Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2018 i BirdWatching

When Malkolm Boothroyd, a talented young birder and photographer — and a committed advocate for birds and other wildlife — asked me in late 2017 if I would publish a photo essay featuring birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, I hesitated. For starters, we’d published a great article in 2010 about the refuge by biologist David Shaw, which is available on our website. But efforts to drill for oil in the refuge were in the headlines again, thanks to the GOP tax bill that included a provision for opening up the refuge’s coastal plain to the oil industry. I debated whether to accept Malkolm’s proposal for two other reasons: First, we know that people of all political beliefs read this magazine, and no matter whether they align with the…

Cerulean Warbler Weekend Michigan Audubon hosts this event in Barry County, in western Michigan, a stronghold for Cerulean Warbler, the fastest-declining songbird species in North America. The event includes workshops and birding trips to Cerulean hotspots. Participants can also expect to see Henslow’s and Grasshopper Sparrows, Alder, Acadian, and Willow Flycatchers, and Yellow-throated and Blue-headed Vireos. June 2-3 Wings Across the Big Sky Bird Festival Birding trips to Glacier National Park are among the highlights of this event, which will be held in Kalispell, Montana. Tours will also visit the National Bison Range (Hotspot Near You No. 256) and the Flathead Lake Biological Station. Stuart Strahl, president and CEO of the Chicago Zoological Society, will give the keynote. June 8-10 Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua This event, held in the town…

While the recent tax law includes a provision to allow oil drilling on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, that doesn’t mean it can’t be stopped. The law calls for the Department of the Interior to begin leasing land to oil drillers within four years, but some officials have said the first lease sale could occur as early as 2019. When the process is announced in the Federal Register, a comment period will begin. “Birders can stay posted for comment periods, when they can express their support for Arctic Refuge protections,” says Elisabeth Gustafson, the communications manager at Audubon Alaska. She encourages birders to take a pledge about the refuge at http://ak.audubon.org/takeaction. The group will follow up with anyone who takes the pledge about opportunities to submit comments. “It…

delano, california 35°44'37.79"N 119°36'54.51"W Kern National Wildlife Refuge is a crown jewel in a thin chain of parks and refuges that stretch along California’s Central Valley like a dark green necklace. These tiny islands in an ocean of agriculture and urban development support more than 300 species of birds as they ply the Pacific Flyway. The refuge is managed for waterfowl; as many as 80,000 ducks and geese overwinter on Kern’s pools, marshes, and scrub grasslands. I particularly enjoy driving slowly along the refuge’s auto loops that meander among the pools. Before dawn, the refuge awakens to a cacophony of goose and duck calls from distant shapes in the twilight. Later, early morning flights of waterfowl can be spectacular sights, especially when raptors unexpectedly appear, sending ducks and geese exploding…

When we moved into our house in 1981, in a long-established neighborhood, many of our backyard trees showed serious signs of age. Our house didn’t seem jeopardized, and so even though my mother-in-law advised us to take them down, we kept them. Thirty-seven years later, most are still standing. But during a fierce summer storm in 2016, I lost my favorite tree of all — a huge Norway spruce planted during World War I by a little boy in the neighborhood to memorialize his big brother who had been killed in Europe. That tree caught my eye when I was looking for a house to buy. On the pinnacle of that tree, I’ve seen crossbills and other cool winter finches, an occasional Olive-sided Flycatcher perching during brief migratory stopovers, and…

harrison lagoon and east sector park harrison hot springs, british columbia kern national wildlife refuge delano, california Watch for bonus digital content with our July/August 2018 issue, available on June 26! RETURN TO MAGAZINE…

Who’s afraid of the big bad gull? Everyone, it appears. Ask any birder to name the bird group that daunts them most, and to a man, woman, and tour leader, they will shout “gulls.” What is it about this bird group that afflicts observers with identification paralysis? In fact, so dismissive are birders about gulls that many observers, when confronted by a feathered brown miscreant on the beach, don’t even look at it. What a misfortune. To categorically ignore gulls deprives birders of insight into one of the planet’s most entertaining, socially complex, successful, and intelligent bird families. Of course, you have to like gray. And brown and black and white: all colors donned by gulls as they go through successive molts en route to adulthood. And yes, the plumages…

harrison hot springs, british columbia 49°18'11.91"N 121°46'58.50"W Harrison Lake is the largest lake in the southern Coast Mountains of Canada. Located in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, it covers about 250 square km (95 square miles) and is about 60 km (37 miles) long. This may be why it snares a good share of bird species that would be more typical of a pelagic birding adventure. Harrison Lagoon and the nearby East Sector Park are two spots at the southern end of the lake that are worth birding any time of year. They feature a variety of habitats, attracting a wide range of bird species. On a spring or fall morning, it’s not unusual to see more than 50 species. An added bonus is that I never know what…

HABITAT Two large impoundments, surrounded by wetlands, marshes, and mudflats. Depending on the managed water level, grasslands and scrub brush may cover roughly 3,500 acres. TERRAIN Mainly flat and level, perfect for walking portions of the auto loops. BIRDS More than 225 species, including over 20 duck species. Breeding: Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Blue-winged, Cinnamon, and Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Canvasback, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Virginia Rail, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Black Tern, Anna’s Hummingbird, Blue Grosbeak, Song Sparrow, Red-winged, Tricolored, and Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Winter: Greater White-fronted Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Merganser, Long-billed Curlew, Long-billed Dowitcher, Ferruginous Hawk. WHEN TO GO October through February for waterfowl and raptors. February and March for shorebirds. April through June and late July through October for migrant…

North on the Wing: Travels with the Songbird Migration of Spring, by Bruce M. Beehler, Smithsonian Books, 2018, hardcover, 256 pages, $24.95. While you enjoy the rush of migrants this spring, do yourself a favor and pick up this book. In spring 2015, author Bruce Beehler, an ornithologist with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, traveled north with the songbird migration. He began in Texas, went up the Mississippi Valley, and continued to the north woods of Ontario. In attempting to find all 37 eastern wood-warblers, Beehler encountered people and organizations dedicated to studying and conserving the habitats that migrant birds rely on, and he came back feeling hopeful. Far From Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds, by Michael Brooke, Princeton University Press, 2018, cloth, 272 pages, $29.95. Discoveries…

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY BIRD BANDER JULIE CRAVES Q A grackle was exploring our compost pile when it pulled out a small piece of orange peel. Instead of eating it, the bird rubbed it briefly on its wing feathers. What was it doing? — Pat Charles, Atlanta, Georgia A More than 200 bird species, the majority of them songbirds, are known to engage in “anting.” Strictly speaking, this is when birds actively rub ants on themselves or allow ants to climb onto their feathers. The ant species chosen all excrete formic acid. There are dozens of reports of birds using substitutes for ants. These include millipedes, flowers, beetles, cigarette butts, grasshoppers, walnut-shell juice, mothballs, wasps, and — as you observed — citrus peels. All of the objects also have strong odors or…

If you regularly post your bird sightings to eBird.org but wonder whether your data is valuable, then Joshua Horns, a doctoral candidate in biology at the University of Utah, has good news for you. In a study about the reliability of eBird data, Horns and his colleagues compared population trends for 574 North American species as shown in eBird data with official trends from the Breeding Bird Survey, conducted annually by the U.S. Geological Survey throughout the United States and Canada. The researchers, writing in the journal Biological Conservation, examined more than 11 million eBird checklists submitted between 1997 and 2016 and found that observations submitted to the site match trends in bird species populations measured by the government survey to within 0.4 percent. The finding suggests that birders throughout…

The mid-summer sunrise splashed golden light waves across the patio, enveloping my already keenly attuned senses, in anticipation of the arrival of the morning’s first hummingbird. My modest home-crafted elevated brick garden was lush with tropical florals; the camera was tripod-mounted and aimed at a bright red shrimp plant blossom as I settled into a well-worn canvas camp chair. A fresh cup of coffee rested at the ready on a small side table. Within moments, I heard the faint hypersonic whirring of an approaching Ruby-throated Hummingbird as it hovered a few feet away, seeming to be studying me before approaching the flowers. A fun add-on benefit of frequent hummingbird home photography is the way the birds become accustomed to you — at times almost friendly as they fearlessly hover near…

Although I’ve watched Blue Grosbeaks in many places, my lasting impressions of them come from southeastern Arizona. They have a different timing there. Across most southern states, from the Gulf Coast to southern California, spring migrant Blue Grosbeaks can be expected in April. That’s true even in western Arizona. But in southeastern Arizona they can be hard to find in April, and they may not be present in full numbers until late May. Apparently, they don’t have to rush to grab the best territories. Although some start nest-building in May, their main breeding season in that region is late summer. In the southeastern Arizona lowlands, June is the hottest and driest month. Summer rains start in July, and by August the valleys are green again. Blue Grosbeaks are actively raising…

HABITAT Lake, shore, forest, marsh, and agricultural. TERRAIN Trails and pathways mostly flat. East Sector Park’s 4 km of trails have exposed roots in areas and some wet spots after heavy rain. BIRDS Lagoon and lake: Loons, grebes, ducks, gulls, shorebirds, Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, Yellow Warbler, Osprey, Surf Scoter, American Pipit, Caspian Tern, Savannah, Vesper, and other sparrows. East Sector Park: Virginia Rail, Wood Duck, Black-throated Gray, Townsend’s, and Nashville Warblers, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bullock’s Oriole, Western Tanager, Swainson’s Thrush, Anna’s Hummingbird, Lazuli Bunting, Hammond’s and Pacific-slope Flycatchers, Varied Thrush. Rarities: Eared Grebe, Sabine’s and Franklin’s Gulls, Red Phalarope, Arctic Tern, Surfbird, Stilt Sandpiper, American Avocet, Black Scoter. WHEN TO GO East Sector Park best from spring to early fall. Lagoon and lake worthwhile year-round; best in spring and late…

Few birds are as exciting to watch as manakins. They are small, active, and colorful like warblers, have elaborate courtship displays that include dancing and gymnastics, and combine a variety of non-vocal sounds with their singing. About 50 manakin species inhabit moist forests in Central and South America and feed largely on fruit, which, surprisingly, has allowed them to develop such wild courtship displays. Because fruit is usually plentiful, manakins are not resource limited, and females do not select males based on their ability to provide food. Consequently, females select males on the basis of individual sexual traits, which has intensified the birds’ brilliant colors, special vocalizations, and elaborate displays. The non-vocal sounds produced by the males of many manakin species involve wing movements, which can be enhanced by structurally…