Karen Adams, a charter member of East Ozarks Audubon Society, spent Monday, February 1st in a state of wonderment in trying to get used to the idea that she is now retired.

Karen joined the State Hospital at Farmington in 1974 as a hospital aide and climbed all the way to the top, becoming chief executive of the center at Farmington in 2001.  Later she was named Regional Executive Director for Southeast Missouri in 2008.

Karen was the 3^rd president of the Chapter, serving in 1984-85.  When President Hal Ferris died in 1991, Karen finished out his term and then succeeded herself in 1992-93, the only member to serve as president in three separate terms

Karen’s immediate plans include attending the Vancouver Olympics on February 20^th as part of a mission group   She attended the Beijing Olympics in the summer of 2008 for the same cause.

Following the Olympics she plans to move into her new home at the Buzzard Rock development off of Cartee Road south of Farmington.  This house is being built for her by Brett Burgess who she brought to many Audubon activities when he was a youngster in the 1980s. 

Brett is one of many who credit Karen as setting a good example for him to live by.  Brett spoke at Karen’s retirement party January 11^th as did Sue Hagan.

Karen also plans to get back into local bird trips on Chapter outings and with friends.

She and her two sisters were raised on a farm south of Farmington where she developed her love of nature. 

Karen is noted for her keen senses of sight and hearing on bird field trips.  On several early Birdathons she led the way in finding more than 150 bird species in one day.  Last year she was asked to lead birders of southeast Missouri in the Great Backyard Bird Count at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge

I have to admit I like the month of February.  To me February is one month in which anyone, paying any amount of attention, can literally sense the shifting of one season to another.  It seems like everything starts to tilt toward more heat, more light, more life.

In my world it is really the start of a new year.  My thoughts turn to the out of doors and

of all the possibilities a new year offers.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Hiking along a creek bed on a mild sunny day when the Ozark Witch Hazel is in bloom.

Counting birds at the Crouch Nature Sanctuary bird feeding station.

Taking children to Elephant Rocks, Johnson Shut-Ins, Hawn, St. Francois, Sam A Baker, and Washington State Parks.

Taking photographs at Pickle Springs, Hickory Canyon, and Amidon Conservation Areas.

Birding at Mingo, Duck Creek, and Riverlands Wildlife Refuges.

Hiking to the top of Bell Mt., Hughes Mt., Buford Mt., Rockpile and VanEast Mt.

Visiting Big Spring, Blue Spring, Greer Spring, and Round Spring.

Building bird houses, feeders and shelter piles.

Visiting limestone glades, sandstone glades, and igneous glades.

Making Maple syrup.

Floating the Meramec, Big, St. Francois, Black, Current and Eleven Point rivers.

My list consists of nothing very exotic, nothing that most of us are incapable of doing, and nothing that really cost a fortune.  They are all things that can be done and shared with other adults and children alike.  And these activities need to be done, done by more people, more often.

I’m convinced the only reason many of the bird and animal species that we still have with us on the planet today is because of people like us sharing it with other people.  Getting out in February is not only fun and uplifting it is our responsibility as Audubon members to share it with others.  Let’s do it!

p.s.  February 13, Otter Slough birding trip, be there!, bring friends!

By Bob Lewis

   Sally Whitener, our dog kennel owner who is authorized to repair the broken bones of owls and hawks, still chuckles at the memory of 2005 when the Barred Owl she was raising caused havoc and terror at a local evening bridge club.  Someone had brought her the baby owl when they found it on the ground under a tree. 

   Sally had reluctantly accepted the bird in spite of thinking it would have probably been better off to remain wild.  She fed it and nourished it until it reached full size and then she released it.  It wouldn’t go away.  It kept returning to her home demanding to be fed.  She often referred to it with the name PITA (standing for Pain In The A--).

   One night a ladies bridge club meeting near Sally’s kennel was breaking up to go home.  The ladies had emerged from the home and were standing in the front yard when suddenly terror struck.  This owl came flying down from nowhere and brushed its wings against their heads and shoulders.

   And then it landed on the head of one of them (Judy Sheets).  Needless to say, there was no time for idle chatter as the ladies all rushed to their cars and drove away.

