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ARBIRD-L for Tuesday, May 27, 2008
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Subject: Bewick's Wren Citizen Science Survey
From: Dan Scheiman <birddan(AT)COMCAST.NET>
Date: 27 May 2008 11:56am
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ARBirders,
I am pleased to announce the unvieling of the Arkansas Wren Survey, a new
citizen science survey brought to you by Audubon Arkansas and ASU (Jim Bednarz
and Sarah Thompson) intended to locate Bewick's Wrens (as well as House and
Carolina Wrens).
The Bewick’s Wren is a species of high conservation concern in Arkansas and
throughout much of its range. Once common, today it is extremely rare east of
the Mississippi River. The eastern edge of its range currently runs through
Arkansas, making Arkansas the frontline for stemming the decline. The decline
is probably due to habitat loss as well as competition with the House Wren for
nest sites. We need YOUR help searching for wrens across the state.
To learn more and sign up visit the Arkansas Wren Survey web site at
http://ar.audubon.org/wren. The survey is open to anyone of any age and
experience level who can spend at least 4 hours at least twice per year looking
and listening for wrens in appropriate habitat. We've tried to keep the survey
protocol fairly easy to follow. Educational and survey materials can be found
online. Participants also can chat with each other, share stories and findings,
and ask questions through the project’s e-mail discussion group. There is no
fee to participate.
We can definitely use the help of the birding community through your
participation in surveys, by passing along Bewick's Wren sightings to me and
Sarah (sarah.thompson(AT)smail.astate.edu) and by spreading the word about our
survey to anyone or any news outlet.
Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
Dan Scheiman
Audubon Arkansas
Little Rock, AR
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Subject: Scarlet Macaw book/ energy action you can take now
From: Jack and Pam <jackstewart_us(AT)YAHOO.COM>
Date: 27 May 2008 1:04pm
The following two paragraphs are not directly related,
unless one thinks in terms of the butterfly wing
effect.
I’m in the middle of a book that is so enjoyable I
can’t wait to recommend it to all of you. "The Last
Flight of the Scarlet Macaw", by Bruce Barcott is the
story of one woman’s fight to save the Scarlet Macaw.
If you have been to Belize you will enjoy and
recognize the descriptions. If you want a better
understanding of world energy problems as seen on a
small scale, in a small country, you will find it
enlightening. On the book jacket Michael Pollan, of
The Omnivore’s Dilemma fame, says, a “…faraway
environmental battle that speaks volumes about the
ways of our world- and how an individual might
actually change it. This is a great read and an
important story.”
Speaking of how an individual might change things,
each one of you has a chance to help change the world
if you are willing to spend less than ten minutes to
make two phone calls. But it should be done before
June 2! If you would like more information, send me
an email message and I will give you the details based
on a National Audubon workshop I attended two weeks
ago. Time really is of the essence though.
Let’s see how much curiosity there is out there.
Jack Stewart
by the Buffalo National River
Newton County
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: ASPLUNDH in Camden
From: "Steven W. Cardiff" <scardif(AT)LSU.EDU>
Date: 27 May 2008 2:23pm
Jeff (ARBIRD)-
My understanding is that any migratory bird (or other wildlife)
casualties incurred through destructive activities such as clearing, mowing,
tree pruning, spraying, road building and construction, crop harvesting,
etc., etc. are considered "indirect take." In other words, the birds,
nests, eggs, etc. were not intentionally/deliberately harmed. They were
just incidentally killed or maimed because we pretend that they aren't there
or they will get out of the way and move somewhere else. Indirect take is
generally NOT enforced by federal or state governments because they
themselves engage in such activities on public lands (e.g., think forestry
activities, mining, habitat management on NWRs, WMAs, flood control, and
maintenance of highway and utility corridors, etc.) and do not want to be
held accountable.
As a conservationist, scientific collector, and hunter it infuriates me
that "direct take" for scientific or sporting purposes (including salvage of
dead wildlife) is HEAVILY regulated (as it should be), but that authorities
have double standards and "look the other way" when it comes to indirect
take. Scientific collectors have to provide extensive justifications to
obtain permits; even then, most states no longer allow the take of bird
nests and eggs, and some states no longer allow any collecting at all during
the breeding season. Hunters have to obtain licenses and abide by seasons
and limits. Yet, "indirect take" is constantly happening on public and
private property (often using your tax dollars) even in the middle of the
nesting season, no questions asked, no permits required, no justifications
necessary, no mitigation requested. Bird losses from indirect take,
especially during the breeding season, are likely many orders of magnitude
higher than direct take for scientific purposes.
Think about that every time you see a patch of forest being cleared for
development in May or an overgrown lot being bush-hogged in June. I'd love
to see legal action taken, but it would probably require a team of high
powered attorneys years/decades and millions of dollars to make any headway.
