THE BIRDING COMMUNITY E-BULLETIN
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September 2006
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This Birding Community E-bulletin is being distributed through the generous support of Steiner Optics 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 an archive of past E-bulletins on
on the birding pages of the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) website OR on the birding webpages for Steiner Optics.
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RARITY
FOCUS
In the last week of July, seven or more Aztec Thrushes appeared in Madera
Canyon, in the Santa Rita Mountains (Coronado National Forest) of
Southeastern Arizona. These birds, in decreasing numbers, appeared through
at least 10 August, usually feasting on Choke Cherries near the Carrie
Nation/Vault Mine trail.
In late July there were also one-day reports of single Aztec Thrushes at
Ramsey and Carr Canyons in the nearby Huachuca Mountains.
Aztec Thrush, usually found in the western and central mountains of Mexico,
has been seen on over 50 occasions in North America, beginning in 1977.
(See page 352-3 in the National Geographic guide or page 404 in the "big"
Sibley.) Nearly all of the records have been from the mountains of SE
Arizona and mostly from late summer (July-August) into the early fall.
Indeed, August records quite likely represent widespread post-breeding
northward dispersal from Mexico. There are also some scattered Texas
records. There was even a single tantalizing Santa Fe, New Mexico, report
in mid-July this year.
Many observers were rewarded with views of multiple birds in Madera Canyon
in early August. Shortly after the Ramsey Canyon birds disappeared, a pair
of Aztec Thrushes made a brief appearance in the Huachuca Mountains to the
southeast at Old Sawmill Spring, Carr Canyon, once again feeding on Choke
Cherries.
Finally, a cooperative female Aztec Thrush re-appeared at Madera Canyon on
29 August, and remained at least to the end of the month, to the delight of
additional observers.
Photos (by M. Moore and A. Tozier) and details on the Madera Canyon
birds
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COUNT SWIFTLY
If you know where Chimney Swifts (central continent to East Coast) or
Vaux's Swift (West Coast) are engaged in post-nesting collective roosting
in your area, you are encouraged to participate in the "Swift Night Out."
Originally inspired by John Connors with the North Carolina Museum of
Natural Sciences in Raleigh, North Carolina, the "Swift Night Out" is
currently sponsored by the Driftwood Wildlife Association, in Texas.
This month, on any night over the weekend of 8, 9, and 10 September,
volunteers are invited to observe and estimate the number of swifts -
roosting in a cavity or chimney near where they live. Observers should
start counting or estimating numbers about 30 minutes before dusk. Once the
total number has been determined, numbers can be posted, along with those
of other volunteer counters, on the web link below. It's that simple, and
it can be spectacular!
See details.
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CARBOFURAN RELIEF
In early August, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that
the use of the pesticide carbofuran would be banned for use on rice, corn,
alfalfa, and potato crops. There will also be a four-year phase-out-period
for use on six other minor crops (artichokes, spinach, cucumbers, chili
peppers, sunflowers, and pine seedlings). This phase-out for secondary crop
uses will give growers time to find effective alternatives.
The EPA recently acknowledged that there are risks associated with
carbofuran to both food and drinking water, as well as to pesticide
applicators, and birds that are exposed to the chemical in fields treated
with the pesticide.
Carbofuran has been perhaps the greatest chemical threat to our wild birds
since the pesticides DDT and dieldrin were banned in the early 1970s. In
its ecological risk assessment for carbofuran last year, the EPA stated
that there simply were no legal uses of carbofuran that did not kill wild
birds. For example, if a flock of Mallards were to feed in a
carbofuran-treated alfalfa or rice field, the EPA predicted that over 90
percent of the birds would quickly die.
Carbofuran has been one of the most heavily used insecticides in the world,
but its extreme toxicity to farm workers and to birds and other wildlife
has made it very dangerous. The cancellation will hopefully have a domino
effect internationally, as many other countries often follow the U.S. EPA's
lead on such policies.
The cancellation follows a multi-year campaign to ban carbofuran. See more
details, including the role of the American Bird Conservancy, Defenders of
Wildlife, and a number of other groups.
