The Quackalacky is excited to announce Guy McGrane as the November Block Star! Guy is an active Atlaser in the Boone area, covering the mountains of western North Carolina. In addition to submitting checklists to the NCBA portal, Guy serves as the Region 7 volunteer coordinator, providing invaluable support to Atlasers in the area. He is also an engaged member of the High Country Audubon Society, which has hosted guest speakers from the NCBA team. We recently caught up with Guy, and he was kind enough to share a bit about himself below…..
I was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, where I was first exposed to lots of different wildlife. I studied engineering and worked in that field for many years, but always was fascinated by wildlife and the ecosystems that support it. I was very fortunate to study with H.T. Odum at the University of Florida. His goal of uniting general principles from all fields to better understand complex systems was summarized in his book “Ecological and General Systems”, which has been one of my guides to better understanding nature and how people fit into it.
What was your ‘spark species’ moment?
Great Egrets were really cool to see while crabbing as a kid near Ormond Beach, Fl, and kept me looking (around) to see what else was around. The first time I heard a Wood Thrush song was a stunning wake-up call to the incredible adaptations of birds.
What kind of birding makes for a great day?
Birding is a great excuse to become lost in the natural world. I love to get into lots of different places and find out what kind of situations attract lots of wildlife. Anywhere the birds are active is awesome, and finding something unexpected always gives me a little adrenaline boost.
What is your favorite Atlas moment?
In my own backyard, I was very interested to find a baby towhee that was being protected by a whole group of different birds, including song sparrows, chickadees and titmice, cardinals, and others, and it really brought home the point that many birds work together in cooperative communities, even while they are often feisty and competitive with each other.
What is your favorite priority block and the reasons why?
My favorite priority block? Well that’s a tough one,as they as are all great, but one I did some Atlasing in last summer was the Globe SE block, which had some trails and old forest roads in the national forest, where wildlife was very abundant. So I could see lots of butterflies, dragonflies, herps, birds, and more, all in just a few hours in the field.
Reason(s) why you choose to contribute data to the NCBA?
Maybe its just a good excuse to go birding, but I do really think that getting a good handle on what birds are using which habitats at this point in time, is going to be very valuable for future conservation and management decisions, and for future generations of people to see trends in the changes of wildlife over the long-term. Having spent a considerable amount of time delving into old bird records, reports, and rumors, its very obvious that the data for the past is woefully incomplete, and this Atlas is making a real effort to correct that.
