Once again, we will skip the usual leading emphasis on some North American mega-rarity in this issue. During the continuing pandemic, readers might simply become more familiar with local birds and birding developments, including the rare opportunity to study bird vocalizations during Covid-19.
This is what Liz Derryberry and her fellow researchers did earlier in the pandemic in the San Francisco Bay area when the region went on strict lockdown in April and May. The researchers' findings were published in Science last month: "Singing in a silent spring: Birds respond to a half-century soundscape reversion during the COVID-19 shutdown" (by Elizabeth P. Derryberry, Jennifer N. Phillips, Graham E. Derryberry, Michael J. Blum, and David Luther).
These researchers reported that male White-crowned Sparrows in the area seemingly used the sudden drop in human noise (e.g., cars, trucks, planes, etc.) to their advantage during the spring lockdown. Studying their field observations from previous years, they concluded that the urban birds clearly had sacrificed song quality for higher volume. In a soundscape dominated by such noise as traffic, they had simplified their song to compete with, and be heard over, the competition.
But when the din that constituted loud background noise suddenly died down, the sparrows switched to songs that more closely resemble the softer, higher-quality calls of their nearby rural counterparts. With less of a racket around them, they could afford to focus on more complex sounds.
What's more, "They double their communication distance," said Derryberry. "And they... have these really wide-bandwidth songs, which means they contain a lot of information."
As expected, the rural bird vocalizations for White-crowned Sparrows were the same before and during the pandemic. The researchers also assumed that the traffic noise-levels resembled those of the mid-1950s.
In summary, the researchers concluded that "behavioral traits can change rapidly in response to newly favorable conditions, indicating an inherent resilience to long-standing anthropogenic pressures like noise pollution."
The loss of human life during the pandemic has been horrendous and staggering; the impact on our economy has been grim. In one way, however, the pandemic has provided us a sample of a slower, quieter, and simpler world; it's actually given some ecologists a unique chance to view what happens when human activity comes to a stop, a phenomenon that at least one group of researchers has termed the "anthropause."
You can access the original article here:
And also read a good summary here:
TIP OF THE MONTH: PLIRDING!
If most of us are doing less birding during this continuing pandemic, we might want to consider adding an additional goal to the limited and local birding we may actually be doing. Enter the practice of "plirding."
In Sweden a few years back, an effort called "plogging" emerged, encouraging runners to pick up trash along their runs. Plogging (a combination of Swedish plocka upp - "picking up" - plus "jogging") took off in popularity, with runners in many locations retrieving trash from forest trails, parks, and shorelines.
Inspired by plogging, "pirding" means picking up trash while birding! As New England radio broadcast host of "Talkin' Birds," Ray Brown, has described it, "Picking up even a couple of pieces of trash while we're out on the trail or in a park can help make a difference. And as others see our example, they might be encouraged to pick up trash too - or perhaps even not throw it on the ground in the first place."
Ray suggests that birders afield pay special attention to picking up fishing lines, fishing tackle, single-use plastic (bags, bottles, six-pack rings, straws, etc.), cans, etc. And, of course, then there's the additional concern of where, exactly, to keep the trash - in what bag or container - while you're using your hands to steady your optics!
The technique of "plirding" is well described by Ray Brown here:
And you can pick up more plirding details and techniques from Mike O'Connor of "The Birdwatchers' General Store" (in Orleans, Massachusetts):
LEAD SHOT: EUROPE CATCHING UP
Lead, in virtually every format is deadly. It's toxic for plants, soil, water; and for the animals and humans who might eat contaminated wildlife. In essence, lead shot is toxic for life.
Waterbirds of all sorts are extremely vulnerable to lead poisoning. They will often mistake the small lead shot pellets for grit or seeds in the mud when foraging.
Fortunately, in the U.S., a ban on the use of lead shot for hunting waterfowl was phased-in starting with the 1987-88 hunting season, and the ban became nationwide in 1991. Nontoxic shot regulations apply only to waterfowl, but safer non-lead shot is mandated in certain locations such as when hunting within U.S. federal Waterfowl Production Areas, U.S. National Wildlife Refuges, or some state-based Wildlife Management Areas.
There are also other restrictions, such as the lead-shot ban within an eight-county area in California designated as the California Condor's range. And at least 35 states have prohibited lead shot use in specified areas when hunting.
The use of use of lead shot while hunting migratory waterfowl has been banned in over two dozen countries by international agreement. In Europe, the standards vary. For example, in 1985, Denmark banned the use of lead in wetlands covered by the Ramsar Convention, later expanding this restriction to the whole country. And in the Netherlands, the use of lead has been banned for all hunting activities since 1992. In Europe, every year, 20,000 tons of lead hunting ammunition is shot into the natural environment, and more than one million waterbirds are assumed to die from ingesting it.