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GETTING ASIAN VULTURES OFF DRUGS
For many years, south Asia's vultures have been declining, both drastically
and mysteriously. After years of worsening numbers, the culprit was
discovered in early 2004. The drug, diclofenac, a compound used in human
medicine for decades, was first introduced for veterinary use in India,
Pakistan, and elsewhere on livestock. Vultures exposed to the drug while
scavenging on livestock carcasses were found dying of renal failure.
In May, the Indian government said the use of diclofenac for the treatment
of livestock would be banned within three months. Recently, hopes of saving
Asia's seriously threatened vultures have been given a second boost by a
drug company in Nepal.
In early August, Nepal's largest veterinary pharmaceutical firm started
promoting a replacement drug at the same price as diclofenac, prompting the
Nepalese authorities to halt the domestic manufacture and import of
diclofenac. Until recently, diclofenac was significantly cheaper than the
new and safer compound, meloxicam.
The numbers of White-rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis) and Slender-billed
Vultures (G. tenuirostris) have declined by an estimated 90 percent in
Nepal and 97 percent in India and Pakistan just in the last decade. Indian
Vultures (G. indicus) have also suffered a parallel decline, and half the
population of all the remaining vultures is estimated to be dying annually.
One can only hope that these regulatory moves have arrived in time.
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IBA NEWS: OREGON MURRELETS
Thirty volunteers have been trained to conduct surveys to detect the
presence of Marbled Murrelets at the proposed Central Coast Marbled
Murrelet Important Bird Area (IBA) in Oregon. This training was intended to
raise awareness about the unique life history of this small and elusive
seabird that nests in the upper canopy of coastal old-growth forests, and
to initiate a citizen-science monitoring effort at the proposed Marbled
Murrelet IBA, located mostly on U.S. Forest Service property. The Marbled
Murrelet is currently listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
This coastal temperate rainforest comprised of about 80,000 acres has been
designated by the U.S. Forest Service to be managed for old-growth forest
habitat for the ESA-listed Northern Spotted Owl and Marbled Murrelet, along
with other species dependent on these ancient forests.
The Audubon Society of Portland's IBA Program not only identifies and
designates areas in Oregon as outstanding habitat for birds, but also
encourages the continued productivity of these sites through conservation,
citizen-science monitoring, research, and education. To date, 104 IBA sites
have been designated in Oregon.
More information on Oregon IBAs
General information on the ongoing IBA program
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NEW WESTERN HEMISPHERE SHOREBIRD RESERVE NETWORK (WHSRN) SITE AND ASSESSMENT TOOL
Among the most significant IBAs for shorebirds are locations that have
already been given a WHSRN designation. The Western Hemispheric Shorebird
Reserve Network (WHSRN) has recently launched a new web site.
WHSRN today consists of 64 locations in eight nations and over 21 million
acres. Working in conjunction with hundreds of landowners, land trusts,
corporations, and government entities, WHSRN is the only hemisphere-wide
conservation program focused on protecting shorebirds.
The goal of the new web site is to build communications capacity to protect
a vital chain of international ecosystems. (A Spanish language version of
the site is under development.) In addition to updated information about
WHSRN and shorebirds, the site provides new opportunities for the WHSRN
locations to tell their individual stories. Ten locales agreed to serve as
pilots for these showcase opportunities. The website also features
interactive Google Maps to browse satellite images of the network's 64
locations.
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TRACKING LONG-BILLED CURLEWS
And speaking of shorebirds and their conservation, the movements of two
large-bodied shorebirds of the West are currently being tracked via
satellite transmitters: Long-billed Curlew and Marbled Godwit.
Alex Hartman and Lewis Oring (Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno) have a fascinating
website showing the locations of some migrating Long-billed Curlews.
There may soon also be a public site developed for Marbled Godwit movements.
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MACHIAS SEAL ISLAND DILEMMA
This has been a very difficult season for Arctic Terns at a popular birding
site, Machias Seal Island. This tiny Canadian island, located between Maine
and New Brunswick, has long supported the largest Downeast colony of
Atlantic Puffins in the Gulf of Maine.
The Atlantic Puffins are not in immediate trouble, but Herring and Great
Black-backed Gulls have been increasingly devastating to the Arctic Tern
colony on Machias Seal Island. Gull predation in recent years, says
University of New Brunswick biologist Tony Diamond, has resulted in the
loss of the largest Arctic Tern colony in eastern North America.
Five years ago, there were about 2,000 pairs of Arctic Terns and 1,000
pairs of Common Terns on Machias Seal Island. This past nesting season,
there were only 900 pairs of Arctic Terns and 213 pairs of Common Terns.
Diamond and his researchers estimate that 1,700 nests were destroyed by
gull predation this spring.
With declining tern numbers, and lacking aggressive gull-control,
researchers fear that the gulls will eventually begin preying on Atlantic
Puffin eggs and young. Beyond the threat of gulls, researchers say that the
puffins are beginning to also reflect the possible effects of human over
fishing. The puffins' diet has shifted from a normal fish diet (such as
herring) to less healthful krill and smaller fish. Puffin chicks appear to
be growing more slowly and fledging later than in past seasons.
More information on Machias Seal Island
Stephen Kress, a researcher who has been working on puffin restoration
efforts elsewhere in the Gulf of Maine (e.g., Seal Island NWR, Matinicus
Rock, Eastern Egg Rock, etc.), where gull control IS practiced, remarked,
"There is no such thing as balance. There is management."
Details on Project Puffin
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FINAL RULING ON RESIDENT CANADA GEESE
In recent decades, the numbers of Canada Geese that nest or reside
predominantly within the conterminous United States (resident Canada Geese,
also known as "Giant" Canada Geese) have undergone such dramatic growth
that their numbers are increasingly coming into conflict with human
activity. In many parts of the country there are concerns over personal and
public property damage, as well as over public health.
Expansion of existing annual hunting seasons and the issuance of control
hunting permits have all been recently used to try and reduce the numbers
of resident Canada Geese. Unfortunately, these efforts have met with
varying degrees of success.
In February 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for resident Canada Goose management.
The following year, a proposed rule was recommended to establish proposed
action, known as Alternative F. The USFWS said that it received more than
2,700 written comments on the 2002 draft Environmental Impact Statement and
almost 3,000 public comments on the 2003 proposed rule. In November 2005,
the notice of availability for a Final Environmental Impact Statement
(FEIS) was published, followed by a 30-day public review period.
The upshot is that this final rule now sets forth a policy, Alternative F,
which would authorize State wildlife agencies, private landowners, and
airports to conduct (or allow) indirect and/or direct population control
management activities, including the take of birds and expanded hunting
methods, on resident Canada Goose populations.
This final rule went into effect on September 11, 2006.
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SKI RESORT AND BICKNELL'S THRUSH CO-HABITATE
In 2001, New York State's Olympic Regional Development Authority announced
a plan to extend by seven miles 18 miles of ski-trails at Whiteface
Mountain in the Adirondack Mountains. Unfortunately for the executives at
Whiteface, the plans ran up against the breeding-habitat needs of the
Bicknell's Thrush, a bird listed as a "species of special concern" in New
York. The ski resort officials, surprised by the determination of advocates
for the Bicknell's Thrush, agreed earlier this year to make significant
changes in the configuration and design of the proposed ski trails.
Last month, the state went further by signing a cooperative agreement with
conservation groups that commits them to protecting the bird's habitat,
along with establishing a fund to help conservation efforts on the island
of Hispaniola - Haiti and the Dominican Republic - where the thrushes spend
the winter. The Olympic Regional Development Authority also plans to create
kiosks containing information about the Bicknell's Thrushes on Whiteface
Mountain.
Responding to recommendations made by the Vermont Institute for Natural
Science (VINS), the organization that has led much of the Bicknell's Thrush
conservation effort in New England, new ski trails are to be laid out that
will avoid essential Bicknell's Thrush habitat. In addition the plans for
tree-cutting and other construction work will take place outside the active
nesting cycle - mid-May to early August. There will also be regular
monitoring of the Bicknell's Thrush population both during and after
ski-trial construction is competed.
