Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2018 i BirdWatching

New hope for a rare dove With a global population of about 20, the Blue-eyed Ground-Dove is one of the world’s rarest birds. Adding to its elusiveness, the species is an escape artist outside of the breeding season, slipping out of sight when approached. But stepped-up conservation actions and establishment of a new state park in Minas Gerais, Brazil, are generating optimism that the ground-dove may become easier to see — and ultimately secure from the risk of extinction. Brazil established the 88,175-acre Botumirim State Park in July, primarily to develop the area’s ecotourism potential. In addition to dramatic rock outcroppings and biodiversity-rich Atlantic Forest fragments, the park includes stretches of tropical savanna, or cerrado, that are home to the ground-dove. In 2015, Rafael Bessa made the first observation of…

Sometime long ago when I started birding, when I was 7, I read that the ultimate lifetime goal for birders in the United States was to see 700 species in North America. For birders, “North America” was defined by the American Birding Association (ABA), and it meant North America north of Mexico. About 650 species occur regularly here, but others stop by occasionally. The official ABA tally for the region, including all the rare vagrants ever documented, is about 1,000 species. But 700 is the standard lifetime goal. When I was a kid, very few had achieved it. Now, thanks to the widespread popularity of birding, cheap air travel, and Internet rare-bird alerts, the ABA reports 410 people in the “700 club,” and there may be thousands more. Amazingly, 56…

The wood-warblers, as a group, are among our most colorful and strikingly patterned birds. But there are exceptions, and one of the most notable is the Orange-crowned Warbler. It’s a widespread bird that can be found practically everywhere in North America at some seasons, but its plain appearance makes it easy to overlook. The breeding range extends from western Alaska to Quebec and Labrador, south in the western mountains to New Mexico and Arizona, and south along the Pacific Coast through California. It winters mainly in the southern U.S. and Mexico, with a few south to Guatemala. In many areas of the southern states, it’s the second or third most likely warbler to be seen in midwinter. Orange-crowned Warblers are much less numerous in the east than in the west.…

From our readers! Let’s hear from you! Submit photos as full-resolution, high-quality JPG files via email (no TIFFs, please). Include a short description of the photo; include the bird name, the equipment used, and the location. Please include your name, address, phone number, and email address. If we publish a story or photo of yours, we’ll send you a complimentary copy of the issue in which it appears. There’s no payment for use of text or photos in “Your View.” Send your photos and stories to: Your View Editor BirdWatching Magazine yourview@birdwatchingdaily.com…

Pressure from birders and environmental groups in 2017 spurred Congress to exempt building a border wall through Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in South Texas, but the current federal budget allows barriers to be built in the region that would cut off or diminish 16 other refuge tracts, state properties, county parks, and nonprofit nature sites. In all, the loss of natural areas could total more than 6,500 acres, according to the Save Santa Ana advocacy group. Plans from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol show that nearly all of Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and 70 percent of the National Butterfly Center would be cut off behind a potential wall. No fewer than 345 bird species have been tallied in the park, and the butterfly center has a bird list…

A study published recently in The Condor: Ornithological Applications presents the best guidance to date on the priorities and actions that can be taken to help Hawaii’s endemic birds. Hawaii’s ecosystems, including its native bird populations, are struggling. Of the 21 species of forest birds left on the islands, 12 are endangered or threatened. The new paper lays out a plan to better guide and empower conservation efforts for Hawaiian birds. Eben Paxton, an avian ecologist at the federal Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, and three colleagues synthesized the key points that came out of a collaboration of more than 60 stakeholders in Hawaiian bird conservation. The focus is on actionable research and management approaches that can be employed now. Habitat loss, invasive plants, non-native predators, and introduced diseases were…

It’s 2 p.m. on a weekday in spring. Too late to start a big writing project, too early for a brew. “Hey Pete,” I think, “How about a little birding jaunt to pass the time? Why not? Rain seems about over and you’ll be home in plenty of time to feed the dogs.” Liza, the lop-tongued one, is pretty casual about meal time, but McKenzie, a.k.a., the “Big Mack,” shows an elevated genius when it comes to her food bowl OK, then. A quick run down to Strawberry to see what the tide brought in. I’ve had many local patches over the course of my birding years, including the woods behind my parents’ house in Whippany, New Jersey, the 160 acres of woodlands that surrounded New Jersey Audubon’s Deer Path…

Peter Kaestner has been birding since toddlerhood, when his older brother introduced him to the hobby. He started a life list by age 7 and took his first international birding trip at age 10. At age 14, he flew to the Bahamas without adult supervision. The Maryland native, now 65 no longer remembers how he paid for anything or got around, yet he vividly recalls the birds he saw, such as Thick-billed Vireo and Bahama Woodstar. After college, Kaestner joined the U.S. Foreign Service, in large part because it enabled him to travel the globe looking for birds. In 1986, he became the first person to spot at least one species in every bird family, and in 1989, he discovered a new species of antpitta in the Colombian Andes. (Its…

A SHOREBIRD ON THE PRARIE? It sounds a bit preposterous, but it’s true. North America’s Mountain Plover, a relative of bird species that frequent beaches, lakeshores, and river banks, nests on high tablelands, in prairie-dog towns, and in short-grass prairies, from Montana south to Texas. The species is not common, having lost an estimated 80 percent of its population over the last 50 years. One of the best places to look for it during the breeding season is Pawnee National Grassland in northeastern Colorado (pictured above). The vast grassland is one of the primary breeding grounds in the world for Mountain Plover, which is one reason that Audubon designated Pawnee an Important Bird Area. Turn the page to learn more about the grassland and three other excellent birding hotspots.…

Flamingos are a paradox of sorts. They are beautifully plumed from white to light and deep pink to crimson, and they have black flight feathers. They are graceful in flight and while walking, and they can form huge flocks of a million or more that are a sight to behold. As individuals, however, they are odd looking. Their legs and necks seem proportionally too long, and their large bills have a weird shape. Unlike with all other birds, the lower mandible is larger than the upper. The strange-shaped bills, however, are key to their success. The bills are very thick and bend sharply downward near the middle of their length. When feeding, the head is lowered into the water, the bill points backward, and the top of the upper mandible…

Blackburnian Warbler The stunning flame-orange throat and breast of the male Blackburnian Warbler is difficult to forget. A Setophaga warbler of boreal spruce woods and Appalachian hemlock stands, Blackburnian spends the majority of its time foraging high in the upper reaches of the canopy, a niche specialization that allows it to coexist with other warblers of the same genus. In June, it breeds across the Canadian boreal forest, from Alberta to the Maritime provinces, in parts of the northern lower 48, from Minnesota east to New England, and in Appalachia south to northern Georgia. In September, the species is on the move and can be found in forested habitats across much of the eastern U.S. Birders in the West, particularly along the California coast, should be on the lookout for…

Helena, Montana is Golden Eagle country. Thousands glide past each fall from the rugged lands of Canada and Alaska. Many follow the ridge updraft highways, but at least a few spill out over the valleys on thermals. From an eagle’s view a thousand feet up, Sevenmile Creek in October looks like countless other grassland streams here on the dry side of the Continental Divide. It’s a ribbon of burgundy stems and orange leaves in a sea of tinder-dry grasses. This is arid country, the mountains cloaked with hardy Douglas-firs and ponderosa pines, the valleys a tattered mosaic of grasslands and sagebrush among irrigated hay farms and housing sprawl. What’s different about Sevenmile Creek is that I and other local Audubon members have watched it, in collaboration with the land trust…

IF YOU HAVE never been to a birding festival, or if it has been a while since you attended one, then open up your calendar right now and look at the accompanying list. Here we feature no fewer than 70 birding events scheduled for early September 2018 through late March 2019. One or more of them are bound to fit into your schedule! We can think of so many reasons to attend festivals. Chief among them, of course, is to see lots of great birds! Beyond that, you’ll also be able to attend workshops on bird ID, photography, gardening with native plants, and other topics. You can take part in tours organized by the festival and led by super-knowledgeable birders. And at many festivals, you can shop for binoculars, spotting…

Like any good birdwatching destination, the sounds hit you first. From the car to the Ojibway Nature Centre, my head constantly swivels upon arriving at Ojibway Park. The park is the hub of the larger Ojibway Prairie Complex — the natural starting point for visitors — and it instantly impresses. One of my favorite things about birdwatching is the ability to be present and appreciate not only the birds, but also the surroundings, flora, and other species. I can enjoy all of these things while meandering along the four well-kept self-guided trails weaving through the park’s mature Pinochet Woodland. At the Nature Centre, a variety of feeders are visible from the window, alive with a fluster of avian activity. Just outside, native wildflowers bloom around a pond full of turtles,…

If we could ask a phoebe why it wags its tail all the time, I suspect the answer would be: ‘Do I? I don’t know, it’s just a habit.’ Many unrelated species of birds have a habit of pumping (or wagging) their tails. They are mostly open-country birds like phoebes, pipits, Palm Warbler, Spotted Sandpiper, and others. Many hypotheses have been suggested to explain why the birds do it, but it was only in the last few years that research provided an answer. In 2011, biologist Gregory Avellis watched Black Phoebes in California and found that phoebes pump their tails regularly all day long, and the rate of pumping does not vary much no matter what the birds are doing. However, playing a recording of a Cooper’s Hawk (suggesting that…