EARTHSTAR NEWSLETTER OF THE MACOMB AUDUBON SOCIETY

http://www.macombaudubon.org Volume 41 number 6, November-December 2015

Programs

Program Night: Monday, November 2,

2015 – 7:00 PM

Bird Songs and Vocalizations, Presented by

Bob Pettit To many observers, identifying birds has become an art

form. To make the proper identification, one is to look

for “field marks”, observe unique behaviors, and listen

for significant utterances. Now we are told that any sin-

gle character is not infallible and that we should instead

look at the “holistic picture” of the avian visitor. Regard-

less of one’s skill level, every passing bird presents a

challenge that we must meet head on. In this presenta-

tion you will be introduced with methods that will start

you in a positive direction of mastering bird song identi-

fication. You will be introduced to Bob’s unique meth-

ods of learning songs, and you will delight in the experi-

ence of adding another aspect to your birding enjoy-

ment.

A nearly lifelong birder (age 10) who gained his love for

spotting and counting birds from his mother and orni-

thologist father, Flat Rock resident Bob Pettit has a zeal

for aviary pursuits that keep his eyes toward the sky on

a consistent basis. Bob is Biology Professor Emeritus at

Monroe County Community College with 42 years of

teaching service. He has traveled throughout the US,

birded parts of Costa Rica on two visits, and has made

one trip to the Ecuador mainland and the Galapagos

Islands.

He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cen-

tral Michigan University (biology/ornithology). Between

1971 and 1984, he spent 11 summers as a bird study

instructor at the National Audubon Camp of Wisconsin.

At Monroe County Community College, as a biology in-

structor, Bob helped found the Erie Shores Birding As-

sociation (ESBA). This 100+ member organization con-

ducts an annual Christmas Bird Count, has monthly

meetings with quality speakers, and holds birding work-

shops, schedules fieldtrips, and events. Teaching bird

identification through short five-week spring field clas-

ses, Bob recruits new members for the ESBA.

During the past 40 years Bob has been a volunteer

board member of several bird organizations. Bob is a

former chair and current board member of Whitefish

Point Bird Observatory (WPBO) and former secretary

and chair of the Hawk Migration Association of North

America (HMANA).

In the fall of 1987, Bob joined the Holiday Beach Migra-

tion Observatory (HBMO), a group of volunteers that

specializes in counting migrating hawks at a conserva-

tion area east of Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada on the

northern shore of Lake Erie. Soon Bob was hooked on

raptors and became a volunteer raptor counter with

over 1,500 hours of observation. He has since devel-

oped a hawk identification workshop, has held several

different elected offices in the organization, and is the

current President.

He enjoys teaching the fine points of bird identification

and he acquires much satisfaction when those who

have attended his workshops and classes are able to

ignite the spark of birding in others.

Macomb Audubon Society

The Macomb Audubon Society is a

chapter of the Michigan Audubon

society. Meetings are normally

held the first Monday of each

month at 7:00 p.m. at the Sterling

Heights Senior Center located on

the N.E .side of Utica Rd. east of

Van Dyke and North of 18 mile Rd.

Events of the Society are open to

the public.

The mission of the Macomb Audu-

bon Society is to:

.Promote interest in the world of

nature and to aid in the conserva-

tion of natural resources.

Provide an outlet for nature activi-

ties via field trips.

Provide an opportunity for the

exchange of knowledge and expe-

rience through lectures, films, dis-

cussions and newsletters.

Aid organizations that provide

people of all ages with opportuni-

ties to experience these above

given objectives. People can sup-

port our efforts by becoming

members. To become a member,

complete the form on the inside

back cover. Members receive this

newsletter, the Earthstar.

Earthstar Deadline

We appreciate relevant

information or articles of

interest to the Macomb

Audubon membership for

review for publicaton in the

Earthstar. If you have material

that you wish to submit,

please send it by the 12th

of the

preceding month to:

Bill Clark 53253 North Ave

Macomb MI 48042.

Email: wtclark1@comcast.net

Earthstar is published

bimonthly.by the Macomb

Audubon Society, a non-profit

educational organization.

Hey everybody - how you doin’

Oct. 11th., 2:45 pm : What a beautiful day. Sunny,

warm and breezy, the perfect day to start bringing

in all my garden whimsy for winter storage. Oh

crap, missed filling the feeders, be right back. Okay, I’m back. Took a

while because it’s so easy to get distracted in the peace of the outdoors.

