From: Paul J. Baicich [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2010 11:31 AM
To: Paul J. Baicich
Cc: Wayne Petersen
Subject: Birding Community E-bulletin - September 2010

 


THE BIRDING COMMUNITY E-BULLETIN
            September 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 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and the wonderful bird and
birding books they make available:
  www.shopng.com/birdbooks <http://www.shopng.com/birdbooks> 
 
 NationalGeographicLogo4.jpg 
 
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
 
Shortly after noon on 26 August, Bob Sundstrom, Ryan Merrill, and Tom Aversa
found a Lesser Sand-Plover (a species previously known as Mongolian Plover)
at the Oyehut Wildlife Area (called the Game Range by locals), at Ocean
Shores, Washington. 
 
This species is an Asian visitor to North America, one which has rarely bred
in western Alaska. It's even rarer south of Alaska. Although there have been
previous reports of Lesser Sand-Plovers in Washington, until now none fully
documented by multiple observers or photographs.
 
If you are unfamiliar with the species you might check the National
Geographic Guide (fifth edition, page 158-159), the Kaufman Guide (page
162-163), or the "big" Sibley (page 166).
 
Many birders gathered at the site to see the bird, which only cooperated for
two days, much to the relief of the quick-acting among them and the
disappointment of at least 100 weekend visitors who missed it.
 
You can see photographs of the Lesser Sand-Plover taken by Ryan Merrill on
26 August here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjm284
and others taken by Ryan Shaw at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shyalbatross
 
 
MORE COOK'S PETRELS
 
It has been another astounding year and another grand season for Cook's
Petrels off California. A year ago we wrote of the remarkable occurrence of
this species in California:
www.refugenet.org/birding/sepSBC09.html#TOC02
 
Cook's Petrel is not particularly well known off the coast of North America,
and those few birds that appear (May to November) are almost always more
than 100 miles offshore. This year, in late July astounding reports were
received from Peter Pyle and Abe Borker who were surveying seabirds for NOAA
at the Davidson Seamount, about 60 miles from Monterey harbor. They observed
a total count of over 3,000 Cook's Petrels on one day and almost 1,400 the
next.
 
According to Debi Shearwater, who helped us collect these numbers, there
were also additional sightings of Cook's Petrels: four on 31 July off Half
Moon Bay and one on 6 August off Monterey. These birds then seemed to
disappear offshore almost as quickly as they appeared.
 
Cook's Petrel breeds (October to April) on islands off New Zealand, and the
birds apparently spend some of their non-breeding season off South America.
The recent increase in reports off our own Pacific coast has been attributed
to the successful removal by researchers of rats and cats from Little
Barrier Island, New Zealand. Little Barrier Island is one of New Zealand's
premier native wildlife sanctuaries and is the reported source of "our"
Cook's Petrels. Indications are that we might continue to see increased
numbers of them in future years as the population continues to rebound.
 
 
THE GULF:WILL FLOODING HELP?
 
What follows are three reports on birds and habitat in the aftermath of the
Gulf oil Deepwater Horizon situation. 
 
First, there are the attempts at discouraging migratory birds - mostly
waterfowl and shorebirds - from getting close to oiled wetlands. 
 
As the fall migratory season proceeds, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and its conservation partners have flooded hundreds of acres in Louisiana,
east Texas, and Mississippi along with cultivating additional tons of rice
and grains in the hopes of attracting migratory birds away from oiled areas
around the Gulf of Mexico. Much of this enhanced bird habitat is on National
Wildlife Refuges. You can find more details here:
www.fws.gov/refuges/mediatipsheet/August_2010/HopingtoDivertMigratoryBirds.h
tml 
 
At the same time, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the
agency responsible for conservation delivery under the Farm Bill, has
recently created an enhanced and highly ambitious Migratory Bird Habitat
Initiative aimed at "working wetlands" in eight States: Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. 
 
Partners have moved rapidly. Charles Duncan, Director of the Shorebird
Recovery Project at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and
Director of the Executive Office of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve
Network (WHSRN), observed that "The response from rice and crawfish farmers
has been astonishingly positive." The NRCS goal was to enroll 150,000 acres
across the entire Gulf region and the southern Mississippi Flyway. By early
August, the NRCS had received almost 1,900 applications totaling 427,000
acres in Louisiana alone. For details, see here: 
www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/Louisiana%20MBHI%20Update.pdf
 
At least 90 percent of the farmers who enrolled chose to do so under a
three-year, rather than the alternative one-year, commitment. Ergo, the
benefit to migratory birds will last well beyond the immediate crisis
response from this disaster.
 
You can access information on the NRCS efforts here:
www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/nrcs_migratory_birds.html
 
Of course, among species deemed highly migratory, waterfowl and shorebirds
are thought to be at particular risk in light of the oil-gusher event. There
are some species of ducks (e.g., bay ducks) and certain shorebirds (e.g.,
some plovers) that will probably be unaffected by these flooding programs.
Still, the efforts are innovative and at least effective for some species
that are in danger. This is a model effort to be studied, strengthened, and
perhaps replicated.
 
 
THE GULF: THE STAMP CACHET
 
Our second Gulf effort is acquisition related.
 
In late July, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar unveiled a special envelope, or
"cachet," to be sold with the newest Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation
Stamp. Proceeds from this effort are to be used to benefit Gulf Coast
habitat security. This "cachet" features a silk-rendered image of St. Marks
NWR on the Gulf Coast of Florida, and the Stamp itself features an American
Widgeon.
 
The Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, also known as the "Duck
Stamp," has been around since the 1930s. It is still used to secure
waterfowl habitat, but it also serves a much larger purpose. Since the
program started, over $750 million has been raised to protect over 5.3
million acres of wetland and grassland habitat.
 
The USFWS will be tracking how much money is deposited in the Fund from
cachet sales, and these funds will be targeted specifically for future
acquisition of wetlands for Gulf Coast National Wildlife Refuges.
 
The Limited Edition Cachet can be purchased for $25. You can find more
details at:
www.refugeassociation.org/new-publications/flaug10.html#TOC02
and:
www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2010/r10-051.html
 
 
THE GULF: AN LWCF OPENING
 
The third Gulf report, in response to the runaway BP oil well, also has to
do with acquisition, but on a grander scale. It deals with the Land and
Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
 
We have previously written about the LWCF and the huge amounts of bird
habitat secured through this funding vehicle. To revisit what we wrote in
the January E-bulletin, see: 
www.refugenet.org/birding/janSBC10.html#TOC10
 
On Friday, 30 July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3534, the
Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act, or CLEAR Act. In the
bill were several provisions to help wildlife impacted by the BP event as
along with providing full funding for LWCF. Of particular importance for
bird and habitat supporters, the House bill would:
   1.   Fully fund LWCF at $900 million annually without being subject to
annual appropriations. (Appropriators would still determine what projects
ultimately were funded every year.),
   2.   Give National Wildlife Refuges the ability to collect and keep funds
for damages resulting from oil spills and other criminal acts,
   3.   Provide $1.2 billion to fund a "Gulf Coast Restoration Program" with
a Task Force to create a regional restoration plan.
 
A companion bill, S. 3663, slightly different and weaker in some elements
(e.g., less than full LWCF funding), was introduced in the Senate before the
August recess. It is expected that the Senate may return to the bill as
early as the week of 13 September.
 
Conservationists only have the chance to address the LWCF about once per
decade. The last time was in 2000, when the House passed the famous CARA
bill, and the Senate then dropped the ball. The time to effectively reach
the Senate with a message on this important cause may not come again for a
long time.
 
You can find a fine summary from the Wildlife Management Institute here:
www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content
<http://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&vie
w=article&id=469:us-house-passes-energy-bill-with-funding&catid=34:ONB%20Art
icles&Itemid=54>
&view=article&id=469:us-house-passes-energy-bill-with-funding&catid=34:ONB%2
0Articles&Itemid=54 
and here from the National Wildlife Refuge Association here:
www.refugeassociation.org//new-issues/delta.html#TOC98
<http://www.refugeassociation.org/new-issues/delta.html#TOC98> 
 
 
IBA NEWS: CUBAN DIRECTORY
 
The National Center for Protected Areas (CNAP, BirdLife in Cuba) has
launched an Important Bird Areas directory for Cuba, detailing 28 IBAs,
covering over 2.3 million hectares. The book was published with financial
support from BirdLife International, the British Birdwatching Fair, and the
Canadian Wildlife Service/Environment Canada. The IBAs support critical
populations of globally threatened birds, species with restricted-ranges,
and those birds that congregate in significant numbers for breeding,
feeding, or on migration.
 
For more on this story, see:
www.birdlife.org/news/news/2010/07/cuba-iba-directory.html
 
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/ 
 
 
TROUBLE FOR BAHAMA ORIOLE
 
Here's another bit of Caribbean news of interest.
 
Birders have recently been made aware of two taxonomic "splits" in North
American birds as announced by the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU).
These include Pacific and Winter Wrens (formerly simply Winter Wren) and
Eastern and Mexican Whip-poor-wills (formerly simply Whip-poor-will).
Several other recent splits also reveal conservation problems. 
 
The splitting of the Greater Antillean Oriole (Icterus dominicensis) into
four separate species has resulted in the "creation" of four new island
endemics - the Bahama (I. northropi), Cuban (I. melanopsis), Hispaniolan (I.
dominicensis) and Puerto Rican (I. portoricensis) Orioles. This announcement
is accompanied by a sense of concern. The new Bahama Oriole is apparently in
trouble. It used to be found on the Bahamian islands of Abaco and Andros
however the Abaco population was extirpated during the early 1990s, and
there is strong evidence that the Andros population is in serious decline.
 
For more on this situation, see:
www.birdlife.org/community/2010/08/bahama-oriole-on-the-edge/
 
 
NWRA PHOTO CONTEST
 
The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) announced its 5th annual
digital photo contest showcasing America's National Wildlife Refuges.
Entries for the 2010 Refuge Photo Contest can be submitted until 24
September 2010 with results to be announced in October 2010 in connection
with National Wildlife Refuge Week.
 
Images submitted for the photo contest can be birds, mammals, insects, fish,
other animals, plants, people, or simply shots of refuge scenery. The lion's
share of submissions always seems to be of birds.
 
This year, Southwest Airlines, the official airline of the NWRA, has donated
$2,000 cash and two round-trip tickets for the first place prize. Other
prizes include offerings from Wild Bird Centers of America, Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt, and HaberVision, with winning image hosting services provided by
Zenfolio. 
 
For photo contest details, requirements, and procedures, plus a gallery of
previous winning images, see:
www.refugeassociation.org/contest/ContestHome.html
 
 
MORE EFFORTS TO GET THE LEAD OUT
 
An alliance of conservation, hunting, and veterinary groups filed a formal
petition with the Environmental Protection Agency in early August requesting
a ban on the use of toxic lead in hunting ammunition and fishing tackle. 
 
The American Bird Conservancy, Center for Biological Diversity, Association
of Avian Veterinarians, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility,
and a hunters' group, Project Gutpile, have asked for this ban under the
Toxic Substances Control Act, which regulates dangerous chemicals in the
United States. 
 
About 75 bird species are known to be regularly poisoned by spent lead
ammunition, including Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Trumpeter Swans, Common
Ravens, and endangered California Condors. At least 30 of the condors in
California and Arizona have died from lead poisoning since the experimental
reintroductions began.
 
Despite being banned in 1992 for waterfowl hunting, spent lead shotgun
pellets continue to be regularly ingested by swans, ducks, geese, loons,
cranes, and other waterbirds. These birds also consume lead-based fishing
tackle lost in lakes and rivers, often with deadly consequences.
 
Lead ammunition also poses human health risks. One recent study found that
up to 87 percent of cooked game killed by lead ammunition can contain unsafe
levels of lead.
 
You can read more on this effort here:
www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/100803.html
 
We have written about the lead issue many times previously in the
E-bulletin, including November 2007 on the ban over large parts of
California:
www.refugenet.org/birding/novSBC07.html#TOC12
September 2008 on the "blue ribbon" California Condor panel:
www.refugenet.org/birding/sepSBC08.html#TOC03
January 2009 on Grand Canyon California Condors:
www.refugenet.org/birding/janSBC09.html#TOC02
and
May 2009 on the National Park Service dealing with the issue:
www.refugenet.org/birding/maySBC09.html#TOC11
 
 
ANOTHER WHOOPING CRANE APPROACH
 
In mid-August, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it was
seeking public comment on a proposed effort to reintroduce the endangered
Whooping Crane into habitat at the state-owned White Lake Wetland
Conservation Area in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.
 
Whooping Cranes historically occurred in Louisiana, both a resident
non-migratory flock and a migratory flock that wintered in the state.
 
The USFWS and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will
attempt to establish another non-migratory flock in the wetlands, marshes,
and prairies of southwestern Louisiana Where there are approximately 1.3
million acres of marsh, open water, and suitable Chenier habitat. If this
proposal is approved, the reintroduction effort could begin in early 2011.
 
Currently, the only self-sustaining wild population of Whooping Cranes is
the one that migrates between Wood Buffalo National Park in the Northwest
Territories of Canada and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. This
population continues to be vulnerable to the threats of continued habitat
loss and other natural or man-made catastrophes. Multiple efforts are
underway to reduce these risks by increasing other populations in the wild,
including ongoing efforts to establish a migratory population in the eastern
United States. You can read about these efforts here: 
www.operationmigration.org/index.html
 
Any new, reintroduced, non-migratory population of Whooping Cranes would be
designated as a non-essential, experimental population (NEP) under the
provisions of the Endangered Species Act. This designation would be seen as
more compatible with routine human activities in the reintroduction area. 
 
For more details, including those on public hearings or submitting comments
on the draft environmental assessment (EA), see:
www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2010/r10-058.html
 
 
BOOK NOTES: EAGLE-EYES
 
Anyone birding for a while will conclude that "the raptor folks" are a
different sort of birder. And, if anything, this new book, THE EAGLE
WATCHERS (Comstock 2010), will further establish "the eagle folks" as a
separate category of raptorphiles. 
 
This book, edited by Ruth Tingay and Todd Katzner, is appropriate for almost
anyone who has ever admired eagles. The volume covers 24 species of eagles
from the familiar (e.g., Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle) to the obscure (e.g.,
New Guinea Harpy Eagle) in stories provided by 29 leading eagle researchers.
The introductory chapter by Tingay and Katzner on the subject of eagle
diversity, ecology, and conservation is concise and valuable, and the
individual profiles of both bird species and the human researchers are
equally well done. Some spectacular photographs also accompany the text. 
 
To support the conservation programs described in the volume, all royalties
are being donated to two leading institutions: Hawk Mountain Sanctuary's
intern program and the National Birds of Prey Trust.
 
 
TIP OF THE MONTH: SHARE A BOOK
 
In the past we have encouraged readers to take a friend or colleague into
the field from time to time:
www.refugenet.org/birding/maySBC09.html#TOC10
 
We've also recently encouraged you to recycle your bird and nature
magazines:
www.refugenet.org/birding/julSBC10.html#TOC09
 
Now we're going to suggest that you share a bird book. No, not a field
guide. We suggest that you lend or give a book on birds to a friend or
colleague. Perhaps you can share THE EAGLE WATCHERS described above. Or
perhaps you can share an adventure book about birds - focused on North
America or even some exotic tropical location. You might also dig up a book
on an extinct or near-extinct species, perhaps on the Ivory-billed
Woodpecker, or a biography of J. J. Audubon, Roger Tory Peterson, or Rosalie
Edge. 
 
No matter. Just make it a story, not a field guide, and make sure it's a
page-turner.
 
Next month we'll suggest how to share another kind of bird book with another
purpose altogether.
 
 
"BIG YEAR" MOVIE CHATTER
 
Birders have been abuzz recently about an upcoming movie, expected early
next year, loosely based on Mark Obmascik's 2004 book, THE BIG YEAR. The
book was about the quest by three birders - Sandy Komito, Al Levantin, and
Greg Miller - to see as many birds as possible in North America in 1998.
 
The movie, a 20th Century Fox production, will be a fictionalized spin-off
on the book. The three main characters have been renamed in the film, many
of the facts and locations moved around, and it will be set in the
present-day rather than the late 1990s.
 
Here are a few details:
-  Three months of shooting began May 3. Release expected sometimec in 2011,
perhaps as early as April.
-  Shooting locations: Vancouver BC, Osoyoos, BC (doubles for Texas and
Arizona); Tofino, BC; NYC; Arizona; the Yukon (for Attu).
-  Executive Producer: Ben Stiller 
-  Director: David Frankel 
-  Casting (in part): Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Brian Dennehy,
Dianne Wiest, and 
Anjelica Huston.
 
 The movie's director, David Frankel, says, "To me, this is a fascinating
story about three men who are at a crucial point in their lives, caught up
in an obsession. The bird watching really reveals their character." 
 
Let's hope the picture of birders steers away from the unpleasant image
presented by Miss Jane Hathaway in TV's famous "Beverly Hillbillies."
 
You can find some sample birder interest in the film here:
http://birdersforum.com/index.php/topic,896.0.html
 
And up to 15 photos from the film set may be seen at:
www.accidentalsexiness.com/2010/05/09/on-the-scene-owen-wilson-jack-black-an
d-steve-martin/?pid=13105 
 
 
THIS MONTH'S QUIZ FOR A NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BIRD BOOK
 
To celebrate National Geographic's connection with the E-bulletin, we have
some fine National Geographic books to distribute to E-bulletin readers.
Readers who choose to enter our quick-and-easy contest have the chance to
win one of these books. Each of our quiz questions will either relate to one
of our news items for the previous month, or it will relate to some event or
experience that is due to occur during the current month.
 
For more on the excellent NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC books, see:
www.shopng.com/birdbooks
 
There will undoubtedly be multiple readers who answer our monthly question
correctly, so we will only be able to distribute five copies to readers
whose names are picked at random from all those submitting correct answers.
Because of shipping constraints, only folks residing in the U.S. or Canada
are eligible.
 
The prize this month will be a copy of the standard Fifth Edition of the
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. We have five
copies to distribute this month.
 
For more on this book, see here:
http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=55
314C 
 
Since our Book Note deals with eagles, we have an eagle question this month:
When the Bald Eagle was removed from the list of Endangered Species under
the Endangered Species Act, it was still protected under two federal laws.
The first is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. What is the second?
 
Please send your answer by 18 September to:

 
Question for last month: 
What Alaskan-breeding shorebird holds the record for a non-stop migratory
flight?
 
The answer: 
Bar-tailed Godwit (which has been known to travel from Alaska to New Zealand
- 7,258 miles - non-stop)
 
Last month's winners were Noah Kahn (Arlington, VA), John F. Kearney
(Antigonish, Nova Scotia), Louisa J. Kreider (Northfield, OH), Doug Marooney
(Littleton, CO), and Clifford Seifer
(Keene, NH) 
 
- - - - - - - - -
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
Community E-bulletins, we simply request that you mention the source of any
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
             
                                                            
We never lend or sell our E-bulletin recipient list.