From: Paul J. Baicich [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 7:37 AM
To: Paul J. Baicich
Cc: Wayne R. Petersen
Subject: Birding Community E-bulletin - February 2010

 


THE BIRDING COMMUNITY E-BULLETIN
            February 2010
 
 
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. This issue is sponsored by the Wild Bird
Centers of America (WBCA - www.wildbird.com and the National Bird-Feeding
Society (NBFS - www.nbfs.org). 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
 
Late in the afternoon of 24 January, Alan Wormington and Robert Epstein
found and photographed a female Amazon Kingfisher in Laredo, Texas. This
species normally ranges from Mexico (no closer than southern Tamaulipas) to
Argentina and Uruguay. Amazon Kingfisher is the largest "green" kingfisher
in the Americas.
 
In April 1999, ABA's BIRDING magazine ran an article on the "next birds"
that might be seen in North America, with Amazon Kingfisher featured, not
among the half-dozen core predictions to appear as Texas and U.S. first
occurrences, but as the first alternate "honorable mention" species. It took
a little over a decade, but the prediction was accurate.
 
Wormington and Epstein saw the kingfisher at the mouth of Zacate Creek, then
along the creek itself. Zacate Creek is downstream from Las Palmas Park
along the Rio Grande, specifically located within the Laredo city limits.
Alan Wormington said of the experience, "It is a bit ironic that we were
constantly complaining that we had not seen a single kingfisher anywhere
during our week-long trip; then we saw FOUR kingfisher species at Zacate
Creek!"
 
The two original observers are currently submitting photos and other details
for eventual publication. This would be the first record of an Amazon
Kingfisher for North America north of Mexico. 
 
To see two photos taken on site on 25 January by Dan Jones and Stuart Healy,
respectively, see:
http://i48.tinypic.com/33aasjs.jpg
http://www.aztrogon.com/images/birds/Kingfishers/AMKI20100125TX-f2.jpg
 
As of the end of January, the Amazon Kingfisher was still present at Zacate
Creek, and many birders from far and wide were beating a path to Laredo. In
fact, the City of Laredo has made a special effort to welcome birders  -
from local clean-up and cordial police attention, to bringing in portable
toilets! The city and the local Monte Mucho Audubon Society also cooperated
in putting up bright yellow crowd-control tape to keep birders from
inadvertently entering areas too close to the Amazon Kingfisher's favorite
perches.
 
 
ANOTHER MULTI-MONTH "MAJOR CONTENDER"
 
Once again, we have a species that we passed over as the rarity of the month
for two consecutive months, bested both times by Texas mega-rarities -
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron and Amazon Kingfisher. 
 
Nonetheless, this bird and its generous hosts deserve special mention. 
 
Since 3 December, Harvey and Brenda Schmidt have hosted a Rustic Bunting at
their bird feeder in Creighton, Saskatchewan. The small mining town of
Creighton is located near the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, about 540 miles
NNW of Winnipeg and at a latitude roughly the same as the southern end of
the Alaska panhandle.
 
The backyard location in north-central Canada is simply amazing for a Rustic
Bunting, a species that might normally spend the winter in eastern China.
 
Rustic Bunting, a species that breeds from Scandinavia to eastern Siberia
and winters mainly in eastern China, Korea, and Japan, is considered rare to
uncommon in North America as a migrant through the western Aleutians and
Bering Sea areas. It is considered an accidental migrant and winter visitor
from southern Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California.
There are three previous Canadian records, all from coastal British
Columbia. In essence, this is a very rare bird for anywhere in interior
North America. (You can find the species described in the National
Geographic guide on pages 434-435 and in the "large" Sibley on page 503.)
 
The Rustic Bunting visited the Schmidt feeder through the end of January.
Birders who braved the cold and drove the distance to see the bunting were
generally treated to excellent looks. Most of these travelers were
Canadians, with a few from the U.S.
 
For details, including photos and a video by Harvey Schmidt, visit Brenda
Schmidt's informative blog:
http://birdschmidt.blogspot.com/2009/12/arriving-with-four-juncos-yesterday.
html 
 
 
FEBRUARY:  NATIONAL BIRD FEEDING MONTH AND GBBC
 
Our report on the Rustic Bunting at the home of Harvey and Brenda Schmidt is
an appropriate prelude to February feeder activities for a number of
reasons.
 
