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"Web 2.0" comes to carolinabirdclub.org!
The CBC Wiki
is a site where the birding community served by the
Carolina Bird Club can construct an online encyclopedia of birds and
birding in the Carolinas. The Wiki's initial focus is on building a guide to bird-finding in
the Carolinas because that is a kind of information that is especially
well-suited to a Wiki, but its content is limited only by our imagination and
willingness to contribute. So please explore it and think about ways you can
contribute--and start doing it! How often
have you found a web page with information that you know is out of date
or wrong or incomplete? When that happens with a Wiki page, you just
correct it yourself, you don't have to ask anyone! There are a
number of local bird-finding guides around the web, but this will be a one-stop central location for all of the Carolinas,
so don't hesitate to add a description of a site that you or someone
else has already written up elsewhere. There must be many small
sites that are of interest but haven't merited a writeup in other
guides—there's room for everything on the Wiki. Colorado claims 880
birding sites described on their web site; there have to be that many in
the Carolinas.
But don't stop with bird-finding, any topic related to birds and birding in the
Carolinas is welcome. Describe your local bird club. Write a book
review. Plug your Christmas Count. Describe a birding technique.
Summarize a long carolinabirds thread.
The point of a Wiki is
collaboration. Even if someone else has written an article that
you'd like to write, don't let that stop you from making your own
contribution to it. Conversely, this means that you don't need to feel
pressure to complete a polished article in one take. It's OK to publish
a "stub" article that may serve to inspire someone else to chime in and
polish it up.
Getting started with a Wiki seems daunting at first, but
with a little persistence you can figure it out. Feel free to
email me
directly with any questions that you have about getting started. I want
to make this a success and I'll be happy you give you any help I can—Kent Fiala.
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Citizen Science for Swallow-tailed
Kites:
The Swallow-tailed Kite is an
endangered species in South Carolina and considered a species of highest
conservation concern throughout its breeding range in North America. As a
conspicuous and easily identifiable species, the Swallow-tailed Kite is an
excellent candidate for a citizen-science monitoring program. Because they are
striking and awe-inspiring birds, Swallow-tailed Kites may act as a flagship for
the conservation of the threatened habitats that they are associated
with—bottomland-hardwood forests and grasslands. Help the SC Working Group for
Swallow-tailed Kites and the national Swallow-tailed Kite Conservation Alliance
monitor Swallow-tailed Kite distribution, identify important nesting and
foraging areas, and promote conservation of this important species and their
habitats by reporting sightings and contributing to the Citizen-Science for
Swallow-tailed Kite database. To report a Swallow-tailed Kite sighting this
spring or summer, look for STKI Report form
or call the STKI Hotline toll free
1-866-971-7474.
Spring in the Carolina Sandhills:
Attendees at the spring meeting in Southern Pines, NC enjoyed great weather and great birding.
Thanks to Susan Campbell and the Sandhills Natural History Society for
organizing an excellent meeting.
The bird list numbered 122 species.
New: photos from meeting field trips.
Spring meeting field trip inspecting a Red-cockaded Woodpecker nest
Bonus field trips—Spaces are still available:
Visit Howell Woods on 16–18 May, Maine in July, or Peru in December.
Georgetown meeting report:
A large turnout of attendees enjoyed the Winter meeting in Georgetown, South Carolina.
Nice weather followed Friday morning's wind and rain, and a
bird list of 169
species was accumulated. Thanks to Linda Kolb and Nathan Dias for organizing the meeting and
Dana Harris for remotely managing registration, and everyone else who helped make the meeting a success.
Did you take photos of meeting activities?
Send them to me
and I may post them.
Don Faulkner has contributed a spectacular series of photos of a
Bald Eagle catching an American Coot,
witnessed by the participants on Friday afternoon's trip to Santee Coastal
Reserve.
Winter meeting field trip to Bulls Island—Jerry Kerschner
Bonus trip reports. New photo collection from
Southeast Arizona trip August 2007.
Santee meeting report:
The Santee, South Carolina meeting of 28–30 September 2007 has come and gone.
Attendees had a great time enjoying beautiful fall weather and watching birds.
Thanks to meeting organizer Marion Clark for a great job of putting it all together, with assistance
from Dana Harris, Pru Williams and Lena Gallitano, and all the field trip
leaders.
The group accumulated a
bird list of 161 species
seen in the meeting area from Thursday through Sunday morning.
The CBC's Birds of the Carolinas Research & Programming Grants
program is again active.
Funds are available to support student research concerning North and/or South Carolina birds
or secondary school programming designed to promote an interest by students in birds.
Birding North Carolina,
the long-awaited guide to birding sites in the state,
has now been published.
Edited by Marshall Brooks and Mark Johns, this book features the best birding
sites in North Carolina as chosen and described by the members of the Carolina Bird Club.
The book is available from
Globe Pequot Press.
Birding North Carolina was undertaken by the Carolina Bird Club for two
purposes: to promote birding in North Carolina and to make birding more
accessible to all skill levels of birders by providing information regarding the
wonderful birding opportunities that we have in our state; and to further bird
conservation by dedicating the income from the guide to bird conservation
projects.
Proceeds will go into a special account of the Carolina Bird Club to be used to support
and further bird conservation projects in the state.
There are so many birding locations in North Carolina that not all of them could be included in the printed book.
Descriptions of an additional 44
locations are published exclusively on this web site.
Click on
"Birding NC site descriptions" in the frame at left.
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