On 3 September, however, a European Commission committee, made up of representatives from all EU Member States, put forward a proposal to completely ban lead shot in wetlands. Eighteen countries, representing 90% of the EU's population, voted in favor of the proposal. This is healthy news for Europe's waterfowl, rails, flamingos, spoonbills, and shorebirds. Following the EU's legislative process, this proposal will now need to be approved by the European Parliament and Council.
The point of the lead shot ban is to provide a safer, healthier and more sustainable environment for everyone, hunters included. To learn more, have a look at Dead by Lead, a fine eight-minute documentary produced by BirdLife International on the subject:
BOOK NOTES: CENTRAL PARK BIRDER AND GRAPHIC NOVEL
You probably remember the incident in late May, when Black birder, Christian Cooper, was the center of a deliberate act of racial bias in the Ramble, the popular birding area of New York City's Central Park.
The incident, fortunately recorded by Cooper, resonated deeply, as it went viral. But Cooper has used the event, and his other passion as a comic book writer (in the 1990s, he was a writer and editor at Marvel Comics), to create a new graphic novel, It's a Bird.
The short, but serious, graphic novel centers on Jules, a skilled teenage birder who is Black. The plot is that Jules gets a pair of old binoculars, inherited from his grandfather who was a civil rights activist and Korean War veteran. Jules thinks the binoculars are junk and really does not want to deal with them. But, as Chris Cooper explains "when he starts looking through them, he sees not only the birds, but he starts seeing the African Americans who have been unjustly killed at the hands of police."
The young character, Jules, goes through some changes in the story, "from naïve and flippant; to the end, when he's quite sober about everything," asserts Cooper.
The effort at DC Comics was the byproduct of a team: writer Christian Cooper, artist Alitha E. Martinez, inker Mark Morales, colorist Emilio Lopez, and letterer Rob Clark Jr.
Here's a press-release and team interview from DC Comics:
and a description of the work from National Audubon:
IBA NEWS: GUADELUPE CANYON THREATS
Guadalupe Canyon, in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, is being torn apart by the construction of the border wall. This very rugged and remote canyon rises in New Mexico and cuts across the southeastern corner of Arizona, before meandering south into Mexico.
It is an impressive stronghold for such species as Violet-crowned Hummingbird, Gray Hawk, Thick-billed Kingbird, Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet, and Varied Bunting. Other species of interest and localized to southwest New Mexico and southeast Arizona are Elf Owl, Gila Woodpecker, Dusky-capped and Brown-crested Flycatcher, Mexican Jay, Bridled Titmouse, Verdin, Phainopepla, Lucy's Warbler, and Hooded Oriole. In addition, the New Mexico portion of the canyon - an Important Bird Area (IBA) - holds that state's only breeding populations of Black-capped Gnatcatcher and Rufous-winged Sparrow.
The canyon has also been given high-priority status by the U.S. Forest Service (the Guadalupe Canyon Zoological and Botanical Area) and the Bureau of Land Management (the Guadalupe Canyon Area of Critical Environmental Concern). It is also designated as a globally Important Bird Area by BirdLife International
A construction company has been engaged in blasting and bulldozing the canyon and adjacent uplands since at least the start of September, in an attempt to install the border wall. This is resulting in the destruction of one of the region's natural treasures and vital habitat for unique southwestern species.
It has been estimated that this short 4.7-mile section of the border wall would be the most expensive segment of wall built to date. Using funds from the Department of the Defense, the initial cost is $111.7 million per mile, totaling $524,000,000. The cost could also reach as much as $170 million per mile in some steep terrain. In short, this proposed wall segment would cost American taxpayers an enormous amount of money for a project of no perceptible value and enormous destruction.
Security is already achieved by a combination of Normandy barricades and remote
surveillance. And any needed additional security can be achieved through new surveillance towers without any road infrastructure or wall
Moreover, information suggests that very few policing apprehensions have occurred in the area precisely because of the formidable landscape, thus raising the question of the rationale for the wall there in the first place.
This is just the type of problem recently documented in the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's report, CBP Has Not Demonstrated Acquisition Capabilities Needed to Secure the Southern Border (OIG-20-52, July 14, 2020).
Unfortunately, attempts to get a set-aside put into the recent Congressional appropriations bill were not successful, and daily blasting continues in the canyon.
Some additional information is available on the blog of the Chiricahua Regional Council, (see, for example Narca Moore-Craig's summary on 10 September), and new developments may appear on the site:
For details on the canyon's IBA status, see here:
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:
MASSIVE BIRD DIE-OFF IN THE WEST
Last month, an unprecedented number of dead birds was reported across New Mexico, and some other parts of the southwest. The estimated numbers were in the hundreds of thousands, and the national media took notice. Most of these were migratory insect-eating songbirds (e.g., warblers, swallows, and flycatchers), with some seed eaters also included.