   It was then that Sally called me and wondered if I could think of a solution.  “Sure, Sally, if you can capture the bird, I will take it down to Mingo tomorrow because I’m going there anyway.”  Sally assured me she could easily catch it when it came to eat.  So we placed it in a cardboard box and I headed off for Mingo.

   I usually stop at several good birding spots along the way and so this time I stopped at a place called Hattie’s Ford located between Greenville and Wappapello.  After listening a moment for migrating warblers, I suddenly realized that this would be a good place to let old Pita get her freedom.  When I dumped her out of the box she gingerly landed on the ground and looked up at me as if to say, “Why in the heck did you bring me here?”  She then flew up onto a tree limb and soon reluctantly departed for parts unknown.

What’s the real cost: The “just say no” crowd opposing efforts to mitigate global climate change keep spreading many falsities, including overestimations of the costs. The EPA and other government agencies calculate the average annual cost per household for the House-passed climate bill to be between $80 and $111 annually over the next twenty years. Energy-minded practices could reduce costs further (and solar-based home generation could even result in a net revenue gain for the homeowner).  Missourians by the end of the century will likely experience 60 to 90 days every summer with temperatures above 100 degrees if nothing is done, as well as increasingly powerful storms and flooding. What will the costs be for increased air conditioning, droughts and floods? And what about the serious health consequences caused by carbon dioxide emissions? Yet politicians continue to saber-rattle: Alaska’s Senator Murkowski has introduced a bill that would limit EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases and our own Congresswoman Emerson has belittled efforts to regulate carbon dioxide as a means to put a tax on breathing! With the recent Supreme Court decision lifting limits on corporate political financing, expect even more attacks from the friends of Big Oil and Big Coal.

Faster Trains from St. Louis to Chicago and Kansas City: Part of $8 billion in federal grants aiding 13 rail corridors in 31 states will be heading to Missouri. $1.1 billion will be spent developing a high-speed rail line to Chicago, and $31 million is designated for upgrades on the run to Kansas City. But don’t expect the European/Asian high speeds well exceeding 200 mph: the Chicago run will be considered “fast” at 110 mph, and only projects in Florida and California will reach speeds of 150 mph or more.

First Federal Nationwide Legal Settlement includes Pevely, Missouri, plant. Using the Clean Air Act, the federal government will require Lafarge, a glassmaker and cement company, to add pollution controls at their plants countrywide. The Pevely plant’s rehabilitation is expected to cost $12 million to reduce air pollution by 276 tons per year. National emissions reductions are estimated to total 6,000 tons annually.

Whooping Cranes heading to Florida and Texas fly over the Midwest. In the ongoing effort to save whooping cranes, an ultralight plane led twenty trained-to-follow young whoopers from a Wisconsin Refuge on southerly migration routes, half ending up in Texas. The Florida route took 89 days and included an Illinois stopover when the ultralight crashed (no one hurt, fortunately). Regrettably, an errant Indiana hunter shot the only female crane to have successfully hatched, raise and teach the migration route to a wild chick. The cranes don’t require a guide for the springtime return trip.

State Park Youth Corps: Gov. Nixon is putting some federal work-force investment money to hiring 1,000 young Missourians to work cleaning up state parks.

Donations welcomed: Our state park system is funded primarily by the half of one-tenth percent dedicated sales tax, which for the average Missourian comes to about $6 a year—superb value for the money, by any standard.  But the economic downturn has decreased tax revenues, leaving our parks in need. Therefore, DNR is soliciting donations from the public to be used to repair and maintain facilities and interpretive programming. Online donations can be made at www.mostateparks.com/donations.htm . We who are fortunate to live close enough to enjoy frequent state park visits throughout the year should especially consider making a gift in this time of need.

Rechargeable batteries better: Years ago we tried using rechargeable batteries, but their quickly diminishing output was horrendous. But new technology has resulted in batteries that can be recharged hundreds of times. One we hope to try out soon (the PowerGenix AA rechargeable) supposedly lasts up to 1,000 charges at 1.6 volts, matching the 1.5 volt throwaway alkalines. We now use rechargeable headlamps for caving—saving a lot of money and producing far less hazardous landfill wastes.

