RARITY FOCUS 

Our rarity-species profile for August is truly one for the record books, an occurrence that nobody could have imagined, yet a species which was observed and photographed by multiple astute birders in the field.

The species is Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel, a species which mainly breeds (March -September) on the Galapagos Islands and off Peru, but typically ranges offshore from waters off northern Chile northward to the southern Baja California peninsula.

The first recorded occurrence for this storm-petrel in U.S. waters was in January 1969, in Monterey County, California. The next six records – through 1996 – were also for the same county, mostly at sea, 20-83 nautical miles offshore.

Identification can be difficult. There are two sub-species, and the visible white on the rump changes with viewing conditions and molt. The California Bird Records Committee has usually accepted fewer than 40% of the individuals submitted for review.

Still, there were four Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels recorded in 2015, associated with a strong El Nino event and unusually high water temperatures. This may have put birders on the alert for more of these birds, but last month’s storm-petrel phenomenon was still surprising.

The powerful impact of Tropical Storm Hillary in August brought about 17 reliable sightings of this species to California, almost all of them inland. Here is a rough – and probably incomplete – summary of at least those 17, and often bedraggled, Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels:

1 - Aug 20 - Lower Otay Reservoir, San Diego County

1 - Aug 21-24 – Lake Palmdale, Los Angeles County

1 - Aug 21 - Riverside County, over a private (inaccessible) location near the Salton Sea

7 - Aug 21 - Boulder Gulch Campground, Kern County

2 - Aug 21 - Lake Sherwood, Ventura County

1 - Aug 21 - San Pedro Fishing Pier, Los Angeles County

2 - Aug 21 - Spring Valley Lake,San Bernardino County

2 - Aug 21 - Tulare Lake, Kings County

If those birds weren’t amazing enough, there were at least a dozen found post-storm in Arizona:

1 - Aug 21 - Glendale Recharge Ponds, Maricopa County

1 - Aug 21 - Lake Pleasant, Maricopa County

7 - Aug 21- 22 - Lake Havasu Pittsburgh Point, Mohave County

2 - Aug 22 - Cattail Cove SP, Mohave County

1 - Aug 23 - Moovalya Lake, La Paz, Arizona

Curiously, the last three locations were along the California/Arizona border, and there may have been more observations on “the California side.” Moreover, reports and photographs may still need to be reviewed for all these situations. But you get the picture.

In this case, and as the famous saying goes, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” For birders in this case, the chance of finding a rare bird simply favored those observers who knew enough to look around after this powerful storm.

IBA NEWS: VERMONT GRASSHOOPER SPARROW HABITAT

Vermont has fewer than two dozen designated Important Bird Areas, but they are all very significant, and one of them is the crucial Franklin County Airport (c. 110 acres) in the northwest corner of the state. The site is breeding location for Grasshopper Sparrow and, at times, Upland Sandpiper. Other grassland-dependent species there include Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, and Horned Lark.

The airport, owned and managed by the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), is a single runway airport. The facility is bordered to the south by a private airport and to the southeast by the county fairgrounds which are also maintained as grassland. As a result, Franklin County Airport is part of a significantly larger grassland complex.

This airport is one of the few sites in Vermont where the state threatened Grasshopper Sparrow nests in any significant numbers. This is the current problem.

Organizations like Audubon Vermont, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, and the Vermont Natural Resources Council have all raised objections to the widening of the airport runway, work done without getting prior approval from the Agency of Natural Resources, as required by state law. (Instead of taking enforcement action, the Agency of Natural Resources issued an incidental take permit, retroactively authorizing the expansion.)

One of the important conditions for the work is that VTrans develop a mitigation plan for new grasslands to offset the loss of Grasshopper Sparrow breeding habitat destroyed by the airport expansion. Any such mitigation plan should have been taken before the project began, and there is no guarantee such a mitigation project would work.

Concerned observers insist that the state law needs strengthening. But in the meantime, VTrans and ANR are being watched closely in hopes that they will create viable new habitat for Grasshopper Sparrows.

For more information on the importance of the airport and its status as an IBA, see here:

https://gis.audubon.org/portal/apps/dashboards/ab402cba1acc461d924783cf0f5e181c#site=1779

For a summary of concerns as of mid-August, see here:

https://vtdigger.org/2023/08/11/mears-hindinger-shupe-franklin-county-airport-plan-threatens-rare-sparrow

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:

https://www.audubon.org/important-bird-areas

VITAL BIRD RECOVERY ON MAUI

Last month, and over the course of the just a couple of days, the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century spread across parts of Maui leading to deaths and crushing devastation. At least 115 people are dead because of the blaze, and more than 60 remain missing. The culturally historic coastal town of Lahaina was devastated.

At the same time, the Maui Bird Conservation Center, managed by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, was threatened. The Center sits at nearly 4,000 feet in elevation on the slopes of Haleakala Volcano. Originally constructed as a low-security prison, it has evolved as a bird propagation facility with two forest bird indoor areas, pens, and dedicated aviaries.

For example, it has been struggling to maintain stable birdlife by housing roughly 40 small and unassuming ‘Akikiki - a disappearing species actually endemic to Kauaʻi - and encouraging them to reproduce in captivity. The facility also hosts some 40 ‘Alalā, or Hawaiian Crows, which have gone extinct in the wild.

As those fast-moving blazes raged across parts of Maui last month, Center staffer, Jennifer Pribble, and a neighbor battled approaching flames until firefighters could arrive to protect the facility, its aviary, and its valued birds.

Fortunately, the Center did not lose any birds. The battle was successful, but the risk of fire remains high. Simply put, climate change appears to be reducing the amount of rain on Maui, more than a third of which continues to be in a moderate or severe drought.

For a description of the work of the Maui Bird Conservation Center, its birds, and the situation both before and after the fire, see here:

https://www.hummingbirdsplus.org/news-center/maui-bird-conservation-center-saves-endangered-birds-from-wildfires/

ESA STATUS FOR CACTUS FERRUGINOUS PYGMY-OWL

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a final rule determining Threatened status effective late last month for the “Cactus” Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl under the Endangered Species Act. This is the second time this subspecies has been listed under the ESA, having formally been listed from 1997-2006.

Habitat loss is occurring across every portion of the range of the pygmy-owl, found in southern Texas and Arizona. The rule lists the primary habitat threats as urbanization, contact with invasive species, and agricultural or forest production. Additionally, climate change, leading to hotter and more arid conditions, is a pervasive throughout the range of the subspecies.

The report concluded that designation of critical habitat is “prudent and determinable at this time.” Such critical habitat will be proposed in a separate rule-making procedure.

Access the full ruling here:

https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-14486.pdf

BIRDS & TRANSMISSION REPORT

Last month, the National Audubon Society released a report detailing the need for rapid and serious upgrades to the national transmission grid, focusing on the emerging demands of renewable energy systems The report also called for bird-safe practices and logistics to be followed in that buildout. The report, “Birds & Transmission: Building the Grid Birds Need,” examined the requirements of bringing to fruition renewable energy on a national scale while at the very same time incorporating the best science and techniques available to reduce impacts to birds.

You can read a summary of the report and four possible actions for individuals and organizations to take:

https://www.audubon.org/news/bird-friendly-transmission-fight-climate-change-getting-there-will-take-collective-action

And you can access the full 35-page report here:

https://media.audubon.org/2023-08/BirdsAndTransmissionReport.pdf

BOOK NOTE: BIRDS AND US

Award-winning writer and ornithologist, Tim Birkhead, has written a serious and engaging book in his Birds and Us: A 12,000-Year History from Cave Art to Conservation (Princeton University Press, 2022). Readers can follow his narrative and journey through our shared history with birds, from those Neolithic bird images left in caves in Spain, to the ibises mummified and deified by ancient Egyptians, to the parallel tracks of colonial conquest and bird-discovery, to the curious obsession with egg collecting, all the way to today’s struggle to save endangered species and restore their imperiled habitats.

As an authority on Common Murres (Guillemots) and other alcids, the author concludes this marvelous history of ornithology with an account of a visit with students to a seabird colony in his closing epilogue and leaves the reader with the statement, “To see the expressions on the hundred undergraduate faces was among the most gratifying experiences of my forty years of teaching, and I will be more than satisfied if one or two took away with them a greater empathy for birds.”

This is a wonderful read and a storehouse of fascinating ornithological history. Read it!

CELEBRATING PUBLIC LANDS: 23 SEPTEMBER

The 30th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD) will take place on Saturday, 23 September. Through the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), NPLD has successfully brought together people across the U.S. in the care and celebration of our public lands. It all started with one federal agency, two sites, and 700 volunteers, but now NPLD has evolved into a huge single-day volunteer-and-appreciation event for public lands from coast to coast. With that in mind, folks can approach the day in two different ways:

First, you can take advantage of the day as a “Fee-Free Day” at the National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, BLM lands, National Forests and more that might otherwise charge for entry. And that’s fine, especially when you want to introduce friends and family to a quality nature-and-birding experience.

Second, you can connect with others through volunteer services on public lands to engage in everything from planting trees and native vegetation, building and refurbishing trails, removing trash and invasive plants, repairing bridges, monitoring species, restoring habitats, and helping at interpretive walks. Moreover, this is the kind of project that your local bird club just might want to adopt.

With backing from federal and state agencies, corporate sponsors, and nonprofits, NPLD can help to secure resilient natural spaces for all and encourage meaningful volunteering in the process.

You can find out more on National Public Lands Day here:

www.publiclandsday.org

LAST WORD

Finally, if you have friends or co-workers who might wish to receive the free monthly Birding Community E-bulletin, you might forward this issue to them and suggest that they sign up via this link:

https://bit.ly/35Xd3hO