Letter from ABA Field Notes
Miliff (Miliff@aol.com)
Tue, 31 Mar 1998 02:05:33 EST
Dear MDOspreyers,
Below is a copy of the Spring 1998 letter from ABA Field Notes that is
sent out to everyone on our mailing list. hopefully (if the mailing list is
as complete as we hope it is) most of you should have received another copy of
it. If you did not receive a copy, and would like to participate in reporting
to Field Notes please drop an email so that your internet address can be added
to our file. If you do not report, or have not recently reported, your
sightings to Field Notes - please take the time to read the letter below.
Hopefully it will clarify a little about what it's all about. The magazine as
it is can not function without the reports from birders like you. We are
hoping especially to increase reporting from computer-literate birders since
that facilitates the task so much. Please remember also, that all
contributions are welcome: not only the extreme rarities and not only the
reports from "big name birders".
Thanks to all and I'll look forward to seeing your reports!
Best,
Marshall Iliff
Annapolis, MD
miliff@aol.com
March
30, 1998
901 Crystal Spring Farm Rd.
Annapolis, MD 21403
Dear Friend,
This mailing has gone out a little late, but I urge anyone who has not yet
reported their winter sightings to Field Notes, the Voice of the Naturalist,
or email groups such as Valley Birds or MDOsprey to please send me your
sightings for inclusion in my next Season Report for A.B.A. Field Notes. If
you are unfamiliar with Field Notes, please read on - information on who we
are and what the magazine includes is below.
This is the first mailing that I will try to send out almost entirely by
email. Email obviously has the opportunity to vastly improve the efficiency
and speed with which I communicate with observers in the Region, and will also
save much time, paper, and expenditure on the mailings. Few people responded
to the Fall mailing asking for confirmation that email would be an appropriate
medium for these mailings, so I ask anyone who wishes NOT to receive this
mailing in the future on email, to respond. I do hope that proceeding in this
fashion is not a problem for anyone. If you received this letter via "snail
mail" and have an email address that I may use in the future, please drop me a
note and say so!
WINTER 1997-1998
Among a number of interesting events this season ,was the crossbill invasion
(the first in many years). Observers in both states were able to enjoy both
Red and White-winged Crossbills, though the invasion never seemed to reach the
magnitude expected. Almost all crossbill reports were from a couple specific
areas of White Pine which had particularly good cone crops. Both crossbill
species seemed to avoid Virginia Pines, Loblolly Pines, and other species
which have harbored the species in numbers in past years. Any speculation on
this is welcome. Perhaps the cone crops of those species were relatively
poor. Perhaps also the Red Crossbills which reached us (all that have been
identified in the Region this year, to my knowledge, have been types 3 and 4)
do not favor those other pine species. Other interesting trends appeared this
season too. Red-breasted Nuthatches were more common than usual, but they
too, mirrored the distribution of the crossbills, with exceptional counts in
the same White Pine stands but few elsewhere. The season was generally warm,
and a number of species lingered later than usual. Several unusual warblers
appeared on Christmas Counts, enormous swarms of Tree Swallows were found on
several coastal Christmas Counts, and scattered reports of other unusual
lingerers. Strangely, some of our more common "half-hardy" lingerers were
noted by some to be scarcer than usual (i.e. Eastern Phoebes, Common
Yellowthroat). Did these species winter farther north this year? We got hit
by a couple of very severe winter storms this February. Any observations on
how these storms effected the birdlife are of particular interest.
Any notes or comments relating to these species and trends are particularly
welcome with winter season reports. Please send any sightings for the winter
promptly. Thanks!
SPRING MOVEMENTS TO WATCH FOR
As a quick bit of thought-provocation, there are a few spring trends already
apparent that we all should watch for. Many migrants have started moving
early, and Ospreys seem to have appeared as early as ever in the Region.
Crossbills are still around as of last weekend (March 21-22) so please
continue to look actively for these birds. It is possible that some
crossbills may remain to nest, and any such occurrence would be most exciting.
Red Crossbills have nested as far south as Alabama in the past, and are so
erratic in their nesting habits that they could nest almost anywhere at almost
any time. Maryland has old records of possible nesting in the D.C. area (but
no confirmed records) and in Virginia they have nested only in the
Appalachians). Please spread the word if you see any crossbills behaving as
though they might nest! Otherwise, please keep good notes on your arriving
warblers and other migrants, and have a great season. Please note that the
North American Migration Count will be Saturday, May 9. Anyone wishing to
participate should contact Jim Stasz at the address or email below.
PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS
My winter has been a lot of fun and pretty interesting. I spent January
intermittently birding Maryland, looking especially for crossbills. After
several consecutive unsuccessful chases of White- winged Crossbills, George
Jett and I finally lucked out. We had spent the morning birding the Liberty
Lake area around Gene Scarpulla's office, and hadn't even had any Red
Crossbills. Finally we decided to try the now famous Pine Knob Road Powerline
a few miles to the north before pressing on to the Broad Creek Boy Scout Camp
in northern Harford County. We walked about 1/4 mile with no birds of note,
and just as we turned around to head back, a small flock of Red Crossbills
flew over. No more than a minute later George noticed a large flock of birds
landing in the tops of the White Pines, and he and I enjoyed 25 (the highest
count there this season?) of our first White-winged Crossbills in the state.
Small groups of both species continued to be seen there through the end of the
Season. In January I tried to take on a record January Month List for
Maryland. Whether I got it or not, is still at issue (no one else has
submitted theirs). My list included unexpected species such as Yellow-
breasted Chat, Seaside Sparrow, both Sharp-tailed Sparrows, Iceland, Thayer's,
and Black-headed gulls, N. Saw-whet Owl, Least Sandpiper, and all Maryland
herons except Yellow-crowned Night, Green, and Least Bittern. My total was
171 by January 28, at which point I left Maryland to do field work in Mexico.
And that was without a trip out west to get Black-capped Chickadee and Common
Raven, and without Northern Bobwhite and Ring-necked Pheasant which I never
bumped into over the course of the month. Maybe next year...
My time in Mexico was wonderful. I was helping Tony Leukering of Colorado
Bird Observatory with a grassland survey in Chihuahua and Durango which
targeted Baird's Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, and Sprague's Pipits. We had
good luck finding all the species in Chihuahua and found them farther west
than is shown by Howell and Webb's Birds of Mexico (1995) or the recent
Birding article. However, there was almost no suitable habitat in Durango or
nearby . The birding highlight was a trip across the Durango highway (on our
weekend off) to Mazatlan. In the mountains (despite a blizzard on the way up)
we found Mexico endemics such as Eared Trogon, Stygian Owl, Tufted Jay,
Military Macaw, and Red-headed Tanager, while the coastal birding at Mazatlan
was highlighted by such species as Rufous-bellied Chachalaca, Cinnamon
Hummingbird, and Yellow Grosbeak (among others). I have been back in Maryland
for most of March, but will be gone again from mid-April to mid-August.
A.B.A. FIELD NOTES: WHAT IT IS
To those not familiar with Field Notes, below is a quick summary of the
magazine and what it includes. A.B.A. Field Notes is published quarterly
(Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) and is meant to summarize the significant
observations of field birders throughout the United States and Canada. The
two countries (as well as the West Indies) are divided into 26 Regions, each
of which has one-several Regional Editors. The Regional Editors collect
information from birders in their Region and, at the end of each reporting
season, compile the sightings into Season Report. My deadline is 1 ½ months
after the end of the season, so reports are asked for two weeks from the end
of the season, but email reports can be received up to a month after the end
of the season. The reporting seasons are:
Spring - March 1-May 31
Summer - June 1 - July 31
Fall - August 1-November 30
Winter - December 1-February 28(29)
The Season Reports always include information on rarities, early and late
migration dates, high counts etc... but also usually includes significant
other news relating to birds in the Region. For anyone interested in birds
and birding in the U.S.A. and Canada the magazine is invaluable - no other
publication summarizes birding news from across the country so completely.
Each season also features a Changing Season column, which is a summary of all
the Season Reports from different Regions, which attempts to identify some of
the more noticeable trends of the season (i.e. Winter Finches were scarce
south of Canada, Rufous Hummingbirds were found in unusual numbers on the East
Coast, and most fall migrants lingered unusually late). Many state
publications (Maryland Birdlife for example) publish similar summaries for
their states and Regions, which are typically more detailed than the Audubon
Field Notes season report, but the advantage of Field Notes is that it
assimilates national trends. If you want to track the spread of Eurasian
Collared-Doves across the U.S., find out how the Attwater's Prairie-Chickens
and Whooping Cranes are faring in Texas, or what rarities the latest trip to
Attu turned up, Field Notes is for you.