Sorry for the rant.
Steve Cardiff
On 5/24/08 10:14 AM, "Jeffrey Short" <bashman(AT)EARTHLINK.NET> wrote:
> To me that should be a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. There is
> no justification, emergencies notwithstanding, that trees could not be
> trimmed/removed during periods that birds would not loses nests/young. The
> same goes for clearing for roads or their expansion. Even if the tree
> trimmers are contractors, they are probably working for some jurisdiction or
> utility.
>
> The NGOs have the resources to focus on a diversity of environmental issues;
> they should take the lead on this one which seems a clear violation of law.
> Perhaps the losses could be documented and mitigated.
>
> Someone please let me know if there is some loophole that I missed on this.
>
> Jeff Short
> At the bottom loop of the backwards "S" on the continuation of the Ouachita
> River
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: ASPLUNDH in Camden
From: "George R. Hoelzeman" <uiogd(AT)ARKANSAS.NET>
Date: 27 May 2008 2:32pm
I have to agree - they're currently clearcutting about 40+ acres next to us,
part of which was tornado damaged but the majority was unharmed hardwoods.
There is barely a twig still standing . . .
The mowing issue raises a question: when is the ideal time to mow a pasture to
keep it from getting overgrown? What about hayfields?
Thanks
George (n. Conway Co and not mowing 'cause he can't afford the fuel this year)
On Tue, 27 May 2008 14:23:42 -0500, Steven W. Cardiff wrote:
>Jeff (ARBIRD)-
> Think about that every time you see a patch of forest being cleared for
>development in May or an overgrown lot being bush-hogged in June. I'd love
>to see legal action taken, but it would probably require a team of high
>powered attorneys years/decades and millions of dollars to make any headway.
>Sorry for the rant.
>Steve Cardiff
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Bachman's Sparrow and fire
From: Joe Neal <jneal(AT)FS.FED.US>
Date: 27 May 2008 3:49pm
Back in the 1980s, Max & Helen Parker showed a bunch of us the Bachman's
Sparrows they'd found in relative abundance in International Paper Co
clearcuts around Malvern. Seeing and hearing this was a revelation to me:
rare bird in a despised habitat. Bachman's has also apparently done well on
the oft-burned firing ranges at Fort Chaffee.
The current (May/June 2008) issue of Birding contains an informative and
right-on-the-mark article about the relationship between Bachman's Sparrow
and prescribed burning: "Bachman's Sparrow, the order of the phoenix" by
Jim Cox and Clark Jones. If you have questions or concerns about prescribed
burning on public lands, I would encourage you to check this out.
The article focuses on a project in Georgia, but overall, what they say
about habitat management there applies pretty well here on the Ouachita NF
in western Arkansas. In the era of routine suppression of all wildfires,
birds with an evolutionary adaptation to vegetative landscapes
fundamentally shaped by fire have suffered greatly. Wildlife managers are
trying to get more fire into these landscapes. In the southeast, including
the western Ouachitas, we find Bachman's associated with burning. Bachman's
here is directly associated with Red-cockaded Woodpecker management.
Without the RCWs, and without their particular habitat requirements, it
would be hard to burn enough to benefit Bachman's.
As has been the case in past years, I am slowly finding more Bachman's as
the RCW nesting season progresses. I do not hear them in every RCW area,
but they are pretty likely, especially in those areas with a recent (within
a year or so) burn, just as Cox & Jones state in their article.
The flowers and butterflies are pretty nice in this RCW-Bachman's country,
too. Pale-purple coneflowers are now going great guns, and if past years
serve as reliable guide, we should find male Diana fritillaries any day
now.
JOSEPH C. NEAL, biologist
Poteau Ranger District, Ouachita NF
P.O. Box 2255 (1541 Highway 248 W)
Waldron, AR 72958
jneal(AT)fs.fed.us 479-637-4174
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Red Slough Bird Survey - May 27
From: David Arbour <arbour(AT)WINDSTREAM.NET>
Date: 27 May 2008 5:47pm
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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Royce Pendergast (TX) and I surveyed birds today at Red Slough and found =
71 species. It was overcast, mild, and a bit rainy. Highlight of =
today's survey was finding another pair of Purple Gallinules. These =
birds were on unit 21 where I have never seen them before. This makes =
about 5 pairs that I'm aware of at Red Slough this year. Three pairs in =
Bittern Lake, one in unit 30, and the new pair in unit 21. Here is a =
complete list of all found today: =20
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - 4 (Unit 30 & Lotus Lake)
Canada Goose - 9
Wood Duck - 27
Mallard - 2
Hooded Merganser - 1
Pied-billed Grebe - 23
Neotropic Cormorant - 2 (Otter Lake, west end.)
