From: Paul J. Baicich [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 10:55 AM
To: Paul J. Baicich
Cc: Wayne Petersen
Subject: Birding Community E-bulletin - August 2009

 


THE BIRDING COMMUNITY E-BULLETIN
            August 2009
 
 
This Birding Community E-bulletin is being distributed 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 the website of the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA):
www.refugenet.org/birding/birding5.html
 
 
RARITY FOCUS
 
On 16 July, Dave Jasper and the youthful participants at Camp Chiricahua
discovered a Brown-backed Solitaire (Myadestes occidentalis) in Miller
Canyon, Huachuca Mountains in southeast Arizona. The bird was photographed
and recorded by camp members, including Brian Magnier, Benjamin Van Doren,
and Jimmy Warren. You can see the photos here:
www.flickr.com/photos/40538429@N05/
 
This species normally occurs in highland pine-oak and lowland evergreen
forests from northern Mexico south to Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and
Honduras. In the nearby state of Sonora, Mexico, it may breed as close as 70
miles from the U.S. border. . 
 
There is at least one confirmed previous report of Brown-backed Solitaire
from Arizona - a bird photographed in early October 1996 in lower Madera
Canyon. This species has not previously been accepted onto the official
state and U.S. lists because of the uncertainty of the species' origin. No
doubt due to its musical song, the Brown-backed Solitaire is one of the most
common cage birds in parts of Mexico.
 
Manuel Grosselet, who closely follows the Mexican bird trade, confirmed that
the occurrence of this species among Mexican cage birds, especially in the
center of the country, remains very common. Nonetheless, the timing and
location of this report is consistent with what might be expected of a
post-breeding solitaire, so this occurrence poses something of a conundrum.
 
By 18 July, this Brown-backed Solitaire, or, almost as likely, another bird,
was found in nearby Ramsey Canyon. Throughout the rest of the month the bird
(or birds) could be found or heard almost daily in one canyon or another. On
31 July, a number of birders saw a female Aztec Thrush while searching for
the Brown-backed Solitaire in Ramsey Canyon.
 
For those who may not know, Camp Chiricahua offers an opportunity for young
birders to share an enthusiasm for birds in a fine natural history location,
southeast Arizona. The camp, run by Victor Emanuel Nature Tours and
co-sponsored by the American Birding Association, is designed for teen boys
and girls.
 
Finally, a three-minute NPR "Weekend Edition" report on Saturday, 25 July,
featured Dave Jasper, the group from Camp Chiracahua, and the Brown-backed
Solitaire:
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=107006767
 
 
BIRDING: DEMOGRAPHICS AND ECONOMICS
 
Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released "Birding in the
United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis." The report gleans the
birding information available from the larger 2006 "National Survey of
Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation" (FHWAR). 
 
This invaluable birding survey includes numbers of birders, their age
distribution, income, education, gender, race, regional distribution, and
birder expenditures. 
 
The survey indicates that around-the-home birders in the U.S. number 42
million and away-from-home birders 20 million. The most significant trend in
the area of avidity since 2001 is the increase in the number of
away-from-home birders - an increase of 8 percent.
 
 In general there are large numbers of birders who are well-educated, almost
equally balanced in gender, fairly well off financially, not particularly
young (slightly more than half are older than 45), and spend oodles of money
on our pastime. Get all the details here:
http://library.fws.gov/Pubs/birding_natsurvey06.pdf
 
 
IBA NEWS: LWCF ASSESSMENT RELEASED
 
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been key to securing many
locations designated as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the U.S. LWCF funding
for Federal and State land acquisition that comes into the U.S. Treasury
from offshore oil and gas revenues. At its peak in 1977, this "conservation
royalty" account amounted to $900 million. Adjusted for inflation, that
translates to $3.2 billion per year in today's economy. Unfortunately, the
fiscal year Federal appropriation for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
in 2008 was only slightly better than $255 million. Beginning in 2000, a
portion of LWCF monies was also diverted to other programs. 
 
We have covered the workings of LWCF a number of times in the E-bulletin,
including twice in 2007:
www.refugenet.org/birding/janSBC07.html#TOC13
   and
www.refugenet.org/birding/sepSBC07.html#TOC07
 
Clearly, there is a substantial lack of funding allocated to the LWCF, and
the authorization legislation for the Fund is due to expire in 2015. Bird
conservationists, especially IBA advocates, should thoughtfully consider the
future of the LWCF.
 
Last month, a panel of 17 conservation and outdoor recreation leaders
released "Great Outdoors America-Report of the Outdoor Resources Review
Group." One of the recommendations in the report is to permanently fund the
LWCF, starting at the highest historically authorized level and adjusted for
inflation ($3.2 billion in today's dollars). Additional royalties and fees
from renewable and nonrenewable energy development are identified as
potential sources of revenue for the LWCF. The coordinated use of geospatial
planning tools is advanced, as are increased private-public partnerships.
One recommendation is to improve planning and cooperation across agencies,
with the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission identified as a model for
enhanced coordination.
 
Readers of the E-bulletin will appreciate that the growth of birding is
recognized in the report, and among the many policy recommendations in the
report is the need to emphasize the promotion of nature education.
 
To download the panel's 56-page report:
www.orrgroup.org/documents/July2009_Great-Outdoors-America-report.pdf 
 
For additional information about worldwide IBA programs, and those across
the U.S., check the National Audubon Society's Important Bird Area program
web site at: 
www.audubon.org/bird/iba/ 
 
 
SPOTTED OWL PLAN REDUX
 
In May we wrote of the current Administration's move away from the Western
Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR) impacting the Northern Spotted Owl:
www.refugenet.org/birding/maySBC09.html#TOC04
 
Last month, the Interior Department made it official: Because the Bush
Administration failed to follow established administrative procedure
(Section 7 Consultations under the Endangered Species Act) before leaving
office, the plan to intensify logging in western Oregon (WOPR) is viewed as
legally indefensible. According to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the plan
must be withdrawn. "[It] cannot stand up in court and, if defended, could
lead to years of fruitless litigation and inaction." A new plan must now be
developed.
 
For more details, see, for example, releases by the Interior Department and
ABC:
www.fws.gov/home/feature/2009/pdf/07-16-09FINALNorthwestForestPlanAnnounceme
nt.pdf 
 
 
MOUNTAIN PLOVER PLAN RELEASED
 
The tenth in an ongoing series of individual shorebird plans, a 52-page plan
for Mountain Plover has recently been released. Co-authored by Brad Andres
and Kelli Stone, it summarizes what is known about the bird's ecology,
status and population, habitat needs, threats, and important sites. Also
identified are immediate conservation actions needed to stop or reverse the
Mountain Plover's population decline over the long term. You can view the
plan here:
http://www.whsrn.org/sites/default/files/MountainPlover_ConservationPlan_09-
05-28a.pdf
 

UK PEREGRINES HAVING A HARD TIME
 
Like their counterparts in North America, Peregrine Falcons in the United
Kingdom were devastated by the use of organochlorine pesticides (e.g. DDT)
in the middle of the 20th Century. By 1963, their numbers in the UK were
reduced to 360 pairs. Today their numbers are over 1,400 pairs. Despite this
recovery, 2009 has been one of the worst years on record in the UK for
persecution of these magnificent birds of prey.
 
Incidents of poisoning, shooting, trapping, and nest robbing are already
approaching the estimated total of 85 incidents reported for the whole of
last year. Mark Thomas, investigations officer for the Royal Society or the
Protection of Birds (RSPB) remarked that "Peregrines have taken 30 years to
recover from the devastating effects of pesticide poisoning, and still we
find them targeted by people who hold a grudge against them."
 
Culprits have included rogue elements within the pigeon racing community and
the game shooting community who blame Peregrine Falcons for the loss of
their birds. There are also people intent on taking eggs and chicks for
falconry.
 
Further protection and criminal investigations are being requested by the
RSPB.
 
You can find more information on the recent UK Peregrine situation here:
www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/01/peregrine-falcons-persecution 
   and
www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-220187
 
 
UTILITY CORPORATION PAYS TO PROTECT EAGLES
 
In early July, PacifiCorp, one of the largest electric utilities in the
West, pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing Golden Eagles, and other raptors
and migratory birds in Wyoming. The company (aka Rocky Mountain Power) was
ordered to pay over $10.5 million for killing these protected birds. The
company was ordered to spend $9.1 million to repair or retrofit its
equipment to protect birds from electrocution, and it must pay a $510,000
criminal fine and an additional $900,000 in restitution to support research
and conservation projects for eagles and other birds of prey in the West.
 
The plea agreement responded to charges that PacifiCorp killed 232 eagles in
Wyoming from January 2007 to the present. Until recently, PacifiCorp failed
to take readily available measures to avoid avian electrocutions in Wyoming,
measures that could have saved numerous eagles and other birds from
electrocution.
 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service led the investigation to enforce the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it illegal for anyone to kill a
protected bird without first obtaining a permit.
 
This represents a continuation of the Service's longstanding efforts to
reduce avian electrocutions caused by electric power infrastructure.
Elsewhere, the Service and the electric power industry have cooperated for
years to reduce the impact of powerlines on eagles, cranes, and other birds
- an effort formalized by the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee -
APLIC. The activities of the APLIC were covered in the E-bulletin as
recently as March, 2007:
www.refugenet.org/birding/marSBC07.html#TOC10
 
"Electrocutions drop when companies step up and meet their responsibilities
for protecting eagles and other birds," commented Emily Jo Williams, who
oversees management of the Migratory Bird Program for the USFWS
Mountain-Prairie Region. 
 
For more details on the case, see this USFWS release:
www.fws.gov/home/feature/2009/pdf/0947PacificCorppressrelease.pdf
 
 
HOMELAND SECURITY VS. THE NATIONAL SYMBOL
 
Just when you thought that the most obvious conflict between birds and the
Department of Homeland Security was taking place at the U.S. "border wall"
along the Mexican border, another incident has surfaced.
 
The Bald Eagle may be the symbol of the USA, but it's also nesting at a
Washington DC site that is the newly planned Department of Homeland Security
headquarters. An access road planned for that headquarters is very close to
a nest where Bald Eagles have raised young for about nine years, the only
Bald Eagles nesting in the District of Columbia. The road is not scheduled
to be built until 2014, but the awkwardness of the potential eviction is
obvious. After all, the Department of Homeland Security has a Bald Eagle on
its official seal!
 
 
TIDAL FLATS AT SONG DO: SO LONG?
 
In the first half of this month, the Songdo International Business District
(IBD), just a 15-minute drive from Korea's Incheon International Airport,
will open. This $30-billion designated Free Economic Zone is designed to be
Korea's latest effort at a public-private partnership in business
development that will hopefully attract Korean and international
corporations. Already, it touts its sustainability awards, LEED
certification, recycled/natural materials, and general green growth.
 
So, what's the problem?
 
The issue is that important tidal flats are threatened under current plans
for further development. Already, the nearby Incheon Free Economic Zone
(IFEZ) has destroyed most of the region's rich tidal flats. An estimated
4,000 hectares are already gone. Only about 1,000 hectares of the Song Do
tidal flats remain.
 
Saunder's Gull and Nordmann's Greenshank are among the key species dependent
upon the Song Do area. Relict Gull and Chinese Egret are already in
dangerous declines due to previous reclamations in the area. Also, highly
endangered Black-faced Spoonbills nest nearby.
 
Unfortunately, Korea's record of wetland destruction is among the most
disappointing of all the developed and near-developed nations in the world.
For past E-bulletin coverage see, for example, this item from March 2006:
www.refugenet.org/birding/marSBC06.html#TOC10
 
Especially disturbing is the fact that American companies and about a dozen
prestigious American universities are involved in gobbling up this space.
 
Fortunately, some international conservationists have been working to save
the habitat, in an effort to preserve the entirety of what remains of the
Song Do Tidal Flats. The conservationists maintain that careful planning
around retention ponds, an artificial island, the local creek flow, and the
ebb and flow of the estuary can combine to blend in with public appreciation
and appropriate development. In the words of Derek Shubert, president of
SAVE International, a Berkeley-based organization that has been working to
save the Black-faced Spoonbill from extinction for the past 14 years, "Bird
habitat is not a barrier for city development, but an opportunity to build a
real green city and provide residents and visitors with the opportunity to
enjoy nature."
 
