John Bachman: No Longer In The Shadow Of Audubon

Most nature lovers who have heard of John Bachman know him only because two birds--Bachman's Warbler and Bachman's Sparrow--are named for him. However, he was was a very important Carolina Lowcountry naturalist for more than 50 years and deserves NOT to dwell in the shadow of his friend and colleague John James Audubon.

"This Week at Hilton Pond" we talk about Bachman's diverse contributions, not only in natural history but in theology, race race relations, and other realms. We also provide info about an upcoming John Bachman Symposium being held in April for the 150th anniversary of Newberry College, which Bachman founded. Our 22-28 February 2006 installment is available by clicking on the title above.

As always we include a tally of all birds banded during the week at Hilton Pond Center, and we also list several interesting returns of birds banded in previous years.

Happy (Historical) Nature Watching!

BILL

Aloe There: The "Oh-Sixers" In Costa Rica

After some delay, we've finally completed the summary report for our recent hummingbird banding expedition to Costa Rica. It's now on-line as the 8-21 February 2006 photo essay under "This Week at Hilton Pond."

We describe some interesting observations about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on their wintering grounds and include other anecdotal information about the trip. There are lots of photos, so the page at may take time to load--especially if there's lots of Web traffic; if it's too slow, please try again later. Access the essay by clicking on the title above.

Also included this week is the link to an announcement about our next hummingbird excursions to Costa Rica in 2007, plus our usual list of birds banded and/or recaptured as of late at Hilton Pond Center.

Happy (Tropical) Nature Watching!

BILL

Black Vulture Demise

We fallen a bit behind on "This Week at Hilton Pond" postings, due in large part to our just completed hummingbird expedition to Costa Rica. (More about that NEXT week.) Just before we left for the tropics, we observed some rather bizarre Black Vulture behavior we were able to document photographically. The scenario is the topic for our photo essay for the week of 1-7 February 2006, accessible by clicking on the title above.

As always we include an account of bird banding results for the week--the best so far this winter.


Happy Nature Watching!

BILL