Arthur “Artie” Morris
The Annual Dinner on March 15, 2008 at Historic Bok Sanctuary, will feature Arthur “Artie” Morris, presenting “BIRDS AS ART/On the Road.” This slide-illustrated lecture will feature 400 of Artie’s spectacular images. As we travel the world, seeing it through his lenses, Artie will tell us all about the birds and other creatures he photographs. Arthur Morris is a free-lance nature photographer and writer specializing in birds. Before turning his talents full-time to photography, he taught elementary school in New York City for twenty-three years. With more than 20,000 of his stunning images published in books, magazines, and calendars all over the globe, Arthur Morris is widely recognized as the world’s premier bird photographer. His images are noted for both their artistic design and their technical excellence. His fitting credit line: BIRDS AS ART. His book, “The Art of Bird Photography”—with more than 30,000 copies sold—is the classic How-to work on the subject. The all-new follow-up, The Art of Bird Photography II, has sold more than 2,000 copies since its release on CD in late 2006. More than 140 photo-illustrated articles by and about him have appeared in print. He is a contributing editor with Nature Photographer and a Popular Photography columnist. Arthur, one of the original “Explorers of Light,” has been a Canon contract photographer for the past ten years and continues in that role today. He was recently named a Fellow by the North American Nature Photographers Association and was a keynote speaker at their 2005 Summit. A popular speaker, he has conducted more than 370 slide programs and seminars over the past 18 years. He currently travels, photographs, teaches, and speaks his way across North America and the world while leading more than a dozen BIRDS AS ART/Instructional Photo Tours, Photo Cruises, and Photo Safaris each year.A selection of books and prints will be available for purchase at the Annual Dinner. Do visit www.birdsasart.com and check out the Bulletin Archives for a preview. If you would like a print of a specific image, please let Artie know in advance with an e-mail to birdsasart@att.net.You can learn more about Arthur Morris at www.birdsasart.com.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SPARROWS
By Chuck Geanangel
When you hear mention of sparrows, what usually comes to mind is the small friendly, grey, chestnut and brown bird that comes to your backyard birdfeeder -- or used to.
Some know it as the English Sparrow or more properly the House Sparrow. Surprise, it’s not a sparrow at all but instead it’s an old world weaver finch. This bird was introduced from Europe to New York City shortly before the American Civil War. It’s not related to the American sparrows at all. Once common in Polk County they now exist in scattered colonies located near fast food outlets and parking lots. What caused the major reduction in their population is unknown.Nine or ten species of American sparrows live in Polk County but only the Bachman’s Sparrow and the rare Florida Grasshopper Sparrow nest here. The others are winter residents only. Some, like the Chipping Sparrow, form large flocks of up to 50 birds and feed together. Others are more solitary. They have a rather pleasant voice during nesting season and are featured on the sound tracks of many popular movies. To find these little guys you have to search open fields and old abandon orange groves. They tend to stay low in the tall grasses and run along the ground like a mouse when disturbed. Identification is a problem because they all look pretty much the same. Hence the moniker LBJ’s or little brown jobs. Because their habitat is being bulldozed under, their numbers are diminishing. Our local Audubon Society is instituting a program of habitat enhancement on the Bridgewater section of the Tenoroc Fish Management Area near Lakeland. The hope is to produce suitable habitat on State owned property that will not be developed. If the pilot project is successful the methods can be reproduced statewide on any public land.