RARITY FOCUS
Many folks are still wary of long-distance travel for birding. Clearly, birding festivals as social birding phenomena are suffering from that reality. Still, locality-birding and small-group birding (including couples, of course) are overall doing well, at least under the current circumstances.
So, rather than focus on a single rarity-species this month, we’ll focus on a more generally particularly exciting area that seemed to have produced some wonder-birds last month. One of the regular hotspots that comes to mind, and at almost any season, is the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. There were some fabulous birds in that region last month, mostly starting in mid-month and lasting through November. These species included the following:
· A Golden-crowned Warbler at the Valley Nature Center in Weslaco, Hidalgo County.
· A female-type Crimson-collared Grosbeak at Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen, Hidalgo County.
· A young Fork-tailed Flycatcher at the San Benito Wetlands in San Benito, Cameron County.
· A Social Flycatcher at the University of Texas- Rio Grande Valley campus in Brownsville, Cameron County.
Among these, the Social Flycatcher was, perhaps, the most unexpected and most exciting. This individual –which looks something like a smaller version of a Great Kiskadee - was only the fourth U.S./Texas record. See this video by Jesse Huth of last month’s bird:
MEGA EAGLE-VULTURE FINDINGS
The largest raptor that ever lived, probably hunted like an eagle but fed like a vulture. At least, this is what recent research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, indicate. The extinct giant – known as Haast’s Eagle – pursued living prey with deadly talons and beak, but consumed its kills like a vulture, inserting its “bald” head inside the prey’s juicy internal organs. These birds lived in New Zealand until about 800 years ago; they weighed up to 33 pounds, with talons that were 4 inches long and a wingspan that was nearly 10 feet.
Researchers used digital models and simulations to compare the extinct giant with our living birds. Analysis of skulls and talons indicated which feeding behaviors were like those of eagles, and, alternately, which resembled vultures' habits. The scientists constructed 3D digital models of the bird’s skulls, beaks, and talons. They also modeled muscles and analyzed dozens of markers on the bones to determine which parts of the feet and skull were “working the hardest” as the bird hunted and fed.
The findings lean toward an active feeding ecology, adding weight to the identity of this extinct species as closest to a giant eagle.
Oh, yes, the bird’s name in the Maori language has been translated as “old glutton.”
You can access the research-article here:
IBA NEWS: OKEFENOKEE WOES
In June of this year, we raised concerns over the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Georgia (with a bit in Florida) as an Important Bird Area (IBA) of global significance, a Ramsar site (a wetland of international significance), and with most of it designated by Congress as a Wilderness Area. Unfortunately, these designations do not extend beyond the boundary of the refuge, and a proposal to operate an open-pit mine by Twin Pines Minerals adjacent to the Okefenokee NWR ultimately threatens the health of the refuge, the Greater Okefenokee ecosystem, and associated birds and wildlife.
Some of the special birds that can be found at Okefenokee include Wood Stork, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Bachman Sparrow, and many herons and egrets. The IBA status of Okefenokee is summarized here:
Our June summary of the Okefenokee situation can be found here:
So far, through the work of many organizations, the Georgia-based permitting process has been temporarily slowed down. Nonetheless, formal review of the permitting process could begin shortly, and the ecosystem remains threatened by this ill-considered proposal.
You can find an informative update of the situation from the National Wildlife Refuge Association, including an opportunity to view a recently released film “Sacred Water: The Okefenokee In Peril” from the Okefenokee Protection Alliance here:
and 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:
ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE UPDATE
The struggle over the status and future of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska has been critical for decades. It was often covered under our “IBA NEWS” category, but the NWR soon graduated to almost regular coverage in a virtual stand-alone category. Such was the case in June when we last dealt with the Department of the Interior’s suspension of all activities related to the implementation of the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending completion of a comprehensive analysis. You can see our June coverage here:
Not surprisingly the media often emphasizes polar bears and caribou on the refuge, however the actual birdlife mix at the refuge includes more than 200 species – especially waterfowl and shorebirds. Birds that breed at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge migrate to practically every state in the U.S., and some even venture to other continents. This remote corner of Alaska is practically connected to all of us.
