Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2018 i BirdWatching

Like any other media resource, websites must evolve with the times. So, for the third time since 2011, we are redesigning our site, www.BirdWatchingDaily.com. The new, fresher look is scheduled to launch in late June, right around the time this issue hits mailboxes, newsstands, and our apps. We’re retaining the vast majority of the current content — more than 1,600 articles and 17,200 reader-submitted photos. The stories will be organized in a more user-friendly way, so they’re easier to locate, and for those of us who don’t like squinting (i.e., everyone), the typography will be larger and easier to read. The site will continue to feature a calendar of upcoming birding festivals and events; if you’re involved in a festival and don’t see it listed, please submit information about it…

→ The Orange-bellied Parrot is one of the most endangered wild birds on Earth. It breeds at only one known place — Melaleuca, Tasmania — and winters on the Australian mainland. More than 300 parrots are part of a captive-breeding program, but the wild population numbered just 19 birds in early September 2017, when they returned to Tasmania. The wild birds and 23 captive-bred adults that were introduced to the wild produced 29 juveniles this past year, bringing the total to 71. We recently published a thorough report about the species on our website. → Just as our Founding Editor Eldon Greij was finishing his “Amazing Birds” column for this issue (page 44), which is about the evolution of modern birds’ beaks from reptilian-like snouts, a research team published new…

The evolutionary history of bird biology is fascinating. For years, scientists debated whether birds developed from dinosaurs or reptiles closely related to dinosaurs. It was settled in recent years that birds were derived from feathered dinosaurs. Fossils of primitive birds indicate that they were already on their way to flight. To master the air, however, would require solving critical problems. For starters, the skull and the rest of the skeleton were too heavy, and specialized wings were needed. Developing a lightweight skull required getting rid of the teeth, which was compensated for by creating a gizzard — a special compartment of the stomach with heavy muscle layers to which grit is added by ingestion. The gizzard also helped move the center of gravity over the wings. Hollow bones helped with…

From our readers! NATIONAL PARKS AND BIRDS I was very interested in the article “Climate change and national parks” in the June 2018 issue of BirdWatching (“Birding Briefs,” page 9). While the article may be correct in identifying an increase in species in parks over the next few years, there are many other factors to consider. The two national parks in my area (Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains) provide me with examples. First, the parks are now surrounded to the east with oil and gas development, pads, pipelines, power lines, roads, fracking, and frack pools in addition to a high increase in population locally. From the 1950s until about four years ago, the population of Carlsbad was in the 25,000-30,000 range. Now it is in the 70,000-90,000 range, and it…

Puget Sound Bird Fest This annual fall celebration of birds and nature, held in Edmonds, Washington, includes speakers, guided walks, land-and water-based field trips, exhibits, and educational activities for children and adults. Noah Strycker will discuss his global Big Year and lead field trips. September 14-16 Birding Festival of the Keys This event in the Florida Keys will feature full-day field trips, birding hikes, species workshops, lectures, keynotes, and boat, kayak, and pelagic trips. Target birds include White-crowned Pigeon, Mangrove Cuckoo, Magnificent Frigatebird, Cuban Yellow Warbler, Black-whiskered Vireo, Peregrine Falcon, pelagic species, and migrant raptors, warblers, songbirds, and shorebirds. September 27-30 Monterey Bay Birding Festival Participants in this festival at California’s Monterey Bay will have the chance to see Golden Eagle, California Condor, Bushtit, Townsend’s Warbler, and Sooty Shearwater. And…

Ninety percent of this bird’s diet is lethally toxic to anything else its own size. It can only be found on a volcanic mountain located on the most isolated island chain on the planet. It relies almost entirely on one species of tree to survive, and its total population is now estimated to be fewer than 2,000 individuals. It is the last of the incredible seed-eating finches on the main Hawaiian Islands, and it’s called the Palila; Loxioides bailleui. The Hawaiian Islands are typically thought of as paradise, and in certain aspects they are. Images of black sand beaches, clear blue water, palm trees, and sea turtles are brought to mind when people think of this magical place. On the Kona coast of the Big Island, the sunset appears to…

In 2014, the North American Bird Conservation Initiative identified 33 bird species that were once fairly abundant but are now in steep decline. Among them are two quail: Scaled Quail, which ranges from southern Colorado to north-central Mexico, and Northern Bobwhite, which occurs in the eastern and central states, southern Ontario, Mexico, and the Caribbean. While some quail species are holding strong, such as California and Gambel’s Quail, others are struggling. The main problems for many species are habitat loss and degradation and growing pesticide use. In particular, agricultural lands are now managed so intensively that hedgerows and other fallow spots where quail once gathered to feed and roost are increasingly hard to come by. In some areas, quail visit feeding stations, although they definitely prefer natural food. If you…

Q Is this a Mountain Bluebird? I photographed it in late September in Yellowstone National Park. — Scott Yerges, Verdale, Washington A Male Mountain Bluebirds are entirely bright blue above and duller blue-gray below, but this bird has hints of chestnut coloration on his underparts, reminiscent of Eastern and Western Bluebirds. His appearance matches descriptions of hybrids between Mountain Bluebirds and Eastern or Western Bluebirds. These mixed pairs have been recorded multiple times. Their offspring are also usually fertile, evidenced by successful nestings of hybrid adults with pure individuals. Historical reports of mixed pairs have been most common between Mountain and Eastern Bluebirds, which are more closely related to each other than either is to Western Bluebirds. Many of these reports have come from where the ranges of Mountain and…

I believe I experienced a first this past spring. On April 16, I turned out at 7:30 a.m. for my regular Monday morning South Cape May Meadows field trip, and no participants showed. Yes, the steady, pelting rain and 40 MPH winds certainly had something to do with this, but when it comes to out-and-out perseverance, no avocational group seems more impervious to inclement weather than birders. Or as one co-leader confided, “No matter how bad it is, you can almost always count on at least one person to show.” So hardy are birders that during the 1987 World Series of Birding, a day likened by one participant to “birding in a car wash,” not a single team quit the field. Anticipating a day-long deluge, I packed three sets of…

For the past several years, Eastern Phoebes have chosen to nest on the porch that wraps around my house. This spring, they built their mud, moss, and grass nest on a ledge above the side door, which happens to be the most-used door in the house. Mama phoebe found out soon enough what it’s like when three barking dogs come charging out the door to defend my husband and me against any real or imagined four-legged invader that might happen to venture into the yard. Despite all the coming and going, mama remained on the nest, flying off when the door opened and returning a few minutes later. I wondered if she might get tired of all the activity and bail on the eggs, but soon five sets of eyes…

BONUS PHOTO GALLERY EXCLUSIVE FOR READERS OF OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS doughton park laurel springs, north carolina Watch for bonus digital content with our September/October 2018 issue, available on August 28! RETURN TO MAGAZINE…