{"id":8253,"date":"2018-09-06T09:02:19","date_gmt":"2018-09-06T13:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/?p=8253"},"modified":"2022-03-14T13:21:19","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T17:21:19","slug":"early-birders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/early-birders\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Birders"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Participants in this year\u2019s reunion bird walk were rewarded with the sights and sounds of several of the species that make their home on campus.<\/h3>\n

By Jean Holzinger M.A.L.S. \u201911<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

At 6:30 on the Saturday morning of reunion weekend, a group of alumnae gathered on the front steps of Dana for biology professor Morgan Wilson\u2019s annual bird walk. Rain-soaked clouds didn\u2019t dampen the participants\u2019 enthusiasm\u2014or that of the nearby birds, who sang with early-morning gusto.<\/p>\n

Even though we tend to use the term \u201cbird watching,\u201d Wilson said, listening is just as important. \u201cThe challenge [to birding] is learning the species not only by sight, but by song.\u201d To that end, an important part of the curriculum of his ornithology class is becoming familiar with the sounds birds make. \u201cEvery time I had a song file on a quiz,\u201d he said, \u201cthere would be a collective groan.\u201d Still, even during this hour-long stroll along Carvins Creek, participants found it easy to distinguish between the sweet call of the song sparrow and the \u201ccheer-cheer\u201d of the northern cardinal.<\/p>\n

Group members ranged from beginners to seasoned birders. Rachel Townsley Toth \u201998 described herself as an \u201camateur\u201d who likes to watch birds while she walks her dogs in Sandy Bottom Nature Park in Hampton Roads. Zelime Gillespie Matthews \u201968, from San Antonio, Texas, was so enthusiastic about bird watching when her children were young that they told her they never wanted to see another bird. They have since changed their minds. Bebbie Thrower MacCary \u201963 watches birds in New York\u2019s Central Park and is especially active during the spring and fall migrations, heading to the park several times a week to see what she can see (and hear). \u201cThe real treasures,\u201d she said, \u201care the warblers.\u201d You can catch a glimpse of her, binoculars in hand, in the Netflix documentary Birders: The Central Park Effect.<\/em><\/p>\n

Wilson told the group that there was no predicting what they would see on their walk\u2014at the very least, several of the 75-80 species that have been spotted on campus. And that\u2019s just what happened. After taking note of the song sparrow darting in and out of the foliage of the trees in front of Moody, the group saw the red flash of the male northern cardinal and the silhouette of two mallards flying overhead. High up in a tree along the creek was a gray catbird, a mimic like the mockingbirds and brown thrashers, also campus visitors. Sailing low over the creek was a yellow-crowned night heron. \u201cThat bird\u2019s not supposed to be here,\u201d Wilson said. Until recently the species didn\u2019t show up on the distribution maps of the birds in the area. Now that they\u2019ve taken up residence on Carvin Creek, there\u2019s a little square on the maps representing their presence.<\/p>\n

\"DrawingWilson pointed out a pair of bird boxes on the edge of the Moody playing field. For years, Wilson and his colleague Renee Godard have conducted various kinds of research on the bluebird population on campus\u2014for example, testing whether applying the scents of predators to the boxes affects nesting behavior. Although the data about how bluebirds detect the scent of nest predators were inconclusive, the species has become accustomed to nesting on campus. While Wilson cleaned an old nest out of one box and showed the group the new nest being constructed in the box nearby, a pair of bluebirds, perched on a lacrosse net 25 yards away, watched closely.<\/p>\n

Overhead, barn swallows dipped and swerved, possibly on their way to nests under the gym pass-through. In the distance participants could see a black vulture (\u201cnot a buzzard,\u201d said Wilson\u2014buzzards are raptors found in Asia and Africa) perched high atop the chapel steeple. Also on view was a blue jay, one of the most intelligent bird species, Wilson said, \u201ccapable of performing complex tasks.\u201d The birds that elicited the most \u201cawwws,\u201d however, were the mother mallard and her eight ducklings waddling along the water\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n

To see a video of the birds that showed up for this year\u2019s reunion walk, visit www.youtube.com\/hollinsvideo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jean Holzinger is the guest editor for this issue.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Illustrations by Kristin Bell \u201914.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Professor Wilson’s photos of campus birds:<\/p>\n\n\t\t