Innholdsfortegnelse for May - June 2016 i BirdWatching

Here’s what I wanted to know when I heard that birder and author Noah Strycker had seen 6,042 species in 2015, setting a new global Big Year record: Did any one bird stand out, or did all those checkmarks blur together? Based on Strycker’s books, I felt pretty sure he wasn’t one of those tick-it-and-beat-it-style birders. Both Among Penguins (2011) and The Thing with Feathers (2014) are the works of a patient observer whose fascination with birds runs too deep not to allow a second or even a third look. But simple division tells you that to record 6,042 birds in 365 days, you have to find slightly more than 16.55 new species per day — not 16.55 birds, mind you, as if that were even possible, but 16.55 new…

Despite the many insights into bird migration gained in recent years, one simple question has gone unanswered: Do paired birds associate more closely on migration than non-paired birds? Scientists suspect that when pair members fly south separately, or when they spend the winter in separate locations that are ecologically dissimilar, divorce is likely. But, in fact, little is known about what happens when mated pairs make their migrations. To address this, Bridget Stutchbury, of York University, and colleagues from the University of Manitoba and the Purple Martin Conservation Association attached light-level geolocators to Purple Martins at breeding sites in North America between 2007 and 2014. Then, after the birds returned, the researchers compared data from members of mated pairs with information from randomly selected nonpaired males and females. Martins typically…

At right is the poster for this year’s International Migratory Bird Day. It depicts 10 species that benefit from international agreements and one that lacked protection and is now extinct (Carolina Parakeet). IMBD events take place year-round, but the traditional date is the second Saturday in May. What a day that will be! On May 14, the Cornell Lab will again ask us to help take a one-day snapshot of the world’s birds on its Global Big Day. Last year, 14,060 people from 135 countries submitted 44,173 checklists via eBird, documenting 6,085 species. May 14 is also the day of the World Series of Birding, New Jersey Audubon’s famous 24-hour competition. Over the past three decades, the event has raised almost $9 million for bird conservation. And throughout May, birders…

A spring never rolls around when I don’t start itching to do a Big Day. A brand of birding madness, a Big Day is a 24-hour marathon in which birders try to tally as many bird species as possible in a prescribed geographic area, typically a state. The event seems to have become part of the birding culture in the early 1900s. Hotbeds included Ohio, New England, and New York/New Jersey. Two of the principal proponents were Ludlow Griscom, the Dean of Birdwatchers, and Charles Urner of New Jersey, both of whom often scoured the Garden State for avian riches, sometimes competing, often teaming up with local talent. Planning a Big Day route takes hours of argument and consumes lives. My wife, Linda, had no idea that the fateful promise…

This new collection of 33 tales about birds and birders contains a few of Dunne’s essays from his “Birder at Large” column in BirdWatching (including the unforgettable “Ten Birds for Walter”), as well as columns from Living Bird and other publications. In the foreword, Birding editor Ted Floyd argues that, as a writer, Dunne is as important to environmentalism as Aldo Leopold and Terry Tempest Williams. Dunne, Floyd says, reimagines the movement as “more engaged and affirming, inclusive and holistic, absurd at times and able to laugh at itself, yet uncompromising in its deep ecology.” Reading this slim yet essential volume, we couldn’t agree more.…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a readable 16-page booklet sure to be of high interest to homeowners and building managers looking for ways to reduce bird-window collisions. The document, developed by the service’s Migratory Bird Program in partnership with researchers and industry experts, describes glass and window-design options, methods for eliminating or reducing unnecessary lighting, and effective exterior and interior landscaping options. Intended to provide “straight-forward options,” the text outlines simple, no-cost steps that can be taken by building occupants, low-cost avoidance and minimization actions, and strategies for new buildings, renovations, and retro-fits. The booklet, entitled Reducing Bird Collisions with Buildings and Building Glass: Best Practices, is available for download on the website of the Migratory Birds Program (www.fws.gov/birds). TABLET EXTRAS Tap the links to read breaking…

IN 2015, I undertook the ultimate birding adventure: Between January and December, I traveled through 41 countries and recorded 6,042 birds — about 60 percent of all the species on Earth — to set a single-year birding world record. What a trip! I visited home only once, while passing through the United States in late May. I went birding every single day and logged only three days on which I failed to find at least one new species. (On average, I recorded 16.5 new birds each day.) For the entire year, without a rest, I lived out of a small backpack, slept on couches, and birded like mad in some really far-flung places. The places, people, cultures, adventures, and misadventures along the way were as interesting as the birds themselves,…

