Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2002 14:07:57 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Denise Ryan Subject: Re: Turkey Vultures DC MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" I don't often get to report anything on work days. I just returned from lunch and saw three Turkey Vultures above southern DuPont Circle. I'm sure they are out there, but I don't get to see them very often. The high buildings tend to block my view. Perhaps the snow flurries this morning blew in some country birds. Denise Ryan Washington, DC -----Original Message----- From: David F. Brinker [mailto:dbrinker@BELLATLANTIC.NET] Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 11:40 AM To: MDOSPREY@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Rarity posting policies Norman Saunders wrote: > > If the bird were on the threatened or endangered species list, either > nationally or at the State level, I would NOT report the bird in a public > forum such as this one. It probably should be reported to local rare bird > committees so that adequate documentation of the bird can be carried out. > Is this unfair? Well, yes, it is, but it serves the interests of the bird > and the interests of the ornithological community, both of which should come > before an individual birder scoring another tick on his or her list. I strongly support the spirit of Norm's suggestion here! In addition to the local rare bird committee, please also report observations or rare, threatened, or endangered birds to your local Heritage Program regional ecologist! For instance, we often first hear of roof nesting Least Tern colonies from observant informed bird watchers. I would also like to expand a little on his thoughts for the benefit of people on MDOsprey. To start, for a complete list of rare, threatened or endangered birds in Maryland go to http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/rtea.html. This list includes species listed as endangered, threatened or in need of conservation under Maryland law. It also lists other rare species that do not have legal status as threatened or endangered, but where conservation concerns could warrant cautious reporting or non reporting of sightings. To set the record straight the following species are listed under Maryland law. Endangered Northern Goshawk Upland Sandpiper Piping Plover Wilson's Plover Olive-sided Flycatcher Peregrine Falcon Loggerhead Shrike Swainson's Warbler Mourning Warbler Royal Tern Threatened Henslow's Sparrow Sedge Wren Blackburnian Warbler Bald Eagle Black Skimmer Least Tern Gull-billed Tern In Need of Conservation Short-eared Owl American Bittern Alder Flycatcher Common Moorhen Least Bittern Black Rail Nashville Warbler Postings for all of these, plus some non listed species - a great example is Long-eared Owl, should be treated very cautiously, as Norm mentioned. Using state and federal legal status is a good first red flag, but not necessarily a fool proof one. For quite a few of these species posting observations of migrants and/or individuals away from breeding habitats or colonies could be accepted and/or encouraged outside of the breeding season. For most, or all, posting of breeding locations should not be done under any circumstances! For some, the potential for harassment is so strong that no observations should be posted, for example nesting and roosting Long-eared Owls. From the diversity of species on the list it should become obvious that censoring all reports of these species from MDOsprey could be considered rather draconian by many. I do not support excluding all observations of all of the above species. The important point for readers is always consider the conservation implications and well being of the individual bird(s) when deciding if you want to post your observation of it on a list server! For example, during migration observations of Blackburnian Warblers are frequent and there is little or no reason not to allow mention of migrant individuals. I'd like to suggest that Norm and/or a small group develop a some guidance to folks on what is postable and what should be kept under wraps. This could be posted once or twice a year to remind long time subscribers and educate new individuals about the ethics and responsibilities associated with the posting rare bird sightings. Before folks blast me, please remember my goal here is to foster communication and allow as much posting as possible, BUT at all costs to do the right thing from the conservation perspective. Many of these species deserve the protection of not appearing on a list server! I'd also like to add that for the Department of Natural Resources to conserve these species we need to know important areas for rare, threatened or endangered birds. Our staff and funding is limited and the large numbers of birders can assist us greatly by reporting observations of rare birds to the DNR's Heritage Program. Of particular importance is information that documents breeding, especially potential nesting habitat or nest sites. A good guide for songbirds would be any observation of the rare, threatened or endangered species in appropriate breeding habitat during atlas safe dates. This also applies to larger species such as the goshawk, rails, and other secretive species. For colonial waterbirds reporting of colony sites is also helpful in our biodiversity conservation efforts. It would be best for us to receive these observations privately and NOT via a list server, please be judicious! To support Norm's call for caution, I want to relate an experience from a couple of summers ago. Loggerhead Shrikes have not been known to breed in Maryland since 1995. Personally, I think the winter of 95-96 had a lot to do with sealing the Maryland fate of this declining species, especially the several large snow storms. During the summer of 1999 or 2000, observations of Loggerhead Shrikes south of Frederick indicated a possible breeding record. This was reported on MDOsprey. Many birders went out to observe the pair. No definitive evidence of breeding was posted or, to the best of my knowledge, ever obtained. I went to attempt to obtain evidence of breeding and approached the land owner for permission to walk out to the pasture and shrub clumps where the shrikes were reported. I encountered significant reluctance on his part to give me permission. He was very disturbed by the behavior of birders and the fact that no one had ever contacted him. By the way, this was not the same land owner that was the focus of problems with last winter's Snowy Owl! This is not a new revelation, when land owners are inundated with birders, binoculars, scopes, cameras, etc., they often get nervous. Wouldn't you? After about a half hour, I finally convinced the land owner and was allowed to go look. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a recently used nest, observe young, or anything else to confirm a breeding attempt. The point, the behavior of bird watchers, fostered by posting on a list server, almost denied me the possibility of verifying this record for a state listed species. The moral of the story, please be very careful in your postings. Poor or over eager behavior by well intentioned bird watchers can make the job of other conservationists more difficult, sometimes impossible. I advocate always contacting the land owner(s) if you suspect that your posting may draw a crowd. Inform the land owner of the significance of your observations, especially the conservation implications. If they ask you not to post - DON'T!!! On the flip side, please keep folks in the Wildlife and Heritage Program informed of what you perceive to be important observations of rare threatened or endangered species. We will often follow up on these and this knowledge can help us better conserve these rare species in Maryland! So what do others think? Respectfully, Dave Brinker Central Region Ecologist Wildlife & Heritage Service Maryland Department of Natural Resources ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================