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2003 Falls Lake Wildathon
- To: <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
- Subject: 2003 Falls Lake Wildathon
- From: "birdranger" <cbockhahn4@earthlink.net>
- Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 09:54:38 -0400
- Cc: <carolinaleps@duke.edu>, <se-odonata@egroups.com>,"deb robertson" <debar@care2.com>, <d.bockhahn@powerdrives.com>
- Delivered-to: pardo@metalab.unc.edu
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
2003 WILDATHON at Falls Lake SRA
Fund-Raiser for the New Hope Audubon Society
May 7, 2003
Once again this year I will be conducting a 24 hour Wildathon at Falls
Lake to raise money for the New Hope Audubon Society. I will again try
to do a FULL 24 hour count starting at 7:00 a.m. Wednesday the 7th to
7:00 a.m. Thursday the 8.
I will take pledges for each species group counted. If you wish to
donate a dollar for each reptile I count and 10 reptiles are seen during
count day, total donation is $10.00. Below is my average totals for
each group, to help guide your donation (weather can affect numbers
seen). Flat dollar amount donations will also be accepted.
**This year, anyone who donates $20, and is not a member of the National
Audubon Society will receive a FREE ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP and receive a
quarterly newsletter and the incredibly informative Audubon magazine.
Donations can be remitted after the event upon notification of the
results. Checks will be payable to Auduon Birdathon. Included below is
a description of where your wildathon contribution goes.
Here is a list of what species I will be counting, and an approximation
of species totals for each group.
Birds 90-100 species
Mammals 8-10 species
Reptiles 9-11 species
Amphibians 9-11 species
Butterflies 20-25 species
Odonates (Dragonflies and Damsels) 15-20 species
Fireflies 5-7 species
Anyone interested in donating contact me at Brian.Bockhahn@ncmail.net or
676-1027.
If actual species counting or donation soliciting is not your forte,
please volunteer to help with other aspects of our fund-raiser, such as
dissemination of information, including posters and fliers, follow-up
for pledges, etc.
New Hope Audubon Society Wildathon Pledge Form 2003
Name
Address
City _______________________ State _______ Zip ____________ Phone
_________________
____ My tax-deductible gift of $_____________ to support the
Wildathon effort is enclosed.
Please make checks payable to New Hope Audubon Society.
____ I pledge $__________ per species identified by
the Team.
(Team leaders will be listed in the newsletter).
____ A matching gift is enclosed. My company name
is , and matches my charitable gifts.
I wish to receive the FREE introductory Membership Offer _____________
Signature ____________________________________
WHERE YOUR WILDATHON CONTRIBUTION GOES
Mason Farm Biological Reserve
What is now the Mason Farm Biological Reserve and surrounding lands
were willed to UNC by Mary Elizabeth Mason (great-granddaughter of the
first settler of the area, Mark Morgan), and her husband, Rev. James
Pleasant Mason. The land, given in memory of their only heirs- their
daughters- who died of typhoid fever in their early twenties, passed to
UNC in 1894. Mason Farm supports around 50 research projects and
fieldwork for 10 - 20 different undergraduate courses each year. It
also provides great enjoyment to local naturalists, including New Hope
Audubon Society and Chapel Hill Bird Club members, many of whom
congregate yearly to watch the Woodcock mating displays. Mason Farm is
an area of such concentrated study because of its diversity of
wildlife. Three areas within Mason Farm have been nominated (but never
approved) for the NC Natural Heritage Program- the Big Oak Woods, the
Shagbark Hickory Forest and the Rhododendron Slope. The entire Reserve
has recently been nominated as an Important Bird Area; an official
announcement of this designation will be forthcoming. These and other
diverse habitats, including wetlands of various types, open fields and
edges, support 65 species of butterflies (out of 78 found in the entire
country), 215 avian species (one less than the entire country),
mammalian predators including the bobcat and 100 species of other
vertebrates. Even longtime frequenters of Mason Farm need to stop and
remind themselves of how truly important this place is to all of us as
adjacent areas continue to encroach. It is one of the last large,
undeveloped areas remaining in the Piedmont. There are fewer places for
the bobcat to roam, and Mason Farm continues to be one. Despite all of
these impressive statistics, the only funding the Mason Farm receives
from UNC is for road upkeep. The dollars you give will go toward open
field maintenance, new construction and repair of benches, addition or
replacement of interpretive guide posts and fences, and registration
materials.
North Carolina Coastal Islands Sanctuary
The Audubon Society began protecting coastal birds in North Carolina
in the very early 1900's, when plume hunters had nearly wiped out many
of our species. The practice of killing birds for their feathers has
long since vanished, but equally devastating problems associated with
coastal development and a rapidly growing human population threaten many
birds. National Audubon recognized this threat and launched the North
Carolina Coastal Islands Sanctuary program in 1989 to acquire and
protect habitats critical to the survival of wading birds and seabirds.
Today, Audubon's Coastal Islands Sanctuary includes 20 islands between
Cape Fear and Cape Hatteras that support more than 60,000 nesting
seabirds and wading birds. Walker Golder, the Sanctuary's one full-time
employee, must (with volunteer help) count nests, monitor the
sanctuaries, raise money to support the sanctuary, keep trespassers
away, coordinate research and management projects, and work to acquire
new sanctuaries. That's where we come in. The money we raise assists
him in these endeavors. And his work is paying off. Fully one-half of
the nesting seabirds and wading birds on the coast of North Carolina
nest on Audubon Sanctuaries. Audubon recently restored 7 acres of
nesting habitat on Wainwright Island, which now supports 1600 nesting
pelicans and 11,000 nesting terns. Since Golder began posting Battery
Island, the number of nesting ibises has doubled to almost 18,000.
Golder says, "Thanks to our conservation efforts along the coast, many
water birds are doing well. All they needed was a little help- and I'm
glad New Hope Audubon was there to assist."
Brian Bockhahn
Falls Lake State Park Ranger
Falls Lake SRA
13304 Creedmoor Road
Wake Forest NC 27587
919/676-1027
Brian.Bockhahn@ncmail.net