For more information on SAVE and Song Do tidal preservation efforts, see:
www.earthislandprojects.org/project/viewProject.cfm?subSiteID=25
 
 
BOOK NOTES: A LISTENING HYBRID
 
Don Kroodsma's new BIRDSONG BY THE SEASONS (2009 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
is not only a book or a set of CDs, it's both. The text follows 24 broad
localities over a calendar year; the two accompanying CDs provide the
essential and intimate audio accompaniment. In fact, Kroodsma makes the
suggestion that users listen to the CDs first and actually start reading on
page 227, appendix 1, with its 32 pages containing brief descriptions of the
audio content experience. As you cover track by track, month by month, the
listening becomes increasingly valuable.
 
The reader should also go through the experience a second time, through the
"actual" text, 24 chapters and twelve months narrated in thorough detail.
Moreover, those birders and naturalists who have been intimidated by
sonograms in the past will be soothed by Kroodsma's user-friendly exposition
of the tool.
 
This is more than a book and set of CDs; it's a unique experience that
offers both the cues and the opportunity to really listen with greater
understanding.
 
 
TIP OF THE MONTH: STOP BY THE OFFICE
 
Wherever you go birding this month - a park, a refuge, a state forest,
whatever - you should take the time to stop by the agency's office.
Sometimes the visitor center or office isn't open when you arrive in the
morning, but it's usually open when you are ready to leave. Perhaps you
already picked up a map and checklist from an outdoor kiosk, but a brief
visit is still recommended.
The staff should know that you're birding there; they should be made aware
if you had a good time, and you should consider leaving some of your bird
sightings if they have an observations clipboard. 
 
If you don't tell them you're birding there, they will never know that you
came. We all need to reinforce the message: Birders use the location and the
staff should respond to birder needs.
 
 
STAMP COST INCREASE GETS THROUGH HOUSE COMMITTEE
 
Last month we wrote about the June delay for the effort to update the
Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation [Duck] Stamp.  H.R. 1916 was pulled
back by committee supporters at the last minute due to a number of
amendments filed by Republicans:
www.refugenet.org/birding/julSBC09.html#TOC08
 
In late July, H.R. 1916, the Migratory Bird Habitat Investment and
Enhancement Act, passed the House Committee on Natural Resources, rid of the
most troublesome amendments:
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content
<http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&
id=592&Itemid=27> &task=view&id=592&Itemid=27 
 
 
 
BAREFACED SELF-PROMOTION
 
As the Birding Community E-bulletin enters its sixth year of publication and
distribution, we are continuing to share some remarks from some of our
readers. As previously noted, we will include a comment or two each month
this year. These will be placed at the very end of each E-bulletin so you
can simply stop reading at this point if you'd like! 
 
 "I've read the Birding Community E-Bulletin since its launch and value it
for the unique combination of recreational and conservation news that it
provides in an easy to access format. I especially appreciate the care that
the two editors take to ensure scientific accuracy and relevance of
information to the bird conservation community."
-Tom Franklin, President, The Wildlife Society
 
"Every time I see a new Birding Community E-bulletin in my mailbox, I skip
my other messages and go straight to it. Nowhere else do I find this
combination of important birding news, including reports of rarities from
all over, with cutting-edge conservation information.  As someone who loves
both the sport of birding and the birds themselves, I treasure this monthly
gem."
            -Laura Erickson, author, "101 Ways to Help Birds"
 
 
- - - - - - - - -
You can access past E-bulletins on the National Wildlife Refuge Association
(NWRA) website:
www.refugenet.org/birding/birding5.html
                                    
If you wish to distribute all or parts of any of the monthly Birding
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material used. (Include a URL for the E-bulletin archives, if possible.) 
 
If you have any friends or co-workers who want to get onto the monthly
E-bulletin mailing list, have them contact either:
            
            Wayne R. Petersen, Director
            Massachusetts Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program
            Mass Audubon
            718/259-2178
             
                        or
            Paul J. Baicich             
            410/992-9736
             
                                                            
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