In January 1994, Congressman John Porter (R-IL) read a resolution into the
Congressional Record declaring February "National Bird-Feeding Month." Since
then, February has become the month most associated with wild bird feeding
promotions and activities, all focused on backyard birds. February has
become an ideal month for promoting and enjoying this wholesome, home-based,
nature-oriented activity. 
 
For example, to see what Mass Audubon has been doing in this regard, see:
www.massaudubon.org/Birds_and_Birding/FoF/participate.php 
 
This year's theme for National Bird-Feeding Month is "Hatching Out - An
Introduction to the Wild Bird Feeding Hobby," being promoted by the National
Bird-Feeding Society (NBFS). You can find more details, including a link to
a helpful NBFS "Guide to Better Bird Feeding" and associated poster at: 
www.birdfeeding.org/nbfm.html
 
Also, in 1997 the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology, along with a number of bird-feeding retailers, launched the
Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) in an effort to learn more about
late-winter bird distributions. The next GBBC will be held between 12 and 15
February. Anyone can take part, from novice bird watchers to experts.
Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they
wish) on one or more days of the count period and report their sightings
online. You can find all the details on this citizen's science effort here:
www.birdsource.org/gbbc/
 
Another seasonal reminder is appropriate. Some readers may not already be
participating in Project FeederWatch, another effort of the Cornell Lab, in
this case with Bird Studies Canada as a partner. The project's reporting
season runs through 6 April. If you are not already involved in Project
FeederWatch, be sure to consider getting on board, if only next winter
season. You can find more details here:
www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/ 
 
Appropriately, Harvey and Brenda Schmidt, the hosts of the previously
mentioned Rustic Bunting , have been participants in Project FeederWatch
since 2006. In addition, two other Rustic Buntings were reported by a
participating Feeder-Watcher in Ketchikan, Alaska, last fall.
 
 
TEXAS COAST WHOOPING CRANES UP SLIGHTLY
 
Last May we reported that the previous winter was the worst on record for
the Texas coast Whooping Crane flock. Between 21 and 23 cranes died due to
food shortages and the associated drought:
www.refugenet.org/birding/maySBC09.html#TOC15
 
Now that the arrival of virtually all the cranes expected along the Texas
coast has occurred, it appears that there are about 264 birds present. This
is nearly 20 more birds than left Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and
nearby areas last spring. Accordingly, the increase just about replaces the
individuals lost last winter. For the most recent crane counts, see Tom
Stehn's reports:
www.birdrockport.com/tom_stehn_whooping_crane_report.htm
 
Unfortunately there is concern that another die-off could occur this winter,
owing to a lack of blue crabs in the area and the continuing squeeze on
crane habitat from local development and fresh-water use. See this
Associated Press story for more information:
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6837243.html
 
 
TWO WATERFOWL COUNTERS PERISH IN PLANE CRASH
 
On 17 January, two USFWS biologists died in a small Cessna aircraft crash
while returning from a day of surveying waterfowl in Oregon and Washington.
Ray Bentley and Dave Pitkin were highly experienced counters in the
Service's mid-winter waterfowl surveys, often flying low and slow, counting
ducks, geese, and swans. They were part of an unblemished 54-year history of
conducting aerial bird surveys until the fatal crash last month. These
surveys take place during both winter and summer and cover over 80,000 air
miles each year. Select teams of pilot-biologists and observers conduct the
surveys. 
 
Ray Bentley had recently flown Chesapeake Bay surveys and was soon scheduled
to fly to the Arctic to do surveys there. Dave Pitkin, who left the Service
in 2007, was doing surveys on a contractual basis and was an accomplished
photographer, according to Roy Lowe, project leader for the Oregon Coast
National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Lowe said Pitkin was "a great
conservationist." 
 
You can read more details in a USFWS release at:
www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=47C3737C-B35D-099F-611B5E1
E5B517371 
and a local story:
www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_38546af0-0587-11df-81cf-001cc4c002e0
.html 
 
 
SQUEEZING THE LIFE OUT OF SUSTAINABLE COFFEE?
 
Last month we brought your attention to a fine report on marketing
bird-compatible coffee, a report by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center:
www.refugenet.org/birding/janSBC10.html#TOC06
 
This month, we bring you some sobering trends in coffee economics, trends
which put the future of sustainable coffee (shade, organic, fair-traded),
and therefore birds, in some jeopardy. 
 
A decade ago, with coffee prices at an all-time low, many growers in Latin
America and the Caribbean switched to organic for the premium price they
might receive. Some growers had a three-year waiting period to certify a
pesticide- and chemical-free landscape, but for a time this wait was
considered worthwhile. Once certified, the organic producers did well. Now
the premium price is disappearing, and an estimated 10 percent of organic
farmers from Mexico to Costa Rica have stopped organic production over the
past three to four years. 
 
Similarly, fair-traded coffee was seen as a way to get coffee co-ops a
better price for their coffee and to guarantee some social programs for
coffee families. Today, while the fair-trade price per pound may be slightly
more than the overall market price, it is no longer enough for coffee
communities to stay much above subsistence. 
 
With Americans drinking one-fifth of the world's coffee, this is a trend to
watch. While some major retailers are driving down the prices of coffee,
this is not necessarily good for people in coffee communities in the
hemisphere, nor can it be good for shade-coffee-seeking birds. 
 
If demand for shade, organic, and fair-traded coffees in the U.S. grows,
producers in Latin America and the Caribbean may have the incentive to
continue with or return to sustainable coffee production.
 
For two recent summaries on these trends (from TIME magazine and THE
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR) see here:
www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1926007-2,00.html
www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/0103/Organic-coffee-Why-Latin-America-
s-farmers-are-abandoning-it
 
 
CORN VS BIRDS IN PRAIRIE POTHOLE REGION: A NEW REPORT ON ETHANOL 
 
Government incentives boosting corn-based ethanol are accelerating the
destruction of North America's Prairie Pothole region, a region where
millions of birds find nesting habitat and shelter in the shallow wetlands
and grasslands of the Northern Great Plains. This is according to a new
study released by the National Wildlife Federation, with data gathered by
University of Michigan researchers.
 
The Northern Great Plains unique topography was formed 10,000 years ago when
ice-age glaciers scouring the terrain left behind large indentations, today
known as "prairie potholes." The Prairie Pothole study covers mainly Iowa,
Minnesota, and the Dakotas, but the region actually extends as far west as
northern Montana and also includes portions of Alberta, Manitoba, and
Saskatchewan.
 
More than 3.2 million acres of prairie potholes and associated grasslands
were plowed under across parts of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South
Dakota between 2005 and 2007 in order to make space for corn. Much of that
corn was grown to meet U.S. thirst for ethanol, a fuel which can create
cleaner combustion, and curb auto tailpipe emissions when blended with
gasoline.
 
But the conversion of prairie pothole habitat to corn also comes at a very
high cost to birds and other wildlife. In some areas, species loss has been
as high as 30 percent, including declines among local populations of Upland
Sandpipers, Grasshopper Sparrows, and Western Meadowlarks.
 
If the demand for biofuel remains steady, farmers could plant an additional
10.6 million acres of corn in the next year to meet ethanol mandates.
Moreover, the connection "between ethanol incentives and habitat destruction
is fairly clear," states the report released last month. The USDA provides
corn-growing incentives, such as crop insurance, that virtually guarantee
farmers a profit regardless of the crop yield.
 
This ethanol/habitat study is one of the first to narrow the focus to the
Prairie Pothole region, an area identified by multiple conservation groups
as one of the most threatened zones in North America as a result of the
conversion of wetlands and grasslands to agricultural row crops.
 
"Grassland birds were already in steep decline, making this additional
habitat loss quite alarming," said Gary Botzek, executive director at the
Minnesota Conservation Federation. 
 
The study puts forth several solid recommendations, including reconsidering
financial support for corn ethanol, special protections for grassland and
wetland habitats, and strengthening of the Farm Bill's Conservation Reserve
Program (CRP). 
 
The full 24-page study can be found here:
www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-by-Topic/Wildlife/2010/~/me
dia/PDFs/Reports/Wildlife/01-13-10-Corn-Ethanol-Wildlife.ashx 
 
And it is summarized by NWF here:
www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/Reports/Archive/2010/~/media/PDF
s/Wildlife/01-13-10-Corn-Ethanol-Wildlife.ashx
 
 
IBA NEWS: CANADIAN WEBSITE LAUNCH 
 
Co-partners Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada have launched an
informative new website for the Canadian Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program.
The effort has also gained critical support from a number of regional
organizations, including BC Nature, Federation of Alberta Naturalists,
Nature Saskatchewan, and Nature Quebec, as well as hundreds of volunteers
nationwide. TransCanada Corporation and the U.S. Neotropical Migratory Bird
Conservation Act grant provided funding for the new website.
 
This new, fully bilingual website provides information, tools, and mapping
features to help IBA partners and volunteers more effectively monitor birds
and assess conditions at key bird conservation areas. These volunteers, part
of the IBA Caretaker Network, are connected to individual IBAs, assigned a
lead volunteer, and assisted by other citizen scientists and helpers.
 
There are nearly 600 Canadian IBAs, many of which are not legally or
formally protected. To learn more or get involved, visit the new IBA Canada
website at:
www.ibacanada.ca/
 
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/ 
 
 
BOOK NOTES:  HUGE NATIONAL GEO
 
Do you cherish your National Geographic bird guide? Do you carry your old
3rd edition into the field while leaving your crisp, newer 5th edition at
home? Do you relish the 5th edition's thumb-marks for fast access to family
groups? Do you look for the new name-changes and "splits" with every
National Geographic edition? 
 
If you answered "Yes." to any one of these questions, you may be a certified
National Geo fan, and a birder who might be interested in the ILLUSTRATED
BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA (Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer, editors), a
large, folio version of the 5th edition of the popular field guide. It was
published late last year, and it is nothing short of delicious. At 9.5
inches x 12 inches, it has all the maps, text, and illustrations of the
original field guide, only it is much larger. The illustrations, of course,
are the real treat, especially because all are beautifully presented only on
the right pages.
 
Our only quibble with the presentation of this wonderful book is that the
book's 20 original artists who, understandably, had their names placed at
the very end of the regular guide, also received the same treatment in this
large format version. Given the size of the book and the prominence of the
artists' work, it is unfortunate that these talented individuals couldn't
receive conspicuous acknowledgment for their accomplishments on the pages
where their artwork appears. 
 
 
TIP OF THE MONTH: RADIO USE WHILE BIRDING
 
Cell phones are great, but they have three drawbacks for active birders: 1)
under most circumstances they are limited to two-way conversations, 2) some
prime birding locations may have poor cell-coverage, and 3) their use is
dangerous while driving.
 
On the last point, at least six states (i.e., California, Connecticut, New
Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington) and the District of Columbia
prohibit drivers from talking on handheld cell phones while driving. In
Canada, it is illegal to use a handheld cell phone while driving in
Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. Other states and
provinces are also considering similar legislation. (Texting while driving
is another, but related, issue.)
 
Alternatively, the use of popular FRS/GMRS radios, either for birding
caravans or at locations where there is much field activity, can be very
useful. All it takes is two or more inexpensive radios and a common channel
and local birders can be off and running.
 
In Minnesota, for example, many birders with these handy FRS/GMRS radios use
channel 6 with sub-code 6, thus allowing both FRS and GMRS users to
communicate. In Iowa, the statewide birding recommendation is channel 5 with
sub-code 0 as the first choice, only using channel 6 with sub-code 0 as a
backup. The American Birding Association (ABA) suggested the use of FRS
channel 11 and sub-code 22 a number of years ago, but that initial
suggestion predates the popular spread of GMRS frequencies.
 
For your consideration (in order of preference) we suggest that birders use
radio channels/sub-codes:  6/0, 6/6, 5/0, and 11/22.
 
You can find an informative Minnesota birding page by Bob Ekblad packed with
radio information here:
www.birding-minnesota.com/Radio.htm
 
 
HAITI:  AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
 
Our sympathy and concern go out to the survivors of last month's devastating
earthquake in Haiti. There will need to be both immediate and ongoing
disaster recovery, along with long-term rebuilding work in this beleaguered
country.
 
If you haven't already done so, we encourage you to consider giving to an
organization that is currently doing serious recovery work in Haiti. There
are many groups working on addressing key relief issues such as providing
food and clean water, medical care, and shelter for families.
 
There are also bird-related and natural resource field projects that will
need massive future support. When the time is right and our bird education
and bird conservation colleagues in Haiti are able to resume something that
resembles normal life, there will be many appropriate ways to help them.
These will include replacing lost field equipment and lab supplies,
collecting and distributing educational and research materials, and various
other ways to help Haitians rebuild a foundation that will revive bird
education and conservation in Haiti.
 
Not surprisingly there are projects already being discussed among members of
the bird conservation community who have been previously engaged in
conservation and education initiatives in Haiti. Let us hope we can all
cooperate to help put an effective plan in place that will help our
counterparts in Haiti. We intend to provide more information in the future
about how you can help to restore important Haitian bird conservation and
education programs when the time comes.
 
- - - - - - - - -
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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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
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            Mass Audubon
            718/259-2178
             
                        or
            Paul J. Baicich 
            410/992-9736
             
                        
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