Innholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2016 i BirdWatching

What do you think about when you’re out in the field? (In between birds, I mean.) For me, it can be nothing and everything: My last cup of coffee. The weather. The angle of the sun. Birds I spotted on a previous outing. Recent rare-bird reports. Subspecies. And, more and more frequently, the coming elections. I find it hard not to think about subspecies. In fact, if you’ve ever tried to pick Cackling Geese out of a flock of Canadas, or if you’ve wondered why a few of the Dark-eyed Juncos gathered beneath your feeders don’t look like the others, or slipped up and referred to Cassin’s or Plumbeous or Blue-headed Vireo as “Solitary Vireo,” then you were thinking about subspecies, too. The stuff of lumps and splits, they’re called…

A ground-breaking study of Black-capped Petrel is raising questions about conserving an endangered marine species that breeds in few nations but visits the waters of many. The little-known petrel once had colonies throughout the Caribbean, but in the late 1800s, introduced predators and hunting caused the species to become extirpated on many islands. Today, fewer than 2,000 pairs are thought to remain. Breeding is suspected in Cuba, and the birds may have returned to Dominica, but colonies have been confirmed only in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Petrels that were rearing chicks on Loma del Toro, a peak near the Haiti-Dominican Republic border, were the subjects of the latest study, conducted in 2014. For the first time ever, three were fitted with solar-powered satellite tags and tracked for 136-208 days.…

This gorgeous book, published to commemorate the 2015 centennial of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, deserves a place on every birder’s coffee table or nightstand. We can’t decide what’s more impressive: the beautiful photography or the thoughtful essays. Our friend and regular contributor Gerrit Vyn provides one stunning image after another — showing flamingos, warblers, swallows, owls, and many other birds — while Barbara Kingsolver, John W. Fitzpatrick, Scott Weidensaul, Lyanda Lynn Haupt, and Jared Diamond write convincingly, movingly, about birds as marvels, birds as mediators between the obvious and the hidden, birds as indicators of our planet’s health, and the future of birds and how we can shape it. A deep love is evident on every page.…

An hour before dawn on a day in January, I gaze down onto the Atlantic Ocean from Rhode Island’s Beavertail State Park, a clifflined 153-acre promontory at the southern end of Conanicut Island, in the mouth of Narragansett Bay. The sea has gone the color of old silver, its surface as smooth as a wave-worn shell. The temperature is 10°F. An hour passes. The sun mounts the horizon, and fierce winds begin to blow, whipping the once-calm ocean into a froth. Stepping onto a steep and, today, ice-covered path to the sea feels like falling into gray oblivion. Indeed, local newspapers once hailed the area’s vistas but warned that “the drop to the Atlantic is an easy walk to eternity for those not sure of foot.” A shiver runs down…

HABITAT Wet, mesic, mixed native, and introduced forest. TERRAIN Well-maintained trail starts at elevation of 1,068 feet, climbs to 1,587 feet, and snakes along a ridge. Hike not strenuous but involves gradual uphill climbs, a steep switchback, and a stream crossing at the end. BIRDS Year-round: Spotted and Zebra Doves, Mariana Swiftlet (endangered non-native), Redcrowned Parrot, Oahu ‘Elepaio (endangered island endemic), Red-vented and Redwhiskered Bulbuls, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Japanese White-Eye, Red-billed Leiothrix, White-rumped Shama, Common Myna, Redcrested and Northern Cardinals, ‘Apapane (endemic), Oahu ‘Amakihi (island endemic), House Finch, Common Waxbill, Scaly-breasted and Chestnut Munias, Java Sparrow. August through April: Pacific Golden-Plover. WHEN TO GO Year-round. March through June is best. Go in early morning, before clouds and winds increase later in the day. AMENITIES Restrooms and 10 tent campsites available Friday-Wednesday,…

Located between the coastal town of Port Hueneme and a Navy base, two-mile-long Ormond Beach is one of the few beaches remaining in southern California with an intact system of dunes, transition zones, and marshes. Its large size and mix of habitats make it prime nesting habitat for Western Snowy Plover and the endangered California Least Tern. Both are well camouflaged. Your best bet for spotting them is to scan the dunes above the wrack-line. More shorebirds use the beach than any other location in Ventura County. Common beachcombers include American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Marbled Godwit, Willet, Black-necked Stilt, and Long-billed Curlew. After decades of degradation, the adjacent Ormond Wetlands are being restored, a project that the California State Coastal Conservancy has said is “at a scale unprecedented” within the…

HABITAT Sand and mud tidal flats, freshwater marsh with cattails, salt marsh, uplands with large trees, and cultivated gardens. TERRAIN Flat. Boardwalks wheelchair-accessible. BIRDS More than 320 species. Year-round: Least Bittern, Roseate Spoonbill, Crested Caracara, Neotropic Cormorant, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Black-necked Stilt, herons, and egrets. Winter: Cinnamon and Green-winged Teal, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Merlin. Summer: Magnificent Frigatebird, Least Tern, Groovebilled Ani. Fall and spring: shorebirds, rails, 40 warbler species, grosbeaks, orioles, and buntings. Rarities: Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher, Black-whiskered Vireo, Lazuli Bunting. WHEN TO GO Year-round. Early morning best for birding and photography, evenings for amazing sunsets. AMENITIES Boardwalks, observation towers, pavilion, elevated platform, viewing scopes, checklist, restrooms. Guided bird walks every Wednesday at 9 a.m. Preserve and other Port Aransas hotspots will be featured during upcoming Whooping Crane Festival, February 25-28. ACCESS…

A historic first and several record highs made 2015 a very good year for Kirtland’s Warbler watchers in the state of Wisconsin. In April, biologists on Cat Island, in the Bahamas, chanced upon a young warbler wearing colored leg bands. The sequence of colors — aluminum, blue, purple, and indigo — identified the bird conclusively. It was one of only six warblers that had been banded as nestlings in Wisconsin the previous summer, so the odds of re-sighting it were astronomically slim. It was the first time that a Kirtland’s Warbler banded in the state had been re-sighted on its wintering grounds. Wisconsin’s year-end nesting summary, released in November, provided another cause for celebration. In Adams County, in the center of the state, 14 pairs, the highest number ever, made…

West Nile virus had a larger impact on North American bird populations than anyone knew, according to a study published in November by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. About half of the 49 species studied experienced largescale declines, the investigators found. After the virus arrived in New York City in 1999, a trail of dead crows marked its spread from the East through the Midwest and to the West Coast. It took only four years for the virus to span the continent. The authors of the report analyzed markrecapture data collected at more than 500 banding stations across the United States spanning the years 1992 to 2007. The stations were operated using the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship protocol developed by the Institute for Bird Populations, a…

This small park on the Gulf of Mexico is part of the Coastal Pasco Important Bird Area. At any time of year, you might see Clapper Rails, Reddish Egrets, and Roseate Spoonbills. In winter, shorebirds, gulls, and terns populate the beach, and a wide variety of ducks occur just offshore. An eye-popping flock of at least 15,000 Redheads was here a couple years ago. Winter also brings Common Loon, Bufflehead, Black Skimmer, Sora, Merlin, and Belted Kingfisher. Birders scoping from the beach have seen distant Cory’s Shearwaters. In April, the area near the entrance gate (nicknamed the “Green Key Funnel”) can attract warblers and other migrants. Best viewing is before 9 a.m. In summer, Gray Kingbird and Prairie Warbler breed at the park. A 1,000-foot stretch of sand and a…

HABITAT Beach, coastal sand dunes, coastal grasslands, wetlands, and lagoon. TERRAIN Mostly flat. Easy walking. BIRDS More than 200 species. Tricolored, Yellowheaded, and Brewer’s Blackbirds, California Horned Lark, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Loggerhead Shrike, Long-billed Curlew, American Avocet, Western Snowy and Semipalmated Plovers, California Least and Elegant Terns, Heermann’s, Western, and California Gulls, American Kestrel, Merlin, Northern Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Whitetailed Kite, Belted Kingfisher, White-faced Ibis, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Snowy and Great Egrets, Anna’s and Allen’s Hummingbirds, Brown Pelican, Surf Scoter, Pied-billed, Western, and Eared Grebes, Ridgway’s and Virginia Rails, Least Bell’s Vireo, Black Phoebe, Belding’s Savannah Sparrow. Rare: Bald Eagle, Burrowing Owl, Mountain Plover, Indigo Bunting. WHEN TO GO Year-round. AMENITIES Free parking, restrooms. The Nature Conservancy offers guided hikes. ACCESS City- and state-owned beaches; wetlands owned by the Nature…

Feathers are the ultimate characteristic of birds. No other (living) animals have them. The qualifier is required because feathers have now been found in fossil imprints of some dinosaurs and related reptiles. Like hair on mammals and scales on reptiles, feathers are part of the integument (skin). All are largely composed of keratin, which is also the main ingredient of human nails, animal claws, and the scales on the legs and feet of birds. Feathers are remarkable structures, both very strong and very light. They’re subject to long flights and are bent and twisted, yet they are rarely damaged. Abrasion causes their tips and edges to wear, but this is natural and remedied periodically through molt. Melanins are common pigments that can make feathers black. Dark feathers containing melanins are…

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY BIRD BANDER JULIE CRAVES Q Can you recommend any specific plants besides grasses that I can grow and leave standing into spring and that birds will use for nesting material? It seems more natural than putting out yarn in baskets. — Adrienne Boone, Kansas City, Missouri A Descriptions of the nests of most songbirds speak in only general terms about the plant materials used: twigs, grasses, bark strips, and plant down. Many birds aren’t too fussy regarding plant species, as long as the items are of the appropriate size, texture, and strength. However, I have observed that birds favor a few plants. The peeling bark of old grape vines is used frequently. Likewise, birds seek out plants with especially fibrous stems. I leave last year’s pokeweeds…

If you have been looking for an excuse to buy a new premium binocular, read on. After five decades of bringing people and nature together, I am surprised to discover that what has given me the most satisfaction is not sharing rare or aspired-to birds; it is fitting birders with binoculars, the kind whose quality ignites a sense of wow on every bird they fall upon. I mean binoculars that elevate everyday encounters with Northern Cardinals into cone-jarring, sensorypacked experiences. Binoculars that turn an American Robin into an Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. Not literally, of course, but evocatively. I am particularly delighted when a birder comes up to me and says, “You probably don’t remember me, but 20 years ago, you talked me into buying these.” The these he or she is…

Here’s a field-guide trivia question for you: Who wrote the following sentence? “The problem with subspecies is complex.” Older birders will likely surmise that it was none other than Roger Tory Peterson. He wrote the words in his 1947 revision of A Field Guide to the Birds, a book first published in 1934. To Peterson, whose goal was to enable readers to identify bird species in the field, plumage, song pattern, and other differences among distinctive regional populations, called subspecies, posed a vexing problem. Many subspecies are recognizable in the field — consider juncos and Fox Sparrows — but they are not considered to merit full species status. Subspecies have posed practical and theoretical problems not only for Peterson, as a field-guide author, but for ornithologists in general. When is…

I love ‘Aiea Loop Trail because it’s a one-stop shop for native and introduced forest bird species on the island of Oahu. It’s in a 384-acre park that is a hidden gem on the outskirts of the town of Aiea. (Fun fact: Aiea, pronounced AH-ee-EY-ah, is the only city in the United States whose name is made up only of vowels.) From the trail, I have seen about 20 species, including the most sought-after island species — ‘Apapane, Oahu ‘Amakihi, and Oahu ‘Elepaio. After the first mile of hiking, I stop at a bench that faces a spectacular view of the northern side of Ko‘olau Mountain and its many ridges. I usually see most birds along the second mile. It’s where I had one of my most memorable sightings of…

HABITAT Beach, wetlands, and mangrove swamp. TERRAIN Nearly 1,000-foot beach. Boardwalk wheelchair-accessible. About a 100-yard walk from parking lot to beach. BIRDS More than 230 species. Year-round: Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue, Little Blue, and Tricolored Herons, Great, Snowy, and Reddish Egrets, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Osprey, Common Ground-Dove. Winter: Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Loon, Northern Harrier, Caspian and Royal Terns, Black Skimmer, Eastern Screech-Owl, Lesser Scaup, Dunlin, Western Sandpiper, American Kestrel, American White Pelican. Spring: More than 25 species of warbler, Brown Thrasher, swallows, thrushes. Fall: Redshouldered Hawk, Blue-winged Teal, Sandwich Tern, Pileated Woodpecker. WHEN TO GO Year-round. AMENITIES Observation deck, picnic tables, water fountains, restrooms, bicycle rack, and benches. Boat ramp for launching canoes and kayaks. ACCESS County park. Open year-round, dawn to dusk.…

For decades, this property was a cattle pasture. Now, just seven years after restoration work began, it is one of the best birding sites on Mustang Island. The preserve’s 1,217 acres of tidal flats provide feeding areas and important habitat for shorebirds and endangered and threatened species, such as Piping Plover. Visitors will find more than three miles of walking trails, a pavilion, boardwalks over algal flats, crushed-granite trails through the uplands, sites with covered seating, and two towers overlooking wetlands. At the southeastern edge of the preserve lies the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, which was established in 1994 and soon dedicated as a site on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. I was there at the beginning, when the only way in was across pallets that duck hunters had…

I love Blue Jays. They combine beauty, brains, and spirit in a sleek three-ounce package topped with a perky little crest. People who’ve watched robins steadfastly care for nestlings and then seen a jay grab them one by one, usually don’t share my feelings. Blue Jays are more standoffish than our three scrub-jays and Gray Jay. Those species require more meat, which they often steal from large mammals. Depending on how complicit we are, we call the food they take from us “handouts” or “plunder.” All jays raid nests, but unlike most birds, Blue Jays do so primarily to feed an incubating mate or growing young, rather than for their own meals. Other birds don’t seem to mind Blue Jays except when one directly approaches their nest. When a Blue…

Where to see the film The Messenger is scheduled to appear in theaters in 30 markets nationwide, and it will be released on DVD and digitally in 2016. View a list of upcoming play dates. The Messenger, a new documentary about threats to the world’s songbirds, is receiving a lot of buzz — and for good reason. At its world premiere at the Hot Docs International Film Festival in Toronto last spring, audiences voted it their third favorite. In early October, it won the Best Conservation Program prize at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. In mid-October, it won honorable mention at the Cinemambiente Environmental Film Festival in Italy. In December, the New York Times named it a Critics’ Pick. The movie chronicles the struggle of songbirds to survive in…