For instance, I just spent 15 min. or so watching the bumble bees enjoy-

ing the big gorgeous ‘Purple Dome’ asters - yeah, what a show. Distract-

ed, yeah, that’s what I was. It’s difficult on a day like today to start put-

ting everything away for the season and begin cutting things down. Es-

pecially all the container gardens filled with annuals. They (the annuals)

look better now than they have all summer. And the 2 annuals I plant in

the gardens proper, Black&Blue Salvia and Lantana, well I can’t very well

pull them out now can I. Who knows when a straggling hummer or 2

might come flying in. What to do, what to do? But you know as well as I

do that the weather can change in a snap. Best to just rip it all out and be

done with it while it’s warm and pleasant, not on a cold wet day. Okay,

okay, like a band-aid, just do it. OUCH!

We’re not here for a long time we’re here for a good time. Now it’s time

for me to get out there and do some ripping and tearing. Hmmmmmm,

on second thought it can’t hurt to leave the Salvia and Lantana., you nev-

er know who might need it, correct?

Peace, Colleen

P.S. Best sightings of the year for me: 101 Advocet at Metzger Marsh in

Ohio and the Virginia Rail at Tuttle Marsh, East Tawas area. Both thanks

to Heather and Ken Slayton - thanks guys!!! Oh yeah, being invited down

town to the Fisher Building with Chrissy Becher, Barb Baldinger, and

Frank Lautner where Chris was banding the baby Peregrine Falcon and

being able to name the male Lautner. How cool was that. Thanks for in-

cluding me. (Oh all right, fledglings - geeeeeeeez)

Meetings are held the first Monday of most

months at 7:00 PM at the Sterling Heights

Senior Center located on the NE side of Utica

Rd, east of Van Dyke and North Of 18 Mile

Rd.

Thank You to the following members who brought

snacks to the meeting.: Alice Forton, Walt Peters,

Tammy Hooton, Laura & Denis Barbour, Beverlee

Babcock, Diane Tite, Barb Baldinger, Bill Clark.

We want to thank you for being a part of Audu-

bon and what better way than with the free

Audubon Bird Guide, the must-have app for

anyone interested in birds. This award-winning

app instantly turns your mobile device into the

most trusted field guide in North America.

821 in-depth species profiles

More than 3,200 bird photos

Quick bird IDs with filters by shape, re-

gion and color

Thousands of bird calls, differentiated

by region and season

Seasonal and migratory range maps

Recent local bird sightings through

eBird

Sightings posted by Audubon

NatureShare friends and followers

So what are you waiting for? Download the

free Audubon Bird Guide and get birding!

Snowy Owl. Photo: Gerard Lacz/Getty Images

116th Christmas Bird Count - Leader: Barb Baldinger Dec. 19 (Saturday) For over a century, the National Audu-bon Society has collected data from vol-unteers throughout the country on early-winter bird populations. Saturday, De-cember 19th will be the date of Macomb Audubon Society's 40th year of partici-pating in the Western Macomb County Christmas Bird Count. If you have never participated in this annual event, please think about volunteering to help count the birds in our area. Many of our Ma-comb Audubon members look forward to this special occasion to bird with friends and enjoy a hot soup/chili supper at the end of the day followed by a tally of all birds counted. Sign up sheets will be available at the November and December membership meetings. After signing up, you will be assigned to a leader an area with other birders. Please offer to split the cost of gas among the participants in each car. Area leaders will receive their packets at the December membership meeting. The tally supper will be held on the same evening of the count at 5 PM in the Nature Center at Stony Creek Metropark. Please consider volunteering to bring a crock-pot of chili, soup, snack or dessert to the tally. Participants, re-member to bring your own soup bowl and spoon. If you wish to participate and are unable to attend the meetings please call Barb Baldinger at 586-263-6530 or email barbarab@tir.com.

Betty Lou Clark Obituary

Clark, Betty Lou, age 86, of Macomb Township,

went home to be with the Lord on September 15,

2015. Betty was a Registered Nurse and most re-

cently retired from Selfridge Air National Guard

Base. Betty was very active in the Macomb com-

munity and belonged to the Mt. Clemens Ski Club,

Macomb Audubon, multiple women’s circles and

delivered meals for Meals On Wheels. She loved to

travel all over the world, tend to her sizable flower

gardens and dear pets and most importantly she

loved spending time with her family. She was the

loving wife of 25 years to William; dear mother to

Sarah (Rocky) Polisei; cherished step-mother to

Rory (Karen) Clark, Leslie Clark, Jeffrey (Kathy)

Clark, Tracy (Nabi) Lahooti and Lindsey (Coby)

