[obol] Speaking of woodpeckers and conservation ... a conservation checklist

From: Joel Geier <joel.geier@xxxxxxxx>
To: Oregon Birders OnLine <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2015 09:11:06 -0800

Hi all,

Judy makes an important point: Too often as birders we're behind the
curve, in cases where bird "species of concern" lose critical bits of
habitat, even on our public lands. 

We find out two days after someone cuts down nesting snags used by
Lewis's Woodpeckers on a National Forest, or to see a tractor driver
who's just finished running a disk through a patch of State Park land
where Oregon Vesper Sparrows were nesting.

One thing that might help is if more birders were aware of which
species, subspecies, and/or populations that are most at risk in our
region. Then we might have more eyes looking out, and maybe even be in
position to catch some of these things before they happen.

The American Bird Conservancy has put together a checklist that can help
to build awareness about the conservation status of birds that we
encounter in the field:

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/science/conservationchecklist/index.html

The full checklist is pretty unwieldy, but there's a compact printable
version:
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/science/conservationchecklist/US_checklist.pdf

Here's an idea for a rainy day: 

Print out this checklist, then go through and fill in your life list,
noting which species have red, orange, or yellow dots. Which birds are
more at risk: Spruce or Sooty Grouse? Surfbird or Rock Sandpiper? Oak or
Juniper Titmouse? Red-bellied Woodpecker or Lewis's Woodpecker?

Unfortunately the compact version doesn't list some of the "red dot"
subspecies in Oregon (for example Streaked Horned Lark and Oregon Vesper
Sparrow). 

It might be a good project for someone to work up a compact version just
for Oregon, or build a smart-phone app. Maybe OFO -- er, OBA -- might
even be interested in distributing such a thing?

Good birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis




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[obol] Speaking of woodpeckers and conservation ... a conservation checklist

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