A remarkable Canadian "first" record, a Yellow-browned Warbler, was found at Panama Flats, Victoria, British Columbia, on the afternoon of 18 October.
This species is one of the Old World "leaf warblers," a family of small insectivorous birds found mostly in Eurasia, and not one of our "wood warblers" of the Western Hemisphere. Yellow-browed Warblers have been found in Alaska perhaps a half-dozen times, mostly on the "edges" of that state, or on islands in the Bering Sea. All have been fall records recorded from late August to mid-October. The species' breeding range is in forests of northern Asia, east to northeastern Russia, with a wintering range in Southeast Asia.
The presence of a vagrant Yellow-browed Warbler in North America can probably best be explained by misoriented or reverse fall migration. A single remarkable record of a bird in March-April 2007 in Baja California Sur was most likely a bird that overwintered there. Another equally strange occurrence was an individual Yellow-browed Warbler in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, in late October 2007.
The Panama Flats bird remained through 24 October, and was most often found in the mornings by persistent birders. This bird's appearance could be explained by a single bird in reverse migration, except that another Yellow-browed Warbler was found in California on 24 October. Todd Easterla found this additional individual in a riparian area behind the Markleeville, Alpine Co., California Sheriff's Office. Markleeville is south of Lake Tahoe and not far from the Nevada border. This Yellow-browed Warbler is the first record for California, and only the second for the Lower 48 United States. The bird only remained two days.
For photos of the Victoria, BC, bird see here:
And here for the Markleeville, California, Yellow-browed Warbler:
HOW STRANGE DOES IT GET?... SNAIL KITE IN PA!
A "one day wonder" Snail Kite in Pennsylvania has all sorts of people still wondering. The Snail Kite, was a young individual photographed at Thompson Bay at Presque Isle State Park, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of Tuesday, 22 October.
The Snail Kite is essentially a non-migratory raptor found in Mexico, Central America, and south to northern Argentina, as well as in the Caribbean and in South and Central Florida. In the U.S., outside of Florida, it has only been recorded in South Carolina and Texas, so what was this kite doing in Pennsylvania?
What caused this immature bird to venture northward to Pennsylvania, and from where? From Florida? From Mexico? From Cuba?
What was it eating on its journey? Snail Kites feed almost exclusively on large apple snails wherever they occur, so it would be interesting to know! In Florida, Snail Kites rarely take other foods (e.g., during or following extreme drought conditions, or following cold fronts in winter/spring, times when snails may be scarce.) The most common alternative prey items of Snail Kites are small turtles, sometimes crayfish, and even, more rarely, snakes and fish.
Much like the Great Black Hawk found in Texas and Maine last year, this is one of the more remarkable out-of-range vagrant raptors to occur in eastern North America in recent years.
The original photos and eBird report from Connor Vara can be viewed here:
ESA: KIRTLAND'S WARBLER
In our September issue, we alerted our readership to an impending "delisting" of Kirtland's Warbler under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Indeed, on 9 October, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that it would remove the species from the federal Endangered Species list. This was more than a year after the agency first proposed delisting the species due to its significant recovery. Restoration of jack pine habitat and Brown-headed Cowbird control have been essential in getting the Kirtland's Warbler to recover to this point.
Kirtland's Warblers have historically nested in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, but as the species has recovered to more than 2,000 nesting pairs, its nesting range has extended gradually into the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, and Ontario. This comeback has been widely hailed as yet another wildlife conservation success story under the Endangered Species Act.
Still, and as we indicated in September, the ultimate future of the Kirtland's Warbler will likely depend on continued and regular hands-on management as well as creative and long-term funding.
For our Kirtland's Warbler coverage in September, see here:
ACCESS MATTERS: DESERT NWR AND THE MILITARY
The Desert National Wildlife Refuge, north of Las Vegas, Nevada, is the largest refuge in the Lower 48 states, encompassing a vital cultural landscape for the Southern Paiute people and protecting 1.6 million acres of contiguous quality wildlife habitat.
Nearby, the U.S. Air Force manages almost three million acres of land at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). Part of Nellis Air Force Base, NTTR is one of the world's largest ranges for aerial training and military exercises. (The range is almost as big as the state of Connecticut.)
In the 1940's, the Air Force negotiated to take secondary jurisdiction over the western half of the NWR in order to expand the NTTR. Further withdrawals have occurred since. While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service technically maintains primary jurisdiction over the majority of the refuge, the reality is that access to the western area by refuge staff is limited to less than two weeks a year. This area - 860,000 acres total - is virtually closed to the public (with a highly limited bighorn-sheep-hunting exception).
In 1999, the Air Force successfully pushed for a transfer of jurisdiction of 112,000 acres in the western half of the refuge. The Air Force received primary and the Fish and Wildlife Service was reduced to secondary jurisdiction. In this area, the Air Force is doing aerial bombing, running ground missions, building infrastructure, and dumping contaminants.
Every 20 years, the Air Force must come before Congress to make its case for any further jurisdictional land withdrawals on the Refuge. This time, the Air Force is requesting primary jurisdiction over all of the 860,000 acres in the western portion of the refuge where it currently has secondary jurisdiction, and an added primary jurisdiction of 300,000 acres in the eastern portion of the refuge. Practically speaking, this would hand over 1.1 million acres of the Desert NWR that is currently protecting crucial habitat to be used by the Air Force. Wildlife management priorities would no longer be required, or even considered. These 1.1 million acres include recreational areas that are currently open to the public, but would likely be forever closed. (Note: the popular Corn Creek area - a virtual oasis for birds and birders in the NWR - is outside this proposed withdrawal zone.)
The Desert National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for the iconic bighorn sheep, and the current proposal could also disrupt dry lakes that form significant habitat for migratory birds and disturb habitat for the sheep, desert tortoise, and mountain lion. LeConte's and Crissal Thrashers have strong associations with Atriplex (i.e., saltbush, etc.) and creosote-dominated communities and desert wash vegetation and soils. The refuge has high density of nesting and breeding pairs of thrashers. Other species, such as Gambel's Quail, Gray Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Brewer's Sparrow, Lucy's Warbler, Sage Sparrow, and Phainopepla also utilize key habitats within the Refuge.
It's not just Native American communities that oppose the takeover of the Desert Refuge. More than 32,000 people submitted comments to the Air Force in opposition to the expansion of Nellis' bombing range. Earlier this year, the Nevada State Legislature passed a bi-cameral, bi-partisan rejection of the Air Force's proposal, voting 58-3 to oppose the expansion. Maintaining the current withdrawal agreement (i.e., the status quo) at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge over the next 20 years should be sufficient for all parties.
Congress will have to decide on the issue before the current land agreement with the Air Force expires in 2021. The language is expected to be included as part of the massive defense authorization bill next year.
For more details from the National Wildlife Refuge Association, see here:
IBA NEWS: NEW WHSRN MAPPING TOOL
Last month, the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network announced the launch of its new WHSRN Sites mapping tool. We can now explore polygons of all sites in the Network, and see how they overlap with Important Bird Areas (IBAs), Ramsar Sites, and designated Protected Areas. (All Ramsar Sites are included, but to improve loading time WHSRN has only included IBAs and Protected Areas that are within 1 kilometer of a WHSRN site.)
The WHSRN polygons display basic statistics about each site, and lead the user to the site's full profile on the WHSRN website.
Curious how it all works? Check out these examples:
Enjoy exploring this new tool,
now available on the very useful map-site page on the WHSRN website:
Development of this creative tool was made possible thanks to support from the Bobolink Foundation.
For additional information about worldwide IBA programs, including those in the U.S., check the National Audubon Society's Important Bird Area program web site at:
TIP OF THE MONTH: BINOCULARS FOR CHRISTMAS
Do you want to buy a decent pair of binoculars for a family member or friend without spending a small fortune? Is there someone on your Christmas/holiday shopping list who deserves binoculars, but your budget puts you under $200 for that gift?
Fortunately, binocular quality has come a long way over the last decade or so. Yes, highly acceptable binoculars can be bought for under $200, if you search with some care (and look for some sales). Try out models before making the plunge, however. Ask other birders; visit your local wild bird store; go through the optics vendors at a large birding festival.
You might start with waterproof and fog-proof 8-power options among (in alphabetical order) the following: Celestron, Kowa, Nikon, Opticron, and Vortex. Most of these are between $140 and $200, trending toward the top price. There are other brands/models that may also deserve consideration.
You have over a month to do your shopping. Ask around, try some out, and see what you like!
GREAT LAKES MARSH MONITORING PROGRAM - 25 YEARS
Finally, we extend a shout-out to a sometimes-neglected US-Canadian citizen-science effort, the Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring Program (GLMMP). It is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Thanks should be extended to all the 1,764 volunteers who have surveyed marsh birds or frogs and contributed to the program's achievements.
The program was launched in Ontario in 1994, went binational in 1995, and has since expanded to become a leading example of trusted information on wetland wildlife in the Great Lakes.
The volunteers have logged 152,748 hours (equivalent to 6,365 days or 17.4 years) while collecting and entering data, which is equivalent to about 3 million dollars of donated time! While recording all those hours, they completed 93,658 marsh bird and frog point count surveys, plus nearly 25,000 habitat assessments. This actually captured a remarkable 446,898 bird and frog occurrence records for over 300 species.
The results have advanced serious wetland conservation across the region, with a concentration of data from the easternmost Great Lakes. One can only hope that it continues and that it spreads over the next years. For more details, see here:
