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2008 Chapter Activities Laid on the Table
At November Annual Planning Meeting
By Bob Lewis
You could look over your shoulder and feel the arrival of 2008 as plans began to be developed
at the annual planning meeting.
President Nina had worked up an agenda to deal with potential outings, committee jobs, and
annual events including the Christmas Bird Count, Earth Day celebration, Birdathon and the annual dinner in September.
Besides workshops for beginning birders, there were field trips suggested including biking,
hiking and canoeing.
A possible hike in the "Little Grand Canyon" in Illinois was suggesed for the month of October.
A May birding hike at Van East Mountain was placed on the table for May.
Niles Woodney accepted the job of training youngsters to build bird houses or feeders next
fall, possibly in conjunction with the Audubon Adventures program.
With cedar lumber furnished by Mark Hadley, Niles has built two Wood Duck houses that will
be erected this winter at the Dr. Eric Hamburg farm north of Farmington.
Since President Nina will be stepping down next fall and Vice-President Janet Price unable
to take over, there was a discussion of who might become president. Bob Lewis was appointed chair of the nominations
committee and has asked for suggestions from the Chapter at large. Others on the committee are Vonn Phillips and Mary
Woodney.
A possible Earth Day program was suggested with Jessica Karraker narrating her nature slide
program accompanied by songs she has written. This was our program last spring presented by Jenny Gunn at MAC.
President Nina also asked for suggestions on continuing the Silent Auction that we held at
our annual dinner. She said it might be possible to enlist the services of World Bird Sanctuary to present the program.
She felt the auction could become a successful fund raiser. 
Come on you "would-be" birders and get ready
to sign up for the 2008 workshops for birding
First of all, there will be a bird ID workshop January 12, 2008, at Engler City Park in Farmington.
It will be at 8:30 a.m. No previous registration necessary but it would be helpful to Sue Hagan and Karen Adams to know
who's coming.
Janet Price will conduct the first session. On Feb. 16th there will be an all-day trip
to Otter Slough led by Bob Lewis. The March session will be at Hawn State Park led by Tom and Lynda
Mills, April at Grasshopper Hollow led by Sue and Mick, and May at Van East Mountain by Gary Chastain.
See Sue's Birdathon article on Page 7 describing her plans for the spring activites including
the workshops and field trips.
Then you can "sign up" for these free workshops.
Letter from Nina
The Audubon Christmas Bird Count is the oldest and largest citizen science event in the world.
Beginning in 1900 people have gathered together during the winter holiday season to count birds. For many people, this
is an annual tradition that has passed from one generation to the next. In the process, they have created a vast pool
of bird data that is the most comprehensive available for mid-December to early January. It is a fertile source of informaiton
on the status and distribution of early winter bird populations and is studied by scientists and interested people the world
over.
While there is a specific methodology to the CBC and you need to count birds within an existing
Christmas Bird Count circle, everyone can participate. If you are a beginning birder, you will be able to join a group
that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher. Christmas Bird Count (CBC) season is December 14 through January
5 each year.
More than 50,000 observers participate each year in this all-day census of early-winter bird
populations. The results of their efforts are compiled into the longest running database in ornithology, representing
over a century of unbroken data on trends of early-winter bird populations across the Americas. Simply put, the Christmas
Bird Count is citizen science in action.
Prior to the turn of the century, people engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas
"side hunt." They would choose sides and go afield with their guns; whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered
(and furred) quarry won. Conservation was in its beginning stages around the turn of the 20th Century and many observers
and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations.
Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early officer in the then
budding Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition--a "Christmas Bird Census" that would count birds in the holidays
rather than hunt them. So began the Christmas Bird Count.
Thanks to the inspiration of Frank M. Chapman and the enthusiasm of twenty-seven dedicated
birders, twenty-five Christmas Bird Counts were held that day. The locations ranged from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific
Grove, California with most counts in or near the population centers of northeastern North America. Those original 27
Christmas Bird Counters tallied a total of 90 species on all the counts combined.
The event is like a giant treasure hunt for birds. One person in the team tallies each
bird species identified and how many are spotted as the others in the team call them out. The team travels by cars from
area to area, often getting out along the way as bird flocks are spotted. You learn how to estimate how many birds are
in a flock and how to flush out birds in a marsh. The teams work all day and eat a sack lunch somewhere along the way.
Sounds exhausting, but it is a blast!
CONSERVATION MATTERS!
Sue and Mick
What Happened to Church? We were dismayed to see the settlement terms for the catastrophic damage caused by Ameren’s collapsed Taum Sauk
Reservoir: whatever happened to the governor’s announcement last year that there would be a 50 year lease on Church
Mountain as part of the settlement? Instead, there is a “right of first refusal” allowing the state to purchase
Church Mountain should Ameren be decide to sell—and then at a greatly inflated price! The settlement only confirms that Ameren intends to pursue building a second hydroelectric plant on Church
Mountain (not that we needed confirmation: contractors rebuilding the collapsed Proffit Mountain plant have been talking about
this all year long). Governor Blunt rightfully calls the Ameren Taum Sauk disaster the “worst man-made disaster in the
history of Missouri”.
The governor acknowledges that some of Missouri’s treasures are forever lost. But he says nothing
about the treasures to be found near the disaster site in pristine Taum Sauk Valley and on Church Mountain, treasures
that will also be lost forever if a second hydroelectric operation is built. These two gems—the beautiful valley and
the mountaintop—were the only fitting mitigation for Ameren’s damages. Sure, an extension of the KATY Trail is
nice, but that’s on the other side of the state—not in Reynolds County. The people of this state were led to believe
that Church Mountain would be protected, and now we find this was quietly been dropped from the settlement terms. We stood
by and did not oppose Ameren’s plans to resurrect their collapsed plant, but East Ozarks Audubon Society will fight
every inch of the way Ameren’s destructive plans for Church Mountain and Taum Sauk Valley. Shame on every politician
who would collude with them in such a venture.
Wild Reactions to Wilderness: Senator Bond seemed to come out in favor of wilderness designation for seven areas of the Mark
Twain National Forest, or at least remained open-minded, and we could not have been more pleased. But then Congresswoman Emerson
(in whose district five of the areas are located) stated her opposition and Bond’s initial enthusiasm waned. Without
strong support from Missouri’s elected officials, wilderness designation is unlikely to happen. Emerson thinks that
wilderness designation would prohibit fire-fighting. In actuality, wildfires that pose a threat beyond the boundaries could
be fought. But more importantly, permitting nature to take its course—including natural burns—has been repeatedly
demonstrated to be the best management tool for improving forest health and for reducing out-of-control fires. It is
hoped that Emerson will either change her mind or at least muffle her opposition. Write her your opinion!
Washington Overrides Bush: - In October, the Senate completed the first override of George W. Bush’s presidency, overwhelmingly rejecting
a veto of a water development bill that covers hundreds more water projects around the country, among them Florida Everglades
restoration, Hurricane Katrina repairs in Louisiana, and various Midwest projects. The legislation authorizes spending
$1.9 billion to replace five locks at dams along the upper Mississippi and two in Illinois. It gives the go-ahead to spend
an additional 1.72 billion for restoring river islands and backwaters damaged or destroyed in decades past. Senator Bond,
a supporter of lock restoration and also an advocate for improving rivers, voted against the President’s veto. Sen.
Claire McCaskill voted to sustain the president’s veto as a protest against Congressional funding secrecy.
Endangered Species Protected From Politics:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reversed seven rulings that denied endangered species increased protection,
after an investigation found the actions were tainted by political pressure from a former senior Interior Department official.
But this may be just the iceberg’s tip. According to a Union of Concerned Scientists spokesperson
there are at least 30 cases there is evidence of interference.
What’s the Political Climate in Missouri? Nine Midwestern governors signed the Midwestern Regional
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord to establish regional greenhouse gas reduction goals and promote renewable energy—Missouri’s
governor unexplainably was not among them.
The Bottom Line -- Wildlife
Refuges Pay: According to a federal study, National Wildlife Refuges more than make up for their cost to taxpayers by returning about $4 in economic activity
for every $1 the government spends.
New Wildlife Biologist at Mingo
Asks Chapter help in projects
Jason
Lewis was recently appointed Wildlife Biologist at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. He
proudly professes to have a great interest in birds as well as other wildlife forms.
Since East Ozarks is a paying member
of “Friends of Mingo” Jason proposed that the Chapter might like to volunteer for some needed assistance on the
refuge.
One project he suggested was for
some of our birders to do a spring survey of what birds are using the refuge canebrakes.
Since Mingo needs more canebrakes
he suggested that some of our members might like to spend a few hours planting cane in the Buck Creek area. He thought a maximum total of 40 hours labor would be a good start in the spring of 2008.
On presenting East Ozarks a plaque
last winter, Virgil Harp, volunteer coordinator, said there were 7,779 volunteer hours logged at Mingo in 2006. This amounts to the equivalent of three-and-a-half full time workers for a full year.
Although driving time to the refuge
limits the ability of our Chapter to participate as much as some other groups, there is a growing interest in becoming more
active in refuge projects.
Jason said he is anxious to meet
East Ozarks birders when they take part in the Christmas Bird Count at Mingo scheduled for December 15. East Ozarks has participated in every Mingo CBC since 1980 and has supplied leadership for many of them.
2008 May Be a Banner Year As
Many Northern Bird Species May
Invade Your Backyard Bird Feeder
It started in September when Red-breasted Nuthatches appeared in big numbers all over the state after very few were
seen in Missouri last year. These birds usually inhabit pine trees where they
feed on the cones. But in migration this year they are being found in hardwood
neighborhoods as well. Will they stay or keep moving south?
Another cause for excitement has
been the return of Pine Siskins. They were common here in 1975 and 1976 but have
been uncommon since then. It may be too early to say what failed their normal
feeding habitat in the north but the birds are all over Missouri, sometimes appearing in groups of 30 to 50 at feeders.
This species is closely related to
our American Goldfinch both in size and in feeding habits. They readily accept
black oil sunflower seeds but their favorite is Nijer seeds, an imported relative of our thistle. It takes a special feeder for Nijer since the seeds are very small.
Other species showing up include
Red Crossbills in several parts of western and northern Missouri. Some folks
are hoping for Evening Grosbeaks, which like the Pine Siskins, have been absent for many years.
Some other northern species being
reported in Iowa are Northern Shrike, Snow Buntings and Snowy Owl. Iowa has also
reported Black-tailed Gull from Asia, Fork-tailed Flycatcher from South America and Mew Gull from California.
So keep a sharp eye on your feeders
with a bird identification book and binoculars on the table.
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Mingo
Christmas Bird Count
To Be Held December 15th
Bill Eddleman, college biology professor
at SEMO University and compiler for the Mingo Christmas Bird Count, has announced dates and plans for this year’s big
event.
“On count day, December 15th,
we will meet at 6:00 a.m. at Mel’s Diner which is located at 251 East Richardson Street in Puxico, a couple of blocks
from the flashing yellow light on Highway 51.
“After breakfast, briefing
and assignments, teams will begin counting by 7:00 a.m. and will report back to the restaurant at the end of Count Day (about
5:00 p.m.) The participation fee of $5.00 per person will be collected at the
time of the sign-up.”
Eddleman also announced the Big Oak
Tree State Park CBC will meet at 6:00 a.m.December 17th at Boomland at the southeast corner of I-57 at the Charleston
exchange.
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