My Best Birds of 2010

2010 was filled with some great birds, though perhaps not as many outstanding birds as the past few years (how can I even dare to say such a thing!). Here are my top 10:

1) Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush. I don't think anyone will ever understand how this bird got from Mexico up to the Black Hills of South Dakota, or the miracle of how it was found singing deep within the trees along a small creek there. But I was happy to hear this bird, and catch a glimpse of it with my kids this summer on our way back from Oregon.

2) Northern Wheatear. Since I've chased and missed this species before, it was a great Christmas Eve present to see this bird in Delaware with my kids. ABA lifer #2 for the year.

3) Tufted Puffin. My kids got to see a couple of these guys flying around Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, Oregon on our vacation this summer. It's always a good day when you see a puffin.

4) Tufted Duck. I spent fun hour or so watching this bird. I don't get to see too many of these in North America, and it was my first for Pennsylvania.

5) Glossy Ibis. Less than a dozen of these birds have been reported in Utah, so it was fun to find one of these with a flock of White-faced Ibis when I was visiting the inlaws in Cache Valley this summer.

6) Flammulated Owl. Got my best looks ever at these little guys in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah with Bill Fenimore. Super bonus: got to show them to my kids, as well as their cousins and some of my inlaws.

7) Cuervo de los Chontales. A mystery finally solved. Great trip to Mexico.

8) Northern Shrike. Another fun morning, after having missed it once before, spent watching this visitor to my corner of Pennsylvania.

9) Boat-billed Heron. Loved seeing this guy hanging out above a pond in the La Venta museum in Villahermosa, Mexico.

10) Yucatan Jay. Enjoyed seeing these guys in Tucta, Villahermosa. On the edge of their range there, my visit was timed just right to see the only briefly held white juvenile plumage of otherwise black and blue young Yucatan Jays.

Banded Snow Goose in NJ

Glad I stopped to scope out a flock of 30,000 Snow Geese on my way to give my final exams at Rowan University last week. Here's what I found out about a neck-collared Snow Goose that I found in that flock. Cool!

Upcoming Birdchaser Talk in DC

If you are in the DC area, join me next month for this fun presentation.

Friday January 7, 6:45 PM
Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC January Lecture

“Birds and Bird Lore Among the Ancient and Modern Maya”

Birds have played important roles in Mesoamerican cultures for thousands of years. Rob Fergus explores the connections between birds and various Mayan cultures as revealed in their ancient art and his ongoing field work with seven modern Mayan communities in Guatemala and Belize. In addition to reviewing the role of birds in Mayan writing and iconography, if you want to know how the Turkey Vulture got its red head, which bird you can burn to a crisp to make into a love potion, why you can't have sex before you plant your corn crop, or how to cure warts, this is the program for you!

Sumner School,
1201 17th Street, NW,
Washington, DC
http://www.pcswdc.org/

Latest on Birds and Windows

I've been posting about the problem of birds hitting windows for a long time, though not as long as Bill Watterson (see above). Recently I got to spend an afternoon with Dr. Dan Klem who is the leading researcher on this topic. He teaches at Muhlenberg College just up the road from me in Allentown. I've posted an interview with him over at Urban Birdscapes. So if you want to check out the latest on birds and windows, that's the place to be.

birds and bed bugs

Is there a connection between birds and bed bugs? Check out my short article here. While the connection between birds and bed bugs shouldn't be on the top of your worry list, the likelihood of having a problem with bird bugs, while still tiny, is a possibility if you have birds nesting on your house.

Hog Island Update

Here's the latest from Audubon about Hog Island. Let me echo the final suggestions here--if you agree that Hog Island is an important treasure as part of Audubon's legacy, then by all means sign up to attend the great programs there and consider donating to make the operations there sustainable. If you are a member of an Audubon chapter, how about making it a tradition to send your Volunteer of the Year up there as a reward each year!

