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BirdWatching November/December 2021 (Digital)

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24 Articles

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CONSERVATION More than 100 oiled birds, including this Tricolored Heron, egrets, and ducks, were found near New Orleans following the impact of Hurricane Ida in late August. They were seen within heavy pockets of crude oil outside a refinery. BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY Professional bird photographer Marie Read offers tips for taking photos of owls, cardinals, and other birds during winter. Frost, ice, and snow, she notes, “can result in unique and dramatic bird photos that transcend standard portraits.” Follow, like, and share! FACEBOOK: BirdWatchingMagazine INSTAGRAM: @birdwatchingmagazine TWITTER: @BirdWatchDaily FLICKR: BirdWatching group photo pool…

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FROM THE EDITOR

The outsiders NEARLY ALL THE cover photos we’ve published over this magazine’s 35-year history have been images of birds found in the United States and Canada because, of course, that’s where we and most of our readers live and bird. The tradition continues with this issue’s cover photo of a European Goldfinch. Admittedly, this individual was photographed in Europe, but as writer Jesse Greenspan explains in this issue (page 16), European Goldfinch has established a toehold on a new range: southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois. My own (so far fruitless) searches for this species in Wisconsin gave me the idea for our cover story about non-native songbirds with small ranges in the U.S. and southern Canada. If you own a recently published field guide, most or all of these species…

FROM THE EDITOR

DNA study finds distinct Caribbean species of Sharp-shinned Hawk Of the 10 recognized subspecies of Sharp-shinned Hawk, three are found on large neighboring islands of the Caribbean: Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. While their populations and ranges are small, scientists have long presumed that they mix with migratory Sharp-shins from the vast North American mainland population, resulting in less attention from conservation agencies and nonprofits. A new study of the DNA of Caribbean Sharp-shins, however, has found that the subspecies are genetically distinguishable as their own clade, meaning they evolved from a common ancestor. Furthermore, the research shows the subspecies are different enough from each other genetically and by plumage to be considered separate species. The authors of the study, published in the July issue of the journal Ornithology, propose…

EPA ADMITS HARM OF POPULAR PESTICIDES

Neonicotinoids are the most popular insecticides used in the United States. Hundreds of studies have shown they play a major role in population-level declines of bees, birds, butterflies, and freshwater invertebrates. Europe bans the use of the products, and this year, Maine enacted a similar ban. Canada considered but rejected an outright ban, but Montreal and Vancouver ban the substances within city limits. In 2013, American Bird Conservancy and other groups in the National Pesticide Reform Coalition called for a ban on the use of neonicotinoids as seed treatments in the United States. In August 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released long-anticipated studies saying that three neonicotinoid insecticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam) likely harm all of the country’s 38 protected amphibians and roughly three-fourths of all other endangered plants…

NO ANSWERS ON CAUSE OF BIRD DISEASE

Beginning in late May, news broke about birds in Washington, D.C., and nearby states becoming sick or dying due to a mysterious ailment. The most commonly affected species were Blue Jay, Common Grackle, American Robin, and European Starling, and most of the birds were juveniles. Symptoms included crusty eyes and neurological signs such as tremors or partial paralysis. Several states and the federal government issued recommendations that residents stop feeding birds in hopes of slowing the illness if it was being spread at feeders. No cause has yet been discovered. Known bird diseases such as West Nile virus, salmonella, avian influenza, House Finch eye disease, and Trichomonas parasites have been ruled out. By mid-September, cases were no longer being reported, and the 11 states that had issued do-not-feed recommendations had…

NO ANSWERS ON CAUSE OF BIRD DISEASE

BOOK 100 Flying Birds: Photographing the Mechanics of Flight By Peter Cavanagh, Firefly Books, 2021, hardover, 320 pages, $49.95. Wildlife photographer Peter Cavanagh has been taking pictures since he was a boy in England. In this new book, he displays his love of birds and his talent with the camera. After all, flight photography is perhaps the most challenging of bird-photography tasks, but Cavanagh does not fail to impress. For instance, readers will view a White-tailed Eagle plummeting through a Japanese sky, a Brown Pelican striking a silhouette against an Ecuadorian sunset, an Atlantic Puffin carrying its fish dinner above the Scottish coast, and a Keel-billed Toucan gliding through a Costa Rican jungle canopy. The 11 chapters focus on the following groups of images: eagles; hummingbirds; gulls and terns; small…

If not now, when?