Clark; beloved grandmother to Rocky (Melissa

Erla) Polisei, Michael (Hannah) Polisei and eight

step-grandchildren; dearest great-grandmother to

Rocky “DJ” Polisei; loving sister-in-law to Sally

(George) Deschepper, John (Margaret) Clark and

also survived by many extended loved ones and

dear friends. Betty was greeted in Heaven by her

many loved ones who had met the Lord before her:

her parents, Harry and Agnes Boyer; former hus-

bands, Emerson Garrett and Richard Clark; brother-

in-law, Jim and his wife Betty Clark, sister-in-law,

Shirley Hogan and countless extended family mem-

bers and dear friends. Visitation at Lee-Ellena Fu-

neral Home, 46530 Romeo Plank, Macomb (be-

tween M-59 and 21 Mile) on Friday, September 18

from 2-9 p.m. Funeral service to take place at

CrossPoint Church (formerly the First Baptist

Church of Mt. Clemens) where Betty had been a

member for 83 years, 44000 North Avenue, Clinton

Township, on Saturday, September 19 at 11 a.m.

(instate, 10 a.m.). Private burial to take place at

Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan.

Published in The Macomb Daily on Sept. 17, 2015

Monday, December 7, 2015 – 6:30 P.M. –

Christmas Potluck and Members’ Slide

Program

We will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the City of

Sterling Heights Park and Recreation Center

located at 40620 Utica Road for this dinner

get-together. Bring a dish to pass and your

table setting. Entrees, salads, side dishes

and desserts are all welcomed. After dinner

we will have a Members’ Slide Program, so

bring up to 20 of your favorite nature in-

spired photos on disc or thumb drive.

We’re Proud Supporters of Macomb Audubon Society

Lake St. Clair Nature Center Board Members & committee Chairs Sterling Heights Nature Center, President Colleen Traylor (248) 627-6872 Seven Ponds Nature Center, 1st VP (Programs) Christine Becher (810) 796-3505 Stony Creek Nature Center, 2nd VP (Member Ship) Beverlee Babcock (586 ) 263-7666 Burgess Shadbush Nature Center, 3rd VP (Field Trips) Colleen Traylor & Charles Smart Wild Life Recovery Association, Recording Secretary Laura Barbour (248) 853-5465 Michigan Nature Association, Corresponding Secretary Micki Smith (586) 791-9623 Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy. Treasurer Cheryl McKeever (586) 254-2789 Michigan Audubon RRBO ______________________________ Committees Car Pool Coordinator Frank Lautner For the best bird seed Christmas Bird Count Barb Baldinger (586) 263-6530 At the best prices Environmental & Conservation Vacant Uncle Luke’s feed store Historian Michael Mroz (586) 596-2776 6691 Livernois Hospitality (Refreshments) Betty Ebert & Alice Forton Troy Michigan Hospitality (Door Prizes) Denis & Laura Barbour _______________ Earthstar Newsletter Editor Bill Clark--------- (586) 749-5523 To contact the Macomb Audubon Michigan Audubon Rep. Ray Lalonde Society by e-mail the address is Members-at-Large (2 positions) Vacant macombaudubon@gmail.com Newsletter Production, Mailing Denis & Laura Barbour To join the Macomb Audubon Seven Ponds Representative Paul Messing Mailing list please send an e-mail Web Editor Paul Messing To: macombaudubon-subscribe@ Volunteer Coordinator Vacant Yahoogroups.com Macomb Audubon Society Dues

Please make checks payable to Macomb Audubon Society and send to: Beverlee Babcock Macomb Audubon Membership 50229 Pepper Tree Dr. Macomb Mi, 48044.

Your name and the names of family members (Please Print) __________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Address_________________________________City_______________________________________ State_____________ZIP_____________Phone_____________________________ New Member_______Renewal______ Check One _______Family Membership $20.00 Total Amount enclosed $________ ______Individual Membership $15.00 Amount of donation over membership $_____(optional) _____Student Membership $10.00 Contributor----up to $49.99 ____Senior single Membership $12.00 Supporter------$50 to $99.99 ______Senior couple Membership $15.00 Donor-----------$100 and over (senior is over 60) Each year Macomb Audubon makes a membership list available to members. Check here if you wish to have your telephone number left off the list _____ Email Address_________________________________________________________(optional) Check here to receive the Earthstar by Email only_____ Check here if a Michigan Audubon member_____ Check here if a National Audubon member _____ I (we) are interested in becoming a Macomb Audubon volunteer. Please contact me____