RARITY FOCUS
There was a nice cluster of reported rarities across North America last month, but one fairly obliging and rare flycatcher deserves a special mention here.
La Sagra’s Flycatcher, one of the medium-sized Myiarchus flycatchers, used to be considered a real mega-rarity years ago, with one individual in Alabama in 1963 and a few in Florida, starting in the early 1980s. This species is resident in the Bahamas, Cuba, and Grand Cayman Island. But since the early 1980s, a number of sightings have occurred in south Florida, mostly from early September through May, with more sightings occurring in April-May. These particular reports suggest some spring wanderings but could also reflect wintering birds becoming more vocal in spring and more noticeable when more birders are afield.
It’s gotten so that sightings of this species in the Sunshine State are virtually annual. And such was the case when Angel and Mariel Abreu reported a vocal individual in mid-May in the Homestead area at the Mangrove Preserve along the C-103 Canal in Australian Pines. The flycatcher was reported through the end of the month with many observers seeing and photographing this individual
Here’s one photo from Angel and Mariel Abreu taken on 16 May, when they first found the bird:
And here’s a half-minute video of the bird perched and vocalizing, taken by Larry Manfredi on the next day:
RECOVERING AMERICA’S WILDLIFE: AN OPPORTUNITY
Last month, we watched as the important Recovering America’s Wildlife Act got closer to serious consideration and passage in Congress. This legislation would invest $1.3 billion for state-level wildlife conservation and $97.5 million to tribal nations on an annual basis. The state fish and wildlife agencies and tribes – along with associated partners - have been poised to put their congressionally-mandated “State Wildlife Action Plans” into practice and into high gear. The agencies are virtually ready to accelerate wildlife recovery, to restore, repair, and link habitats, and to reintroduce species when necessary. And birds are key to the whole package.
What’s missing, however, is the essential funding, guaranteed annual funding, to ensure that long-range planning and action can occur. What’s more, funding from the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act can also create outdoor education and wildlife-associated recreation opportunities in every state, using up to 15% of the available funds.
The bills currently have impressive bipartisan sponsors: 32 in the Senate (S. 2372) and 179 in the House (H.R. 2773).
To emphasize the bird-and-birder advantages and opportunities in the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act there was an online and a virtual “Birders’ Rally” held on 24 May by the National Wildlife Federation and National Audubon. This was geared to mobilize bird watchers for support with special additional guests from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Bird Conservancy, and beyond.
If you missed it, you can still watch the 55-minute event here:
You can also access a useful “toolkit” for interested birders here:
And you might also wish to access an easy-to-use “action alert” for the two draft bills here:
NMBCA BOOSTING
For another interesting piece of federal legislation, you may be interested in the Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act of 2022 (S. 4187), a bill to reauthorize the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA). The new bill, introduced by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) on 12 May, would more than triple the authorized annual funding for the program, from up to $6.5 million previously to up to $25 million by fiscal year 2028.
“The NMBCA provides essential support to Latin American and Caribbean partners who ensure migratory birds have a place to return to in winter after breeding in the U.S. – such as the Cerulean Warbler and Wood Thrush,” said Steve Holmer, Vice President of Policy at the American Bird Conservancy (ABC). “By increasing NMBCA funding, the door is opened to greater participation from partner groups, as well as larger projects that are more effective at meeting bird conservation needs.”
Here is a detailed description of the bill from National Audubon:
ACCESS MATTERS: JUST BEYOND THE BIG APPLE
Even though your editors missed the announcement of the Long Island expansion of the New York State Birding trail in the E-bulletin two months ago, we still want to bring this important development to your attention. While the growing phenomenon of birding trails and their associated access potential is no longer the huge news it used to be, this particular New York effort probably deserves special attention.
The trail is managed by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the inclusion of 20 initial locations for the statewide birding trail is noteworthy if only because it covers the two exciting counties outside of bustling New York City, extending eastward onto Long Island. These 20 locations in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are currently a mix of State and Federal lands well within the reach of millions of residents of The Big Apple.
The statewide trail includes a network of promoted birding locations that can be accessed by car or public transportation, providing an inclusive experience for all visitors to enjoy birds in beautiful settings for modest or no cost. To promote the trail as an inclusive experience for all, DEC and its partners are working to select sites that are welcoming and accessible by public transportation. More than half of the locations on Long Island are currently reached via public transportation. DEC also continues to solicit input from a wide range of New Yorkers and organizations that represent minority communities and is making welcoming information available in both English and Spanish.
In addition to the state and federal locations on the Birding Trail, publicly and privately managed sites can now complete a simple self-nomination process to be considered for inclusion on the trail for a positive visitor experience and official site designation.
You can view the map of the Long Island segment of the New York State Birding Trail here:
And you can get lots more information on the Long Island expansion from the DEC press release here:
This is all part of the availability and expansion of access for birders, old-time and new, and a vital prerequisite to appreciating and saving birds.
