RARITY FOCUS

Fan-tailed Warbler is a species endemic to Mexico and northern Central America. There are about a dozen records in mountainous or riparian areas north of Mexico. These have been overwhelmingly found in Arizona in the last two weeks of May. Since the northern populations of Fan-tailed Warbler are actually migratory, these warblers north of Mexico may have actually been migratory overshoots.

Additionally, there are at least a few vagrant records outside of Arizona, in New Mexico and Texas, and also outside of May/June.

Two of these Fan-tailed Warbler records were just last month, in November, in Arizona.

The first was a warbler photographed at the Granite Reef Recreation Area in Maricopa Co., Arizona on the morning of 13 November. It was seen on the next day but, apparently, not seen again. This may also be the northern-most record of the species.

The second Fan-tailed Warbler was found on 14 November in northern Pima County, at Catalina, north of Tucson. It was along Rollins Rd at a mesquite thicket along the Cañada de Oro Wash. It remained through 28 November, and was observed and photographed almost every day.

Here is a nice video of the warbler by Marcia Lincoln:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxe2rCQVuiA

IBA NEWS: AN IZEMBEK WIN

The struggle to secure the integrity of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska continues, and we have reported on the tenuous fate of this Important Bird Area (IBA) multiple times. Most recently, in early November, there was a big win in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This was when a rehearing was granted for a previous District Court decision that had allowed for a road to be built across this unique NWR.

The rehearing of the decision will take place on 12 December. The decision was based on the lawfulness of a land-swap agreement signed in late June 2019 between the Department of the Interior and the King Cove Corporation (native – Unangax). This land exchange, approved by the Trump Administration and negotiated through a completely nontransparent process, would allow for the Wilderness land in the Refuge to be traded for other lands owned by the King Cove Corporation so that a road can be built through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

The road construction would be impacting more than half a million “Pacific” Brant, Emperor Geese, Steller’s Eiders, and other species, resulting in habitat fragmentation, disturbance, and potential pollution. The road would be the first ever to slice across a Congressionally-designated Wilderness, where, by definition, humans leave no mark. The precedent could open the door for other Wilderness Areas to be disrupted or destroyed. What’s more, the basic principles under the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 would be in jeopardy, if not reversed.

While a rehearing on Izembek is a victory, it’s just one step. The issue and implications are certainly not resolved. We will report on this continuing controversy in the coming months.

Here you can find more information on the Izembek Important Bird Area (IBA) status:

https://www.audubon.org/important-bird-areas/izembek-refuge-marine

and

https://www.audubon.org/important-bird-areas/izembek-moffet-kinzarof-lagoons

Here’s a summary of the rehearing victory from the National Wildlife Refuge Association:

https://www.refugeassociation.org/news/2022/11/15/court-rehearing-granted-for-izembek-national-wildlife-refuge

And you might want to access an article from The New York Times, emphasizing the role of former President Jimmy Carter in supporting the conservation groups asking the court to rehear the case:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/11/climate/anilca-road-alaska-trump-court-decision.html

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

NEW WHSRN TOOLKIT

The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) has launched a new toolkit to help engaged partners select, design, implement, and evaluate strategies for those “human dimension challenges” involving shorebird conservation at sites throughout the Americas.

Creative shorebird and shorebird-habitat conservation and management should be based on working with the local people who actually share those same natural resources. The best approach engages those neighbors, meeting the needs of both shorebirds and people.

WHSRN’s new toolkit includes a step-by-step process for developing an effective human dimensions program for shorebird conservation,  that includes four main strategies: social marketing for behavior change, volunteer programs for support of conservation actions, education to build a broader base of supporters, and advocacy to engage  the base of supporters in the decision-making process.

This approach begins with identifying threats and understanding target audiences, followed by developing the custom strategies best suited to address them.

This toolkit has been piloted and used by partners across Brazil, students in Suriname, and stakeholders at a variety of sites including Alto Golfo de California y Delta del Río Colorado, Bahía de Asunción, Bahía Samborombón, Bahía de Todos Santos, Desembocadura y Estuario del Río Maipo, Reserva Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego, and Río Gallegos Estuary.

For more information and a download for the toolkit see:

https://whsrn.org/whsrn-launches-new-toolkit-combining-social-science-and-shorebird-conservation/

PERUVIAN PELICAN LOSSES

We have reported on avian influenza outbreaks in the wild multiple times in the Birding Community E-bulletin over the past few years. The incidences of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) -which includes H5N1 bird flu virus - seem to be increasing, and not just in the poultry industry.

Just this year, for example we reported on this situation in March among North American waterfowl

https://conta.cc/3J8q5Hp

in April across 32 states and seven Canadian Provinces:

https://conta.cc/3ji9GVR

and in August in Great Britain (e.g., the Farne Islands):  

https://conta.cc/3Jy4YiJ

There were other cases this Spring and Summer on both sides of the North Atlantic, particularly among seabirds. Thousands of Northern Gannets died at nesting sites in Europe and Canada, with carcasses washing up on the shores of both the Maritime Provinces and the British Isles. On St. Kilda, Scotland, avian flu threatens the Great Skua population. In the Netherlands, an entire colony of Sandwich Terns was wiped out. And there was a series of deaths at tern colonies at breeding sites in Maine.

Currently there is an avian influenza outbreak reported along the Peruvian coast, spreading quickly and causing the death of thousands of Peruvian Pelicans (Pelecanus thagus).

The first reported event was in the region of Piura, northern Peru, with the sighting of almost 100 dead pelicans. Reports followed from other seaside locales with a few isolated cases of dead or sick pelicans. The Peruvian governmental institution in charge of monitoring and controlling this type of wildlife disease outbreak is SENASA (Servicio Nacional de Sanidad Agraria del Peru) which issued a health alert on 22 November. This group confirmed the presence of the HPIV H5N1 in the pelicans.

Days later, thousands of pelicans and smaller numbers of Blue-footed Boobies were also reported dead inside Marine Protected Areas along the Peruvian coast.

An official tally is unknown so far, but the number may exceed 10,000 birds from a total Peruvian Pelican population in Peru of less than 100,000 birds. The Peruvian coast is long (over 1,900 miles), and pelican carcass numbers are likely underestimated. The death-count of pelicans and other seabirds, especially within the marine protected areas (with islands and fenced-off headlands),  may likely be much higher than those reported in the media.

More news to come!

CATCHING UP ON WATERFOWL NUMBERS

Since 1955, the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (WBPHS) has informed and guided waterfowl and related habitat management for decades and used by researchers worldwide to shed light on large-scale wetland and associated grassland management.

The survey is usually conducted by airplane, helicopter, and ground-coverage over a two- million square mile area through the principal breeding areas in North America. It includes parts of Alaska, Canada, and the northcentral and northeast U.S.

 Unfortunately, the recent global pandemic and associated travel restrictions prevented pilot-biologists and ground crews from conducting spring waterfowl and habitat surveys in 2020 and 2021. This resulted in a serious two-year gap in the population data collected, important information concerning the status of North America's ducks, geese, and swans.

With the release of the 2022 survey, we now know that a lot happened during those two years. This included the intensification of a multi-year drought across much of the western U.S. along with the onset of the most severe and widespread prairie drought in at least two decades.

The waterfowl population estimates in 2022 were notably mixed, with some species showing declines while others were either steady or else showed some increases.

The estimate for total ducks in the larger traditional survey area, which spans from Alaska to western Ontario and south into the Dakotas and Montana, was 34.2 million birds, a 12% decline from the 2019 estimate and a 4% decline from the long-term average.

The results from the smaller eastern survey area, which covers central Ontario eastward to Newfoundland and south to Maine, were more encouraging. Populations of nine of the most abundant duck species in that area totaled 4.5 million birds, representing a 10% increase from 2019 and a level similar to the long-term average.

Some decreases raise concerns: populations of Gadwalls, American Green-winged Teal, and Northern Shovelers were down substantially from 2019 but at least remained near or above their long-term averages. Mallards declined by 23% and were 9% below their long-term average. American Wigeon declined by 25% and were 19% below their long-term average. Most distressingly, Northern Pintail numbers, fell to the lowest level in the survey’s history, down 21% compared to 2019 and 54% below the long-term average.

Still, the declines were not altogether unexpected and have previously been observed. Even though the traditional survey area encompasses habitats in the Boreal Forest, Alaska, and the Arctic Coastal Plain, major swings in duck populations are typically driven by cyclical drought on the prairies. And as recently as the early 2000s, there have been declines of 30% or more in total duck numbers, only to have the populations rebound sharply when wetland conditions on the prairies improved.

Clearly, we will know more next year, especially since a series of late-winter snowstorms and spring blizzards this year delivered potential relief to the dried landscapes across the Dakotas, southern Manitoba, and southeastern Saskatchewan. An abundance of recharged wetlands will hopefully see things pick up over the next couple of years.

In the meantime, you might want to review a very good summary of the waterfowl/survey scene shown here, by Mike Brashers senior waterfowl scientist based at the Ducks Unlimited headquarters:

https://www.ducks.org/conservation/2022-status-of-waterfowl

And you can review the actual report from the USFWS here:

https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/2022-waterfowl-breeding-population-and-habitat-surveys-field-reports

RECOVERING AMERICA’S WILDLIFE ACT – THE COUNTDOWN

What still remains for this important piece of legislation, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, is its Senate passage as S. 2372. (Yes, it passed months ago in the House of Representatives.) The bill provides financial and technical assistance to states, territories, and the District of Columbia for the purposes of recovering species listed as Threatened or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act or under state law, or avoiding the necessity to list species at all under such laws.

Now, 42 Senators have co-sponsored the crucial wildlife-funding proposal, as we summarized last month:

https://conta.cc/3DFltXS

An organizational letter in support of passage is circulating, urging Congressional leaders to prioritize passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act before the end of the 117th Congress. The goal is to reiterate broad support within the environmental and wildlife communities and to help maintain momentum for final passage of the Act.

If your organization would agree to be included before the close of business on 14 November, use the link for the sign-on letter below. It would be ideal to have it finalized and ready to share when Congress reconvenes that week. You can add your organization via the google form below:

https://forms.gle/5RfWu3vWB1hKYBCk8

TIP OF THE MONTH: CBC PREPARATIONS

This “Tip of the Month,” involves preparing for, and participating in, one or more Christmas Bird Counts bring be held from 14 Dec 2022 to 5 January 2023.

You may want to preview the area that you will be covering on the count day, and checking out the best individual locations within the route you will be taking. Pay special attention to changes in the habitat from previous years, accessible feeding stations, open water areas, and especially individual locations that may be unfamiliar to you. Also, negotiate access to areas not always open to general, year-round visitation!

Plan to bring a new birder with you, perhaps unfamiliar with the location or the birds you will be seeing.

And also remember that Christmas Bird Count coverage sometimes reveals uncommon birds or local rarities, often at locations not regularly covered on routine birding days or routes. And don’t forget that even the most common species count, and they should be tallied as carefully as possible.

For more details on participating on CBCs, see:

https://www.audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count

HOLIDAY GIFTS?

Since it’s that time of year again, and if you have not yet bought all your holiday gifts, now is a good time to consider some that are bird-and-nature oriented. With that in mind we have a few suggestions:

The phenomenal spread in backyard bird watching via bird feeding continues apace. This “discovery” during the COVID pandemic, with many adults still working many hours from home, means that the backyard feeding-station continues to fill a role as both real entertainment and education!

Birdfeeders or all sorts – tube, suet, feeder-log, etc. – are appropriate gifts (along with accompanying quality seed). So are hummer-feeders in the right areas and birdbaths almost anywhere!

Next, and for already engaged birders, we suggest you consider any of the books mentioned in the past year in the E-bulletin under our “Book Notes” features. There were not that many, but they were all good:

• The Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests by Casey McFarland, Matthew Monjello, and David Moskowitz – an essential revisiting of an important subject.
• Vagrancy in Birds by Alexander Lees and James Gilroy – coming to grips with those wandering birds.
• Halcyon Journey: In Search of the Belted Kingfisher by Marina Richie – a look into one species and a personal discovery.
• Baby Bird Identification: A North American Guide by Linda Tuttle-Adams – an under-appreciated aspect of our local birdlife and breakthrough ID.

Think about giving bags of bird-friendly coffee as gifts. Seek out triple-labeled brands, combining shade-grown, organic, and fair-traded features. The coffee tastes great, and it can begin conversations about impacting bird conservation through our regular shopping.

Consider binoculars for some youngster in your life. We are suggesting a quality pair, not just compact binoculars, which have smaller objective lenses, and which are often dimmer and difficult to use when trying to locate a bird. And remember, you also don’t have to break the bank to find good binoculars for youngsters these days.

And, finally, give an organizational gift membership, one dedicated to saving and appreciating America’s wild birds, wildlife, and wild places. The list of such fine organizations is long enough for us to refrain from making specific suggestions. Readers should seek out the ones that match the message to be delivered.

LAST WORD

Finally, if you have any friends or co-workers who wish to receive the monthly Birding Community E-bulletin, you can simply refer them to sign up via this link:

https://bit.ly/35Xd3hO