Vagrant Bird Species Appearing in Missouri in January 2007

Join the fun! participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual 4-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting a real-time snapshot of where the birds are located across the continent. Anyone with access to Internet can participate.

It takes as little as 15 minutes or the full four days, which depends on the amount of time you can manage.

This year the count is February 16-19. You can count in your back yard or you can journey to a local park, refuge or just any spot where birds congregate.

Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you can see together at any one time. Estimate the number as best you can. Viewing a large flock, first count the birds in a small part of the flock and then visualize the number of equal parts of the same flock.

You can enter your results in the Great Backyard Bird Count website by selecting "Submit your bird Checklist" Submit one checklist for each location and day that you count.

Instructions for participating can be obtained in the website www.birdsource.org/gbbc.

These and other volunteer citizen science programs provide information that helps Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon to prioritize their bird population research.



Have fun and enjoy the birds!

New Evidence in Florida Brings Hope for the Return Of Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Researchers from three major universities have descended on the Florida panhandle after reports of 14 new sightings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

Ornithologists from Auburn U. of Alabama and the University of Ontario report they have not only seen the birds but have also recorded the woodpecker once thought to be extinct. And these reports brought staff of Cornell University to the scene.

There are still no clear photos of the birds but they have found potential nest cavities and signs of foraging on tree trunks. Location of the findings is in the Choctawhatchee River area.

"The evidence is intriguing and it certainly warrants additional research. It's not conclusive evidence but it's very tantalizing" said John Fitzpatrick of Cornell.

Moose from Utah transplanted to Colorado in trade for Bighorn Sheep

HUNTSVILLE, UTAH

It was a rough day to be a moose. Several were stalked by helicopter, captured with a net, blindfolded and then airlifted to trailers for a six-hour drive. The moose woke up in Utah on Friday but were going to sleep in Colorado.

The strategy helps Utah cure a moose overpopulation and raising the number in Colorado. In return, Utah will get Bighorn Sheep.

"I equate this to alien abduction. It's got to be that traumatic" said Dean Riggs, area wildlife manager with the Colorado Wildlife Division.

Wildlife officers hoped to catch 25 moose through northern Utah and transplant them to western Colorado.

Though Utah's overall moose population of 4 ,100 is on target, there are about 400 too many 40 miles northeast of Salt Lake City, said Justin Dolling, a wildlife manager with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Too many moose can mean a loss of habitat, which leads to weakened animals or ones wandering in populated areas trying to find food.

Wranglers in a helicopter shot nets over the moose. A person called a "mugger" tied the animals'legs and put a blind over their eyes and cotton in their ears.

"I've never mugged a moose, but I guess they're pretty wimpy once they're on the ground" Dolling said.

The moose were then released from large canvas sack to be airlifted to a staging area where veterinarians examined them and gave them antibiotics.

The moose got radio collars and a quick exam to check for disease beore crews of 8 to 10 people put them into horse trailers. As the trailers headed to Grand Mesa National Forest, Riggs said his agency was baiting sheep to give to Utah.

Such interstate swaps are common in the region. "If it's not moose or sheep, it's fish and fish eggs" Riggs said. "If all goes well, in a couple of months we'll be shipping sheep to Utah in a reverse transplant."

Letter from Nina

It is 2007 already and if you are like me, you are at that point in late January or early February when New Year's resolutions are getting tougher to keep.

Are you quitting smoking? Losing twenty pounds? Heck, why not just resolve to do more with East Ozarks Audubon chapter? January and February are bountiful birding months in our area. Without the leaves on the trees it is easier to spot those Hermit Thrushes and Golden-crowned Kinglets. Well, that is what my husband says. Watch for the Ruby-crowned Kinglet too. If those little guys are too hard to spot, then try traveling north to Riverlands or along the Great River Road to watch the Bald Eagles. Did you know they keep building onto their nests each year? One of our chapter members reported she saw a nest 15 feet deep. Or you can travel to Otter Slough in Stoddard County to catch watery winter migrants. Of course our own bird viewing blind at Crouch Nature Sanctuary in Engler City Park in Farmington will provide a variety of birds to satisfy any level of birder.

In this newsletter you will find an update on birds called vagrants who occasionally wander through the area. It is a birder's dream when a rare bird is reported and you happen to have time to hop into the car and take off to spot it. You'll be pleased to learn our most experienced birders are updating the Chapter Bird Checklist and will have it ready some time this spring. We will let you know when it becomes available.

February brings Audubon's tenth annual Great Backyard Bird Count, a four-day event that provides information on the birds across the nation. You can get more information from an article in this newsletter and by visiting the Audubon website.

Consider making your New Year goal participation in the annual Birdathon this May. Even though it is months away, our chapter is hosting walks to help members increase their bird identification skills as preparation. If you can’t identify many different birds you can just get sponsors who want to get a membership for $20. Birdathon is our main 2007 fundraiser for the chapter so let's make it count.

My 2007 resolutions are to get to know chapter members, write more letters to our elected officials and learn a new bird or two. Remember, counting birds is easier than counting calories.

Bird Tales (a new feature in Bird's Eye View)

When East Ozarks Audubon Chapter member Norman Thomas saw Jim Rathert’s 2007 Shore Bird calendar, he was reminded of his own experience photographing a pair of elusive wood ducks at his home in Camdenton. Norman watched the ducks in the lake many times and was amazed at how skittish they are at the faintest sight or sound of humans. But he noted they were coming nearer his deck as he fed other ducks and birds. Norm observed their habits and then plotted. He set up his camera with a good lens on a tripod in his living room aimed at the deck. He set up a lure of cracked corn feed in the area where the camera was pointed. Norman waited three days, reading a book in his recliner, for the right moment when the pair settled down into a perfect pose. He then snapped the shutter without disturbing the wood ducks. His patience paid off with a photo he is proud to display.

"I'll Take Warblers for 500"

The Ivory Bills faced off against the Loopy Legged Log Leapers, Dodos and Crepuscular Goat Suckers in a deadly serious evening of Bird Jeopardy led by Michelle Soenksen from Sam A. Baker State Park at our January 18th chapter meeting. Michelle divided nearly 50 participants into four teams and took them through a round of Jeopardy, Double Jeopardy and of course, Final Jeopardy. Categories included ones that challenged participants to answer by hearing songs, viewing photos, or giving the correct answer to questions covering birding terms, identification, name changes, bird habits and birding history.

The “American Idol” category challenged the group to identify birds by recorded calls. “Say What?” questions were the calls written out, like “tea kettle, tea kettle, tea kettle”. Michelle also included photos. The male summer tanager challenged the whole group. Did you know the Christmas Bird Count was started in 1900 by Frank Chapman? Neither did the group, but they do now. The shrike used to be called the ‘butcher bird’ due to its habit of impaling its dinner on a thorn or nail. Some birds are nocturnal, some diurnal. The Crepuscular Goat Suckers failed to remember that crepuscular means ‘at dawn or at dusk’. How embarrassing! Ben Franklin wanted the Wild Turkey to be our national bird. And 50 people now know the Ruby-throated Hummingbird’s throat is ruby and black. Thank goodness those warblers did not have their own category. Many thanks to Michelle and her team for an evening of fun and education.

Chandler Robbins Retires from US Fish & Wildlife Service At Age 88 After 60 Years of Dedicated Wildlife Work

By Bob Lewis
Chandler Robbins became an Icon in the field of birds and other wildlife research but has now retired after 60 years of duty. He worked at Patuxent Research Center in Maryland where he pioneered studies on the effects of DDT on birds.
My own first awareness of “Chan” was his work on the Golden book “A Guide to Field Identification—BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA,” which he co-authored with Bertel Bruun, Herbert Zim and illustrated by Arthur Singer.
This field guide was the first major pocket guide to follow Roger Tory Peterson’s “Guide to Birds of Eastern North America.” As a rookie birder in the 1970s I had the audacity to write him on some minor bird question. I was amazed that he took the time to respond to whatever mundane matter I had posed to him.
While Peterson’s book opened the way to better bird identification with his art work and arrows pointing to field marks, some users objected to his text, pictures and maps being located in three separate parts of his book.
The Robbins book contains the text and maps on the left page and the art work on the right. In addition the book contains “sonograms” of the bird calls.
I once listened as a park ranger at Rocky Mountain National Park lauded the famous Peterson book, but as he turned away to lead his bird walk, I noticed he had the Robbins book in his back pocket.
Robbins also established countless Christmas Bird Count routes in several eastern states. When asked how many CBCs he had worked, he said it something close to 351 counts in 32 different localities.

Adventures in Audubon

Children in nine fourth, fifth and sixth grade classrooms are receiving hands-on nature-oriented activities as a result of our Chapter’s Audubon Adventures program. In addition, patients of multiple ages at Southeast Missouri Treatment Center are also receiving the program.
East Ozarks board of directors voted to spend $592 on the 2006-2007 program. Topics being studied are bats, native bees, bird adaptations and nesting birds. Each student receives four newsletters during the school year along with a learning guide for the teachers.
Joyce Lewis, chairing the event, said it is an important function for our chapter to provide environmental education for our citizens of the future.
Teachers are encouraged to create a classroom nature discovery center and to respect nature as they study it.
Receiving the program this year are Valle Catholic fifth grade of Ste. Genevieve, Lincoln Intermediate fifth and sixth grades of Farmington, Roosevelt Elementary fourth grade of Farmington and St. Paul’s Lutheran fourth and fifth grades of Farmington and Pevely Primary fourth grade.
Chapter members who donated to the program were allowed to designate which classrooms would receive it.