[birdky] FW: Birding Community E-bulletin - February 2008

  • From: "Vorisek, Shawchyi (FW)" <Shawchyi.Vorisek@xxxxxx>
  • To: <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 09:46:34 -0500

FYI:
 
Shawchyi Vorisek 
Avian Biologist/PIF Coordinator
Wildlife Diversity Program 
KY Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources 
#1 Sportsman's Lane 
Frankfort, KY  40601 
(502)564-7109 Ext. 368 
shawchyi.vorisek@xxxxxx 
www.fw.ky.gov <http://www.fw.ky.gov/>  



________________________________

From: Paul J. Baicich [mailto:paul.baicich@xxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 3:48 PM
To: Paul J. Baicich
Cc: Wayne R. Petersen
Subject: Birding Community E-bulletin - February 2008



THE BIRDING COMMUNITY E-BULLETIN
            February 2008

This Birding Community E-bulletin is being distributed through the
generous support of Steiner Binoculars as a service to active and
concerned birders, those dedicated to the joys of birding and the
protection of birds and their habitats. You can access a posting of our
current and past E-bulletins on the website of the National Wildlife
Refuge Association (NWRA):
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/NewestSBC.html
 and
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/birding5.html
 and on the birding pages for Steiner Binoculars
http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin.html
                                    
                        
RARITY FOCUS 
 
This seems to have been a slow month for profiling a single rare bird
sighting, but that doesn't mean that a particular species was not worthy
of special notice. In fact, Slaty-backed Gull, a bird normally found in
coastal northeast Asia (and increasingly in western Alaska in summer)
has been found in relatively remarkable numbers and in extraordinary
locations across the northern tier of the lower48-states and in southern
Canada this winter. (If you are unfamiliar with this species, check the
National Geo guide, page 212-213; the "big" Sibley guide, page 222; or
the Kaufman "Focus" guide, page 72-73.)
 
Over the past two or so months, there have been at least two dozen
reports of individuals of this essentially northeast Asian species in
North America, including (roughly from west to east) British Columbia,
Washington, northern California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois,
Ontario, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Newfoundland. Tom
Johnson in New York has collected as many reports and photos as he could
locate and added them to a highly instructive Google map here:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=1101695293197499
75869.000442310e1bcdead2daa&ll=52.696361,113.730469&spn=51.330654,164.53
125&z=3&om=1 
 
One particularly nice collection of photos (by Phil Brown and Rick Heil)
and descriptions of two birds at Gloschester, Massachusetts, can be
found here:
http://www.nebirdsplus.org/Slaty_backed_Gull.htm
 
This is clearly an exceptional year for Slaty-backed Gulls, particularly
in the northeastern U.S.; seasoned observers are using terms like
"mini-invasion." And, it's probably not over yet!
 
This of courses raises the important question of what is happening to
Slaty-backed Gulls in northeast Asia. Information recently obtained from
Japanese ornithologist, Hiroyoshi Higuchi, suggests that this species is
indeed increasing, at least in Japan, where it now even nests on urban
rooftops, much the way Herring and Ring-billed Gulls do in certain urban
habitats in North America.
 
 
CRP LOSSES - A LOOK AT THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS
                                                            
Increasingly, important elements of the Farm Bill, such as the
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), are having a hard time competing for
real space with today's high commodity prices, especially with the
increasing focus on corn-based ethanol.
 
Specifically, more than 2 million acres of land previously enrolled in
CRP were converted to cropland in 2007, according to a recent analysis
of federal figures. The losses, which carry serious implications for
wildlife species dependent on that land, were most dramatic in Montana,
North Dakota, and South Dakota. Those three states combined lost about
800,000 acres of CRP last year.
                                                
As a reminder to readers, CRP encourages farmers to convert highly
erodible cropland, or other environmentally sensitive acreage, to grass.
The annual rental payments are based on the agricultural rental value of
the land, and are paid to the landowner under 10-to-15 year contracts.
We have previously covered this issue in the E-bulletin, including last
month when we reported on Farm Bill passage in the Senate and
expectations for a Senate-House conference:
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/janSBC08.html#TOC05
and at:
http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin/jan08.html
 
Some trends are particularly disturbing. For example, in North Dakota,
new federal figures have shown that about 420,000 acres of CRP were
converted back to cropland in 2007. That adds up to more than 12 percent
of all CRP acres in the state. As summarized by Ducks Unlimited (DU)
staff in Bismarck, "It's as if someone plowed up a three-mile swath of
wildlife habitat across North Dakota, from its southern border to
Canada."
 
Extensive losses for 2007 were expected, but the released total is about
double the acreage that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm
Service Agency (FSA) had originally predicted.
 
With CRP unable to compete with what producers can get by farming the
land themselves or by renting the land for cropping, Jim Ringelman, DU's
director of conservation programs in the Prairie Pothole Region, said
that the country's new energy policy could wipe out billions of federal
dollars invested in natural resources: "Conservation is in for a long
swim against a strong current when trying to fight the tide of land
rolling out of CRP." 
 
The number of CRP acres going back into crop production is also a
warning, supporting a strong "Sodsaver" provision in the Farm Bill. The
loss of CRP acreage is an assault on waterfowl and grassland birds, and
should be resisted by all bird conservationists. In addition, the next
line of vulnerable land to lure exploitation is existing native prairie
that simply cannot be replaced. A strong "Sodsaver" would help to save
some of what 10,000-year-old native prairies still exist. 
 
For more details, see:
http://www.ducks.org/news/1456/DUsaysCRPlossesastou.html
 
 
CANADIAN LOONS FACE PROBLEMS
 
The carcasses of hundreds of dead Common Loons have been found on the
shores of the Great Lakes in recent months. The healthy-looking loons
have congested organs and half-digested fish in their stomachs, leading
biologists to believe that the loons succumbed to an epidemic that has
killed 75,000 birds, including 9,000 loons, in the Great Lakes since
1999.
 
The loons, iconic symbols of the Canadian wilderness, died from eating
fish contaminated by Type E botulism. The birds, which were actually
found dead on both sides of the border, are particularly poignant for
Canadians.
 
"Rather than sporadic outbreaks, which have occurred for years and
years, now it is becoming much more generalized over the Great Lakes.
It's becoming more widespread," said Kate Welch, a diagnostician with
the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre (CCWHC), who performed
necropsies on the birds. The CCWHC is an organization encompassing
Canadian veterinary colleges.
 
In recent years, observers have encountered shorelines littered with
dead loons, geese, ducks, gulls and cormorants. The biological source
surfaced in the western end of Lake Erie in 1999 and spread quickly to
lakes Huron and Ontario. The worst year was 2002, when 25,000 dead birds
were counted in Lake Erie alone.
 
"The loons, which are very emblematic for Canadians, are very long-lived
birds," Dr. Welch said. "They live up to 20 years or more, and if we're
losing a substantial number of those birds in their prime reproductive
years, it may be 10 to 15 years before we see what that is going to do
to the population as a whole."
 
There are an estimated 545,000 loons that nest each summer in Canada.
While researchers do not think that the Canadian birds are in any
immediate danger of being wiped out by Type E botulism, such potent
outbreaks could quickly reduce their numbers.
 
The deadly chain reaction started in the 1980s when two invasive
species, zebra mussels and small fish, called gobies, hitchhiked into
the Great Lakes in the ballast tanks of ocean freighters coming from the
Caspian Sea. (The bacteria are picked up by zebra mussels, which are
consumed by fish, which are ultimately consumed by loons.)
 
"It's a bit of a wake-up call that invasive species have long-term
repercussions," Dr. Welch said. "They have substantially altered the
ecosystem of the Great Lakes to the point where now we are seeing much
more botulism." Type E botulism results from a naturally occurring
toxin, so conservation officials can do little to prevent the deaths.
Nonetheless, scientists are working to somehow interrupt this pernicious
link in the food chain.
 
For more information, see:
http://newsdaily.com/Science/UPI-1-20071229-16340500-bc-canada-loons.xml

 
 
 IBA NEWS: ALASKA EMPHASIS
 
An entry in the blog run by BIRDER'S WORLD magazine early last month
highlighted a recent announcement that petroleum leases in the Chukchi
Sea off Alaska's northwest coast will go on sale on 6 February. 
 
This move has the potential to affect many Important Bird Areas (IBAs)
in that part of Alaska. This informative blog uses the Alaska IBA
database to spotlight which birds and which specific IBAs might be at
risk (including the Teshekpuk Latke area which we have previously
discussed in this E-bulletin). To read the summary, visit:
http://bwfov.typepad.com/birders_world_field_of_vi/2008/01/alaskas-impor
ta.html 
 
For more information about National Audubon's Important Bird Area
Program, visit:
http://www.audubon.org/bird/iba/
 
 
BOOK REVIEW: PIGEONS?
 
Yes, PIGEONS (Grove Press) is our featured title this month. This
thoughtful and unusual book by Andrew Blechman is captured by the
subtitle: "The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled
Bird." Although its been in print since 2006, your E-bulletin editors
can't read everything all at once!
 
We wanted to give this book a brief recommendation, especially in light
of our last month's report on the call to ban pigeon-feeding in New York
City (which, by the way has gone nowhere):
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/janSBC08.html#TOC13
and
http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin/jan08.html
 
If you want to learn about the role of pigeons in war, pigeons on city
statues, pigeons in races, and pigeons on dinner plates, you can do no
better than this work. The book is not just about pigeons, but also
about the people involved with them, subcultures supported by concern
and by obsession. In either case, you will probably finish this book
with an appreciation for Rock Pigeons that you may not have had when you
began reading. 
 
 
MORE COPIES OF NEOTROPICAL COMPANION AVAILABLE IN SPANISH
 
Yet another run of A NEOTROPICAL COMPANION (an "Introduction to the
Animals, Plants and Ecosystems of the New World Tropics" by John
Kricher) in its special Spanish-language version has just rolled off the
presses. Thousands of copies are available again, since the previous
supply of 5,000 has already been distributed throughout Latin America
and the Caribbean. See the past coverage of this effort here:
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/novSBC06.html#TOC14
and
http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin/nov06.html
 
Birders' Exchange, a project of the American Birding Association, plans
to continue distributing these books at no cost to individuals and
organizations throughout the Neotropics. Volunteer couriers from the
U.S. can deliver copies of the book. If you or a colleague are traveling
to Latin America or the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and could serve as a
hands-on courier, please contact Betty Petersen (bpetersen@xxxxxxx) or
Elissa LaVoie (elavoie@xxxxxxx).
 
 
INTER-AMERICAN SHOREBIRD RESEARCH SITE
 
The Shorebird Research Group of the Americas (SRGA), a consortium of
researchers from academia, government agencies, non-governmental
organizations, and the public interested in the biology and conservation
of shorebirds in the Americas, recently launched a new Website:
http://www.shorebirdresearch.org/
 
The purpose of the website is to encourage involved working groups,
provide communication, and be a clearing-house for emerging ideas and
issues related to shorebirds. (A Spanish-language SRGA "mirror site" is
currently under development.)
 
 
NAVY BACKS OFF FROM BASE PLANS NEAR NWR
 
For the past five years, the U.S. Navy has actively sought to build a
landing field to practice jet take-offs and landings at a location that
is a mere 3.5 miles from Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in
eastern North Carolina. The potentially harmful effects caused by Navy
jets could have been highly disruptive to local birds such as the
100,000 migrating and wintering Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, and other
waterfowl that regularly use the refuge. (Bird disturbance was one
issue, while the potential threats to pilots, risking impact with such
large waterfowl, was another.) Fortunately, the Navy is now considering
two alternative sites in North Carolina.
 
See more details from the National Wildlife Refuge Association:
http://www.refugenet.org/new-pdf-files/1.23.08%20Pocosin%20Lakes%20PR.pd
f 
 
 
FAVORITE BIRDING BLINDS IN THE EAST?
 
Do you have a favorite birding or photography blind on a refuge,
preserve, park, or forest east of the Mississippi?
 
To meet the growing demands for birding and nature photography services,
Deborah Richie Oberbillig is working with the Virginia Dept. of Game and
Inland Fisheries to expand, "A Guide To Wildlife Viewing and Photography
Blinds," a resource that primarily features blinds from the western
United States. The Colorado Division of Wildlife Information provides
information and support for this topic at: 
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Viewing/PartnerResources/
 
The current guide emphasizes 20 viewing or photography blinds located in
the West, with an eye to assisting those in other areas that are
interested in the wildlife-viewing and interpretive fields who are
seeking ideas and guidance on the planning, construction, and placement
of such viewing enhancements. The new edition will add 20 examples from
the East, plus two blinds described in a special case-study section.
 
If you manage or regularly visit an area with a birding blind in the
East, especially one that could potentially offer lessons for others to
copy, please contact Deborah (deborahw.richie@xxxxxxxxx).
 
 
MORE ON MARINE DEBRIS AND SEABIRDS
 
The issue of marine debris has been previously discussed in the
E-bulletin:
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/novSBC04.html#TOC05
 
The problem continues to be a major hazard for island, marine, and
coastal environments and species. (While there is more information on
turtles and marine mammals, it still has bird information.)
 
A web site (announced by Chris Woolaway of NOAA) is packed with
information about marine debris that can be highly instructive for
conservation organizations, coastal resource managers, educators (see,
especially, "Marine Debris 101"), and the general public needing
information on this subject, whether they are from the U.S. or beyond:
http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/ 
 
 
A DRAFT BIRD EDUCATION STRATEGY CIRCULATING
 
Exactly a year ago, there was a highly successful "National Gathering"
of bird educators in Austin, Texas, a conference called by the Council
for Environmental Education (CEE). We've previously reported on related
developments since the February 2007 meeting:
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/augSBC07.html#TOC04
 and
http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin/aug07.html
 
As an outgrowth of that conference, the Bird Education Network (BEN)
Committee of CEE crafted a draft "National Education Strategy." The
strategy identifies five priority bird conservation issues confronting
the U.S. and beyond: habitat loss, modern industrial life, insufficient
public awareness, insufficient funding, and inter-American concerns.
According to the draft strategy, these issues embrace biological and
non-biological dimensions alike, and addressing them is seen as
essential to effective bird education and conservation.
 
The draft national strategy can be accessed here:
http://www.birdeducation.org/strategy.htm
 
 
TIP OF THE MONTH: USE YOUR LITTLE DIGITAL CAMERA

 
With the spectacular advances in the digital image revolution have come
amazing opportunities to capture bird images with relatively "simple"
equipment. We are talking about taking documentation photos of birds in
the field, images that were often impossible to capture just a few short
years ago. Much of this has been possible by digiscoping - the capturing
of images with a digital point-&-shoot camera by shooting through the
eyepiece of a spotting scope. With practice, this can even be done
through binoculars! (Hints, equipment reviews, and techniques abound on
the Internet, and many optic and camera companies offer great details,
so we will not make any specific recommendations here.)
 
While many of the readers of this E-bulletin may be familiar with the
process of digiscoping, we wish only to emphasize the ease with which
the needed equipment can be carried into the field. After all, a small
digital camera may weigh a mere 9 ounces. (In comparison, even the
"little" Sibley guide will weigh over 18 ounces.) We know of at least
two experienced birders who recently found a Slaty-backed Gull (this
month's focal rarity) at a remote location. The bird was positively
identified through scopes, but no "quality camera" and lens was
available to document the observation, a potential "first" for the
state. Had just a little lightweight point-&-shoot digital camera been
at hand, an image captured through a quality scope would probably have
sufficed to photo-document the sighting.
 
You might never know when you'll need a little point-&-shoot digital
camera in the field... until, of course, you realize that you've left
yours at home or back in the car!
 
- - - - - - -
 
You can access current and past E-bulletins on the National Wildlife
Refuge Association (NWRA) website:
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/NewestSBC.html
  and
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/birding5.html
  and on the birding pages for Steiner Binoculars
http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin.html
 
 
If you wish to distribute all or parts of any of the monthly Birding
Community E-bulletins, we simply request that you mention the source of
any material used. (Include a URL for the E-bulletin archives, if
possible.) 
 
If you have any friends or co-workers who want to get onto the monthly
E-bulletin mailing list, have them contact either:
            
            Wayne R. Petersen, Director
            Massachusetts Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program
            Mass Audubon
            718/259-2178
             wpetersen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 

                        OR
            
            Paul J. Baicich          
            410/992-9736
             paul.baicich@xxxxxxxxxxx
            
We never lend or sell our E-bulletin recipient list.








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