Biologists at New Mexico State University were engaged in collecting the dead birds and investigating possible causes. Martha Desmond, a professor at NMSU's Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology was among them. "It is terribly frightening," Desmond said. "We've never seen anything like this."
Additionally, some living birds during the event were observed behaving oddly, sickened on the ground, disoriented, or lethargic. The birds appeared extremely emaciated, with little no fat reserves and barely any muscle mass.
There are a number of individual theories concerning the cause for the die-off. Some of these theories are linked to a combination of factors.
One of the factors some biologists suggest is that the wildfires burning in California and other Western states, may have forced the birds to migrate early before they were ready. By "ready" the scientists suggested that the birds had not yet accumulated enough fat to successfully engage in the physical stresses of migrations.
A second fire-related theory had to do with smoke or particle inhalation, and a third idea was that fire reduced the abundance of available insects for birds to eat.
And finally, another potential reason could be an unseasonal cold snap that passed through New Mexico for one week. But as Desmond added, observers we were witnessing the die-off prior to the cold-snap and continuing beyond it.
The investigation has grown into a collaboration that includes NMSU, the University of New Mexico, Department of Defense, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and many other state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations in New Mexico, as well as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The bird samples have been sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon for further analysis.
It could be some time before results come back, depending on the findings, there could be serious ecological implications, especially if they somehow involve insect populations, fire, and changing weather.
"DUCK STAMP" ART WINNER: RICHARD CLIFTON
This year's Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest was held remotely late last month with 138 entries submitted to this year's competition. The eligible species for this contest were Gadwall, Brant, Cinnamon Teal, Lesser Scaup, and Red-breasted Merganser.
You can view all the entries here:
There were seven entries in the final round of judging, and after two days of competition, Richard Clifton of Milford, Delaware, emerged as the winner with his painting of a male Lesser Scaup. This is Clifton's second Federal Duck Stamp Contest win. His first winner was a pair of Ring-necked Ducks that previously appeared on the 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp.
Clifton's acrylic painting will be made into the 2021-2022 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, or "Duck Stamp," which will go on sale in late June 2021. The USFWS produces the Federal Duck Stamp, which sells for $25 and raises approximately $40 million in sales each year. These funds support critical conservation efforts to secure wetland and grassland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Two of the three famous Hautman brothers came in second and third in the contest. Jim Hautman of Chaska, Minnesota, placed second with his painting of a flock of Lesser Scaup, and Joseph Hautman of Plymouth, Minnesota, took third place with his own painting of a flock of Lesser Scaup.
You can view the first-place image by Clifton here, along with more details on the contest:
At the same time late last month, the Friends of Animals filed a lawsuit filed in federal court related to the Stamp. The organization's suit claimed the new art-rule for the Stamp, to include a hunting theme, will "alienate" large swaths of stamp buyers who don't hunt, including birders and wildlife photographers. The suit names Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipworth as defendants.
"Hunting participation-and corresponding Duck Stamp sales-peaked 50 years ago. We need more people buying Duck Stamps, not fewer," said Adam Kreger, the organization's Wildlife Law Program's animal law fellow. "The Duck Stamp program cannot survive on only the funds from waterfowl hunters."
For more details, see the FoA's press release:
or this article from the Danbury News-Times:
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE WEEK - 11-17 OCTOBER
Since the proceeds from the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp - aka "Duck Stamp" - go to secure wetland and grassland habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System, now is a good time to draw attention to National Wildlife Refuge Week. Observed in the second full week of October each year, National Wildlife Refuge Week celebrates the unique Federal network of lands and waters that serves and highlights our precious North American wildlife. Our National Wildlife Refuges offer outstanding recreation opportunities, and Refuge Week (11-17 October) is an ideal time to see why tens of millions of Americans visit refuges each year to enjoy birding, hiking, wildlife watching, and so much more.
Here is a summary of the week and the activities (somewhat limited during our pandemic) on various refuges:
CROSSCOUNTRY JOURNEY SUCCESS
In our July issue, we mentioned the endeavor by Dr. Scott V. Edwards, ornithology professor at Harvard University, who realized that his normal summers, deeply engaged in conferences, fieldwork, and laboratory work, would be different this year. With a nation confronting a pandemic, halting most research, and closing campuses, Edwards decided to cycle from coast to coast, east to west, birding all the way. He attached a "Black Lives Matter" sign to the front of his bike. See the July issue:
He created a Twitter account to participate in Black Birders Week, and folks kept up with his comments and journey, cycling, observing, and birding:
After 76 days on the road, Scott Edwards reached the Pacific at an Oregon beach, and he raised his bike overhead in triumph. His trip spanned 15 states, and 3,800 miles - all with only three flat tires.
His journey is nicely summarized here:
