN (The
Nongame Wildlife Section's
Friends Group) and conducts
wildlife research and survey proj
ects, presents programs and
writes about wildlife. Email him
at TJWoodDuck@aol.com.
T he snowstorm that
blanketed Monroe
County with more than
four inches of snow on
March 1 transformed
our county into a winter wonder
land. The winter storm blessed us
with the brief opportunity to enjoy
the captivating beauty of a winter
landscape without having to leave
the Deep South. As anyone that
feeds birds can attest, it also
caused a flurry of activity at back
yard bird feeders.
The birds that regularly dine at
our feeders were joined by birds
that having been spending the
winter some distance from
our backyards. For them,
the fluffy snow that we
found so pleasing to the eye,
blanketed the seeds, insects,
fruits and berries that they
depend on and forced them
to seek food elsewhere. In many
cases, that was our backyards.
Throughout the winter, a dozen
or so birds have been regular
patrons at my backyard bird
smorgasbord. The regular cus
tomers have included Chipping
Sparrows, Carolina Chickadees,
Pine Warblers Tufted Titmice,
Pine Siskins, House Finches,
American Goldfinches, Dark-eyed
Juncos, Northern Cardinals, and
Brown-headed Nuthatches. From
time to time a Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker has dropped in to
gorge himself on suet. A lone
Red-winged Blackbird, Common
Grackle and lately a Brown
headed Cowbird have also
stopped by occasionally to eat.
One the day of the storm, even
before the snow began to fall, I
knew we were in for more than a
little rain. As is often the case
before bad weather arrives, the
birds were in a feeding frenzy. By
the time the snow flakes began
to fall, my regular diners were
joined by more of their own kind
as well as some birds that had
rarely or not
made an
appearance
this winter.
One such
bird was a
White-
throated
Sparrow.
That made
my day, as it
is one
of my
favorite birds. It is a fairly large
sparrow that can be identified by
its clear white throat and bright
yellow patch located between its
eye and bill. I often hear its clear
call on cold winter mornings. The
song is often described by our
neighbors to the North as sound
ing like Oh Canada, Canada,
Canada. Others say the bird is
actually saying, Old Sam
Peabody, Peabody, Peabody. This
common winter resident spends
most of its time brushy
fencerows and thickets. Here it
dines on seeds, insects and
berries.
The White-throated Sparrow
was joined by another large spar
row that also prefers brushy tan
gles - the Song Sparrow. This
sparrow sports a dark blotch in
the center of its breast surround
ed by heavy brown streaks.
Local martial artists rank as
regional and world champs
Each year the
International
Tae Kwon Do
Alliance (itaon-
line.com) awards
championship
titles to stu
dents that have
earned a num
ber of medals at
regional and
international
tournaments.
Several thou
sand students
compete with
students in their
rank in tradi
tional forms,
sparring, and
free style forms.
The 2008 cham
pionship titles
were announced
last week.
This year 12
students from
Linda Hensel’s
Tae Kwon Do
Plus earned
such honors;
several of the
students earned
honors in more
than one catego
ry. These stu
dents dedicate
an extraordi
nary amount of
time to training
and maintaining
a healthy
lifestyle. Hensel
is very proud of
all of her stu
dents.
“Many individ
uals do not have
the persever
ance or courage
to attempt to
compete on an
international
level. Our school
has been blessed
with dozens
individuals that
just will not give
up,” Hensel said.
Earning
regional champi
onship titles
were: In spar
ring - Holly
Coric, Logan
Walker (not pic
tured), Kalyn
Wilder (not pic
tured); tradition
al forms -
Libbie Adams,
Glen
Cunningham IV,
Kirsten Wilder
and Kristen
Wilder.
Earning world
championship
titles: free style
forms - Libbie
Adams, Cassie
Hensel and Kyle
Hensel; in spar
ring - Libbie
Adams, Darium
Middleton and
Cassie Hensel;
traditional
forms - Ava
Adams, Cassie
Hensel and
Linda Hensel.
CORRECTION
Brandyn Jackson’s senior profile published in the
MP baseball preview, Feb. 25,2009, contained
an error. Here is the corrected profile.
■E
Brandyn Jackson
outfield/ second base
Son of: Dawn and Larry Jackson
Favorite baseball memory:
Winning the 11-12 baseball champi
onship game. Toughest part about
practice: Coach Gastley. Who’s
your hero? God and my parents.
What do you do when you’re not
on the baseball field? Watch
movies, play video games, hang out
with friends. Favorite food:
Spaghetti.
Favorite subject: Math. After
high school? Pursue a career in
engineering.
GRANT NOTICE
Adult Education providers are invited to apply for
federal funding to deliver adult education services in
jurisdictions in Georgia. Interested agencies may ob
tain the Request for Application (RFA) from the Techni
cal College System of Georgia (TCSG), Office of Adult
Education (OAE) website at: www.tcsg.edu or call
(404) 679-1625 for additional information.
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