THE BIRDING COMMUNITY E-BULLETIN January 2008

This Birding Community E-bulletin is being distributed through the generous support of Steiner Binoculars as a service 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 our past E-bulletins on the website of the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA): http://www.refugenet.org/birding/birding5.html and on the birding pages for Steiner Binoculars http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin.html

RARITY FOCUS

Several Mexican rarities found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas attracted attention in December. Among them were a Blue Bunting and a Crimson-collared Grosbeak, both females and both found at the Frontera Audubon thicket in Weslaco. These vagrants were present for most of the month starting from 9 December and 14 December, respectively.
 
Our rarity of the month choice, however, is a different species discovered in South Texas.
 
Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) often unearth local rarities, sometimes at locations not regularly covered on routine birding routes. The La Sal Vieja CBC in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas provided just such a surprise species. This count is held in the Valley Salt Lake area around the Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge. Much of the count area is made up of a combination of Federal and private lands consisting of grassland, salt lakes, and arid brush country comprised of sandy soils and extensive ranch land.
 
On 14 December, during the La Sal Vieja CBC five Masked Ducks were discovered on ponds located on private property near the East Lake unit of the Lower Rio Grande NWR, but visible from an adjacent public road.
 
Masked Ducks are small tropical, stiff-tailed ducks that are closely related to Ruddy Ducks. They are something of an enigma in the U.S., appearing and even breeding irregularly in Texas and very rarely appearing elsewhere in the U.S. Somewhat shy and difficult to see, Masked Ducks often remain hidden in dense aquatic vegetation during the daytime. Masked Ducks appearing in Texas probably originate in Mexico, and they are most likely to be found during especially wet years. What amounts to small invasions have occurred in the 1930s, the late 1960s, the early 1970s, and the 1990s.
 
After the 14 December CBC, birders found different numbers of the secretive Masked Ducks through the rest of the month: for example, four on 20 and 21 December, six on 22 December, two on 24 December, four on 29 December, and three on 31 December.
 
For photos by Dan Jones see here (and search for the post for 21 December):
http://antshrike.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html

GRAND CANYON CALIFORNIA CONDOR CHICKS FLEDGE
 
Two California Condor chicks that hatched in May fledged from their nests in the Grand Canyon in December. This brings the world's population of California Condors now flying free in the wild to 169. This includes 67 in Arizona, 83 in California, and 19 in Mexico.
 
This is a significant milestone since it is the first year in the condor recovery program where there are more condors flying free than there are in captivity. The goal for the condor recovery plan is to produce at least 150 members in each of the U.S. populations, including at least 15 breeding pairs
 
December's fledglings also make a total of nine wild chicks hatched in the Grand Canyon since 1996. Eight of these birds are still alive, and all of these birds are part of an "experimental population" under the Endangered Species Act - section 10(j).
 
The most serious challenge continuing to face all free-flying California Condors is lead poisoning from the remains of unretrieved animals shot with lead ammunition. On-site researchers in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and local hunting groups have cooperated on a campaign that has produced an increase in the number of hunters who have voluntarily switched to copper bullets or other non-lead alternatives when hunting in condor country. This campaign has resulted in a corresponding drop in condor deaths ascribed to lead poisoning.
 
"We are grateful to all the hunters who are valued partners in restoring California Condors to their historic range," Bill Heinrich of The Peregrine Fund said. But he warned that "until we significantly reduce the amount of lead they are exposed to, we will never have a self-sustaining population of condors."
 
We recently reported on related condor developments in California in the June, August, and September 2008 E-bulletins:
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/junSBC08.html#TOC04
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/augSBC08.html#TOC06
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/sepSBC08.html#TOC03

BOOK REVIEW: RARE BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA

Finally, while on the theme of rarities, it is appropriate to mention the recent publication of RARE BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA (2007, Western Field Ornithologists). This large book of almost 600 pages is stunning in its thoroughness. The editors (Robert Hamilton, Michael Patten, and Richard Erickson) have done a remarkable job of summarizing the documentation for all the rare bird records in California through the end of 2003.The volume is an historical outline of the work of the California Bird Records Committee, beginning with its genesis in 1970. California was the first state in the Americas to establish a committee for the purpose of vetting records of rare and vagrant birds.

The treatment of each species in the book is preceded by a fine essay on trends of that species in California, along with including a more general overview of developments in California birding from 1960-2007, as well as the process of documenting and reporting records. The species treatments that constitute the very heart of the book are amazingly thorough, with maps and sketches often supplementing photographs and the core summaries of sightings.

The sheer thoroughness of the volume, however, begs the question: What is the shelf life of such a book? With every new record that is accumulated, the book will gradually show its age. While this digest of "old" records will remain invaluable, every new record established will inevitably date the volume. (As evidence, witness Appendix H, that serves to supplement the species treatments of reports collected between 2004 and 2007.)

If this elegant volume serves as a standard for other state and provincial bird record committees, it also provides an example of why similar future efforts should seriously consider Web publication as an alternative for such information, the obvious advantages being the ability to provide rolling annual updates, a searchable database, broader access, and simple economy as hardcopy publications continue to increase in price.

REPAIR ACT ON NWR INVASIVES STALLED IN SENATE?

On 22 October, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 767, the Refuge Ecology Protection, Assistance, and Immediate Response (REPAIR) Act. This piece of legislation addresses the important and often expensive issue of confronting invasive (non-native) species on National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs). The bill then moved to the Senate for action.

The REPAIR Act, championed by Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI), co-chair of the House Wildlife Refuge Caucus, stated that "[R]efuges have faced an unanswered march of invasive plants and animals that have literally taken over, crowding out the very wildlife and habitat the refuges are charged with protecting."

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, two million acres of refuge lands are infested with invasive plants, and 4,471 invasive animal populations have been recorded on refuge property. The Service also estimates that over $300 million of invasive species projects exist on wildlife refuges today, possibly the fastest growing portion of the Refuge System's current budget.

By providing funding through two different grants, the REPAIR Act could potentially help prevent new invasive species from taking hold and disrupting refuge ecosystems.

If this bill was passed in the House in late October, why raise attention to it now?

The answer is because it hasn't moved in the Senate. In fact, some animal rights advocates, focusing on defending feral cats from potential extermination on and near NWRs, are taking credit for stalling Senate movement.

For more on the passage of the H.R. 767, see the statement by the American Bird Conservancy: http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/071023.html

For more background on some of the problems caused by invasive species on NWRs, see the website of the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) : http://www.refugenet.org/New-issues/invasives.html

CONGRESSIONAL MOVES ON FARM BILL, REFUGE BUDGET, AND CLIMATE

There was still some positive news pertaining to birds and bird habitat in December, both in the Senate, and from Congress as a whole. Summarized below are a few important bird-friendly developments.

First, on the Farm Bill, we saw the Senate pass a 2007 Farm Bill mid-month, catching up to - and sometimes bettering - the House version already passed. Standard and highly beneficial programs for grasslands (Conservation Reserve Program and Grassland Reserve Program) and wetlands (Wetland Reserve Program) were reauthorized. Two new programs were also proposed (now in both Senate and House version): a "Sodsaver" provision that would protect the last standing native prairie remaining in the U.S. (the stronger Senate version removes landowner eligibility for federal disaster payments for an indefinite period), and "Open Fields" which would back existing state programs to reward farmers and ranchers who open their land to outdoor-related access. This last move would expand successful walk-in hunting and fishing programs in a number of states. A conference committee is expected to begin reconciling the Senate and House versions of the Farm Bill early this year.

Second, right before the Christmas Congressional recess, the Senate joined with the House in passing an omnibus-spending package for FY08. Among a number of funding issues worthy of mention to bird supporters was a Refuge System Operations and Maintenance budget that dramatically reversed the recent downward trend. (Over the past four years, NWRs have had flat or declining budgets, floating below $400 million per year, and forcing each FWS Region to implement downsizing plans calling for a 20 percent reduction of the workforce, along with similar cuts for habitat management.) The Refuge System budget would rise accordingly to $434 million for FY08, a major increase of $39 million over last year. Although not as high as the recommended $451 million suggested by the House, this is still a dramatic and much-needed funding boost. (Readers should know that merely to stand still, NWRs need an additional $15 million annually, and that to meet fundamental wildlife conservation and public-use mandates, the NWRs would require at least $765 million annually.)

Third, in early December the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 2191) by a vote of 11-8. Eighteen percent of revenues from the carbon permit auction established under this bill, perhaps as much as $9.3 billion per year in the beginning, would be dedicated to natural resources adaptation. Some 35 percent of those revenues would go to state fish and wildlife agencies, channeled through the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program, for activities aimed at assisting fish and wildlife adaptation and habitat resiliency in response to climate change. (Other funds would be available go toward supporting additional programs, including cost-share landowner and international wildlife efforts.)

The implications of this approach were covered in last month's E-bulletin: http://www.refugenet.org/birding/decSBC07.html#TOC05 and http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin/dec07.html

Some observers assert that the Lieberman-Warner bill does not reach far enough in setting limits for greenhouse gasses. Nonetheless, the bill has been improved with every bill version and may continue to do so as the Senate discusses it and as outside pressure continues. The good news is that the Lieberman-Warner Bill has this unprecedented wildlife component, and that S. 2191 will surely be the legislation that is adjusted and amended as Congressional discussion continues.

In sum, 2008 may prove to be interesting, if not helpful, for birds and other wildlife.

CHARLOTTE: BARRED OWLS ADAPTING TO CITY AND SUBURBAN LIFE?

Urban and near-urban wildlife numbers have been increasing in recent decades, notably with populations of Gray Squirrels, Canada Geese, Raccoons, and White-tailed Deer. However, the appearance of significant urban and suburban populations of Barred Owls has been a surprise to many. Charlotte, North Carolina, for example, has become home to a prospering population of these owls.

The Barred Owl population in Charlotte is so robust that the city was chosen to be the site for the most extensive Barred Owl research study ever attempted, with fieldwork actually taking place in the manicured front lawns and garden-filled back yards of urban and suburban neighborhoods.

The research study, an effort sponsored by the Carolina Raptor Center, began in 2001. The study has been large in scale, with researchers monitoring about 40 nesting sites each year, and annually radio-tracking many sets of Barred Owl young as they mature.

Traditionally, Barred Owls were thought to need large stands of old-growth or bottomland forests to survive. But University of North Carolina at Charlotte ecologist and ornithologist, Rob Bierregaard, who has directed the six-year-old research study, says "Either the Barred Owls in Charlotte haven't read that book or the book is wrong, because they are really here and apparently doing quite well." Bierregaard explains that the owls need an open understory for optimal hunting, not a forest with thick undergrowth. "When you look at suburban Charlotte, what do we have? We've got giant old Willow Oak trees with plenty of holes in them and we've got mowed lawns and azalea bushes, which is a very open understory, so they [the owls] can see a long way." In addition to the open understory there are plenty of birdfeeders to attract additional prey. (Cooper's Hawks are also attracted to the birdfeeders, but the hawks in the Charlotte may not as successful when it comes to nesting.)

For more information: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071016131337.htm

LOOKING UPSLOPE AT THE THREAT OF BIRD EXTINCTIONS

As certain bird habitats shift to higher elevations driven by rising temperatures, birds depending on highland habitats and their associated vegetation are being seriously squeezed, possibly squeezed out of existence. Once a species retreats upslope far enough, as areas of once suitable habitat at lower elevations become too warm for the species, the habitable area for the bird could eventually be reduced to zero.

A Stanford University study on this subject has also asserted that many resident birds may be much more threatened from climate change than migratory birds (i.e., many sedentary mountain birds currently thought to be relatively safe may actually be at great risk).

For a summary of this unsettling report, see: http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/january9/caganone-010908.html

MORE LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN HABITAT SECURED

Regular readers of the E-bulletin know that the Lesser Prairie-Chicken - a non-migratory resident prairie grouse - is in serious trouble. Concern for this species has been the subject of previous E-bulletin reports. For example:

http://www.refugenet.org/birding/decSBC06.html#TOC06 and http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin/dec06.html
or
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/janSBC07.html#TOC04 and http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin/jan07.html

Lesser Prairie-Chicken has also been a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act, largely because it has experienced a decrease in its population perhaps by more than 90 percent since the late 1800s. Reasons for this decline are primarily due to the conversion of its former grassland and rangeland habitat to cropland, unwise grazing-management practices, oil and gas development, and overall habitat fragmentation. Currently an estimated 32,000 Lesser Prairie-Chickens may still remain in the southern Great Plains, in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. Some estimates place the population as low as 10,000 birds.

For a summary of the species natural history, a range map, and ongoing conservation concerns, see the North American Grouse Partnership website: http://www.grousepartners.org/birds.htm#lpc

Also see the article on fences and prairie-chicken losses: http://www.grousepartners.org/images2/grousenews/2006/DontFenceThemIn.pdf

In mid-November 2007, the Nature Conservancy in Texas announced that it had purchased the 6,000-acre Fitzgerald Ranch in the High Plains of West Texas, specifically to protect habitat for Lesser Prairie-Chickens and other wildlife. Located about 40 miles southwest of Lubbock in Yoakum and Terry counties, the property represents the first land that TNC has purchased in this area of Texas.

See the summary from the Playa Lakes Joint Venture: http://www.pljv.org/cms/latest-news#Story2

And also from Texas TNC: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/texas/press/press3211.html

While protecting the Fitzgerald Ranch is a very good move, the ultimate future of this species depends on cooperative management with operating ranchers willing to restore, enhance, and maintain large blocks of suitable Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitat. This would mean continued encouragement from state and federal agencies, a model that is actually starting to be created.

DELAWARE: LATEST ADDITION TO BIRDING TRAILS

Birding trails, a concept pioneered in the early 1990s in Texas, continue to spread. The latest addition is the Delaware Birding Trail, in a state nicknamed "The Small Wonder." The latest trail certainly matches the state's nickname.

With an inaugural ceremony at Bombay Hook NWR on 8 December, following a week of cumulative bird-finding at sites along the trail, the new trail was launched. Its development, accompanied by an excellent website, was made possible by a creative group of state, federal, and local partners: http://www.delawarebirdingtrail.org/

RICE AGRICULTURE AND BIRDS IN SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA

As regular readers of this E-bulletin know, when the rice production is properly managed it can potentially provide benefits for ducks, long-legged waders, shorebirds, and a number of other wetland birds. The significance of rice management to bird conservation was reflected by a workshop held this past fall in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Wetlands International organized the workshop that was titled "Shorebird Conservation and Rice Cultivation in Southern South America." Attending the meeting were about 40 conservation, bird, and rice experts from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and the U.S.

The intent of the workshop was to exchange information, promote international cooperation, and identify the myriad challenges involved with the promotion of "best practices" for rice cultivation.

For summary details of this important meeting, see: http://www.whsrn.org/news/whsrnews.html#rice

TRACKING THE NORTHERN IRRUPTION

In October we drew attention to "winter finch" predictions rising from Ron Pittaway's report for Ontario:
http://www.refugenet.org/birding/octSBC07.html#TOC05
and
http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin/oct07.html

Christmas Bird Count participants and feeder-watchers in many areas have already reported the presence of large numbers of these irruptive species - including non-finch species such as Red-breasted Nuthatch and Bohemian Waxwing.. A good way to track these unfolding irruptions is through the Cornell Lab's eBird. To see a helpful summary report linked to eBird by Matt Medler from the Boreal Songbird Initiative, readers are referred to: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/Irruption2007Nov.html

TIP OF THE MONTH: FEEDER FRENZY

Considering our reports on the Colorado Streak-backed Oriole, the possible feeder-relationship between Barred Owls and feeders in North Carolina, and the winter-finch watch across the northern parts of North America, this is a good time to remind readers to re-supply your feeders at home, heap them with new and enticing delicacies, and wait for the resulting parade of hungry visitors to appear.

Indeed, the Christmas Bird Count season - just ending now - always highlights special feeder visitors from coast to coast, and next month many of our readers will be participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

PIGEON POOP? PIGEON CZAR!

Finally, for this month, we have a report from New York City. Simcha Felder, a member of the City Council, claims that each of the city's pigeons can live for 15 years and can produces an estimated 25 pounds of droppings a year. (European settlers brought Rock Pigeons to North America as domesticated birds; the birds that hold sway in New York City are their semi-wild descendants.) In mid-November Felder released a report proposing legislation that would curb the city's pigeon population. The Councilman advocates a birth control strategy through OvoControl P, a system that recently received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency and that has been used in several cities to control pigeon population.

But his top recommendation is directed at humans. He has proposed legislation that would ban the feeding of pigeons on city streets. The law proposes a $1,000 fine for feeding the urban birds. Says Felder, "If people like pigeons, let them take them into their homes and let them crap all over the place in their living rooms."

Another proposal is to create a city "Pigeon Czar" who would consolidate oversight responsibility. Right now, this responsibility is spread over several different state and city agencies overseeing public health, transportation, and the environment. Despite their reputation as disease carriers, the NYC Health Department does not consider pigeons a major danger and says that the average New Yorker is not at risk of catching any disease from the birds or their droppings.

Of 54 European cities recently surveyed, 29 have pigeon feeding bans. But these are bans that are hard to enforce given public resistance. Likewise, in Chicago there is an ordinance banning people from providing food that would attract rats and other pests, which presumably includes pigeons. Violators of these ordinances can be ticketed and fined up to $1,000, or jailed for up to six months, or both. Currently, few tickets are issued.

Back in The Big Apple, an attempt to use Harris's Hawks against pigeons in 2003 at Manhattan's Bryant Park was discontinued after one of the hawks attacked a pet Chihuahua. (According to the experiment's lead falconer, the hawk probably mistook the little dog for a rat in the park shrubbery.)

Hearings on Councilman Felder's proposals may be held later this year.

You can access an archive of past E-bulletins on the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) website: http://www.refugenet.org/birding/birding5.html and on the birding pages for Steiner Binoculars http://www.steiner-birding.com/bulletin.html

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