Last Update: Thursday, February 4, 2010
Who We Are
The Columbia Audubon Society (CAS), located in Columbia, South Carolina, is active in both birding and conservation in and around Midlands of South Carolina. Meetings are held several times each year from September through May. Field trips are held approximately once a month. Check this web site for the most current information. Non-members are always welcome at all events. There is no charge for most meetings and field trips. Christmas Birds Counts and a few other special events do require a modest fee.
Events
Backyard Birding in February: The Great Backyard Bird Count February 12-15, 2010
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent and in Hawaii. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.
Participants count birds anywhere for as little or as long as
they wish during the four-day period. They tally the highest number of birds of
each species seen together at any one time. To report their counts, they fill
out an online checklist at the
Great Backyard Bird Count
web site.
As the count progresses, anyone with Internet access can explore what is being
reported from their own towns or anywhere in the United States and Canada. They
can also see how this year's numbers compare with those from previous years.
Participants may also send in photographs of the birds they see. A selection of
images is posted in the
online photo gallery.
Friday, February 12 through Monday, February 15: Count Birds on Your Own, Anywhere, Anytime
"Backyard" in the GBBC should be interpreted liberally. You don't need to count in your very own backyard. You can count in someone else's backyard [with permission, of course], your church, your neighborhood park, your favorite shopping center. You can even go someplace more exotic, even though this violates the spirit of the count. You can not, however, count TV or movie birds. Just be sure to enter your bird sightings on the GBBC website.
Saturday, February 13, at 8 am: Riverfront Park
To Riverfront Park / Canal Embankment
From downtown Columbia - Take I-126 toward
Spartanburg. Exit off at Greystone Blvd - make a right toward Broad River Road.
Make a right onto Broad River Road - go approximately 1/2 mile to 1 mile, you
will drive over the river - entrance is on left after crossing over the Broad
River.
From I-26 / Spartanburg - Take I-26 toward downtown Columbia -
exit off at Greystone Blvd and loop around - make a right back over bridge
toward Broad River Road. Make a right onto Broad River Road - go approximately
1/2 mile to 1 mile, you will drive over the river - entrance is on left after
crossing over the Broad River.
Sunday, February 14, at 2 pm: Belser Arboretum
On Sunday, February 14, we will have an opportunity to visit USC's Belser Arboretum, a hidden jewel in Columbia's backyard. Meet at 2 pm. Pat DeCoursey of USC's Department of Biological Sciences will introduce us to the Arboretum and the ongoing restoration work taking place. Meet at the Wilmot entry gate close to the intersection of Devine Street and Beltline Boulevard. At sketch map and additional information may be found at the Arboretum website: http://zebra.biol.sc.edu/arboretum/. The information below is from this website. Note that the Arboretum is open once a month on Visiting Days and by special arrangement. The Arboretum was recently featured in an article in The State Newspaper: http://www.thestate.com/214/story/1092712.html.
In 1959 W. Gordon Belser, lawyer and naturalist, deeded a tract of his property as an Arboretum to the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina. Mr. Belser had been a Biology major at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. The Arboretum and 750 feet of street frontage encompasses approximately 10 acres. Within 10 years the city had surrounded the Belser tract.
The site is one of Columbia’s most beautiful and unusual properties. Its highly diverse topography is related to its geological history and structure. The large sand dune at the Bloomwood entry gate marks the most westward incursion of the Atlantic Ocean. The dune is primarily sand and rounded, fist-sized stones. Examples of these wave-polished stones can be seen in the retaining wall adjacent to the Bloomwood gate. The higher ridges are quite dry and support upland forest in contrast to the valley, which is characterized by bottomland forest. The cove area is a former streambed, which emptied into the Atlantic Ocean. In earlier days, an earthen dam held rain water in a pond where bald cypress thrived, and today a small cypress swamp is still present. A former stream, now a storm water outlet, tumbles down over 5 cascades into a handsome pool surrounded by ferns and wildflowers. Several underground springs are present in the lowland area by the streambed.
Access to the Arboretum on Visiting Days for the neighborhood community will be the third Sunday each month from 1-4 pm.
You MUST stay on the marked trails at the Arboretum. There are a lot of small hard-to-see plants near the trails that need tender loving care and not feet!
View Over Congaree National Park from the Congaree Bluffs Heritage Preserve, Calhoun County.
News and Notes
New Board of Directors
Our new Board of Directors was elected at our last membership meeting on Thursday, January 14. Ann Nolte and Patricia Voelker join continuing members Steve Dennis, Caroline Eastman, and Dan Tufford.
Columbia Audubon Joins Sustainable Midlands
Sustainable Midlands is a non-partisan, non-profit coalition whose mission is to foster dialogue, education, and collaboration on sustainability issues in the Midlands. Sustainable Midlands works to make the Midlands a better place to live. They serve as the information clearing house and communications network for member organizations, as well as a link with other concerned parties, such as businesses and government agencies. They provide information, education and training on environmental issues through workshops, seminars, forums, activities and programs throughout the year. They encourage citizen participation in local policy decisions that promote clean air and water and sustainability.
Volunteers Needed!
CAS is a non-profit volunteer organization. Like most such organizations, we can always use more volunteers. If you would like to contribute in some way, let us know. You could lead a field trip, give a talk, visit a school, read to children, design a nature trail, visit a garden club, or staff an information table. If there's something else you really like to do, let us know.
Useful Links
SC Birder's Calendar and Locations
Regional and Federal Checklists
Please contact the Webmaster with comments, suggestions, and to report dead links.