On 19 November, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their Build Back Better Reconciliation bill that seeks to repeal the disastrous oil and gas development program on the refuge. (This bill also buys back the leases that were improperly sold in January to ensure they will be canceled.) This huge win for conservation currently awaits consideration by the Senate.
You can find a fuller explanation from the National Wildlife Refuge Association here (before passage):
And here (upon House passage):
THE PECKING ORDER AT YOUR FEEDER
Supplied with a wonderful database of almost 100,000 bird interactions, the gang at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s “Project FeederWatch” announced the decoding – a virtual pecking order – of feeder-visitors. This power-ranking, covering scores of species, made something of a splash last month, and the listing wasn’t always related to a size-order as expected.
Yes, the grouping and chart-display did start with the hefty Wild Turkey at the top, and it ended with the small and retiring Brown Creeper toward the bottom, but a size-hierarchy wasn’t always the rule. For example, Mourning Doves might outweigh other species, but they also give way to smaller species. Woodpeckers are tough – they peck after all – but the large Pileated Woodpecker also proves to be fairly docile.
Some bird rivalries at the feeder are too complex for a simple ranking. The House Finch usually dominates the Purple Finch, and the Purple Finch almost always dominates the Dark-eyed Junco. But when the House Finch and Dark-eyed Junco face off, the latter often dominates.
The most complex relationships are probably between American Goldfinches and the closely-related Pine Siskin. When these species show up – usually in flocks – they appear to get into serious squabbles both among themselves and with almost every other species.
Since 1987, thousands of backyard feeder-watchers across the U.S. and Canada have participated in Project FeederWatch, a project jointly run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada. And since 2016, observers have been able to report specific bird power-interactions.
“The birds are at a food source, so it’s a place where they’re more concentrated and even more likely than usual to have these behavioral interactions,” said Project FeederWatch leader Emma Greig.
In a 2017 study in Behavioral Ecology, Project FeederWatch researchers applied the first wave of their data into algorithms to condense the complex of relationships into a simple rank. Since the project had a network of 30,000 citizen-scientists, this meant the team could collect data at a continental scale. And now, a vastly expanded data set of 99,376 interactions between almost 200 species, up from 7,685 interactions in the 2017 study, is able to provide more serious findings.
For some of us, especially those with some bird-banding experience, it was a surprise to find that chickadees – both Black-capped and Carolina – often perceived to be quite feisty, were actually the least dominant of the more common feeder-birds.
The whole situation was nicely summarized in The Washington Post last month:
and as a seven-minute broadcast and summary from “As It Happens” on CBC/Radio-Canada that can also be found here:
TIP OF THE MONTH: HOLIDAY GIFTS?
This time last year, while Americans were coping with the pandemic and often staying near home, we suggested something in the way of holiday giving, something suited to engage friends and family while remaining close to home: bird feeders.
Yes, with that time of year again, it’s time to polish off holiday shopping and giving. It’s still a good idea to consider giving some gifts that are bird-and-nature oriented. Previously, we also had suggested some bird-oriented books that we may have previously reviewed in this E-bulletin, shade-grown coffee, or nice binoculars. But this year we are going to repeat last year’s main suggestion.
The “backyard scene” continues to show a real revival, and birds at feeders and birdbaths continue to entertain millions of people. It’s ongoing entertainment – for adults and youth alike – and still providing a new kind of “discovery” at home.
Related to the previous story on feeder hierarchy, you can help spread the curiosity and knowledge with a gift this season of a feeder - hopper, tube, hummer, or suet. Do give it some thought. The birds will thank you!
And if you exhausted your gift-recipient list last year with feeders, you can always resort to the standard book-coffee-binocular option, perhaps enhanced this year with the popular “Wingspan” game!
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:
