[TN-Bird] Georgia photographer/Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge

From: Melinda Welton <weltonmj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tnbird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 12:08:52 -0600
Dear all
I met this fine photographer at the Hiwassee viewing platform on Tuesday
morning. As an indication of how broad the interest is in "our" cranes, I've
copied below is Eric's posting to the Georgia equivalent of TNBirds.

If Georgian's want to photograph cranes, they come to Hiwassee. In fact,
Eric will be leading a photographer's fieldtrip to Hiwassee this week.

Eric also plans to write letters to TWRA Commissioners and the area Chambers
of Commerce concerning the crane hunt proposal.

Melinda Welton
Franklin, TN

(BTW - you should check out his website <www.bowlesimages.com>
It's amazing!)

-----Original Message-----
From: Georgia Birders Online [mailto:GABO-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Eric Bowles
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 8:11 AM
To: GABO-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [GABO-L] Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge / Sandhill Crane hunting proposal

Tom Laubenthal and I made a day trip to Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge yesterday.
We had a pretty good day with 3500 sandhill cranes, 7 bald eagles, a pair of
red headed woodpeckers, a northern flicker, and a yellow bellied sapsucker.

Shortly after arrival, we bumped into Melinda Welton who provided an update
on the sandhill crane hunting season proposal.  Melinda has been meeting
with TN state wildlife officials to encourage them to decline the request
for a Sandhill Crane hunting season.  Public comment ends January 19 with a
vote on the proposal scheduled for January 20th.

The response to Melinda's efforts have been positive so far, but the
reality is the budget for Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency comes from
hunting and fishing licenses.  What that means is that one way to support
Tennessee birding means buying a hunting license even if you don't hunt.
Having a valid hunting license is apparently a litmus test to have your
voice heard in TWRA matters.  Melinda has a hunting license and encouraged
we do the same for Georgia and Tennessee to increase funding for birding
interests and have to our voice heard.

The Tennessee Ornithological Society opposes the proposal for a sandhill
crane hunting season.  Here is a link for more details.

http://www.tnbirds.org/ConsPolCom/Proposed%20Crane%20Hunt.html

Here is the complete report.
Location:     Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge
Observation date:     12/28/10
Notes:     This trip included the gazebo at Hiwassee Wildlife refuge, a
drive to the Hiwassee River bridge, and drives to the southern and northern
sides of the Blythe Ferry landing.  The Bald Eagles included 5 juveniles and
2 adults.  The largest group was 4 juveniles at around 12:00 PM from the
gazebo. Gulls were mainly on the river with one ring billed gull seen from
the gazebo.

Number of species:     33
Canada Goose     25
Mallard     40
Bufflehead     2
Double-crested Cormorant     1
Great Blue Heron     40
Black Vulture     20
Bald Eagle     7
Red-shouldered Hawk     1
Red-tailed Hawk     8
Sandhill Crane     3500
Killdeer     12
Bonaparte's Gull     50
Ring-billed Gull     300
Mourning Dove     10
Belted Kingfisher     1
Red-headed Woodpecker     2
Red-bellied Woodpecker     1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     1
Northern Flicker     1
Eastern Phoebe     1
Blue Jay     18
American Crow     75
Eastern Bluebird     15
American Robin     30
Northern Mockingbird     12
European Starling     300
Cedar Waxwing     25
Yellow-rumped Warbler     6
Eastern Towhee     1
Chipping Sparrow     20
Field Sparrow     10
Northern Cardinal     12
Common Grackle     10

Eric Bowles
Bowles Images Photography
404-200-3567
 <http://www.bowlesimages.com> www.bowlesimages.com

------ End of Forwarded Message


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[TN-Bird] Georgia photographer/Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge

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