Registration:
All events and programs can
be registered for online at
www.hsvbg.org
For questions contact
Soozi Pline at
256-837-4344 or
[email protected]
Membership
There’s always “something growing on” in Huntsville’s
favorite backyard. From seasonal festivals to workshops
and classes year-round, we strive to give our members
countless
reasons to return again and again!
What is it?
As a Certified Wildlife Habitat, and an ebird hot
spot, Huntsville Botanical Garden will again
participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count
(GBBC) February 13 – 16, 2015. 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 your
participation will assist in making some
determinations on populations traveling through
the Garden and Madison County. 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 fun and easy—
and it helps the bird population.
You can help us count the birds at HBG by picking
up data sheets, a map of the Lewis Birding Trail,
pencils, local bird checklists, and self-guided
instructions for each day you participate inside the
visitor’s center in the education department
alcove. We’ll have almost everything a family will
need to spend the morning or afternoon observing
and counting birds in the Garden.
Bring your own binoculars!
Free with Garden Membership or Admission
The Benefits
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FREE ADMISSION to the garden, including the
Nature Center, Butterfly House and Children’s Garden
Reciprocal admission to more than 200 other botanical gardens
Invitations to members-only events including
Members Day at Spring Plant Sale
Discounts on educational programs and facility
rentals
10% discount in the Shoppe at the Garden
Advance ordering and discounted tickets for Galaxy
of Lights
Huntsville Botanical Garden
4747 Bob Wallace Avenue
Huntsville, Alabama 35805
The Great Backyard
Bird Count
February 13-16, 2015
At The
Sponsored by:
Friday, February 13, 2015
Chickin & Pickin:
Dinner, Music, & a Movie
5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Murray Hall
Join us for live bird-themed cover
music and comradery over a southern chicken dinner, followed by local
birder Bobby Harrison’s informative presentation of
his controversial sightings of the ivory billed woodpecker after it was declared extinct.
We’ll end the night with a viewing of the movie
Ghost Bird which was reported by the New York
Times to be “a witty, wistful documentary about the
supposed rediscovery in Arkansas of the ivory-billed
woodpecker, a bird thought to have been extinct for
decades.” Scott Crocker’s bird-watching tale, along
with Bobby Harrison’s personal sightings of the ivory
billed woodpecker, will fascinate practically
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Registrations include dinner, movie & presentation.
Members $30, Non-members $40
Bobby Harrison is an award winning, nature
photographer, speaker, writer and educator based in
Huntsville, Alabama. He holds a B.F.A. in
Photography and a M.S. in Media Technology. He is
an Assoc. Prof. at Oakwood University, a
Contributing Editor to Cornell University’s, Living
Bird Magazine, and a Contributing Writer /
Photographer to Creation Illustrated. He has won
numerous photography awards which include: the
2001 Nature’s Best Photography Awards in the
Backyard Habitat, a Highly Honored award in 2000,
and winner of the Animal Antics category in 1997. In
2006 one of his images was selected by Nature’s Best
magazine as one of the top one hundred nature
images of the past decade. He was a featured
photographer in the thirteen part television series,
“Nature’s Best Photography,” produced by the
National Wildlife Federation, and Nikon Inc. The
series aired on the Outdoor cable network in the fall
of 1998. In 2005, he was elected a Fellow of The
Explores Club in New York City, and on March 18,
2006 received The Explores Clubs, Presidents Award
for Conservation. He is a charter member of the
North American Nature Photography Association,
and served on the Board of Directors from January
2001 to February 2004.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Birding Symposium
9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Murray Hall & Lewis Birding Trail
Attend four workshops taught by local birding
enthusiasts, including Herb Lewis, creator of HBG’s
Lewis Birding Trail. The theme this year is conservation
and features the presentation “Return of the Spring
Migrants” by Greg Harber, Honorary Director of the
Birmingham Audubon Society.
Lindsey Wilmer and
Stephanie Kern, federally certified wildlife rehabilitators
specializing in birds will share their experiences working
with both water fowl and songbirds.
Registration includes a guided walk of the Lewis Birding
Trail from 7:30-8:30 am, continental breakfast, boxed
lunch, and door prizes!
Members $40, Non-Members $50
Birding Symposium Presenters
G
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Greg is a research assistant in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham
where he currently lives. Originally from southern
Florida he migrated to Birmingham in 1986 and joined
the local Audubon Society chapter where he has served
as the President, editor of their newsletter and on various committees. He states that, It is largely through the
enriching influences of this storied organization that he
has rekindled his enthusiasm for the beauty of the
natural world. His photographs have appeared in
Alabama Birdlife, Journal of the Alabama Ornithological society, the four volume set Alabama Wildlife, published by the University of Alabama Press, and most
recently, the November 2013 issue of Homewood Life
magazine. Additionally, an article he wrote about birdwatching at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens appeared in the Birdwatching Hotspots near You segment
of the February 2012 issue of Birdwatching magazine.
STEPHANIE KERN
Stephanie has been a longtime advocate of wildlife
and the practice of wildlife rehabilitation: caring for
animals that have received critical injuries – often
from the perils of coming into contact with people.
She received extensive training in the field, and has
gained an in-depth knowledge of many issues
(injuries, diseases) affecting birds. Stephanie was co
-Founder of Madison County Wildlife Rehabilitators
and now cofounder of Nature’s Keeper, Inc., which is
striving to build a first-ever wild bird rehabilitation
center in Madison County to care for the hundreds of
birds that are injured and orphaned each year in our
area. She holds a Rehabilitation Permit from the US
Fish & Wildlife Service and is also a member of the
International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council,
National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association and the
Alabama Wildlife Alliance.
LINDSEY WILMER
Lindsey, a native Huntsvillian, has been an active
wildlife rehabilitator for over 15 years. She was
co-founder of Madison County Wildlife
Rehabilitators, and is currently cofounder and Vice
President of Nature’s Keeper, Inc. Additionally, she
is a member of National Wildlife Rehabilitators
Association and the Alabama Wildlife Alliance.
Realizing the need for avian rehabilitators in the
Madison County area, she has found her niche
focusing on waterbirds.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Young Birder's Day: Live Bird
Presentation, Activities, & Lewis
Birding Trail Guided Walk
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Anderson Education Center Classroom
& Lewis Birding Trail
Begin the afternoon in the AEC classroom with
Tommy Howell’s live bird demonstration, Beauties
in the Sky, followed by a fun, child-friendly bird
feeder make n take craft, and end with a 1-hour
guided walk through the Lewis Birding Trail led by
Herb Lewis.
Bring your binoculars!
Children: Members $15, Non-members $20
Adults: Free with Garden Membership or Admission