RARITY FOCUS

Some very, very strange birds can show up in odd places in the U.S. and Canada. In December, for example, we mentioned a Cattle Tyrant in Corpus Christi, Texas, a species that normally occurs no closer than Panama, and an individual bird that has remained in place through last month. How this bird ever showed up in Corpus Christi is a real mystery.

But this month’s Rarity Focus is an individual bird that is also mysterious, irregularly seen, and almost plausible in its occurrence. It’s a Yellow-headed Caracara in Florida.

This is a species that is found through much of South America, Panama, Cost Rica, Nicaragua (since about 2008), and occasionally elsewhere (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Trinidad, and occasionally scattered as far north as Guatemala and Belize). Individuals do wander, and as semi-open country and de-forestation spread (e.g., creating cattle pastures and agricultural lands), so does the range of this species. (There were previous odd sightings in California and North Carolina, but the origins of these birds have been questioned.)

A few months ago, in the first days of December, a photo of this species was posted to iNaturalist, from a location at the Florida International University, the Biscayne Bay Campus in Miami-Dade County, Florida. See here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/192780640

A few more observations were recorded in the following days, and then at the nearby Oleta River State Park and at Haulover Park, Miami Beach. Subsequently, the bird was observed – off and on – through much of March, particularly at Oleta River State Park. (Curiously, a Yellow-headed Caracara was photographed at Oleta River State Park on 7 January 2023, yes, over a year ago, presumably the same individual!)

Where this Yellow-headed Caracara came from, how long it has been in the area, and how long it might stick around, are all valid questions!

You can check out a photo of this Yellow-headed Caracara at Oleta River State Park, from 3 January 2024, here:

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613095033

  and at Haulover Park on 13 January 2024, here:

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613475855

Lessons here? Keep looking! Those older oddball reports from California and North Carolina combined with this South Florida Yellow-headed Caracara might just add up to a slow developing pattern. More Yellow-headed Caracaras may follow. Ya never know!

ANOTHER STRANGE OCCURRENCE

For another slice of strange birds at strange places, let’s consider another rarity from last month.

Yellow-billed Loons in North America are remote Arctic tundra breeders. In the Pacific West they may migrate coastally, but rarely south of British Columbia. Still, some are recorded annually in Washington and Oregon, much less frequently into southern California waters.

Sure, there are inland records for odd places like Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan and beyond. They are surprising… but, not always super-surprising.

So, when a Yellow-billed Loon was discovered early in March within the fountain at the Bellagio Hotel& Casino in Las Vegas, it was a wonder. Yes, human tourists regularly will flock to the Bellagio Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip to see the “Fountains of Bellagio,” a show involving light, music, and more than 1,000 fountains shooting water up over 460 feet into the air. But a Yellow-billed Loon from the Arctic?

When the loon took up residence in the waters by the iconic fountains, this prompted hotel management to put on hold its daily fountain show for the evening of 5 March. The Nevada Department of Wildlife then captured the bird early the next day and relocated it to an undisclosed location.

You can read more here:

https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/the-strip/bird-that-stopped-bellagio-fountain-show-relocated-to-remote-location-3012030/

 And here:

https://apnews.com/article/bellagio-fountain-show-bird-loon-las-vegas-c576a6e1a97a49bdf6a38b17456c5544?utm_campaign=mb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew

IBA NEWS: OKEFENOKEE REMINDER

The mining scene near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge remains unresolved. The Refuge in southeast Georgia (with a bit in Florida) is an Important Bird Area (IBA) of global significance as well as a Ramsar site (a wetland of international significance). Some of the very special bird species that can be found at Okefenokee include Wood Stork, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bachman’s Sparrow, and many herons and egrets.

Unfortunately, Twin Pines Minerals, LLC, based in Alabama, has been seeking permission for a heavy mineral sand mine next to the refuge. We previously covered this story in the June 2021 issue of the Birding Community E-bulletin:

https://conta.cc/2RQVx7K

  And we had an update a little more than a year ago, in March 2023:

https://conta.cc/3yhnJSN

The proposed mining near the swamp could disrupt the flow of water, potentially contaminating clean water sources and harming wildlife habitats. The economic benefits of the mine pale in comparison to the potential damage to Okefenokee NWR, the ecosystem it supports, and the surrounding communities that depend on it.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division public comment period for the revised proposed permits on this project closes on 9 April. The National Wildlife Refuge Association has provided a sample set of comments and concerns on their website to help craft a message to the Division:

https://www.refugeassociation.org/advocacy-okefenokee-32024

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

BOOK NOTE: TAKE IT SLOW

Joan E. Strassmann has provided us with a unique read in Slow Birding: The Art and Science of Enjoying Birds in Your Own Backyard (TarcherPergree, 2022). The concept is a takeoff with the same intent as the “Slow Food Movement,” an insistence that patience, perception, and local emphasis can provide new insights and appreciation from an engaged participant.

Strassmann encourages us to slow down and take in the lives and actions of some of those “common” birds among us. She guides us though a key bird appreciation in front of our eyes... or in front of our very noses. The thesis of her book is that if we tie the biological stories together with the identification of the birds, the whole experience can be much more rewarding.

What might we learn anew from her sequential presentation of American Robin, House Wren, Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Cardinal, White-throated Sparrow, American Coot, and ten other familiar species? Indeed, how “familiar” are we with these birds?

Strassmann tells colorful and revealing stories of some of the most common birds to be found close to home, species we regularly see but may not ever “study.” She helps us look more deeply into the lives of these species, simultaneously describing the works of unsung researchers – men and, seemingly more often, women – who have revealed the near-secret lives of birds we often simply dismiss as “common” or “everyday” species. The researchers appear in this book not only as required footnotes in the text but also as inquisitive characters asking serious questions.

To that end, the author concludes each species-oriented chapter with a number of these very sorts of questions, all designed to prompt further inquiry from the reader.

Yes, Strassmann could have easily chosen another half-dozen familiar birds to highlight with individual chapters. But no matter. The book accomplishes the author's intent. Perhaps the rest is up to us.

MORE PLANNING: GREATER SAGE-GROUSE

In our March issue, we described the new “Sagebrush Keystone Initiative,” in which the Department of the Interior has identified “Sagebrush Collaborative Restoration Landscapes” where work with multiple stakeholders is designed to deliver actions in sagebrush country for increased conservation and restoration for that habitat. See here:

https://conta.cc/42GbiOV

Last month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a new draft resource management plan and environmental impact statement aimed at range-wide planning for Greater Sage-Grouse. This may be viewed as a companion to the sagebrush actions described last month.

In this case, the proposal would designate nearly 35 million acres in ten Western states as priority habitat management areas with protections such as setbacks from conducting activities near Greater Sage-Grouse leks or “development density caps.” Beyond that, an additional 24 million acres would receive the designation of general habitat management areas and correlate with fewer restrictions.

Most of the proposed priority habitat management areas would be in Nevada and California. A very large portion is also proposed in Wyoming.

Currently, there is a 90-day public comment period open which will end on 13 June. You can read about the specifics here:

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-03-15/pdf/2024-05508.pdf

NORTHERN BOBWHITE PILOT PROJECT – USDA

 Last month, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the launch of a new conservation initiative – Working Lands for Wildlife’s Northern Bobwhite Pilot Project. This would support voluntary conservation of private working lands to benefit Northern Bobwhite and associated grasslands conservation in 18 states.

Populations of Northern Bobwhites have plunged between 1966 and 2014, resulting in a decline of 85%, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The species has been viewed as a “common bird in steep decline,” according to sources such as Partners in Flight. While solid explanations for such drastic declines have been elusive, habitat management designs by this Pilot Project should address a set of associated concerns.

The Pilot Project, offered through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at USDA will be providing up to $13 million this year for the effort. It is intended to help producers support Northern Bobwhite and other species by managing working lands for early successional habitat while at the same time meeting associated resource and production goals.

The Northern Bobwhite Pilot Project advances over 17 “climate-smart agricultural practices,” including field borders, brush management, and prescribed burning. All are intended to enhance and sustain wildlife habitat for the species. You can access a USDA announcement of the   effort here:  

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs-initiatives/crp-conservation-reserve-program/news/usda-launches-new-bobwhite-conservation?utm_campaign=03022024bobwhitepilot&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

McCORMICK PLACE DEVELOPMENTS

Regular readers may remember our report in the November 2023 Birding Community E-bulletin of the major bird-collision event that occurred on the night of 4-5 October in Chicago. That night, at least 1,000 birds died from colliding with one Chicago building, McCormick Place, the largest convention center in North America. You can see our summary here:

https://conta.cc/47pIifx

McCormick Place is currently in the process of putting out bids for retrofitting the building with intended bird-safe improvements. This is in response to numerous calls for the building managers to take steps to reduce the bird-collision risk. Among options being considered are a more efficient system of window shading to reduce the amount of light cast from the building, and treatment of the glass facades to reduce reflectivity. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made recommendations to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority to act on behalf of birds at McCormick Place. Read more about these developments here, from the Chicago Ornithological Society:

https://www.chicagobirder.org/blog/2024/3/11/money-where-their-mouth-is-promising-developments-at-mccormick-place

LAST WORD

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

https://bit.ly/35Xd3hO