Anhinga - 41
American Bittern - 5
Least Bittern - 8
Great Blue Heron - 7
Great Egret - 4
Snowy Egret - 2
Little Blue Heron - 26
Cattle Egret - 170
Green Heron - 4
Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron - 1
White Ibis - 49
Black Vulture - 2
Turkey Vulture - 8
Mississippi Kite - 1
Purple Gallinule - 6
Common Moorhen - 12
American Coot - 7
Killdeer - 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 16
White-rumped Sandpiper - 9
Dunlin - 29
Wilson's Phalarope - 1
Least Tern - 2
Black Tern - 21
Mourning Dove - 8
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 9
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 8
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 2
Willow Flycatcher - 3
Great Crested Flycatcher - 3
Eastern Kingbird - 7
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher - 3
White-eyed Vireo - 4
Bell's Vireo - 6
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
American Crow - 11
Fish Crow - 3
Purple Martin - 3
Tree Swallow - 11
Cliff Swallow - 15
Barn Swallow - 7
Carolina Chickadee - 9
Tufted Titmouse - 2
Carolina Wren - 8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 3
Prairie Warbler - 2
Prothonotary Warbler - 12
Common Yellowthroat - 18
Yellow-breasted Chat - 9
Summer Tanager - 1
Field Sparrow - 1
Northern Cardinal - 15
Blue Grosbeak - 2
Indigo Bunting - 14
Painted Bunting - 11
Dickcissel - 23
Red-winged Blackbird - 50
Eastern Meadowlark - 1
Common Grackle - 16
Brown-headed Cowbird - 15
Orchard Oriole - 2
Odonates:
Fragile Forktail
Citrine Forktail
Lilypad Forktail
Orange Bluet
Skimming Bluet
Common Green Darner
Stillwater Clubtail
Common Pondhawk
Blue Dasher
Common Whitetail
Eastern Amberwing
Little-blue Dragonlet
Herps:
American Alligator - 3
Blanchard's Cricket Frog
Eastern Gray Treefrog
Green Treefrog
Bronze Frog
Bullfrog
Good birding!
David Arbour
De Queen, AR
Visit the Red Slough Website: =
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/ouachita/natural-resources/redslough/index.shtml
Personal Photo Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/sloughbirder
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Subject: Henslow's Sparrow nad Swainson's Hawk.
From: Jacque Brown <bluebird2(AT)COX.NET>
Date: 27 May 2008 7:33pm
Good evening all,
Mike Mlodinow and I went birding today. We tried Centerton Fish Hatchery first
hoping the front last night brought in some shorebirds.
It did not.
We move on to Pea Ridge, after three locations and a lot of walking through tall
grass Mike heard one. It was in the SE corner of the intersection of HWY 72
and Dobbs Lane. Catty- corner from the small white house with the garden.
It was singing to beat the band. I was able to get close enough for some fine
photos. The sun was breaking through and I was able to record how very colorful
this little sparrow is. Pink and Green.
We also saw 4 Northern Bobwhite in the same area.
There was a Swainson's Hawk on HWY 72 , about a half mile closer to HWY 62 from
the Dobbs Lane intersection.
I also found a really cute fifty-cent sized snapping turtle on Dobbs Lane.
There were quite a few species of birds there but nothing remarkable.
After we left there we went to the U of A farm. I have tried for the Grasshopper
Sparrow several times and as son as we got out of the car there were two right
where the are normally seen. Between the farm impliments and the gravel road. I
moved within fifteen feet of this little bird for some photos. It sat there,
caterpiller in beak, as I approached. it was still there when we left.
Nothing to do with the birdies, but I got a kick out of it. What kind of frog
sounds like sheep? While we were walking Dobbs Lane it sounded like we were
walking past a flock of invisable sheep.
Good Birding, Jacque.
--
Jacque Brown
Bella Vista,
Benton, Co AR,
bluebird2(AT)cox.net
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: YARD BIRDS, ONE NEW- ONE ODD
From: Mary Lancaster <mgaillan(AT)HOTMAIL.COM>
Date: 27 May 2008 8:28pm
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WHILE SITTING OUTSIDE THIS EVENING , I SAW A YELLOW BILLED CUCKOO IN THE=
CRAPE MYRTLE AND HEARD ONE IN THE WOODS. I ALSO SAW A YELLOW HOUSE FIN=
CH . =20
BOTH FIRST FOR MY YARD.
MARY LANCASTER=20
SALINE COUNTY
_________________________________________________________________
E-mail for the greater good. Join the i=92m Initiative from Microsoft.
http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?source=3DEML_WL_ GreaterG=
ood=
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