Newspaper Page Text
Let’s Play Outside
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
MONROE OUTDOORS by Terry W. Johnson
The Monroe County Reporter • April 25, 2018
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Amazing dawn chorus awaits those who wake early to listen
Male American robins, like this one, often lead the Dawn
Chorus in Monroe County at this time of year. (Photo/Terry
Johnson)
W henever we
talk about
what makes
spring such
a beautiful time of the year
invariably the discussion
centers on such virtues
as the pleasing scent and
kaleidoscope
of colors dis
played by spring
flowers, the pale
green color of
the foliage and
pleasant weather.
Rarely is the
dawn chorus
performed by
some of the bird
worlds most
accomplished
vocalists ever
mentioned.
On the surface, this may
seem odd, as it is Mother
Nature’s most extravagant
musical production of the
year. However, I am cer
tain this oversight is due,
in large part, to the fact
this remarkable songfest is
staged when most Monroe
Countians have yet to
stumble out of bed and
greet the day.
The dawn chorus com
mences long before the
first rays of sunlight appear
on the eastern horizon.
Often the songs are first
heard around 4 a.m. In
this neck of the woods, the
American robin often sings
the opening overture. As
the minutes tick by, more
and more birds begin their
solos until the air is full
of the songs of
countless birds.
This crescendo
reaches its peak
about an hour
before daylight.
The chorus then
subsides until
finally ending
when the coun
tryside is bathed
in the light of
day.
During this
magical time of day, the air
is awash with songs vocal
ized almost exclusively by
the males of scores of birds,
including the northern
cardinal, Carolina wren,
northern mockingbird,
brown thrasher, vireos,
eastern bluebird, wood
peewee, wood thrush and
many more.
The dawn chorus can
be heard daily throughout
the entire spring. Since
it begins before the first
Neotropical migrants
arrive, fewer birds will be
heard early in the spring
than after the long distance
migrants arrive.
One thing I find amaz
ing is the dawn chorus can
be heard in rural locales,
suburban neighborhoods,
cities, and forested habi
tats alike. As such, I have
enjoyed listening to the
dawn chorus in serene
hardwood bottoms and
large subdivisions. While I
expect to hear a plethora of
birds in or close by wood
lands, I have been pleas
antly surprised how many
birds I have found singing
in subdivisions. Although
the variety of songsters per
forming in this seriously
altered habitat is limited,
the number of individual
birds that participate in
the chorus staged there has
been simply amazing.
The songs of the birds
contributing to the dawn
chorus vary widely.
However, each songster has
two things on his mind. He
is putting all other males of
his species on notice that
he has staked out a breed
ing territory and they had
better not even think about
making a foray into his
realm and attempting to
lure prospective mates.
The second reason is he
is announcing his pres
ence to the females in the
area. It seems the females
are attracted to males that
display the loudest, finest,
and most energetic vocal
izations.
It is remarkable that the
females can distinguish
the calls of one male from
another. To us, the songs
uttered by each male of a
species might seem identi
cal; however, the slight
nuances between the songs
of each male can be detect
ed by the females.
I would be willing to
bet those turkey hunters
that tromp into the woods
long before daylight before
gobblers leave their night
time roosts hear the dawn
chorus far more often than
any other group of Monroe
Countians. To me, listen
ing to the dawn chorus is
one of the bonuses of hunt
ing wild turkeys.
However, you don’t need
to be a turkey hunter to
enjoy this amazing natural
event. Regardless of where
you live in the county, you
don’t need to leave home
to hear it.
If you want to be present
at the next dawn chorus,
set the alarm clock to roust
you from slumber well
before daylight. Then go
outside and sit down in a
lawn chair and listen. Don’t
get discouraged if you
do not hear many birds
when you take your seat
in Nature’s concert hall. If
you have the patience to sit
through the concert until
the last note has been sung,
you will probably hear
more birds singing in your
backyard than you have
ever heard before. In fact,
do not be surprised if you
will be left asking yourself
whether the dawn chorus
is a symphony or what
the father of wildlife man
agement, Aldo Leopold,
described as bedlam.
Terry Johnson is retired
Program Manager of
the Georgia Nongame-
Endangered Wildlife
Program. He has written
the informative column
‘Monroe Outdoors’for the
Reporter for many years.
Email him at tjwoodduck@
bellsouth.net.
