The Presidential Breeding Bird Survey

Happy Birthday President Carter! Jimmy Carter will celebrate his 100th birthday on October 1, 2024. In honor of his birthday, we're pleased to share this article from our September 1989 Wingbars newsletter about the time Jimmy and Roslaynn Carter took part in a Breeding Bird Survey with Mark Oberle and Joel Volpi.  

As Birds Georgia prepares to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of our founding as the Atlanta Bird Club in 2026, we're researching our own history and came across this wonderful account in an old issue of our Wingbars newsletter. We've always heard that the Carters were avid birders, and we're pleased to share this account with you.

By Mark Oberle, originally published September 1989 Wingbars newsletter

​For the last nine years, I have continued to do Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes for the Fish & Wildlife Service in south Georgia, despite my recent move to Seattle. One of them, the Lacross route, passes through Americus and ends south of Plains. Last winter, I analyzed the data from the survey’s beginning in 1973. Since Jimmy Carter had been interested in outdoor issues, I sent him a copy of my write up. He replied, saying that he and Rosalynn had recently become interested in birding after a trip to Africa, and that he would enjoy discussing the local bird life with me.

Photo by the Atlanta Journal Constitution (June 18, 1993)

I let him know that Joel Volpi and I planned to do the 1989 BBS, and, sure enough, he called me up in late May to ask if he could join us. I explained that the drill might be somewhat boring for them as we could not spend a lot of time at each stop, but he said that he would enjoy birding with us. I faxed the route map for the Secret Service, and made all the other usual arrangements for a BBS.

At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 10 (1989), a van pulled up to our hotel, and out came Jimmy and Rosalynn ​. The sat in the back of the van, while Joel and I had the middle. The Secret Service guard and driver were in front. Having run the route the day before, they knew every unmarked, back country road by heart. The wore small earphones to communicate with the the guards that trailed us in the backup van a mile behind.

Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter. Photo by Rick Carter.

South Georgia was the lushest it has been in years, with regular afternoon downpours and a bumper crop of wild blackberries. Since we had set out early, Joel and I pointed out lots of early morning bird songs at the first stop. I was impressed at how quickly the Carters learned these calls, but of course they did have the advantage of growing up in the area. Jimmy wound up being the timekeeper, and impressed us with how quickly he could spot birds and learn field marks. When some interesting bird appeared, Joel would help them locate and study it, while I continued with the survey. When they got more than twenty feet from the vehicle their body guard would follow them. The checked off new birds in the copy of the National Geographic field guide, and in the end wound up with about ten lifers. A male and female Summer Tanager, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and a Yellow-breasted Chat were particularly prized sightings. But the toughest lifer was a White-eyed Vireo that Joel and Jimmy pursued in a thicket despite a particularly odoriferous dead calf. Rosalynn  and I retreated before getting a good view. As the morning got hotter, Rosalynn  took a rest in the van, but Jimmy was out at every stop, except in downtown Americus, where they might have drawn a crowd.

President Jimmy Carter. Photo by Rick Diamond.

Joel and I learned a lot from the Carters about local and national farming issues and the local lore about birds. Jimmy and Rosalynn ​ pointed out some local plants and picked us some blackberries.

Although Joel and I were at first apprehensive about taking an ex-President and First Lady birding, the experience turned out to be like birding with an eloquent farmer who happened to be very well versed on national issues.

On the birding side, we got a new species for the route - an Anhinga. At the last stop, two Red-tailed Hawks screamed low overhead and gave us all an uplifting end to a BBS day.