AS RECORD-BREAKING TEMPERATURES, droughts, fires, and hurricanes ravage so much of the continent in 2021, some news outlets have published stories about the best places to take refuge from climate change. Virtually all list Minnesota, and several mention Duluth, where I live. Like many places, Duluth had our hottest ever meteorological summer (June-July) this year. The hottest temperature on record for Duluth, set in 1930, remains 97°F. But so many days in the 80s and 90s damage northern ecosystems. The heat combined with a severe drought killed many birches and conifers outright and contributed to the devastation of the Greenwood fire, which destroyed one of the best winter birding spots for Spruce Grouse in the state. These gorgeous but elusive birds need mature spruce forests, so it may be more…

If not now, when?

No excuse for boredom

EVERY TIME I hear someone disclose that they are “bored,” I thank my lucky stars that I’m a birdwatcher. While I do know what it means to be bored, having been pinned in a corner at parties by individuals who search for a subject you know nothing about and then expound upon it, ad nauseam, I cannot recall a single time when, left to my own devices, I was bored. As long as birds exist and I have the latitude to engage them, life is a sensory and intellectual feast. When Maurice Broun was dying of cancer, he birded from his hospital bed. His last bird, as I recall, was Black-crowned Night-Heron. Quok. Inspired by his example, while I was in the ICU following a wee bit of a stroke,…

No excuse for boredom

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Eminently vilifiable and hard to avoid, House Sparrows and European Starlings have all but conquered North America. Yet they are far from the only non-native songbirds to have reached our shores. Here, learn about the other introduced passerines that likewise roam the contiguous United States and Canada, including some not considered countable by the American Birding Association. Concentrated largely but not exclusively in southern Florida and southern California, these relatively little-known species range from a long-tailed brood parasite to a red-faced finch. (For more info on the many non-native U.S. birds outside the songbird order, see the accompanying sidebar on page 24.) 1 Eurasian Skylark Native Range: Europe, Asia, and northern Africa North American Range: Vancouver Island, British Columbia ABA Countable: Yes Eurasian Skylarks were repeatedly introduced to North America…

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

A HISTORICAL TRAVELOGUE OF U.S. EXOTICS

Many escaped from cages, whereas others were brought over to be hunted, to beautify the landscape, or in ultimately futile attempts to control insect pests. One infamous case involved William Shakespeare. But although the reasons behind them have changed, avian introductions into the United States have been a constant presence since well before the founding of the country. Including Hawai’i, as well as species that have been transplanted across state lines, like House Finches and Wild Turkeys, there are now over 100 non-native U.S. species believed to have self-sustaining breeding populations (plus a plethora of less-established feral species). The first to arrive was likely the Red Junglefowl, the primary ancestor of the domestic chicken, sailed to Hawai’i by Polynesian settlers several centuries ago. Ever-present Rock Pigeons joined the fray in…

A HISTORICAL TRAVELOGUE OF U.S. EXOTICS

DEFENDING THE AIR WOLF

Alexander Blanco shouts in panic, “hold the back rope!” Yet it is too late — a mistake with the cables has been made, and the researcher crashes through the canopy of the Venezuelan rainforest, 115 feet (35 meters) to the ground. Twisted in the rope with Blanco is a Harpy Eagle chick that he was bringing down to receive a tracking transmitter. Blanco suffered several broken bones in the January 2014 fall, but the eagle was unharmed. The fall and his recovery, he hopes, will mirror the fate of the species. The Harpy Eagle — named for the half-human, half-bird wind spirits of Greek mythology who bore evil-doers to just punishment — is a massive and awe-inspiring bird that has fascinated humans since long before European arrival. Across the Americas,…

DEFENDING THE AIR WOLF

CANOPY HABITAT IS CRITICAL

Although the shooting of Harpy Eagles by humans is certainly a problem, new research points to habitat loss as the greatest threat to the birds’ long-term survival. A study published in Scientific Reports in June 2021 of 16 Harpy nesting sites in Brazil’s northern state of Mato Grosso, by a 13-member scientific team, clearly showed that the raptors could not adapt their diets to non-canopy prey once the surrounding forest was eliminated. Cattle ranching and soybean farming are the primary land uses in the area. The eagles consume 800 grams (1.75 lbs.) of food per day and require trees of 40-45 meters in height for their nests. Harpies “could not switch to open-habitat prey in deforested habitats,” concludes the report. The team estimated that a minimum of 50% intact forest…

One day in the waters around the Channel Islands off California, a curious whale approached and surfaced next to the skiff I was in. The visitor’s sleek topside stretched for 40 feet in front of the craft and for another 40 behind, and its breath shot water vapor 30 feet into the sky. This was a blue whale — 100-ton body, heart the size of a smart car, tongue that matches the weight of an elephant, and all the other superlatives that go with being the biggest breed of animal nature ever concocted. To have one visit so close that I could have reached out and touched it felt like an honor. That blue whale encounter came during a period a couple decades ago when I was getting out of…

ERADICATION WORKS

Conservation groups have been eradicating rats on islands off the coasts of Mexico since the mid-1990s. Time after time, the work proves beneficial to birds and other native wildlife. Here are examples from a paper published in a 2011 monograph titled Island Invasives: Eradication and Management. After just two years without rats on Farallón de San Ignacio, the number of Red-billed Tropicbird nests increased 60 percent. Hatching success and the development of juveniles also improved. On Isabel Island, Sooty Terns nested again a few years after being extirpated. On Rasa Island, the breeding success of Heermann’s Gull increased five times and the number of Elegant Terns rose from 55,000 to 200,000. On San Pedro Mártir, Xantus’s Murrelets nested again after decades of extirpation, and on San Roque, Brandt’s Cormorant and…

THE TROPICBIRDS OF MEXICO

Along the Pacific coast of Mexico, including within the Gulf of California, lie 20 islands that host, may host, or have hosted breeding colonies of the spectacular Red-billed Tropicbird. (The species also breeds on more islands farther south, including the Galápagos, in the Caribbean and Atlantic, and around the Arabian Peninsula.) A 2018 report in the journal Waterbirds estimates that Mexico’s population ranges from about 1,900-2,725 breeding pairs. The largest colony by far — 1,250-1,650 pairs — is on Peña Blanca, which lies off the country’s central Pacific coast in Colima. The next largest colonies are on Farallón de San Ignacio (150-288 pairs) and San Pedro Mártir (150-190 pairs), both in the Gulf of California. Author Alberto Piña-Ortiz and colleagues wrote: “The portion of the population that breeds in Mexico…

THE TROPICBIRDS OF MEXICO

ID TIPS: Long-tailed Duck

KEY FIELD MARKS WHAT TO LOOK AND LISTEN FOR Arelativelysmalldivingduck with a short bill and steep forehead. Long central tail feathers conspicuous on male. Complexanddistinctivefacepattern at all seasons, with males and females both showing changes between winter and summer plumages. Darklowerchestandwhite belly in all plumages; upperparts vary from mostly white to entirely dark. Solidlydarkaboveandbelow, without white markings, contrasting with pale body plumage in flight. Lonebirdsoftensilent but in flocks, males frequently give a far-carrying, musical, yelping call that could be written as Long-tailed Duck, winter male March in Ocean County, New Jersey COLD NORTHERN WATERS around the globe are home to one of the most distinctive of all waterfowl, the Long-tailed Duck. This beautiful diver breeds on Arctic tundra across North America, Europe, and Asia,…

ID TIPS: Long-tailed Duck

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Look in a bird book published in North America before 2000, and you’ll find this duck under a very different name: Oldsquaw. In retrospect, it’s shocking that this name was in use for so long — it’s sexist, racist, and ageist. The name was applied originally because these ducks are so vocal, and someone (probably a young white guy) thought they sounded like a group of elderly “squaws,” an offensive slang term for Native American women. In the early 1800s, pioneers like Audubon and Alexander Wilson referred to this species as Long-tailed Duck, although Audubon mentioned that it had nicknames like “Old Wife” and “Old Squaw.” But by 1886, when the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) published its first checklist, the name “Old-squaw” was official, and it would continue in use…

Taking a close look at feathers

MANY OF THE field marks that we use to identify species of birds involve the color patterns created by feathers, so it is helpful to understand the basic elements that come together to form these patterns. Despite the seemingly infinite variety of bird coloration, it is limited by some simple facts about feathers. Becoming familiar with these constraints will help a lot as you develop an understanding of the birds’ appearance. I’ve written in previous columns about how the arrangement of feathers produces and also limits the color patterns of birds (“Streaks and Spots,” December 2014 issue). In this column, I focus on the sizes of different feathers and how that influences color patterns. Generally, feather size changes from smallest and shortest at the front of the bird (around the…

Taking a close look at feathers

THE JOYS OF bird photography aren’t defined simply by capturing photos for social media and producing prints or online galleries. They also embrace travel to appealing destinations, as well as the pursuit of the cameras and lenses to achieve one’s artistic vision. Whether you’re a beginner wide-eyed with excitement or a seasoned hobbyist or pro, it’s a challenge to quell the notion that the lens you have at hand may not be the perfect tool for the image task lists of your imagination. Something as simple as seeing an exciting image in a magazine or on an online forum, or a new product review in print or on YouTube, can spark that nagging urge to replace your gear with that special lens you’re convinced will propel your work to the…

St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge

SIBLEY, MISSISSIPPI 31°24'13.16"N 91°27'9.62"W Established in 1990, St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge encompasses almost 25,000 acres between the Mississippi River and clay bluffs bordering the flood plain. Large numbers of storks, spoonbills, cormorants, stilts, ibises, herons, and egrets gather in summer to forage in wetland impoundments against a distant backdrop of bottomland hardwood forest fronting the Mississippi River just beyond. As dusk approaches, the storks, spoonbills, and cormorants take flight to occupy communal roosts in nearby cypress trees. The setting sun adds a golden shine to the spectacle. As an amateur wildlife photographer with my share of opportunities to photograph birds around the globe, I have found St. Catherine Creek to be a unique experience. The refuge is sufficiently isolated, yet accessible, to offer solitude while enjoying being surrounded…

St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge

Richard Bong State Recreation Area

KANSASVILLE, WISCONSIN 42°38'2.95"N 88°7'41.27"W In the 1950s, the federal government bought more than 4,500 acres of farmland west of Kenosha and cleared it for a planned military base. Then, three days before a runway was scheduled to be surfaced, the base was scrapped. Eventually, the state established a multi-use recreation area with a primary focus on conservation. While Bong welcomes horse riders, hang gliders, cross-country skiers, model-airplane hobbyists, bikers, hunters, and others, birders will find lots of wide-open spaces to bird. The birdier sites around the park include the Vista Picnic Area, the trail near the nature center, the observation tower that overlooks a large wetland and wildlife refuge, the Red Trail, and Wolf Lake on the east side of the park. Audubon recognized Bong as an Important Bird Area…

Richard Bong State Recreation Area

Handle with care

SOMETIMES, SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES result from ingenious experiments. And other times, they’re serendipitous. This story is the latter. Ornithologist Jack Dumbacher, who since 2003 has been the curator of ornithology and mammalogy at the California Academy of Sciences, has interest in molecular ecology. One morning in 1990, while on expedition in Papua New Guinea, Dumbacher caught several songbirds in a mist net. As he removed a Hooded Pitohui from the net, his finger was cut. He felt tingling and then burning. He put the finger in his mouth to ease the pain and then his tongue started to tingle and burn for hours. Later, the scientist in him took over, and he put a pitohui feather in his mouth. Yes, the pain returned. He had just discovered the first toxic (poisonous)…

Handle with care

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…

Atlantic Puffin During a July trip to Iceland’s Grímsey Island, a haven for Atlantic Puffins, Arctic Terns, and other seabirds, professional bird photographer Alan Murphy was able to get quite close to a particularly tame puffin to create this portrait of its eye. “The eye of the ‘Sea Parrot’ can be overlooked due to the very attractive multi-colored bill,” he says. “But when zoomed in on, the eye has an extraordinary pattern, texture, and color combination, giving it an almost clown-like appearance.”…

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