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CONGRATULATIONS
CONGRATULATIONS
The Margaret Watson Bird Club
Local birdwatchers unite
Story by Alexa Massey
Prince Edward and its surrounding localities are home to a rich ecosystem filled with wondrous creatures, including many feathered friends of all colors, shapes and sizes. From Wild Turkeys to European Starlings, the community is home to numerous bird species. Ask any local ornithologist or bird enthusiast about the history of birdwatching in the area, and they’ll surely point you toward the Margaret Watson Bird Club. The group has established itself as a fantastic source of ornithological knowledge and bird watching adventures in Central Virginia, but when the club sprang up from tiny roots some 55 years ago, no one would ever anticipate the number of lives it would touch and the educational impact it would hold.
Local postmaster and longtime school teacher Margaret Hunter Watson was known in the community for her passion for “birding,” or birdwatching. Together with five friends, Vera Copple, Edith and Hall Driskill, Bill Dickenson and Louise Dillon, Margaret formed in 1967 what was then known as the Spring Creek Bird Club, a small group of locals looking to experience the joy of nature and learn more about local birds.
It was a cold, cold day on the first of January, 1968, when Margaret invited those five friends to join her on a trip to count the birds in the area surrounding her home in Darlington Heights.
As the group spent the day counting and
18 Farmville the Magazine documenting the local bird species, they had no idea they were holding the very first Darlington Heights Christmas Count, an annual event in which local birdwatchers spend a wintery afternoon carefully recording data on local bird populations. They were also planting the first seeds of what would become a large, thriving bird club.
As years went by, the club grew and grew. Margaret and her friends spent the years holding monthly meetings, taking field trips and conducting more annual Christmas counts.
Sadly, Margaret passed away on Aug. 2, 1974, at age 60, at which point the club unanimously voted to change its name to the Margaret Watson Bird Club. Meetings and Christmas Bird Counts continued through 1980, when the group then dispersed.
After more than a decade of absence, the club was resurrected in 1991 at then Longwood College by biology professor Dr. Carolyn Wells who currently serves as the club’s historian. Wells, along with a few remaining members, Photo courtesy of Hunter Watson reestablished the club, Margaret Hunter Watson which has been active ever founded the Spring Creek since. Bird Club in 1967. Upon her
According to Wells, the death in 1974, the group club, aside from the sumwas renamed the Margaret mer months, is currently Watson Bird Club. characterized by monthly meetings that typically include a program with an outside speaker. The group also holds frequent field trips to spots in Prince Edward and surrounding counties for birdwatching activities, including annual overnight trips to the coast or the mountains.
Over the years, the club has sparked several special activities including seed sales, bluebird house constructions, a recipe book and even a Summer Ornithology Study Scholarship which supports undergraduate research at local institutions.
Stopping by the Sarah Terry Trail and Wilck’s Lake in Farmville, residents can spot a variety of work done by the club, including The Margaret Watson Bird Observation Platform, or “Flight Deck,” which allows both casual hikers and expert birdwatchers alike an excellent opportunity to view local birds. Scattered along the trail are birdhouses and other items like informational signs on local bird species.
Of course, the club continues its Christmas Bird Count which began that frigid day in 1968.
According to Wells, the day-long adventure, which follows protocols established by the club’s parent organization, the Virginia Society of Ornithology, collects information about bird populations “valuable to an understanding of the ebb and flow
Above, a Prothonotary Warbler sits atop a tree branch.
From left, birdwatchers Betsy Lookofsky, Craig Guthrie, Amanda Dymacek, Julian Dymacek and Jimmy Gates use their equipment to get a good look at the local wildlife.
of bird species as they interact with their environments.”
And because the event has been conducted at the same location over the entire existence of the bird club, results provide key information on how the local bird populations change and evolve.
According to Wells, the highest number of species seen in one day during the count comes in at 75; the highest number of birds counted in one day, she noted, is 15,740.
During the Jan. 1, 2022, Christmas Bird Count, the club’s volunteers recorded 68 different species in the area, with a total of 4,098 birds spotted that day. Species ranged from the Barred Owl and Great Blue Heron to the Palm Warbler and Brown-headed Cowbird, just to name a few.
Another special activity occurred in 2006 when the club created an annotated checklist of all bird species ever observed in Prince Edward and its contiguous counties throughout the year. The publication quickly sold out but was reprinted in 2010 when the state organization held a meeting in Farmville, Wells added.
Throughout the years, the Margaret Watson Bird Club has drawn in countless locals looking to expand their knowledge of local wildlife and share a passion for birdwatching. Among those the group has touched is current President Ty Smith.
“Being a naturalist, I have spent my whole life paying close attention to what was on the farm, and the bird feeder was no exception,” Smith noted. “I learned enough to ID common birds, but one day in 2017, I had a Pine Warbler show up. At that time I was in college, and one of my professors was a big birder. So, I asked him about the Warbler, and he pulled up some information on eBird. I started exploring the website and started documenting the birds on our farm, mostly out of winter boredom.”
In documenting the birds on his family farm, Smith happened to document a breeding pair of Loggerhead Shrikes, the only breeding pair in the region at the time.
“These rarities got me in contact with members in the club like Evan Spears and Amanda and Julian Dymacek. I then started attending meetings and loved it. This also started the urge to travel the state and see birds I have never seen before.”
For Smith, his favorite part of the club is the ability to go on several different field trips throughout the year.
“I thoroughly enjoy seeing the face someone makes when seeing a bird
This hauntingly-beautiful Barred Owl was just one of 68 species of birds recorded during the 2021 Darlington Heights Christmas Count. The club observed seven of these owls in just one day, the highest count ever recorded in the history of the event.
