The Bluebird's Laugh

news and more

2008-07-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

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Once upon a time, a place like this was probably oak savanna. It's lost some of its original flora, and had a number of invasives added to it, so you'd have to describe this as "degraded" - but maybe we could say it's a "functional" savanna in some ways. It lacks a Red-headed Woodpecker, though...

Despite that, I still like it. I worked in some places like this during the last few months, doing bird surveys. I especially like the stream pictured here. A singing male Orchard Oriole was right here.

rusty blackbird news; more on other relatives

2008-07-16T02:39:00.000-07:00

See the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center page with Rusty Blackbird news - it is the fastest-declining songbird in North America. In this article Russell Greenberg explains what is known about this species and what's happening.

If you are like me and love blackbirds, you would probably enjoy Alex Skutch's book: Orioles, Blackbirds and Their Kin (1996, Univ. of Arizona Press). I've had it sitting on my bookshelf for several years, but am reading it now. Highly recommended, like all of Skutch's books. Skutch himself was as fascinating as the birds he studied. Learn about his amazing life here.

Ontario's good move, and some shorebird stuff

2008-07-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

Ontario is setting aside 225,00 square kilometers of the boreal region - see the news here.

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And this is very cool: see Clare's post on the House about Baird's Sandpipers, here.

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Not much time for birding these days, but I am periodically checking some ponds near work for returning shorebirds - I'm ready when they get here. Meanwhile I am looking for new resources on shorebirds, and have found a few you may not have seen yet. Check these out: The Shorebird Watcher, the US Shorebird Conservation Plan website, Track Migrating Shorebirds with PRBO, and about Bar-tailed Godwits (we may never see one in WI - but I did see two when I lived in coastal CA...).

conservation notes and news, alternative birding notes

2008-07-08T15:55:00.001-07:00

The link between agricultural practice and policy, and conservation of natural resources was well-documented by Aldo Leopold. To read about an excellent group working for good ag policy, see the website of the Center for Rural Affairs.

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I've written here previously about the opportunity for local clubs to become part of the Bird Conservation Alliance. Some Milwaukee groups took my suggestion, and they went beyond it, to form the Milwaukee Olmstead Bird Conservation Alliance of Wisconsin (MOBCAW) - read about them at this link - perhaps your group may want to follow their lead.

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It's always good to see what Mike McDowell has been up to, lately; go to his birding blog here to find out.

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If you have never learned about the 10000 Birds blog, you're missing one of the best. Read it by clicking here. And while we're talking about some of the best, see Laura Erickson's blog, here, too!

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If in your case it's too early to go shorebirding (it isn't, but that's not the point), way too early for fall warblers (it is, but YWARs and TEWAs will be heading south pretty soon), how about spending some time inputting your spring checklists on eBird? eBird provides tremendous opportunities to make your sightings useful. The last few weeks I've been entering checklists from the past few months, and last year I entered a ton of OLD data (and those of you who know me know I am old and some of my data is old , too!). Here's my challenge to you: enter those checklists! Go to the eBird Wisconsin site - you'll see it's easy and worthwhile.

remembering a hero on the 4th of July

2008-07-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

Conservation in the United States of the 21st century has a long way to go to catch up to where Aldo Leopold already was 65 years ago. If your definition of patriotism includes protecting the place we live, there is still a lot we need to learn, and in some cases re-learn, and actually take to heart - the latter being something which we obviously have not yet done.

Some reading I've been doing lately (a not-so-recently-published biography of Aldo Leopold: A Fierce Green Fire, by Marybeth Lorbiecki) makes me want to celebrate this great American hero. Leopold set a direction many of us are still discovering - if you have not done so, I highly recommend reading any of his writings. But instead of just my praises, read more for yourself from others who have written about him.

A review of Lorbiecki's book, here...

A brief online bio of Leopold, here...

And see a list and description of his books here.

bird conservation and research news

2008-06-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

A variety of Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center information is here; links to some recent publications from the Center's biologists is here.

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An article about the timing of migration and the influence of a warming climate is here.

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The boreal forest, home to millions of breeding birds, is a key area in terms of climate change. Read more and see some maps that help to explain this at this link.

3 new books to recommend

2008-06-28T03:10:00.000-07:00

This new "Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America" by Ted Floyd is excellent - I've not liked most bird guides that used photos in the past, but this is extremely well done. I'm using it a lot already.

Another excellent recent book is "Wildflowers of Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest" by Merel Black and Emmet Judziewicz. This is a wonderfully-useful new guide, with many improvements over those previously available for this region. It too is filled with color photos, has a key system, and information about threatened, endangered, and Special Concern plants in WI. It would of course be equally useful for other states in the region. Read more about this book here.

Last but not least is another fine book about climate change - perhps my favorite recent book on this subject. "The Ethics of Climate Change: Right and Wrong in a Warming World" by James Garvey. Garvey is Secretary of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. His book details the facts about climate change in the first chapter, but then travels to the heart of the ethical implications of a changing climate and how it will influence many aspects of life for all people and other species as well. Highly recommended.

thinking about Aldo Leopold

2008-06-25T02:37:00.000-07:00

Some folks spend an awful lot of time trying to disprove climate science. I often wonder why. Is it that they would find some satisfaction in deciding that they don't have to change after all, that the no-holds-barred 1950-to 2000 approach to faster and faster use of natural resources, creating wealth without any morality (despite what it does to the global environment and poor people everywhere) is OK after all? For some wisdom to hold up to the light, I suggest reading Aldo Leopold. He didn't talk about climate change at all, yet arrived at almost all the same conclusions back in the 1940s. In fact, his entire body of writing from about 1935 until his death still stands up as being the clearest ever understanding of the natural world and humans' place in it.

news from Am. Bird Conservancy and other sources

2008-06-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

To access the BIRD CONSERVATION NEWS TIP-SHEET from 6/20/2008,
go to the ABC news and reports webpage.

If you have questions, contact Steve Holmer, 202/234-7181 ext. 216, sholmer@abcbirds.org

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Also find recent news from BirdLife International, here.

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And a lot of good stuff at the Madison Audubon website...

news, and a few observations

2008-06-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

View the latest news from the Am. Bird Conservancy at this link.

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Today I found some of my favorite bird species while doing surveys in southwestern Grant County: A White-eyed Vireo (near the village of Cassville), and several others after my surveys were completed: Carolina Wren (this one in the village of Cassville itself), and Kentucky Warbler and two Cerulean Warblers in Nelson Dewey State Park. These are all species which I find very infrequently, partly because I almost never "chase" anymore - and that may be partly why I enjoy them as much as I do. My 2008 annual list for WI has not reached 200 yet, and that is a bit unusual - but I don't seem to mind it - my birding has changed, especially in the last few years. I am doing a lot of surveys in all seasons, now...and that may have helped to re-direct my energy and impetus to add to a year list.

some different kinds of birding news

2008-06-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

See updates thus far for the international BIGBY ("big green big year") effort at the BIGBY website. It's much more than just an alternative way to bird, or to deal with high gasoline prices.

While you're at it, you might also like to check in on Malkom Boothroyd and his folks, working on their Bird Year...Malkom has seen 534 species this year, traveling by bicycle, canoe, rowboat, etc.; all muscle-powered conveyances. In the process, he and his supporters have also raised a significant amount of money for bird conservation and raised the bar for the rest of us.

See info about the link between birding and conservation at the 10000 birds blog.

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I have not read all the way through this website yet, but the newdream.org site offers a variety of info on "green" or eco-conscious travel.

And in a similar vein, here is a link to the International Ecotourism Society's website.

conservation news

2008-06-10T12:46:00.001-07:00

News on the recently-passed Farm Bill is a mixed bag for conservation. See a good summary at the American Bird Conservancy page on this topic, here.

Highlights from the Farm Bill include: "The Farm Bill reauthorization will provide $4 billion more for conservation over ten years. This will be split among current programs, fund a new program to pay farmers to conserve wetlands, and add new incentives for endangered species habitat improvement, conservation easements, and forest conservation. The Bill reauthorizes the important Grassland Reserve Program, and expands the popular Conservation Stewardship Program to 80 million acres from the current 16 million."

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Read about wetland conservation at the site of Wetlands International, here.

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A range of arctic conservation issues are described at WWF's page on this topic - here.

bird conservation, climate change news

2008-05-31T04:51:00.000-07:00

Am amazing array of research news, NGO sources, and agency collaboration is pointing to links between bird populations, bird migration and climate change.

The Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) has a page devoted to this topic, here.

Partners In Flight has a bibliography on climate and birds here.

A link to a page on Nature Canada's website addresses the birds and climate change issue.

The Encyclopedia of Earth has new information on climate change, with a special collection of information here. News on climate change from Earth News is available here.

Climate Change Wales has info on the effects on birds in the western United Kingdom at their site, here.

2008 Red List

2008-05-20T02:41:00.000-07:00

Go to the website of BirdLife International to learn about the 2008 Red List - the list of endangered species worldwide. The number of threatened, endangered and critically endangered species is now one of every eight species: 1,226 . More details are at this link.

worthwhile books, conservation, and more

2008-05-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have been looking again just lately at Laura Erickson's fine book 101 Ways to Help Birds (2006 Stackpole Books) - it is a superb book - in fact, whether you buy it or get it from the library, I suggest that you may find this to be the one book with a conservation theme that covers all of the important topics, and does so with great insight and honesty. Don't miss it.

This weekend the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology's 69th year was marked by the society's annual Convention. WSO hosted a superb keynote speaker, Carrol Henderson from the Minnesota DNR. Carrol has written a number of fine books. His latest is focused on the same topic he covered in his keynote address: Oology and Ralph's Talking Eggs. This new book (Univ. of Texas Press) is bound to be a fascinating read - it is concerned with 19th century egg collecting, and the links that egg collecting has to the science of ornithology, modern birding, and the simultaneous development of avian conservation. Read more about it here, or here.

Learn more about WSO at their website. If you're not a member, I recommend you find out what you're missing, by attending any one of WSO's field trips, checking out the society's quarterly journal (The Passenger Pigeon - learn more about the journal here), its newsletter, The Badger Birder, bookstore, other events, and then join us - WSO is a great organization.

help this species: Purple Martin!

2008-05-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

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Here's a species that really needs help, and if you have some space, and the desire to provide housing, the Purple Martin really can make use of it here in Wisconsin.

The trend map above (top) shows one way of representing decline here in the upper Midwest (using BBS data). The second figure above is a graph of ~37 years of BBS data for this species on Wisconsin BBS routes. It's clearly declining.

Lots of people have martin houses, but lots of those houses are not being used. There's abundant information to help correct this. Go to the website of the Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA) to learn how to properly put up and maintain a martin house, and sustain a group of martins over a long period. It does require some effort and time - it IS a commitment. But as you can see from the map and graph above, this species is in decline in this state, and can really use the help. Bluebirds have greatly benefited from human efforts to rebuild their populations. Martins need the same kind of advocacy! One critical factor is the location of a martin house, another is caring for it in winter to exclude house sparrows or starlings. Martins can't use the house if either of the other two species is already in possession. It's easy to do this right - follow the info at this link. PMCA will help show you where to locate a house, what to do in winter to exclude exotic species, and how to have success with helping this species over the long haul.

news May 7

2008-05-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

I'll keep this notice very brief:

Resources from this year's Partners in Flight Conference are available here.

Read the latest news from the Birding CommunityE-Bulletin here.

Even though we don't see many Barn owls here in WI, there are conservation activities aplenty involving this species around the world. Read more at the site of of the Barn Owl Trust.

Read some news from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center here.

Then, if you're still in the reading mode, you can read Jeff Wells' Boreal Bird Blog at this link.

the Endangered Species Act and bird conservation

2008-05-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

Despite what some people apparently think about my post the other day day regarding the Endangered Species Act and the whooping cranes, my intent was to remind people that the cranes are protected by that federal law - a law that has proven very useful for conservation of endangered and threatened species. I am surprised by the fact that I have had to spend so much time this past week defending the law, to birders no less. I am chagrined to learn that many people think their "right" to see a bird trumps the protection afforded that bird species by the federal law.

Although some folks think it is unnecessary that whoopers get extra protection, I don't agree that whoopers are more likely to "accept" or tolerate near human presence, either now or in the future. Imagine if you will, the many years of research done on this species in Canada, Texas, at ICF, at Patuxent in Maryland and by the many people who have devoted their entire careers and professional lives in the service of conservation of the species and its place in North America. The species and its behavior are extremely well-known. The recommendations are based on all of those many thousands of hours of work. Disturbance in species in this situation is well-known for the impact it creates - not a good impact, but an extremely negative one. After literally millions of dollars, years of effort, incredible expertise and scientific work, I contend we should follow the guidelines, stay well away from the birds, and give the process a chance to work. Then, maybe someday, there will be wild whoopers ranging throughout Wisconsin's wetlands. It's a worthwhile goal and one that deserves a chance to work

If you've wondered or maybe have forgotten what the law has accomplished, perhaps the information at these links can refresh your memory:

http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/AmBirdConservancy_ESAreport.pdf

http://www.abcbirds.org/conservationissues/species/esa.html

http://www.audubon.org/campaign/esa/

bird conservation news

2008-04-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

Recent bird conservation news from BirdLife International can be found here.

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If you've never looked at them, you may find the species accounts for Priority Species that are part of the WBCI All-Bird Plan to be of great interest. Find them at this link.

WorldWatch Institute; NRF's Bird Protection Fund

2008-04-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

A fine source of environmental information is at the website of the WorldWatch Institute - go to this link. Important informattion linked there now concerns population, Madagascar's wildlife, sutainability, and an array of other topics.

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Learn about exciting developments in the Natural Resources Foundation's new Bird Protection Fund at NRF's website, here.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and grassland birds, and more

2008-04-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has been very effective in regard to helping grassland bird species. Read more about it here.

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See some information about general or specific conservation issues and programs and the Mississippi River valley at the following links:
http://uppermissgreatlakesjv.org/

http://www.mississippiriverwild.com/

http://www.mississippivalleyconservancy.org/conservation.html

http://www.iwla.org/index.php?id=20

http://www.ducks.org/conservation/initiative19.aspx

more recent bird conservation info (Am. Bird Conservancy)

2008-04-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

New ways to help the Cerulean Warbler via "conservation coffee", at the Am. Bird Conservancy site, here.

See a wonderful video about an endangered hummingbird, also at the ABC site, here.

birds and pesticides; links to other topics

2008-04-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

The American Bird Conservancy pesticides webpage explains how birds are affected by pesticide use in North America, which kills an estimated 67 million birds in the U.S. each year. Read more about this important conservation issue here.

Additional information can be found here, and here.

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Information about how climate change may affect birds in Wisconsin can be found at this link. For links to similar information regarding effects on birds in other areas of the U.S., go to this link instead.

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bird conservation news

2008-04-05T20:35:00.000-07:00

A spring news roundup from BirdLife International is available here.

News and links from the Bird Conservation Network (n. IL, s. WI, nw IN area) can be found here.

News from the American Bird Conservancy can be found here, including video about a new court decision on collisions and towers. (If you can't access the video here, try other linked versions here.)

More news from ABC, this time about the "prairie pothole" region and conservation issues there, can be found here.

Greater White-fronted Goose on the increase

2008-03-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

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As discussed on the Wisconsin Birding List this week, the Greater White-fronted Goose is most definitely on the increase. See the graphic above, which represents birds-per-party-hour for CBC records for this species over the past 30 years. White-fronts, like Snow Geese and Ross's Geese are sometimes collectively described as "light geese", and they all have been increasing due to a number of factors: increasing winter temperatures, good feeding conditions in the southern Great Plains and Gulf states due to changes in agricultural practices, increased number of refuges compared with a half-century ago --- all of which create the conditions for better over-winter survival. In turn, when birds in better body condition arrive on a warming low Arctic tundra habitat, they over-eat the vegetation there, and are in fact damaging their habitat due to their increasing numbers. Damage to their breeding grounds is in some cases so severe it can be seen from satellite images.