Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Alabama Ornithological Society - TPR's In Focus - July 9, 2026

Transcript

Alabama Ornithological Society - TPR's In Focus - July 9, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

• 0:00
  Support comes from the Wiregrass Archives at Troy University's Dothan Campus,
• 0:04
  identifying and preserving historical documents and photographs for research related to the
• 0:09
  Wiregrass region. More information at troy.edu slash wiregrass archives.
• 0:16
  From Troy Public Radio, this is In Focus and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson. Dr. Shirley Farrell,
• 0:24
  besides being an associate professor and gifted education program coordinator at Troy University,
• 0:32
  is president of the Alabama Ornithological Society. As a lifelong bird enthusiast,
• 0:40
  she joins us today to share the work of the society and its priorities in bird conservation.
• 0:49
  Dr. Farrell joins us for our Paws for Animals series.
• 0:56
  Dr. Shirley Farrell, it is an honor to welcome you back to Troy Public Radio.
• 1:02
  Well, thank you. This is one of my favorite places to be.
• 1:06
  When did you fall in love with birds?
• 1:08
  I was a child and my grandparents would have birdhouses and bird feeders.
• 1:15
  They watched the birds, always paying attention to the large raptors, the different hawks,
• 1:21
  the vultures. Our family vacations were always camping, so we were immersed in nature.
• 1:29
  We would go fishing any time of the year, so being in the outdoors.
• 1:33
  Was there any certain bird during one of those camping experiences that really made your day?
• 1:40
  I think I always loved seeing the red-tailed hawks. They have always been my favorite,
• 1:47
  maybe even like a spirit animal for me. Although I have to say, my husband and I went to one of
• 1:54
  my old camping stomping grounds. We went out spending the day in Missouri, not Alabama.
• 2:02
  We watched a broad-winged hawk being annoyed by a mockingbird and it was flying over the river.
• 2:12
  The mockingbird actually landed on its back as the broad-winged hawk was flying.
• 2:19
  I did not have a cell phone at that time and would have loved to have captured that image
• 2:25
  of this fearless small songbird riding on the back of this larger raptor. I don't think it
• 2:33
  would try to eat it, but he could do damage. Well, that picture will always stay with you
• 2:39
  in your memory. Yes, yes. Shirley, can you give us an overview of the Alabama Ornithological
• 2:46
  Society and its mission? So, we support conservation of lands and support the research
• 2:55
  behind birds, bird habitats. We support other groups with their bird activities as well.
• 3:04
  We are mostly bird watchers. You know, while we have some scientists in our group, we're mostly
• 3:11
  your average citizen who loves birding, who has bird feeders out. We meet three times a year.
• 3:18
  Does the society have any current concerns about birds in the environment? So, we have a
• 3:26
  conservation committee and this group will keep up with what local, state, federal government's
• 3:34
  doing and whenever there is public opinion, we will submit a letter on behalf of the organization
• 3:42
  stating our views. You know, we're always looking to protect the habitat and the birds. You know,
• 3:48
  everything's here for a reason and we don't want to end up doing something that means we've lost
• 3:56
  a species and that ended up being a keystone species or maybe something about that bird had
• 4:02
  a cure for us as well or the science behind it will help us with something else. We're always
• 4:09
  supporting other groups. Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary or DIBS down on Dauphin Island will
• 4:16
  buy up property because that is very important migration time habitat for the birds. We want to
• 4:24
  make sure that they do have a place when they come in for the spring for them to land and feed
• 4:30
  and then to gorge themselves on food before they have to take the big flight over the gulf as well
• 4:38
  and along the coast. So, not just helping Dauphin Island but supporting other groups that would be
• 4:45
  looking at the conservation of habitat and birds. How do you see their role in protecting human
• 4:52
  health, for instance, against mosquitoes that carry disease? I agree fully that even our songbirds,
• 5:02
  they're eating insects that can damage our plants. You know, that includes the vegetable plants where
• 5:10
  we're growing our own food or just even the ornamental plants where we enjoy the smells
• 5:17
  and the sights of the flowers but they are very important in that balance in the environment.
• 5:24
  I enjoy having the swallows and chimney swifts flying around my place because I know they're
• 5:31
  getting those mosquitoes and I don't like mosquito bites. One of the important things that you're
• 5:38
  doing is offering people field trips. Can you fill us in on what's happening with this outreach
• 5:44
  program? Yes, Dr. Greg Jackson out of Birmingham has been leading the charge on our outreach. He
• 5:54
  has recruited 44 different people to lead field trips around the state. We have them posted on a
• 6:02
  Google calendar on our website so that you can check and see what field trips may be in your
• 6:08
  area or maybe you want to travel to a different area in Alabama and do a field trip. They are
• 6:16
  year-round and we are very excited about them. We have people who are actually traveling to different
• 6:24
  field trips. I led one at Old Cahaba in March. One of the attendees said that she had been to a couple
• 6:32
  others and she kind of laughed and said, I don't know if I'm a follower or a stalker at this point
• 6:38
  and that was just wonderful. That was the best testimonial ever but we're very excited about
• 6:45
  being able to continue to do these year-round for years to come. Well, you have a project with
• 6:51
  local parks and that is erecting benches where people can watch the birds. Dr. Greg Jackson's
• 7:00
  coordinating all this. He has done a couple in Birmingham. We have seven benches on Dauphin
• 7:08
  Island and at some point we may have a trail of our benches so you can travel to the different
• 7:15
  locations for them. Turtle Point Science Center in Escambia County, Alabama has a couple benches.
• 7:24
  We're looking for other places so they can contact us through our website to make suggestions. We just
• 7:33
  ask that the benches are placed where you can actually watch birds and that they can be secured
• 7:40
  down. We have them shipped to the location. You would be responsible for putting the bench together
• 7:46
  and then we have a plaque that just sticks on and it just has our name, our logo, and a QR code to
• 7:53
  our website so you can check out what else we're doing, when we're having our meetings throughout
• 8:00
  the year, and become a member if you choose. So, what is the website and is there membership
• 8:06
  information on that site? Yes, the website is AOSBirds.org and you can go to join renew along
• 8:17
  the top and it will give you the information about becoming a member. Shirley, as a bird lover
• 8:23
  since childhood, do you now have any particular concerns about their future? The number of birds
• 8:31
  have decreased with how our weather has been changing. We are seeing birds migrating earlier,
• 8:40
  coming in maybe even before the plants are ready farmed. The first thing I think of is hummingbirds
• 8:45
  and then we're seeing some of our birds that maybe stay here in the south are actually starting
• 8:52
  to move further north to live as well, but we see a decrease of our ground nesting birds
• 9:00
  and sparrows and these birds that feed off the ground due to cats being outside, lots of feral cats
• 9:09
  and you know just loss of habitat. Well, Shirley, time is short, but I want to thank you for your
• 9:16
  visit today. Thank you so much for having me. It's always a pleasure to speak with you and to be a
• 9:24
  part of Troy Public Radio. That was Dr. Shirley Farrell, President of the Alabama Ornithological
• 9:31
  Society. More information is at AOSBirds.org. Thanks for joining us for In Focus, which is a
• 9:41
  podcast wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Carolyn Hutcheson and this is listener-supported
• 9:48
  Troy Public Radio.