[chapter-communicator] Audubon Newswire: Volume 4, Number 10
- From: "TENNEFOSS, Lynn" <ltennefoss@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: undisclosed-recipients:;
- Date: Fri, 12 May 2006 18:16:21 -0400
Audubon Newswire - "News on Audubon Happenings"
Volume 4, Number 10
Friday, May 12, 2006
I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we
unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.
-- Henry David Thoreau
PLEASE NOTE: For future issues of Newswire, please send your news and updates
to Sally Montgomery at smontgomery@xxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:smontgomery@xxxxxxxxxxx>.
In this Issue:
-- National Audubon Society Sponsors International Migratory Bird Day 2006
-- National Audubon Society and NRCS Launch Campaign Promoting
Wildlife-Friendly Backyards and Personal Landscapes
-- National Audubon Society Hosts Panel on Avian Influenza, The Environment &
Migratory Birds
-- Rona Dale Rosco Rodenhurst Joins the Audubon Team as Director of the Waimea
Valley Audubon Center
-- Audubon Ohio Holds Bird Monitoring Training for Volunteers to Protect Lake
Erie Important Bird Areas
-- Audubon of Florida Discovers Oldest Living Roseate Spoonbill in Florida Keys
-- Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary Celebrates its 40th Anniversary
Announcements:
-- Spring 2006 Chapter Networker Now Online
-- Sign Up for An Amazing Week this Summer on an Island in Maine!
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National Audubon Society Sponsors International Migratory Bird Day 2006
New York, NY, May 12, 2006 - The National Audubon Society is joining forces
with several conservation organizations, National Parks, National Forests,
wildlife refuges, schools, communities, and a host of other groups for the 14th
Annual International Migratory Day (IMBD), a celebration of migratory birds.
The theme of this year's International Migratory Bird Day is the Boreal Forest:
Bird Nursery of the North. The Boreal Forest is one of the largest, intact
forests left in the world and encompasses about 1.5 billion acres or 5.9
million square kilometers. It stretches from Alaska across Canada to the
Atlantic Ocean. Over 270 bird species migrate long distances each spring to
the Boreal region to nest and raise their young, from the United States,
Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Ducks, shorebirds,
warblers, and thrushes depend on the abundance of food and available nesting
sites in the forest and the millions of lakes, ponds, and rivers that
characterize the Boreal. An estimated 2 billion young are hatched in spring
and summer.
In honor of IMBD, Audubon New York and Audubon Connecticut will host Nocturnal
Bird Migration Concerts at Brooklyn, New York's Prospect Park Audubon Center
and the Greenwich Audubon Center in Greenwich, Connecticut on May 19th and 20th
respectively. Another IMBD highlight will be a "virtual field trip" on May
25th that will follow the migration route of Boreal birds from Ecuador to
Alberta, giving thousands of school children an opportunity to visit and hear
birds around the world.
To view additional Audubon-related IMBD events, please go to
<http://audubon.org/birdingcalendar/index.html>. To view the press release in
its entirety, go to
<http://www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/IMBD_05_09_06.html#TopOfPage>.
To learn more about International Migratory Bird Day, please visit
<http://www.birdday.org/>.
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National Audubon Society and Natural Resources Conservation Service Launch
Campaign Promoting the Creation of Wildlife-Friendly Backyards and Personal
Landscapes
New York, NY, May 12, 2006 - The National Audubon Society has announced the
launch of a new campaign providing information on how individuals can manage
their personal landscapes for birds, bats, and butterflies. A key effort of the
Audubon At Home program, the project is in collaboration with, and funded by,
the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a department of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation are the leading causes of
population declines in birds, other wildlife, and plants. With approximately
70% of wildlife habitat in the contiguous United States on private land,
individuals and communities have a powerful opportunity to manage backyards,
country home acreage, working lands, and other personal landscapes to support
wildlife and a healthy environment.
The new campaign includes a series of educational posters that provide
guidelines on how to create healthy yards, apartments, country homes,
schoolyards, and neighborhoods. The posters, and related website content,
feature tips for attracting and supporting wildlife, whether in large or small
areas, including urban areas, suburban lots, larger land parcels, or broader
community landscapes such as school grounds. Posters may be ordered by mail
through Audubon's Chapter Services office or by phone from NRCS at
1-888-LANDCARE. To view the posters and for downloadable pdfs, visit
http://www.audubonathome.org.
Audubon At Home is also launching its Healthy Yard Pledge in connection with
the campaign. Individuals and families are invited to pledge to take the
following six steps to improve backyard and other habitat: reduce pesticide
use, conserve water, protect water quality, remove invasive exotic plants,
plant native species, and keep birds safe. The pledge is available online at
http://www.audubonathome.org/pledge.
For more information about the campaign or the Healthy Yard Pledge, please
contact Carol Capobianco at 212-979-3198 or ccapobianco@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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National Audubon Society Hosts Birdlife International Global Council and Holds
Panel on Avian Influenza, The Environment & Migratory Birds
Washington, DC, May 12, 2006 - The National Audubon Society was honored to host
a meeting of the BirdLife International Global Council last week at the Audubon
Greenwich Center. BirdLife International is a global partnership of
conservation organizations that work to conserve birds, their habitats and
global biodiversity, working with people toward sustainable use of natural
resources. BirdLife partners operate in more than 100 countries and
territories worldwide and collaborate on regional work programs on every
continent. Audubon became a full BirdLife partner in 2004 and is the only
partner to represent the US. As a member of the BirdLife partnership, Audubon
is responsible for implementing the Important Bird Areas program in the US and
is working with other BirdLife partners to protect IBA's throughout the western
hemisphere.
Council members from all over the world including Panama, Paraguay, Palestine,
Kenya, Singapore, and the Cook Islands, joined John Flicker and Audubon staff,
members and board members for a reception in Greenwich after the conclusion of
the Global Council meeting. After subsequent meetings at the United Nations in
New York, Council members spent two days in Audubon's Washington, DC office for
a range of meetings and briefings with other international conservation
organizations, government agencies and public and private funders. Audubon's
new Vice President of International Alliances, Craig Lee was also on hand to
benefit from Council members' experience in protecting a global network of
Important Bird Areas.
In conjunction with the council meeting, Senators Jim Jeffords, Lincoln Chafee,
and the National Audubon Society hosted a briefing in Washington, DC, on May 5,
titled "Avian Influenza, the Environment and Migratory Birds - An update on Key
Findings and Risk Assessment." The briefing was presented by panelists from
BirdLife International and moderated by John Flicker, President, National
Audubon Society.
The panelists at the session included: Dr. Peter Schei, Director-General of
Norway's Fritdjof Nansen Institute and BirdLife International Chair, who last
month chaired a landmark United Nations seminar on H5N1 and migratory birds;
Dr. Lim Kim Keang, Bird Group Chairman of the Nature Society of Singapore and
BirdLife Council Member for Asia; and Dr. Leon Bennun, Director of Science
Policy & Information, BirdLife International, who shared his concerns about
public misconceptions and exaggerated fear regarding the role of wild birds in
spreading avian flu.
Understanding and addressing the threat of avian flu (the H5N1 virus) requires
a worldwide effort. Friday's discussion offered a chance to hear a global
perspective from experts in bird conservation. Birdlife International is
calling for more effective collaboration between ecologists, veterinarians and
virologists in halting the spread of avian 'flu.
For more information about Avian Flu, please visit
<http://www.audubon.org/bird/avianflu/avianflu.htm>.
For more information about BirdLife International, please visit
<http://www.birdlife.org/>.
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Rona Dale Rosco Rodenhurst Joins the Audubon Team As Director of the Waimea
Valley Audubon Center
Haleiwa, HI, May 12, 2006 - The National Audubon Society has announced the
appointment of Rona Dale Rosco Rodenhurst as director of the Waimea Valley
Audubon Center. In her new role, Rodenhurst will work with the Center staff and
volunteer corps to effectively reach out to and serve all segments of the
community having interests in, and a passion for, Waimea Valley. She began her
duties at the Center on May 1st.