FIELD NOTES: HISTORY
The magazine has undergone a number of changes in its lifetime, with the most
major change occurring this past summer. In the early years of its existence,
Audubon Field Notes was a small publication which included only the Season
Reports. Eventually, the magazine was beefed up with color photos and feature
articles (on everything from identification, conservation, and out of range
records) and assumed the new name, American Birds. In the early 1990's
National Audubon fell on hard times, and the magazine was cut back to a bare
minimum with only the Season Reports and Changing Season columns persisting.
Last summer, it was agreed that Field Notes would be turned over to the
American Birding Association (A.B.A.) Recently revived sections and a new
management promise continued improvement in the quality of the publication.
A.B.A. FIELD NOTES AND RECENT CHANGES
By now those of you that do subscribe to Field Notes should have received
your first issue that A.B.A. has put out (Volume 51 #4, the one with the Kelp
Gull on the cover). Some substantial format changes ave been made, feature
articles have returned (See the article by Brinkley et al. on the Hurricanes
of 1996) and color photos have been brought back in the back section
(Pictorial Highlights). Some more changes are in the planning (such as
revision of the maps) and I have confidence that the magazine will continue to
improve. Delivery of issues, erratic at best under National Audubon, has
showed marked improvement and should be timely from here on out (you will note
that the last National Audubon issue, Summer 1997) still hasn't appeared. My
latest letter from the Field Notes staff reports that the subscription has
DOUBLED since A.B.A. has taken over. If anyone would like information on how
to subscribe please contact the American Birding Association at
(800/850-2473). Subscription is $20 per year.
THE LOCAL STAFF
Starting in the fall of 1995, I have been the Middle Atlantic Coast Regional
Editor. During that time I have had enormous assistance from Jim Stasz of
North Beach, MD. His guidance and local knowledge has been invaluable over
the past several years. Most importantly, he has helped by computerizing the
reports so that their value may extend beyond the skeleton produced in the
Field Notes report. We now have two years' worth of Field Notes report in the
working database, which is available to any interested parties. Reports
should continue to go to Jim at P.O. Box 71, North Beach, MD 20714
jlstasz@aol.com.
The Middle Atlantic Coast Region includes all of Maryland and Virginia east
of the mountains. Essentially, in Maryland I cover all reports from Frederick
County east, and in Virginia I cover all areas east of the Blue Ridge
Mountains. The majority of reports I receive are from Maryland birders
(calling all Virginians!), and a huge volume of reports also comes from the
Voice of the Naturalist, Virginia Birdline, and Baltimore Birdline (which each
send me ALL their reports), as well as from monitoring such email discussion
groups as Valley Birds and MDOsprey. Individual reports are most valuable
though, so I urge anyone willing to send me a separate report for each season,
even if you regularly call your sightings into the Voice or Virginia Birdline.
A large number of sub-regional editors help with the assimilation and
computerization of the data. If you actively bird any of their regions, I ask
that you submit reports directly to them rather than to me. If you are
willing to serve as a sub-regional editor for any of the uncovered counties or
Regions of Maryland, please let me know promptly. It would be a GREAT help!
Currently, the sub-regional editors are:
Patty Craig: Saint Mary's County s (P.O. Box 84, Lexington Park, MD 20653).
Elizabeth Pitney: Wicomico County (7218 Walston Switch Rd., Parsonsburg, MD
21849).
Jo Solem: Howard County (10617 Graeloch Rd., Laurel, MD 20723).
George M. Jett: Charles County (9505 Bland Street, Waldorf MD 20603)
JETT.GEORGE@epamail.epa.gov.
Ethel Engle: Caroline County (20789 Dover Bridge Rd., Preston, MD 21655).
Sam Freiberg: Montgomery County (8733 Susanna Lane, Chevy Chase, MD
20815-4713).
Al Haury: Anne Arundel County (852 Redwood Trail, Crownsville, MD 21032)
cactuswren@erols.com.
I am currently 22 and just graduated from Bowdoin College last May.
Recently, when not birding for fun, I have been birding for (minimal) pay.
The next few months will take me to Texas to participate in the Texas Birding
Classic, and then on to Nevada where I will help the Great Basin Bird
Observatory on its first Breeding Bird Atlas of Nevada. It should be great
fun, although, regrettably, it takes me away from Maryland and Virginia
through mid-August (at least).
Sincerely,
Marshall Iliff
Mid-Atlantic Coast Regional Editor
A.B.A. Field Notes
901 Crystal Spring Farm Rd.
Annapolis, MD 21403
miliff@aol.com
(410) 269-1589
Please send reports to:
Jim Stasz
Secretary, A.B.A. Field Notes
P.O. Box 71