Life List: A Woman’s Quest for the World’s Most Amazing Birds. Olivia Gentile, 2009, Bloomsbury, New York. 317 pages, plus photos, index.

This biography of the late Phoebe Snetsinger is a really engrossing read for anyone interested in birding, adventure, obsessions, drama, and/or outstanding women. That Snetsinger (hereafter called Phoebe, her fortuitous birth name) combined all these elements surely gives her a well-earned place in history. Today we are in the Golden Era of Birding, says author Olivia Gentile: the ease of world travel and the proliferation of birding guide books make it feasible to rack up enormous life lists. Regrettably, the world-wide acceleration of species extinction means the Golden Era is ending. Phoebe was just a few weeks too late to see the last wild Spix’s Macaw. It’s now or never time for many bird sightings.

I began reading this book with a caution from Bob Lewis, who was fortunate to have met Phoebe before her untimely death. Phoebe’s birding obsession blossomed when she, her husband and their four children moved to Missouri in 1967 and she joined the Webster Groves Nature Study Society. Bob told me Phoebe’s friends disparage the book for unfairly depicting her, and he suggested I instead read Phoebe’s memoirs (Birding on Borrowed Times). I hope to read Phoebe’s book someday, but this book deserves reading on its own merits. Olivia Gentile never met Phoebe but she did interview many people who knew her well. The author also read Phoebe’s journals and her correspondence. Gentile did what a good biographer must do: she researched her subject in depth. The result is an objectivity which an autobiography or a biography written by friends likely cannot achieve. The real legacy of any person is not measurable in his/her lifetime and is best evaluated by dispassionate reflection.

Phoebe initially pursued birding for simple enjoyment, an occasional escape from homemaking and mothering. But the hobby became an obsession as her goals kept expanding: seeing 600, 1000, 5000, and ultimately achieving a life list of 8,674 species. She began birding at age 34, but when she was 48 a terminal cancer diagnosis spurred her to see as many species as she could within what was initially anticipated to be just a few more months of life—she died 18 years later in a car accident in Madagascar, hours after adding a new bird (the Red-shouldered Vanga) to her life list while journeying to the next.

We are appropriately awed by our Chapter’s dedicated birders who will drive long distances to observe a single rare bird. World-class birders travel to the remotest parts of far-flung countries. They climb mountains, wade through malaria-infested swamps, and sleep in ratty accommodations. Because they are willing to go wherever the birds are, they can face extreme dangers from travel in high-crime areas and war zones. Such birders may resort to unsafe modes of transportation. They have been the victims of accidents, theft, kidnapping, and rape—Phoebe endured it all. The amount of traveling she did is staggering—it was time consuming, expensive, and physically demanding.

Obsessions can also be hard on relationships. A man spending extensive time away from the family while pursuing a personal hobby might not be viewed as critically as a woman/wife/mother doing the same. Phoebe’s four children were increasingly left to their own resources and to the supervision of their more-at-home father. Dave Snetsinger had a very rewarding career with Purina, and he was an avid hobby magician, but when he retired his wife’s absences almost caused a divorce. She didn’t attend her mother’s funeral or her daughter’s wedding. Choices had to be made, and for her it was almost always birding.

A minor criticism I have is the author’s repeated speculation that Phoebe never successfully dealt with having been gang raped, though also saying this cruel event drove Phoebe to even greater birding pursuits. I am willing to accept Phoebe’s self-analysis on this matter—that the rape negatively affected her for about two months. To me, survivorship is about putting the past in its proper context and overcoming tragedy by living in the present. World-class record breakers are rare and are seldom accidental. When Phoebe achieved this feat in birding, all the hurts, aches, sufferings, disappointments, and sacrifices she had made must have seemed mightily insignificant.

This book offers lessons in perseverance, courage, and following one’s happiness. And, I might add, you will learn a lot about birding as well.

(Editor’s Note) – Several of us got to meet Phoebe along the Mississippi River in 1984 when we all went to see a Slaty-backed Gull.  Later I was privileged to share my spotting scope with her as we watched a Brown Pelican floating on a buoy in Lake Wappapello – Bob Lewis)