RARITY FOCUS

This month we’ll highlight a somewhat “inconspicuous” rarity. It’s inconspicuous because it’s both the byproduct of a fairly recent and underappreciated species “split” and because it’s often not among the easier species to identify.

Two summers ago, in 2021, the American Ornithological Society (AOS) split the North American “Mew Gull” of the West into two species – the Short-billed Gull and the Common Gull. The Short-billed Gull is the new name of our North American gull, while the Common Gull includes the Western European subspecies (Larus canus canus) and the East Asian subspecies (L. c. Kamtchatscensis) subspecies, both of which can occur in North America.

For some identification pointers, readers might want to refer to a nicely-illustrated discussion by David Sibley done after the split:

https://www.sibleyguides.com/2021/07/mew-gull-is-now-two-species-how-to-identify-common-gull-and-short-billed-gull/

Now, the Kamtchatscensis Common Gull is rare for North America in the Aleutians and among some islands in the Bering Sea, and very rarely elsewhere North America. However, the Common Gull of Western Europe has been expanding its range, having colonized Iceland by the mid-1950s. These days, this species seems to be annual in Newfoundland and almost annual in the Maritime Provinces and at several localities in Massachusetts.

So, when one was found on 8 January by Oliver Komar at King's Beach on the Lynn/Swampscott town line in, Essex, Massachusetts, it was significant, although not a first occurrence or an earth-shattering surprise.

Indeed, in the last few months there have been other Common Gulls in the East. These include at least two Common Gulls in Nova Scotia: one photographed on 23 November 2023 at the Aberdeen Business Centre in New Glasgow and through most of December, and another bird that was found on New Year’s Day at Clark’s Harbor, Cape Sable Island.

Delightfully, Ohio experienced its first state record of Common Gull at Wendy Park, Cuyahoga County, on 30 December, and it was seen in the area for at least a few days.

It was the King’s Beach, Massachusetts Common Gull that was most cooperative, however. (Interestingly, this gull was banded on its right leg. This was very likely the same banded individual found at this location in the winters of 2017-2020, a bird that had been banded as a chick in June 2013 in Akureyrarflugvöllur, Iceland.) This individual remained at least through January, where it was observed and photographed by many birders. You can view a video of the gull, here:

https://tinyurl.com/3fvt7mud

GBBC IN FEBRUARY

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an event that has been taking place for a quarter of a century, and it conveniently overlaps our own President’s Day Weekend. The GBBC is the annual count run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada, along with other sponsors and international partners.

During this event, folks from around the country and around the world will count wild birds on the same long weekend, submitting their data online for scientists to use in various types of research. Combined with other bird counts and censuses, the GBBC results should help create a better picture of how birds are faring: if some species are declining, increasing, or just holding steady in the face of habitat loss, climate change, and other threats.

This year’s GBBC takes place over four days in February. Participants can watch and record as often and as long as they wish from Friday, 17 February, through Monday, 20 February. It’s free, enjoyable, and easy to join.

For details on the project’s history, how to participate, and how to make the most of the event see here:

https://www.birdcount.org/about/

and you can register for a special webinar on participation to be held on 15 February:

https://dl.allaboutbirds.org/gbbc23-yt-livestream-0?

NEW SHOREBIRD CURRICULUM

Last month, a new and free teaching curriculum was announced, one that is designed to bring shorebird education into classrooms through the use of creative games and activities. “Discover Shorebirds” is being rolled out by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN), Manomet, and other partners, including Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The curriculum is intended to connect students and teachers with shorebirds, conservation, and local ecosystems as the participants simultaneously learn about the ecology behind protecting key shorebird habitats in the Western Hemisphere.

This curriculum is designed to be taught in a variety of different settings, including classrooms and nature centers. It aligns well with science teaching standards in Canada, the United States, and other countries, and, thoughtfully, it is also available in Spanish and French.

Within the curriculum’s five core lessons, students can explore shorebird biology, ecology, migration, tracking technologies, conservation threats, ecosystem services, and stewardship through hands-on, engaging activities and games. The lessons include activity instructions, supplemental worksheets, supporting materials, and learning resources.

