Birding By Ear at Agapé Center for Environmental Education

Earlier this week, I spent some time down at Agapé Center for Environmental Education.  I have to admit... I am a pretty urban box turtle (more on where I am from soon!), and this great North Carolina EE Center was the most rural place I have been to date in my long life!  It is located near the border of Wake and Harnett counties, and just about 30 minutes from Raleigh.  It was so peaceful ....  I might retire here!

I came to Agapé for a Birding By Ear workshop.  There were a lot of birders there, and they were all so nice.  That is the one thing about southern humans - - they sure are kind, helpful, and like to tell stories!  I also met some more fabulous members of the Environmental Educators of North Carolina.  They reminded me that registration for the 2011 NAAEE Conference opens in just a few days... June 1st!  Made a note of it in my calendar so I can make sure I get the early-bird rate!

Speaking of birds, some birds and I have one thing in common... we both like to eat earthworms!  There were sure plenty of tasty earthworms at Agape!  There were also lots of birds to see and hear.  During the workshop, we learned to identify 40 different bird species by ear, and we actual saw 22 species, too!  I hang out with a lot of birds... especially ovenbirds.  Being ground nesters, my turtle cousins and I are pretty close with them.  So, I helped the group find the ovenbirds, and they helped me find the ones higher up in the tree canopy. 

Being ground nesters, it is easy for me to find ovenbirds.  Here, I help Jessica and
Kelli find one.  Ovenbirds are also easy to identify by ear, which is handy for me as binoculars are difficult for me to hold.

Kyra points out a great crested flycatcher for me.  They spend very little time on the
ground and prefer to fly from place to place rather than hopping on the ground.  I don't
know very many flycatchers.

I was very happy that Mike Campbell, NC Wildlife Resources Commission Education Specialist, seemed to know a lot about reptiles as well as birds.  It was a great day of birding, and Mir Youngquist-Thurow and Jessica Ball, the Environmental Education Directors, carried me around so I didn’t get too tired on this excursion.  We covered over a mile of territory!  Sure, I could do that on my own, but probably not in the same time frame.

There are many different habitats at Agapé..  with 624 acres there are bound to be
many great places for turtles like me!

My understanding is that Mir is known for her hats!  Look at this - - she has a hat AND
shirt just for my visit!!  She and Jessica were wonderful hosts and I can't wait to
see them again soon. Mir told me she is helping in the volunteer office during the
NAAEE conference, so you should stop by and say hello!

My adventure at Agapé continued on Wednesday when a whole busload of 8th grade boys from West Lake Middle School came to spend the day studying water quality at the pond and the stream.  I salute them!  Turtles, as well as everything else, depend on clean water to be healthy!  I’m very pleased to report that the water quality at Agapé is stellar!

I am approaching my western destination for the weekend: the North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountain National Park!!  I will be meeting a bunch more EENC members, including board members Blair Ogburn and Keith Bamberger, who will be leading educational programs for the group. 

No wonder I felt at home at Agapé... hope to visit again soon and thank you for being such great hosts!

Bringing out my artistic side at Artsplosure

Well - - all my travels and this blogging has worn me out!  Also keeping up with the Raleigh Bear, Garner Bear, and the Cary Bear on twitter... those guy/gals have nothing better to do than talk about what they like to eat!

This evening I am resting comfortably after a wonderful day at Agape Center for Environmental Education.  They do tons of programming for youth, but today I took part in an adult program.  But more about that later.....

This past Saturday I visited Moore Square in downtown Raleigh with my new friend and EENC member, Bianca.  WOW- what an event!!  The whole square and streets were filled with artistic vendors that had come from far and near for the 2011 Artsploure.   There were jewelry designers, painters and potters. I didn’t see anything made out of turtle shell, thank goodness!  Even the garbage cans were artistic!!  Maybe we need prettier trash cans so people will use them.  Less litter would certainly make my travels easier.

 “Respect the CAN-vas,” a partnership between Wake County and Artspace. 
My friend Bianca gives me a better view

I spent a few hours hanging out at the City of Raleigh information tent, which was really cool!  Downtown Raleigh has this awesome public transportation system called the R-Line.  It is a FREE bus route, and the buses are hybrids... and turtle friendly!  They hit all the hot spots in downtown Raleigh, including the Convention Center, which will come in very handy for NAAEE conference goers.   

It was a great day for people watching as Moore Square Park was filled with babies, children and adults enjoying live music.  Some of the food vendors even had some great veggies for me to munch on... though I was hoping for a nice fried earthworm on a stick!

That’s all for now.  Gotta rest up for my journey west where I will be joining some more EENC members on a campout!  I can't wait!

Hanging out in the City of Raleigh information tent.  I met lots of folks here... and many of them admired my shell.  Glad I took the time to buff it with some Turtle Wax!

TurtleFest at Bass Lake in Holly Springs

Decided to stay up a bit later this evening and get caught up before a big day tomorrow at Artsplosure in downtown Raleigh.

Last weekend, I made my way out to Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs.  They were having a whole festival dedicated to my kind of folks... Turtles!!  It was their 7th Annual TurtleFest and I was told that they had a record number of folks turn out for the event - around 3,000!!  That is incredible!  I think it is because the word got out that I was there.

I handed out a lot of my business cards so folks would know how to keep track of my journey online.  So many folks were surprised that I had a Facebook page, and couldn't wait to friend me!  Twitter is interesting, and I have shared some stories back and forth with the Garner and the Raleigh Bears.  All they ever talk about is eating and some kid by the name of Scotty McCreery that is making it big on some TV show called American Idol???  I guess he is from around here - but I have never met him.


Sadly, with all my new found technology skills, my camera has failed me.  However, I think the new battery will solve all my problems and I will have pics to share soon! 

I do have to say... this has been a great time to wander around the Piedmont of North Carolina.  The honeysuckle and magnolias are blooming, and the scent is so deliciously sweet in the evenings. 

Now I feel like I can head to bed!  Big day planned for tomorrow!

On the road again...

I've had this song in my head since leaving Bass Lake...

Bye bye, home!

I love my forest home, but I'm taking off on an adventure! My goal is to make it to the North American Assocation for Environmental Education Conference by October 14th to meet and share my experiences with environmental educators from my home state and from around the world!