Ellenwood resident Anne McCallum was one of a select few who knew that Tennessee was the destination recently of a strange visitor who “flew in,” literally, from Siberia.

However, she is also among a growing number of Clayton residents to know the Newman Wetlands Center and the Huie Ponds, both off Freeman Road in Jonesboro, have been the destination of hundreds of visitors who came from literally thousands of miles away, and not once saw the inside of Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport or had any luggage for that matter.

For as long as she can remember, McCallum, a retired Clayton County Public School teacher who taught at Riverdale High School for 17 years and is a long-standing member of the Atlanta Audubon Society, has been a bird watcher.

Armed with a pair of binoculars and a powerful scope mounted on a tripod, she and her husband, Jim, have seen some of the rarest and most unusual birds in the world visit wetlands, ponds, marsh areas and other locals, not only in Clayton County but throughout the country.

“Jim and I spend about every weekend out looking for birds,” McCallum said. “On the occasion we are home on a weekend or through the week, we usually see birds, some of them not native to this area, take advantage of our backyard bird feeder and bird bath.”

As McCallum terms it, the excitement in being a birdwatcher is twofold.

“Not only is it a rush to see birds you have never seen before visit this area, but it is just as enjoyable for me to see familiar birds doing unusual things,” she said.

To keep track of the birds she has seen, McCallum has compiled a large book of photos, descriptions and other details about birds with her, whether it is only she and her husband scouting for birds or as participants in the many bird-watching expeditions of the Audubon Society, many of which she leads.

To see the Siberian bird she saw in Tennessee, which she said was a hooded crane, McCallum said it was an “unforgettable experience, a real rush,” she added.

McCallum believes to really understand the important role nature holds to the existence of plant Earth, and the vital need to have, and maintain, a healthy environment, one must understand Mother Nature and her inhabitants in order to properly take care of them.

“Our survival as human beings is dependent on taking care of our environment,” she said.

“What better way to know your environment and Mother Nature than to be out in it and take in her beauty and magnitude?” McCallum said.

For more information on the Atlanta Audubon Society, call (678) 973-2437.