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Above, this American Woodcock is an adorable sight to behold. Below, Jimmy Gates prepares to go bird watching.
they have never seen before,” he said. “I also have a background in wildlife education, so every chance I get to teach someone something new is a win for me.”
It’s true that many of the club’s members come from a wildlife or environmentally focussed background.
Piedmont Soil and Water Conservation District Manager Deanna Fehrer and her husband have been members of the Margaret Watson Bird Club for more than two decades.
“When we moved to Farmville, we were looking for a nature club or something similar,” Fehrer stated. “From our first meeting, we were hooked. It was a fairly small group at the time, but it allowed us to get to know others in the community with the same interests, and we have learned so much about birds, habitat and nature.”
Fehrer noted being a “birder” doesn’t require any fancy equipment.
“A basic pair of binoculars and a bird guide are all you need,” she added.
Former Club Vice President Evan Spears said he got into birding at a young age through his father.
“He would take me to the monthly bird club meetings, and while I barely understood birds at that age, I quickly grew to enjoy the company of other nature enthusiasts,” Spears said. “I became increasingly involved in the club as I got older; I led my first talks and walks as a teenager and eventually became Vice President of the club in my 20s. The skills I acquired along the way definitely shaped my career path and opened up exciting volunteer opportunities. Now, I share my knowledge and experiences with new club members, whether we're birding locally in Farmville or taking an overnight field trip to the Eastern Shore or the Blue Ridge Mountains. I'm extremely thankful for my family and everyone in the Margaret Watson Bird Club who helped teach me the life-long hobby of birding.”
Yes, the Margaret Watson Bird Club has touched many lives, and without its founding member, much of this incredible ornithological work may never have been made.
Margaret spent years of her life dedicating herself to the environment and local bird populations. She educated countless individuals on local wildlife and helped spark in many residents the same passion for birdwatching which she carried with her into her final days.
“Not many things were more enjoyable to my mother than to take a long walk with her binoculars right with her,” Margaret’s son, Hunter Watson, said.
Where Am I?
LAST ISSUE’S WINNER Andrea Lee is the winner for the March edition of Where Am I? She knew that the last photo was of a hand painted at the bottom of a coffee sign on the side of the Coffee Mill at the corner of Third and North Streets. Lee wins a free subscription to Farmville the Magazine.
The Heart of Virginia offers beautiful scenery and architecture throughout downtown Farmville. “Where Am I?” offers residents a chance to identify one of our hidden gems across town. If you think you know where this photo was taken, email your answer to WhereAmI@ FarmvilletheMag.com. We’ll draw one lucky name from among the correct answers for an annual subscription to Farmville the Magazine.
22 Farmville the Magazine From the Ground Up
DANDELIONS:
The Aster most readily recognized
Story by Dr. Cynthia Wood
The poor dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is one of the most readily recognized plants on earth and also one of the most reviled. It wasn’t always this way.
Dandelions belong to that huge plant family, the Asters, which evolved between 60 and 30 million years ago. They drifted with the wind and water and over time developed a very successful means of reproduction, including a parachute-like structure, the pappus, attached to individual seeds that allows the seeds to drift on the wind and then fall at an angle so that tiny barbs on the edges of the seeds can anchor them in the soil. The dandelion also developed a hollow scape that doesn’t break easily in strong wind.
In addition, the dandelion’s success as a survivor was aided by humans. Although dandelions don’t provide high levels of sugar and protein and are bitter, early humans ate dandelions and used them for medicinal purposes too. Dandelions were used in ancient Chinese herbal tonics. Early Romans grew dandelions for food and medicine. During the Middle Ages, dandelion leaves were added to stews; the flowers were battered and fried; the blooms were used to make wine; and roots were dried
Dandelion seeds have tiny barbs that help anchor them in the soil so that they will germinate properly.
A dandelion flower is composed of 150 to 200 ray florets that resemble petals.
and used to make a drink. Dandelions were grown by both monks and peasants.
When European settlers arrived here, they brought the dandelion with them, both intentionally and accidentally. Recent research shows, however, that the dandelion had crossed the Bering land bridge hundreds of years earlier and was well known to indigenous people living on the plains. As settlers moved inland, the dandelion followed them. Settlers cleared forests for farms, and the dandelion thrived. By the 1800s, dandelions were a common crop in home gardens. There were even named varieties that could be purchased from seed catalogs.
Emily Dickinson was a fan of dandelions and wrote four poems about them, including one in which she referred to the dandelion as “the proclamation of the sun.” Longfellow also wrote about the dandelion and referred to it as the “maid with yellow tresses.”
And then Americans became interested in the English concept of an expanse of velvety grass, the lawn. Jefferson incorporated the idea into his design of the University of Virginia and even today there is the Lawn. With this new interest in perfect grass, the popular perception of dandelions changed. They were seen as unwanted interlopers, and people began spending considerable time trying to uproot them. Special tools were even invented for this purpose. Unfortunately for homeowners, this practice only caused more dandelions to grow. They can regenerate from root tissue well below the crown. The invention of lawn mowers further encouraged the spread of dandelions by shooting seeds in all directions. Mechanized farming helped establish dandelions in crop fields.
Today many people no longer marvel at the beauty of the dandelion or add its tender, early leaves to their salads. They don’t make golden dandelion wine for sipping during winter or for basting fruitcakes. They see the dandelion as a sign of personal failure. Their beautiful green lawns are splotched with yellow. Me? I have lots of dandelions in my lawn, and I’m happy with them.