Rodenhurst is an experienced educator with 19 years of service in a variety of
staff and management positions at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA).
Additionally, she has strong strategic planning, budgeting and community
outreach experience, and a strong sense of how the community's vision and
aspirations for Waimea Valley can be realized through Audubon.
She has a bachelor's degree in Hawaiian Studies, a master's in curriculum
development in secondary social sciences, and has completed additional graduate
work on Hawaiian values education.
In January 2006, Audubon participated in an unprecedented public/private
partnership to help save Waimea Valley. With broad support from the community,
Audubon joined with the City of Honolulu, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the
State Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Trust for Public Land, and
the Department of Army to secure $14 million to prevent this national treasure
from ever being developed. Ownership of the Valley will transfer to the Office
of Hawaiian Affairs, and Audubon is in the process of negotiating an operating
agreement for the continued management of the Waimea Valley Audubon Center.
The final details of a management lease are currently being negotiated between
Audubon and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
For more information about Waimea Valley Audubon Center, please visit
http://www.audubon.org/local/sanctuary/Brochures/Waimea.html. To read the press
release, visit http://www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/index.html.
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Audubon Ohio Holds Bird Monitoring Training for Volunteers to Protect Lake Erie
Important Bird Areas
Bay Village, OH, May 12, 2006 - On Saturday, April 29th, 27 volunteer citizen
scientists from across northeast Ohio came together for a bird monitoring
training sponsored by Audubon Ohio. Participants learned about and practiced
different methods that can be used while in the field to record important data
on bird populations.
Audubon Ohio conducted this training to bring together its campaign to protect
the Great Lakes ecosystem and its Important Bird Area (IBA) program. Audubon
Ohio is working to mobilize citizen scientists to be the eyes and ears for
conservation in five watersheds in the Lake Erie Basin that are also essential
Important Bird Areas. The five targets are the Vermilion River, The Black
River, The Rocky River, The Chagrin River and the Grand River Watersheds.
To locate IBAs in the state, the Ohio IBA Technical Committee reviews
data-supported nominations submitted by volunteers. IBAs are selected based on
standardized, science-based criteria. Sixty-four IBAs have been confirmed so
far in Ohio, covering approximately 10% of the state.
Volunteers will conduct bird monitoring throughout the breeding season this
summer and beyond. If you are interested in getting involved or getting more
information please contact Marnie Urso at 216-246-7150 or murso@xxxxxxxxxxxx
For more information about Audubon Ohio, please visit:
http://www.audubonohio.org
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Audubon of Florida Discovers Oldest Living Roseate Spoonbill in Florida Keys
May 12, 2006, Tavernier, FL - His name is Enrico and his discovery will make
the record books. At 16 years old, the oldest wild Roseate Spoonbill was
recently discovered by Audubon of Florida researchers on Tern Key in Florida
who were conducting a new Spoonbill Satellite Telemetry Project.
Audubon of Florida researchers from the Tavernier Science Center used a lot of
patience and a little luck to recapture Enrico in April for the purpose of
deploying a satellite telemetry transmitter on the bird. This is the first
year Audubon is implementing a satellite-tracking program to follow breeding
spoonbills of Florida Bay to unidentified and undiscovered nesting and foraging
sites, over migration paths that are currently unknown.
Researchers first observed the bird in 2004 at the colony and feeding in a
lake. Enrico was remarkable because he wore an identifying leg band with a
green stripe across the top of it, and the band was placed above the joint on
its leg. Since 2003, Audubon researchers have been placing bands below the
joint on spoonbill chicks in Florida Bay.
Once Enrico was captured, scientists contacted the USGS Bird Banding Lab in
Laurel, Maryland, to track down the bird's origins. Within a few weeks, the
mystery was solved. Enrico was originally banded in 1990 by Drs. George Powell
and Robin Bjork, former researchers of Audubon's Tavernier Science Center on
Tern Key.
Audubon researchers look forward to tracking Enrico's movements via satellite
telemetry, and to his possible return to Tern Key for the next breeding season,
For more information about Enrico or Audubon's Roseate Spoonbill Satellite
Telemetry Project, please contact Jerry Lorenz at 305-852-5318.
For more information about Audubon of Florida, please visit
http://www.audubonofflorida.org.
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Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary Celebrates its 40th Anniversary
San Diego, CA, May 12, 2006 - On May 13, San Diego County's largest privately
owned wildlife sanctuary is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Silverwood
Wildlife Sanctuary was created in January, 1966, when Harry Woodward's donation
of 85 acres along Wildcat Canyon Road for a nature preserve was recorded by the
County. Since then, the nature sanctuary has expanded to take in a total of 723
acres today. It is owned and operated by San Diego Audubon Society.
Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary protects typical plants and animals found in the
coastal sage, chaparral, and foothill riparian zones of western San Diego
County. The sanctuary constitutes an important wildlife corridor connecting the
San Vicente Reservoir area and nearby county open space preserves with
Cleveland National Forest. Approximately 30 species of mammals, 25 reptiles,
and 160 bird species have been recorded within the sanctuary.
The Silverwood Sanctuary has been developed and is maintained entirely by
private donations and volunteer efforts, which have been contributed over the
years by hundreds of dedicated San Diegans. A resident manager oversees the
daily activities at the Sanctuary. The first resident manager at Silverwood was
the noted local naturalist Frank Gander, for whom the Gander Oak is named.
An invitation-only celebration of the 40th anniversary will be held on May 13.
All others are invited to visit Silverwood when it is open to the public for
hiking and nature education purposes on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guided
tours are offered each Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; interested persons
should sign up for one of these tours by contacting the San Diego Audubon
office at 619-682-7200.
For more information about the Silverwood Wildlife Sanctuary please visit
http://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/silverwood.htm.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Spring 2006 Chapter Networker Now Online - The Spring 2006 Chapter Networker is
now available online! The quarterly e-newsletter for Chapter leaders is full of
tips, stories and new products. Learn about some exciting uses of collaborative
funding - training chapters how to hold beginning birding classes in Georgia,
and bringing together a city-wide gathering of environmentalists in Texas. The
new 2006 Birdathon Pin is highlighted, as are the new Birds, Bats and
Butterflies brochures from Audubon at Home and the new seed and feeder
brochures - all of which are available for Chapters to order. See details on
aligning Audubon Adventures to specific state standards, effective advocacy
101, the new documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and lots more. Read all about
it at http://www.audubon.org/local/index.html (see link in top right corner).
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Sign Up for An Amazing Week this Summer on an Island in Maine! - There's still
space available-and financial aid for educators and Audubon interns, staff, and
Chapter leaders-for some residential sessions at Hog Island Audubon Camp off
midcoast Maine.
This year marks the 70th season of residential Audubon programs on this
spruce-covered island-accessible only by boat-off the coast of Maine. Hog
Island Audubon Camp is rustic, charming-and authentic to life on a Maine
island. A week spent there is an incredible experience many have called
"life-changing."
Participants will awake to the sounds of lobster boats and warblers, and
discover the fabulous cooking of renowned camp chef Janii Laberge in the same
dining room where campers have gathered for family-style meals for generations.
All sessions and programs-day and evening-are run by expert naturalists, many
of them on the frontlines of global conservation.
The National Audubon Society offered its first residential nature program on
Hog Island in 1936, launching a new brand of hands-on environmental education.
Today, that history is felt within the 19th-century camp buildings clustered on
the northern tip of the island's 330 acres of woods, water, and wildlife.
Hanging on their walls are original, historic photographs taken by the leading
ornithologists and naturalists of their time.
Kenn Kaufman, international birding authority, author, and educator, was just
nine years old when he read an account by Roger Tory Peterson about this
magical place. Now he teaches a session or two there every year, as he says,
"helping carry on a tradition with results felt across the continent."
Being at Hog Island Audubon Camp is guaranteed to be an experience you will
never forget.
To learn more and make your reservation call 1-888-325-5261, ext. 215, or
e-mail camps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx for additional information.
For descriptions of the camp and 2006 sessions, please visit
http://www.maineaudubon.org/camps.
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