Report by VINS on the Whiteface Mountain options (December 2004)
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KIRTLAND'S WARBLERS UP: MICHIGAN, WISCONSIN, AND ONTARIO
Michigan's Department of Natural Resources recently released its annual
Kirtland's Warbler count, indicating the state's population of the
officially Endangered (ESA) warbler is increasing. The Kirtland's Warbler
population relies on northern Michigan's Jack Pine barrens ecosystem for
nesting habitat. The warbler nests on the ground in stands of Jack Pine
that are between four and 20 years old. Historically, these stands of young
Jack Pine were created by natural wildfires, but modern fire suppression
programs have altered this natural process, thereby reducing Kirtland's
Warbler habitat. With Jack-Pine management and control of the Brown-headed
Cowbird (a brood parasite), the population of Kirtland's Warblers has
increased
This summer's census was a joint effort by the DNR, U.S. Forest Service,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Michigan Department of Military Affairs,
and citizen volunteers. Together these groups observed 1,478 singing males
during the 2006 official census period. This number exceeds the 1,415 males
observed in 2005, and it represents the largest number of warblers recorded
since monitoring began. (The census was started in 1951. The lowest numbers
were recorded in 1974 and 1987, when only 167 singing males were found.)
Only the males sing, so estimates of breeding population size are obtained
by doubling the number of singing males recorded.
Besides the birds counted in Michigan, four singing males were observed in
Wisconsin this year.
In August, military officials at the armed forces base in Petawawa,
Ontario, revealed that at least two Kirtland's Warblers spent the summer in
the extensive Jack Pine forests found on the base. This is the first record
for the Ottawa area since 1985 and the first territorial birds for the
Petawawa base since a singing male spent the summer there in 1977. Prior to
the early 1900s, the species was thought to be "not uncommon" in the
Petawawa area.
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WEST NILE: SAGE-GROUSE CONCERNS CONTINUE
Research on Greater Sage-Grouse in the Powder River Basin of Montana and
Wyoming by Dave Naugle at the University of Montana confirms that West Nile
virus has again killed radio-marked sage-grouse for the fourth year in a row.
Naugle and his colleagues at the North American Grouse Partnership have
passed on this disturbing information.
In 2003, about 25 percent of the radio-marked sage-grouse in the Powder
River Basin died from West Nile virus. That number dropped to 10 percent in
2004 and 2 percent in 2005 in response to cool summer temperatures.
However, there is confirmation of significantly increased mortality this
year now that hot weather has returned to the West. This suggests that West
Nile virus mortality may be an endemic source of mortality to Greater
Sage-Grouse, a factor that will need to be considered in ongoing
conservation planning. Similar events with high rates of mortality are
being reported in Oregon and Idaho. Another month must pass for researchers
to understand the full extent of mortality from this exotic disease.
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BOOK REVIEW: MEXICAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN BIRDS
Some of our "Rarity Focus" birds over the past year have been species from
Mexico (e.g., Aztec Thrush, Yellow Grosbeak, Piratic Flycatcher, and
Crescent-chested Warbler), and birders along the U.S.-Mexican border are
increasingly aware of the possibility of rare avian visitors from points
south.
A recent addition to the birder's bookshelf, BIRDS OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL
AMERICA, may be of some interest to those contemplating these
possibilities. This is the only field guide to illustrate every species of
bird found from Mexico through Panama. Written and illustrated by Ber van
Perlo, this compact and useful work covers more than 1,500 species. This
Princeton University Press guide is a handy and portable volume for birders
interested in a rapid reference to any of the birds from Mexico through
Panama. The 98 color plates appear with corresponding opposite text for
quick and easy reference. The written information is virtually in
shorthand, with key identification features, habitats, and voice included,
along with helpful maps. Bird names are given in common, scientific, and
Spanish-language (mainly Mexican- and Costa Rican-sourced) versions.
Although the maps are painfully small and the voice renditions are
disappointing, the final results are still satisfying for such a small book
(336 pp), a reference actually billed as an "illustrated checklist."
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