TERRY W. JOHNSON
MP golf squads
prep for
area with home
victories
By Richard Dumas
forsyth@mymcr.net
The Mary Persons girls and boys golf
teams wrapped up their regular seasons on
Thursday and will now turn their atten
tions to their respective area tournaments.
Both MP squads will next play at Bull
Creek Country Club in Columbus on
Tuesday, May 1 in an area tournament
that encompasses teams from Regions
1-AAAA and 2-AAAA. The MP boys are
slated to tee off at 9 a.m. while the Lady
Dogs are scheduled to begin play at 11 a.m.
The Bulldogs squads’ finished the regular
season with a home sweep of Schley
County in a nine-hole match at River For
est Golf Club on Thursday. The MP boys
defeated the Wildcats 170 to 182 while the
Lady Dogs prevailed 114 to 128. Calen
Knight was MP’s boys low medalist with
a round of 39. Other MP counting scores
were recorded by Gus Proctor, Carson
Newberry and Dylan Steed. Proctor had
MP’s second-best round of 42 while New
berry and Steed shot 44 and 45, respec
tively. As for the Lady Dogs, MP’s counting
scores were recorded by the sister duo of
Payton Poland and Molly Poland, who
each fired rounds of 57.
Knight, Proctor, Carson Newberry,
Steed, Cannon Newberry and Josh Cobb
are expected to be MP’s participants in the
v
Junior Dylan Steed is one of just two MP
boys golfers with state tournament experi
ence as MP tries to qualify for state with a
high finish at area in Columbus on Tuesday,
May 1. (File photo)
area boys tournament with Jimbo Finch
and C.W. Walker on deck as potential
alternates. Payton Poland, Molly Poland,
Carrington Hughes and Isabel Stone are
expected to represent MP on the girls
side with Gracie Copeland serving as an
alternate.
The MP teams were supposed to host
an eight-team tournament at River Forest
Golf Club on Monday, but the tourney
was canceled due to inclement weather.
See MP GOLF • Page6B
Sanders kills first
triple beard turkey
Dakota Sanders, son of Chad and Veronica Sanders, killed his first gobbler last week and
it turned out to be a very rare triple beard. Chad Sanders said he has killed over 150 tur
keys and never killed a multiple beard turkey. “He was so pumped, said Sanders, “then he
killed a second turkey, another long beard. Dakota attends T.G. Scott Elementary, where
his dad is the assistant principal.
Smith snags giant bass
Veterinarian Dr. Kevin Smith caught this 11 -pound bass at a pond in Monroe
County Friday. (Photo/Kevin Smith)
BASEBALL
Continued from Page 3B
Lee, 14-13 overall (9-6 in
Region 2-AAAA) will be
the No. 2 seed while Perry,
17-12 overall (8-7 in Region
2-AAAA), and Spalding,
13-15 overall (8-7 in Region
2-AAAA), will make up the
other two playoff spots.
Two nights earlier, MP
kept alive its playoff hopes
by recording its biggest
road win of the season in a
9-8 victory at Upson-Lee in
Game 2.
The Bulldogs took a one-
run lead at 6-5 in the top of
the sixth on an Agnew RBI
single before adding three
more insurance runs in the
top of the seventh.
Those runs would prove
critical as the Knights
chased MP starter Camden
Claxton with three runs in
the bottom of the seventh
to pull to within 9-8.
With MP in must-win
mode, Mathis wisely turned
to Friday’s starter Watson,
who came out of the bull
pen and secured the final
three outs, including two
via strikeout, for the save
while stranding the tying
run on second.
MP’s offense exploded
for 13 hits, led by Austin
Mock, who had a pair of
doubles, two runs scored
and a team-high four RBIs.
Trippe Moore also had a big
night at the plate, going 2-2,
including a double, with
three runs scored, as did
Agnew, who led MP with
three hits in five at-bats,
including a double, while
adding a run and an RBI.
All nine MP starters had at
least one hit.
Spot starter Claxton came
up huge in a critical situa
tion on Wednesday, record
ing the victory by pitching
six-plus innings, giving up
seven hits and eight runs
(five earned), while striking
out five and walking three.
Upson-Lee scored a pair
of runs in the bottom of
the first, but MP fired back
with three runs in the top
of the third to seize a 3-2
advantage.
The Knights responded
with one run in the bottom
of the third to tie the con
test, but the Bulldogs scored
two more in the top of the
fourth for a 5-3 lead.
However, the Knights
weren’t done, adding two
more of their own in the
bottom of the fourth to
square the game at 5-all and
set the stage for the wild
finish.