When I stepped off the boat onto Great Gull Island, a tiny bird sanctuary off the eastern tip of Long Island, two things were immediately clear: I was entering a tern-dominated world, and I was an unwelcome intruder. The sky above me was filled with thousands of terns, all of them calling loudly — and diving, often at my head. Located just 100 miles east of New York City, the 17-acre island was once a U.S. Army fort, entrusted with defending the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound. Now it’s one of the avian jewels of North America, home to the largest tern colony in the Western Hemisphere. Approximately 10,000 pairs of Common Terns and over 1,500 pairs of endangered Roseate Terns — almost 50 percent of North America’s breeding…

Imagine being in a pitch-black room, your pupils maximally dilated, but you can’t see a thing. You feel helpless. Now picture a Barn Owl on a perch and a mouse scurrying across the floor. The bird drops and glides toward the rodent — real predator-prey drama. So who wins? The mouse doesn’t stand a chance. And in total darkness! For years, people argued whether owls detected their targets by smell or infrared radiation. Some observers suggested that they heard their prey. A series of experiments conducted in the 1950s settled the matter. The answer? An incredibly well-developed auditory system. Zoologist Roger S. Payne, while a PhD candidate at Cornell University, utilized infrared photography to document Barn Owls capturing mice in a dark room. In one clever experiment, a mouse walked…

Bird Watching BONUS ARTICLE See crows and jays in a new light! EXCLUSIVE! FOR READERS OF OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED recently in the journal The Condor: Ornithological Applications may make you look at corvids — the nearly cosmopolitan group of birds that includes ravens, crows, and jays — in a new light. The article, a review of scientific literature and an examination of case studies from around the world, explores how oaks and pines depend on corvids to reproduce and spread — and suggests that the birds may be the key to helping the trees weather the challenges of habitat fragmentation and climate change. The review was written by Mario Pesendorfer, of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska– Lincoln, and three colleagues from the…

Q Is there a way to tell apart male and female Cedar Waxwings? — David Green, Oxford, Ohio A Plumage differences between male and female waxwings can be subtle, but if you get a good look, you may be able to distinguish them. The most reliable feature is the amount of black on the chin of adult birds — the coloration is more extensive on males. The feature is variable, but if you compare a number of birds in a flock, you will likely be able to pick out some males and females. The difference is also found in Bohemian Waxwings, but the overlap between males and females is greater, so it is harder to tell the difference between the two. Q I found a small egg buried in my compost…

Mark your calendar for hummingbirds, field trips, and spectacular scenery. Sedona Hummingbird Festival Festivalgoers can choose from three days of presentations and banding demonstrations, garden tours, and guided trips to Page Springs Fish Hatchery and Oak Creek Canyon, centerpiece of Red Rock Country. July 29-31. High Country Hummers Festival Peterson guide author Sheri Williamson will capture, measure, and band hummingbirds at Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area, near the New Mexico border, from 8 a.m. until noon. July 30. Southwest Wings Annual Festival Sierra Vista will be the starting point for trips to the San Pedro River, Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, and other hotspots. Biking for Birds birder Dorian Anderson will give the keynote. August 3-6. For festival contact info, or to list your event in our calendar, visit our website: www.BirdWatchingDaily.com/events…

A footlong piece of hollow log with a hole in its side, and with two pieces of board nailed onto the top and bottom, is a great bird house. One that I made of a piece of black cherry from the winter firewood was used by a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers. The previous year they (or another pair) had occupied a bird box of boards that was meant for Wood Ducks, until a pair of grackles used it in early April, when the beaver bog in Vermont had drained and they could no longer build nests directly over the water in cattails. Now, on April 25, 2010, the leaves were popping out, and serviceberry, trilliums, trout lilies, and lilacs were in full bloom. And, oh, the birds! Migrants were…

Every summer, I hear from people who just discovered a nest or got a glimpse of parents caring for fledglings. Seeing bird families in your own yard affirms that you’ve created good habitat, and it’s just plain fun. Some baby birds are welcomed more readily than others, however. People who are overjoyed to see a robin’s nest on their window frame, for example, can be frustrated, even furious, about Cooper’s Hawks in their big shade tree. Folks who set out enough bluebird boxes to accept with equanimity a pair of Tree Swallows might still be irritated by Barn Swallows atop their porch light, spattering the deck with droppings. One rural letter writer admitted that the thrill of having Great Crested Flycatchers nest in his mailbox lasted only until he had…