TEXAS WINTERING WHOOPER NUMBERS
The official Whooping Crane count was finalized in May: last winter, an estimated 543 Whooping Cranes arrived and wintered along the Texas coast, after their arrival from their breeding grounds in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada, fully 2,500 away.
Each fall the cranes arrive at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding habitats on the Texas coast, where they spend the winter. After arrival, wildlife biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will survey the birds by air and analyze population trends.
“It is exciting to see another record year as Whooping Cranes continue to increase in number and expand their winter range,” said Wade Harrell, the Whooping Crane Recovery Coordinator. Next year, the Service should be adding the South San Jose Island and Heron Flats Secondary Survey areas to their Primary Survey area, given enough Whooping Cranes there to meet the protocol for inclusion. Then, conserving additional winter habitat for the species will be a key component of future recovery efforts.
The preliminary review of aerial surveys of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo crane population located 543 Whooping Cranes, including 31 juveniles, in the primary survey area (approximately 160,125 acres) centered on Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This is an increase from the last survey in the winter of 2019-2020 estimating 506 Whooping Cranes, indicating that the population has clearly grown over the last two years. (No survey was conducted during winter 2020-2021 due to COVID-19 concerns.)
An additional 38 birds were recorded outside the primary survey area during the survey, which is also a record high. This marks the fifth year that the population has topped the 500-mark.
More details on the release of these numbers can be found here:
CONDOR HATCHING ON CONDOR CAM
And since we are covering some uniquely large and at-risk North American bird species, we should also mention California Condor.
The “Condor Cam,” hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Santa Barbara Zoo in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, returned for the seventh year with a live streaming video of a new condor pair nesting in Toms Canyon on Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in Ventura County, California. On Saturday, 14 May at 05:42 am, condor-viewers around the world got a real-time look at a hard-won conservation success story with a first sighting of a freshly hatched condor chick.
First time breeder, five-year-old female condor #846, and her mate, 14-year-old male condor #462, had their first successful hatchling together. They are using a nest cavity previously used in 2020 by #462 and his former mate, female condor #594. This is the first year a camera has been placed in this cavity.
Back in 2016, followers of the Condor Cam watched a chick hatch live in the wild for the first time in history from another cliff-side nest on Hopper Mountain NWR. Each year, livestreaming video of California Condor chicks gains worldwide attention, attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers from all over the world.
“By providing a virtual window into the natural world of condors, livestream cams foster important connections between people and wildlife,” said Charles Eldermire, Cornell Lab Bird Cams project leader. “This is an incredible opportunity to watch an active experience unfolding in real time, and it increases community engagement with these powerful birds. We’re hopeful that this will help to spread awareness about the fascinating lives of condors and the challenges they face in the wild.”
You can view the Condor Cam here:
And you can read the USFWS press release on the newly hatched condor here:
The number of California Condors dropped dramatically in the mid-20th century, leading the USFWS to designate the species as Endangered under the ESA. By 1982, there were only 22 of these iconic birds left in the wild. Today, due to intensive ongoing captive breeding and recovery efforts led by the Service in conjunction with multiple public and private partners, the California Condor population has grown to just over 500 birds worldwide, with more than half of the population flying free.
Despite these successes, there are continued threats to this species. The number one killer of California Condors is lead poisoning, caused by condors feeding on carcasses containing lead bullet fragments. Another threat specific to condor chicks is “micro trash.” Micro trash refers to small coin-sized trash items such as, nuts, bolts, washers, copper wire, plastic, bottle caps, glass, and spent ammunition cartridges, all items fed to condor chicks.
ONTARIO ATLAS: DIGITAL LANDMARK
While the important field work currently is underway for the third Breeding Bird Atlas project for Ontario, the province’s second atlas (2001-2005) has reached an important landmark. You can now access a digital copy of the entire second atlas online.
The second Ontario Atlas included detailed accounts for the 286 bird species documented through the project by 3,417 volunteers, making it the province’s most authoritative resource on birds and bird distribution at the time. The supporting text is enhanced by more than 900 maps (including both breeding evidence and relative abundance) and over 400 photographs, with additional chapters on topics including changes in bird populations and distribution, results highlights, biogeography, and more.
You can now find the excellent Atlas of Breeding Birds of Ontario, 2001-2005 here:
SQUIRREL WARS REVISITED
While we know that pandemic-driven, home-bound birding and bird-feeding have soared, a development which we have brought to these E-bulletin pages recently, along with the squirrel wars that invariably derive from associated feeder-watching. Two years ago, we drew attention to the YouTube video showing Mark Rober, a former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer, pitting his skills against wily squirrels and his construction of a “ninja obstacle course” as a barrier to his feeder. You can see our original report here:
And here’s the entire 21-minute, and totally amusing explanation, of his endeavors:
We brought this to your attention in June of 2020 because the video then already had 22 million views. Now it has over 96 million views!
So, the squirrel wars and the associated interest continue.
LAST WORD
Finally, if you have any friends or co-workers who wish to join the monthly Birding Community E-bulletin mailing list, you can simply refer them to this link:
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You can access all the past E-bulletins on the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) website:
