Upcoming Events
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Sat, Aug 15, 8am
Black Mountain Birdwalk Fletcher Park Birdwalk
Sat, Aug 22, 9am, Beaver Lake Sanctuary Workday
Sat, Sep 5, 8am
Beaver Lake Birdwalk
Sat, Sep 12, 8am
Jackson Park Birdwalk
Tue, Sep 15, 7pm, "The Hellbender Salamander, Reuter Center, UNC Asheville.
Sat, Sep 19, 8am
Black Mountain Birdwalk Fletcher Park Birdwalk
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For the latest schedule and any changes:
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Our sincerest thanks go out to all those who donated to Elisha Mitchell Audubon's Birdathon. Thanks to your generosity, we've received $6,268, speedily surpassing our goal of raising $5,000 for the Cerulean Warbler Reserve in Colombia, South America. Our chapter has made a commitment to helping the Cerulean warbler and other neo-tropical migrants on their wintering grounds. Since the 2010 Birdathon, our chapter has raised over $28,000 for this project and in addition received a matching grant last year of $6,500 from the American Bird Conservancy. (To learn more about this project, you can find a write-up on the Cerulean Warbler Reserve program in the May newsletter archive at www.emasnc.org). We are most grateful for the generosity of our members in joining us in this cause. Please find the names of our wonderful donors here. If you haven't sent in your tax-deductible contribution, please click here for a donation form.
Thank you all very much once again for your generous and important support.
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 The Hellbender Salamander
Tuesday September 15, 7 p.m.
Reuter Center UNCAsheville |
Lori Williams is a wildlife
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Hellbender Salamander
Julie Larson
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diversity biologist with the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources who monitors amphibians in WNC. Lori's program will feature the charismatic Hellbender salamander, the largest aquatic salamander in the United States. Growing as long as 29 inches, it can be found slowly crawling across the bottoms of clear mountain streams. Lori will relate the natural history of this fascinating animal, and bring her own Hellbender to the program. Plan to join us for a fun and interesting evening.
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Remembering Virginia
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A year ago our friend Virginia Senechal died after being hit by a car while walking home from Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. For those who may have not known her, Virginia was an EMAS chapter member whose hobby brought her to Beaver Lake almost daily. Virginia photographed birds, and shared them with EMAS members and other interested friends. She touched many lives with her beautiful photographs and her spirit of sharing. In a tribute to her memory, we've asked some folks to share their favorite Virginia photo and a short remembrance of her.
I had seen Virginia walking through the Sanctuary, camera in hand, several times before I finally introduced myself. When I met her, Virginia was a novice birder and early on would show me a photograph and ask me to identify the bird. More often she would simply go home, search the web and identify the bird herself. Before long she was identifying birds - by song - for me. A talented photographer, she had a passionate interest in all nature and her photo gallery featured amazing pictures of birds and butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, turtles and frogs, and wildflowers.
Virginia loved the Sanctuary and it was unusual for me to visit without seeing her. Quiet and reserved but friendly, Virginia rarely joined group walks, preferring to walk slowly with Vin Stanton or Tom Bush or Diane Lombardi. But I believe she was happiest when walking alone. Today, turning a corner on the boardwalk, I almost expect to see Virginia, standing still and focused on the next perfect photograph. Tom Tribble
From Vin Stanton:
When I first started
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Vesper Bluet
Virginia Senechal |
to ID the larger dragonflies, Virginia introduced me to the world of the small damselflies. She pointed out to me the Eastern & Fragile Forktails, both amazing and less than an inch long. I was lucky enough to stumble upon a Vesper Bluet at BLBS. After repeated tries at searching for this 1" long insect, I was able to find it again and show Virginia (her image is shown). I was very glad to pay back in some small way her kindness and patience in helping me learn the small damselflies.
From Jane Holt:
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Yellow-rumped Warbler
Virginia Senechal |
When I joined the EMAS list, I kept seeing the name of Virginia Senechal and was so impressed by the beautiful bird pictures which she posted. Then I discovered her albums on Flickr and immediately browsed through her Warbler pictures, my favorite group of birds. When I wanted to buy a new lens for my camera, I e-mailed her and asked her advice. Over a period of time and several e-mails, she answered all of my questions and helped me make a good decision. I still had not met her, but she very willingly gave of her time and expertise. After meeting her I continued to admire her special gifts of expert photography, her tenaciousness in getting just the right photo, her generosity, her attention to detail, and her love for all creatures, especially birds. I felt personally bereft when I heard about her untimely accident and continue to be thankful for the kindness she showed me and the difference she made in my avid love of bird photography.
From Tom Bush:
I spent many mornings
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| Screech Owl, Virginia Senechal |
walking around Beaver Lake and the Sanctuary with Virginia. As a photographer myself, I greatly admired her pictures. She always took the time to help me with my camera and picture taking, discussing "F" stop, shutter speed and the merits of automatic vs. manual controls. She was generous with her tips on how to crop and edit pictures and advice on the best "Photo Shop" editor. I miss our mornings together, looking for a good picture in the meadow.
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