Teacher workshops will be held later this month and next, and these are expected to increase educators’ understanding and comfort-level with the materials. For more details, including how to participate, see here:

https://whsrn.org/announcing-the-launch-of-discover-shorebirds-lessons-for-grades-3-8/

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BIRD-BILL VICTORY

On 26 January, Mayor Muriel Bowser of the District of Columbia signed the Migratory Local Wildlife Protection Act. We described the importance of this model bill just last month:

https://conta.cc/3Cmx1zk

Among other things, this "bird bill" would require that for building permits for new construction or alterations involving glass the use of bird-friendly materials would be necessary. The Department of Buildings, in consultation with the Department of Energy and Environment, would also have to issue regulations accordingly.

The "Bird Bill" has now made it through the major local hurdles. It still has to be accepted by Congress. (Yes, Congress has to approve all DC laws.) Also, the DC budget needs to include whatever funds the Department of Buildings needs to enforce it, but these should not be major barriers.

IBA NEWS: CHESAPEAKE NRA CLOSER

There are multiple Important Bird Area (IBAs) across the precious Chesapeake Bay, including, in Maryland, the Southern Dorchester Counter IBA, Parkers Creek IBA, Central Chesapeake Islands IBA, and the Somerset-Wicomico Marshes IBA, and in Virginia, the Lower Delmarva IBA, Western Shore Marshes IBA, and Lower Rappahannock River IBA. But conservation security across this magnificent and diverse estuary is under constant threat from urbanization, agriculture, and global warming that collectively include 4,500 miles of bay and 64,000 square miles of watershed.

There is now a proposal to connect the many existing protected sites – IBAs and non-IBAs – under various jurisdictions through a system under the National Park Service, dubbed the Chesapeake National Recreation Area (CNRA). The concept, currently championed by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) and Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md) has been an idea for a half century, but now is finally being crafted into a pair of Congressional bills.

Modest at first, the Chesapeake National Recreation Area vision would eventually involve the inclusion of multiple new sites over time, either added voluntarily or by mutual agreement. This plausible vision has multiple existing models, including the Golden Gate National Recreation Area around San Francisco Bay.

While the primary intent of the proposed CNRA is not the direct conservation of birds and other wildlife, the added layer of protection and inclusion should indirectly assist in this regard. The U.S. National Park Service would link the recreation area with the existing sites of the shoreline-oriented Chesapeake Gateways program created in 1998, which is a network of more than 150 refuge, museum, and historic locales across the Bay’s watershed. As proposed, the new legislation would set aside a modest, but permanent, allocation of $6 million a year for the maintenance of the initiative.

You can find more details from late last year here:

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2022/11/push-being-made-chesapeake-national-recreation-area

and see an outline of the CNRA potential here:

https://united4cnra.com/

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

IVORY-BILLED REMINDER

Before wrapping up this relatively short edition of the Birding Community E-bulletin, we would like to remind readers of the ongoing debate and discussion surrounding the survival of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the southeastern United States.

Last May, we described some recently released and intriguing materials at an undisclosed site – a single forested block in a single watershed in Louisiana – where a handful of Ivory-bills may still be holding on. See here for this coverage:

https://conta.cc/3FHTPtX

As we wrote then, “The data presented offers little doubt that images/videos represent a large woodpecker species even though many photos are ambiguous. Perhaps most encouraging is that evidence acquired over many years of coverage indicates repeated re-use of foraging sites and key habitat.”

The secretive investigation – much of it employing the use of drones – continues, and readers of this E-bulletin may wish to review the original material presented last year. Indeed, such a reading may be ideal for a cold winter evening’s pastime.

The investigators continue to be optimistic that new technologies and persistent investigation will add to the evidence and that their creative methodologies can hopefully be used at other possible sites. You can read for yourself the case presented by the researchers and, at least for now, come to your own conclusions:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359850639_Multiple_lines_of_evidence_indicate_survival_of_the_Ivory-billed_Woodpecker_in_Louisiana

    or

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.04.06.487399v1

In the meantime, the decision to continue listing or to “de-list” (as extinct) the species on the Endangered Species List remains a task for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine.

LAST WORD

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

https://bit.ly/35Xd3hO