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Audubon Update on Plans for Hog Island
December 7, 2010

Q: Will Audubon continue to own Hog Island?
A: Yes.

Q: What happens after 2011?
A. Audubon is committed to the ongoing preservation of Hog Island’s biodiversity and wilderness. And we treasure the transformational education and conservation experiences its programs have provided. However, for more than a decade, Hog Island has faced financial challenges related to running and operating residential camp programs, including increasingly high operational costs, shifting consumer travel choices, and changes in the camping industry. That said, we know that Hog Island has many passionate supporters, and we are optimistic that the Friends of Hog Island will be able to develop a sustainable business plan and obtain adequate funding support.

Q. Is there a chance that Audubon would turn over the management of the Island to Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc. or some other entity in the future?
A. At this time, we are committed to seeing if Friends of Hog Island can work with Audubon, Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc. and Maine Audubon to develop a viable business plan and raise the needed money to support the operations and programming on Hog Island. However, if that does not happen, we will continue to explore options with Kieve-Wavus Education.

Q. How long will you give Friends of Hog Island to see if they can raise the support needed?
A. We are in discussions now to determine an appropriate timeline and process.

Q. Why would you work with Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc.? What’s their reputation?
A. We conducted an assessment of potential partners in 2009 and it led us to our current discussions with Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc., a local nonprofit organization whose camps “promote the values of teamwork, kindness, respect, and environmental stewardship” for youth and adults. Audubon and Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc. have been working together informally for more than 30 years, and we have been working more closely together in the past two years. Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc. has an excellent reputation for offering high-quality active-learning educational experiences for young people for the past 85 years. A partnership with Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc. allows Audubon to reach a broader audience, including young leaders. Keive-Wavus Education, Inc. reaches more than 9,000 young people each year. By giving these young people a chance to learn, discover, and explore on Hog Island, we will be helping to build the next generation of conservation leaders. In addition, Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc. has been extremely helpful in ensuring that Audubon’s summer programming last year was successful!

Q. What is Maine Audubon’s role?
A. As mentioned above, Maine Audubon currently manages the buildings and overall upkeep, and they will be transferring those management responsibilities back to National Audubon. (They took over management of the Island in 2000.) Maine Audubon will be working with Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc. to integrate environmental education into Kieve’s programming. In addition, Maine Audubon will continue to work with Audubon to support high-quality programming on the Island.

Q. How can other supporters of Hog Island help?
A. There are many ways you can help support Hog Island.

The first is to sign up for programming. We want to make sure that all sessions are full, enabling us to meet our programming and financial goals for the season. For more information, visit http://www.projectpuffin.org/OrnithCamps.html

The second thing you can do is to provide financial support for the Island’s operations and programming. We need funding to support the operations and the development of an endowment. In addition, we need funding to support building upkeep and upgrades to allow for continued programming. If you are interested in donating to Hog Island, please visit https://loon.audubon.org/payment/donate/PUFFHOGISL.html Even small amounts can add up to make a huge difference. And finally, you can volunteer on the Island, working with Friends of Hog Island and Audubon staff to help prepare the camp for programs.

Audubon looks forward to working with everyone who is interested in the future of Hog Island. And if you have questions, please email jbraus AT audubon.org.

Field Guide to Cartoon Birds

Here's a page from my upcoming Field Guide to Cartoon Birds. This book will revolutionize birdwatching by including the most commonly seen birds in America, no matter what network or original format. Stay tuned for more news as we get closer to a release date!

Original Cocoa Puffs Cuckoos

I didn't realize that Sonny was only one of two original Cocoa Puffs cuckoos--once upon a time Sonny was paired with Gramps. Question--are Cocoa Puffs made with bird-friendly cocoa?

Crazy Geese

Here's a small group of geese (family?) that was hanging out near Lake Towhee, Bucks Co., PA earlier this month. Can you identify them?

Peace Valley in the wind

Quick stop at Peace Valley this morning, in the high winds, produced the following migrants:

Red-throated Loon (1)
Red-necked Grebe (2)
Greater Scaup (1)
Black Scoter (1)
Bufflehead (12)
Ruddy Duck (5)

All were out too far for any effective digiscoping.

Fountain Hill Hummingbird

Spent an enjoyable morning visiting with Ed Sinkler, Arlene Koch, and Dennis Glew while waiting for and occasionally watching the female Selasphorus hummingbird in Fountain Hill, near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The bird is thought to be a female Rufous Hummingbird, but hopefully that will be confirmed when Scott Weidensaul stops by to band it this afternoon. Ed noticed the bird at the hummingbird feeder in his back yard earlier this week, and welcomes visitors to his backyard to see the bird. You can just walk up the paved walkway along the right side of the house to the back where there are chairs set up where you can watch the two feeders. Make sure to sign the guestbook.

Photo: Howard Eskin (more here)

Prepare Now for Turkey Day

(Turkey from Classic Maya vase)

In our family, Thanksgiving is Turkey Day. Since 2004, I've been taking the kids out each Thanksgiving to look for Wild Turkeys before the food festivities. In fact, the 2004 chase was my very first Birdchaser post!

Some years we find the birds, sometimes we don't. But every year it is an adventure, and a great way to celebrate the natural world. Back in the early 1900s, there were only 30,000 Wild Turkeys running around out there. Now there are over 5 million of them. So Wild Turkeys can symbolize the hope we have for restoring and protecting our native birds, and the rest of our natural heritage.

Celebrate Turkey Day by taking someone you love out to look for Wild Turkeys where you live. If you don't have turkeys in your area, you can substitute some other cool (preferably gallinaceous) bird. And it will be more fun if you can actually find them, so now is the time to start scouting out local turkey haunts so you can get in the same groove as your local turkey flock.

Have fun and let me know how it goes :-)

BBC Twitching Documentary

Now on YouTube. Enjoy watching birders watching birds!

Steve Martin on shooting The Big Year

Steve Martin was on Letterman talking about shooting The Big Year (see discussion from about 2:25-5:05).




(Hat tip: John)

Barry White--Serious Bird Lover

Found this 1979 Ebony article where crooner Barry White talks about his love for air (birds), water (fish), and earth (horses). At the time of the interview he had a 480 gallon saltwater aquarium, $1.5 million in horses, and birds including cockatoos.

So, Barry White. Bird Lover. Who knew?

Anybody know any good Barry White bird tunes?

Helping Audubon Help Birds

Last week I made some very critical remarks about the national Audubon organization and some of its historic and organizational struggles. While I made every effort to be sincere and to make sure that what I posted was accurate, there is still a problem with what I posted.

According to German sociologist and philosopher Jürgen Habermas's Theory of Communicative Action, effective communication requires three essential elements--
1) It must be truthful
2) It must be sincerely conveyed
3) It must conform to accepted social rules

The third point is where I failed. I was critical and somewhat intemperate in my remarks. My tone was more attacking than conciliatory. Some of my intentions were clouded over by my passion, and my posts were not the most effective way to strengthen Audubon and the bird conservation community.

Since my original intent was to protest the possible loss of Hog Island as a center for building and sustaining a national Audubon community, to the extent that my posts offended or turned off members of that community with the power to influence that decision, then my posts failed in their attempt. To the degree that the posts could be taken as a Jerry Maguire moment, I lost credibility as a rational and viable partner and valuable member of that larger Audubon community. So my posts have failed to some degree, and my posts have damaged my relationships to people I care deeply about within the Audubon community. I feel that intensely, and feel the need once again to apologize.

In my best moments, my intent is to strengthen and support the Audubon societies as the strongest and potentially most effective bird conservation organizations at the national, state, and local level. I hope to my previous comments can be charitably read within that context and not as an attack on Audubon or any member of the Audubon community.

We are at a critical time in the history of Audubon. Birds need our help. The economy has financially weakened nonprofits across the country. National Audubon has a new president, which usually leads to shifts in policies and priorities. There is a lot of work to do, and it will take all of us who care about birds and/or Audubon to get this work done.

So here's my take on how you can help Audubon help birds.

1) Join Audubon. In many places you can join at both the National and the local level. National Audubon needs your support. So does your local chapter. So depending on how Audubon is organized in your area, determine if you have the opportunity to join at both the national and local chapter level.

2) Crack the Wallet. You can give to Audubon at the local, state, or national level. You can provide general support (there are always light bills to be paid), or you can support individual programs that you are most interested in. Take a look at what Audubon is doing on each of these levels, and see where you want to put your dollars to work. Since there is a lot to do, and a lot going on, there are a lot of programs and projects to support.

3) Be a Leader. If you care about birds, don't just get involved--take on a project with your local Audubon chapter. What do birds need in your area? You and a couple other people can form a subcommittee and take on the world. If you'd rather just spend your time birding, go back to suggestion number two and at least make it financially possible for someone else to do the important conservation work while you enjoy your time birding. Audubon even has some funds available that can help you do your local projects. You can also become a leader on the state level by getting involved with a statewide Audubon council linking the chapters in your state, or by serving on the board of your statewide Audubon organization. There are also ways to be involved on the National Audubon board. But you don't have to have a title or position to be a leader. If you care about birds, lead out on whatever it is that you see needs to be done.

4) Be a Follower. Even more than financial support, what good leaders need are good followers. Do what you can to support your local Audubon chapter leaders. Ditto for your statewide and national Audubon officers and staff. You may not always agree with everyone, but do your best to work through your issues without rancor. If you're reading this post you know that I haven't always succeeded here. But I am dedicated to keep trying. To patching up difficulties so we can work together. We have enough obstacles and sometimes even enemies to face without having to worry about getting stabbed in the back by members of our own community while we are out trying to do our best. Sometimes there is a tendency to complain and take our marbles elsewhere when we are upset. We need to practice following sometimes, even when we disagree, for the benefit of the larger good. This is something that seems to be breaking down in some sectors of our larger society. It is a tough skill for some of us to develop. But remember that united we stand, divided we fall. We've already seen a lot of falling in the bird world, and perhaps the greatest threat that Audubon and the conservation community face right now.

5) Be heard. Make your wishes and desires known within Audubon at all levels. Remember what it takes to be an effective communicator (truth, sincerity, living by the rules of the group with which you are communicating). Clean up your messes when you make them, but be in communication. On my best days I know that my messages have the greatest influence when they persuade with patience, gentleness, meekness, and love.

6) Have Fun. Sometimes we think birding is fun, while bird conservation is work--the last thing we want to do after a full day or week at the office. So make it fun. Make sure you have lots of fun meetings--with food. Get involved with people you enjoy being with. Let the creative juices flow. Plan bird conservation parties. Contests. Competitions. And more parties. If you have the best parties in town, you will get the most done!

7) Go to Hog Island. Along the lines of having fun, attend Audubon's chapter leadership workshops (next one is Aug 15-20, 2010) or other programs on Hog Island, Maine. Soak in the sights, sounds, and legacy of this traditional Audubon stomping ground. Take the boat out to see the puffins nesting on Eastern Egg Rock. Enjoy the great food. Hang out and share your best Audubon thoughts with like-minded local Audubon folks from around the country. If each Audubon chapter sent one member to this camp each year, we would need 10 camp sessions so the future of the camp would be financially secure, and we would be much stronger as a national community--a true Audubon society!

Yes we have our problems and squabbles within Audubon, most of which are probably not best addressed through blog posts. Audubon is a big tent, a tent that both needs and can provide support and opportunities for all of us. Under that tent we will strengthen each other and our cause as we all work together to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.

Why I Love Audubon

As hopefully a final post in this recent series on birds and Audubon, I'd just like to highlight some of what I really love about Audubon. Mostly people who are doing great work, some of which you may not have heard of. There are thousands of them across the country, passionate and effective Auduboners at the National, State and local chapter level. Here are just a few:

1) Stephen Kress. For decades, against all odds, Dr. Kress has put together one of the most effective bird conservation programs in Audubon. He has brought puffins and nesting terns back to the coast of Maine, and has solid data to show the effectiveness of his work. He has trained hundreds of young interns over the years, and his work is an inspiration for similar projects around the world.

2) Paul Green. After serving as the president of the American Birding Association, and then as the Director of Citizen Science for Audubon, Dr. Green moved to Tucson where he heads up the Tucson Audubon Society and its groundbreaking efforts to protect the birds of Southeastern Arizona, including a landscape design course for homeowners and landscape professionals.

3) Stephen Saffier. I worked with Steve in Audubon's Science Office, and now he heads up efforts to create communities and neighborhoods that are good for birds and people at Audubon Pennsylvania. Instead of getting mired in the politics of Audubon, he has been able to implement some of the best ideas we ever had, including a backyard bird conservation program and a database linking birds to the native plants that they use and that people can plant to support them.

4) Jane Tillman. When I was at Travis Audubon Jane took on leading an Urban Habitat Committee that works tirelessly to make Austin better for birds and people. Jane and her committee have undertaken many local projects over the years, including creating backyard habitats and installing Chimney Swift towers in local parks.

5) Brian Rutledge. I love Sage Grouse, and Audubon is definitely stronger for having Brian Rutledge (Audubon VP of the Rocky Mountain Region) and his crew working tirelessly to protect them from environmental threats including damage done by extensive energy development in Wyoming.

6) Stella Miller. When Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon president Stella Miller heard that hundreds of hawks and other birds of prey were being seriously injured by methane burners at landfills and other industrial facilities, she didn't just wring her hands in despair. She took on the challenge and is working with industry groups to bring this issue to their attention and put in measures to protect the birds.

There are thousands of people in Audubon that are just as effective and passionate as these examples. I will be highlighting each of these, and many more, here and on my Urban Birdscapes blog. Audubon is well served by these people, and will be well served by supporting them and giving them the resources they need to be effective in protecting the birds and habitats we share with them.

Jon Stewart's Medal of Reasonableness

Features an owl. Of course. Birds rule! And help restore sanity and/or fear!

BTW, Sit Vis Nobiscum is Latin for May the Force Be With You!

First Social Flycatcher in the US?

This week I visited The Research Museum at the Acopian Center for Ornithology at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Their bird collection was in storage for many years, but in going through and curating their collection, they found this Social Flycatcher, collected in Brownsville, Texas in February 1887. This should represent the first Social Flycatcher record north of Mexico. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of data associated with some of these old specimens, but the record has been submitted to the Texas Bird Records Committee.

Bird Hazard Survey

What hazards are killing birds? How does our society deal with these hazards?

Yesterday I was up visiting researchers at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania who are looking at some of these issues. They are requesting that people help them study these types of questions by filling out an online survey.

Many birds are killed each year by various forms of human technology and activity. Some of these human-made hazards attract much more attention than do others. The researchers are interested in how various factors shown to influence people’s perceptions of the risks posed by nuclear power or water pollution (e.g., is it a ‘new’ hazard, how 'natural' does the hazard seem) may also contribute to peoples’ perceptions of various hazards to birds. This information will be useful in helping bird conservationists strategize in campaigns to raise awareness with regards to different kinds of threats to birds and other natural systems.

Please fill out the survey found at the following link: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BDFEUJWXT

Your participation will remain anonymous and confidential. The survey takes about 25 minutes to complete. At the end of the survey, you will be re-directed to a separate page upon which you can request a summary of what we find. This research project has met Muhlenberg College’s Institutional Review policy requirements.

If you have any questions about the project, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Jeffrey Rudski at rudski AT muhlenberg.edu.