End of the year…..always seems like a time for contemplation.  I don’t know if it is just me or not, but it seems like every year that goes by there are more and more serious issues to contemplate.  The world around us is getting both smaller and larger at the same time.  Feeling comfortable in your own backyard is getting a lot more difficult when today’s technology is making the entire world your backyard.

Then I go out into my backyard.  I sit on a rock, or a log, or a chair, stare at the sky, listen to the wind, follow a squirrel thru the tree tops, and it quickly brings me back to ground.  It reminds me of how important it is for humans to have a sense of place.

Having a sense of place can mean many things.  To some it may be how they live and to others it may be where they live.  Deep-ecologists and eco-philosophers will tell you it needs to be both. 

I think most, if not all, environmentally conscious people already instinctively know that to really feel comfortable with their lives they must feel connected to both how they live and where they live.  Where that instinct comes from is another question on which the eco-philosophers have written volumes.  To me the more important question is:  Why isn’t everyone instinctually an environmentalist?

From all I’ve read and all I’ve experienced I’m convinced that it’s not that the instinct isn’t there, it’s that it just hasn’t been awakened.   In all walks of life people have many doors to choose from, some they open themselves, others are opened for them.  The door of environmental awareness is, unfortunately, not always easily accessible. That’s where people like you and me can help.

Hopefully thru recruiting new members, engaging people in inspiring outings, educating people with our programs, East Ozarks Audubon will help more people in this region find a real sense of place.  For 2009 let each one of us try to open that door for one other fellow human.

The circumstances are eerily familiar. Here again, it is a holiday weekend, Thanksgiving, no less. Seasonal migration - this time, the fall influx of neotropical migrants - has long since passed us by and left us uncertain about what tell-tale winter vagrants might soon whet our birding appetites. Then, unexpectedly, a diminuitive little stranger appears.  First, I suppose our mysterious intruder draws a few quick glances from his newly-adopted family of human observers.  After hovering a few teasing moments over the hummingbird feeder, this bird darts in and out of the nearby bayberry tree, burying himself deep within the late-fall foliage to thwart any would-be predators.  Little does he know what a spectacle he will soon become.

    His benefactor happens to be Lanny Chambers and his wife, Linda.  Lanny and Linda

were the banding team which visited our feeder in Farmington on Father’s Day weekend, when our own little buddy, the Broad-tailed Hummingbird dropped in on us for a surprise visit. Lanny lives in Fenton, which I believe we can properly consider part of the “upper-eastern” Ozarks. Lanny is about to experience the deja vu of a lifetime.

    This time around, Lanny, a long-time, well-respected hummingbird expert, inhales the

pleasant, gratifying rush of finding this unusual and untimely bird-guest at his own home.  He notes the orange tail feathers, a rufous-colored “vest” stretching across the bird’s breast, and the reddish-orange supercilium above the eyes.  He initially considers the likelihood that this bird is a Rufous Hummingbird, a rare but regular vagrant through Missouri in late fall.  Nonetheless, this would be his first “home-grown” Rufous.

     He quickly sets up his banding equipment and in short order has the bird in hand.  As he weighs and measures the bird, he makes special note of the tail, discovering an ever-so-slight variation in tail feathers which pumps a second round of adrenalin through his body. On close examination, he notes the absence of a slight notch in the “R-2" tail feathers, the notch being diagnostic of a Rufous, and the lack of a notch being diagnostic of an even more incredible vagrant - an Allen’s Hummingbird.

    The Allen’s turns out to be yet another first-state hummingbird record, the third different species in three years which has been banded and confirmed by Lanny.  First, it was the inexplicable Black-chinned found in Farmington in below-freezing temperatures one December, which was reported to Lanny by our own Bob Lewis.  Then came the Broad-tailed in June of this year, followed by the Allen’s.  According to the Peterson field guide book of Hummingbirds written by Sheri Williamson, there is a fall record of an Allen’s hummingbird from the Kansas City, Kansas area, and one in southern Illinois.  There are a few winter records in the southeastern U.S.  Otherwise, this species has the most restricted breeding range of all regular North American hummers, preferring to nest almost exclusively along the Pacific coast.

   It is the day after Thanksgiving, and birders converge on Lanny and Linda’s home.  Steve Dilks makes a red-hot phone alert of the bird to Bob and I, and Debbie joined us in a late-afternoon trip to Lanny’s home.  We arrive around 4:30 p.m., and quickly find the bird feeding in fading light.  We have the luxury of 15-20 minutes to watch this little fellow before it takes one last long gulp at the feeder and retires for the night in the bayberry tree.  We linger nearby, while we collectively conjure up images of that next hummer - which will it be, a Magnificent, or perhaps a Broad-billed, or maybe a Costa’s . . .

Church Mountain and Lower Rock Creek: Last month Mick attended a public input meeting at Taum Sauk State Park and asked if there are plans to build a connecting trail from the Ozark Trail in Taum Sauk Valley to Church Mountain. DNR’s initial response was that since 9/11 there has been concern that a Church Mountain trail might pose a Homeland Security threat to the Taum Sauk Pumped Storage Plant. We quickly responded that the existing Ozark Trail, now under reconstruction, would be a much closer entry point in the wildly improbable event that foreign terrorists wanted to attack Ameren’s plant. At that point, DNR asked our Conservation Committee to send our trail proposals. We are hopeful that more progress will be made under Governor Nixon’s administration: as Attorney General, he secured a continued lease for DNR of Church Mountain as part of the settlement with Ameren.

Also, the Conservation Committee has continued to support the Missouri Wilderness Coalition’s plans for establishment of several federally designated Wilderness Areas in the state, with our Chapter’s special interest in getting Lower Rock Creek so protected. A committee from our Chapter hopes to meet with Congresswoman Emerson in January to discuss why we support wilderness designation.

Back from the edge: Bald Eagles are no longer on the state’s Endangered Species List, signifying the tremendous population gains made over the past few decades. DDT was the primary culprit in the bird’s decline, but it took restocking and careful management to bring the Bald Eagle back to Missouri year round. Currently there are some 150 active nesting sites. Barn Owls have also been delisted, but for different reasons: after many years of careful monitoring, state experts have concluded the Barn Owl was never very numerous in Missouri—it’s primarily found in agricultural areas in the northern tier where there are enough sites that it no longer qualifies for endangered species status.  In both cases, sound scientific research has shown to be essential in identifying risks and strategies for protection—and when to redirect funds for more urgent wildlife needs.

Out with the old, in with the new: With holidays coming, the Bush Administration is frantically working out ways to give thanks to old friends: the administration is busy trying to relax environmental regulations. Being proposed are new lenient rules that would:  permit older power plants to continue polluting  the atmosphere and allow new power plants to be built near national parks; allow more mountaintop-removal by coal companies; allow factory farms to pollute the groundwater; undermine the Endangered Species Act by allowing federal agencies to decide wildlife impacts of various projects without going through full regulatory reviews and without heeding input from scientists and other experts; and prevent climate change concerns in endangered species considerations (think polar bears!). Many of the rule changes would accomplish what the Bush Administration failed to win in Congress; if the new rules are in place for 60 days before the next Congress and Administration steps in, undoing them will be much more time-consuming and difficult.

But it looks like the incoming president is up to these challenges and more. Already the President Elect is looking to a major investment in alternative energy as one way to deal with the nation’s economic and environmental woes. Helping Obama out, House Democrats have elected California Rep. Henry Waxman to replace Michigan’s Rep. John Dingell on the Energy and Commerce panel, an important committee with much jurisdiction over energy and the environment. Dingell is a long-time friend to the auto industry and to old-time energy polluters, whereas Waxman has been eager to get the nation attuned to global warming and other energy concerns.

National Audubon Society has joined with other environmental organizations in providing the incoming Obama Administration detailed recommendations for cleaning up the environment and revitalizing the economy. When you support National Audubon, remember you are effectively lobbying for good environmental legislation!

And while we’re opining over the recent election, it’s good news that Missouri voters gave a thumbs up to Proposition C, which will require the three investor-owned utilities in the state to begin purchasing energy that comes from renewable sources. Good going you conservation-minded voters! You deserve all the best for the coming New Year!

By Sue Hagan

   Join us to find out what poor Robin does in winter—and follow Robin’s adventures on into springtime. Yes, Birdathon Training starts in January, and we want to have you join us.

   The Springtime Birdathon is our Chapter’s most effective fund raiser, and for the last few years we’ve started preparing for this annual event in January. By participating, you will be given special help in developing your birding skills: educational material and helpful hints, advance notice on monthly field trips, and individualized tutoring, 

   All of this is intended to help you learn basic birding and, if you’ve done Birdathons previously, to advance your skills—each year you do one becomes a challenge to attempt to increase your count the next year.    Our kickoff training starts January 17^th. We plan to meet at the Methodist Church at 8 AM for an hour or so of introductory training. Try the kitchen door for entry to the church 

   And then we head over to our Crouch Sanctuary for some winter bird identification at the blind. Though January days can get unseasonably warm, more likely you need to be prepared for a couple of hours of cold temperatures: that’s more likely to bring the birds in for a morning feast. [Columbia Bottom trip?]

   Starting in February, we’ll be having monthly trips to more adventurous birding spots and Jenny Gunn will lead us in a special indoor session to help build basic birding concepts and to conquer intermediate birders concerns.

   Fun really begins when we can carpool to distant spots like Otter Slough where many thousands of Snow Geese accumulate or to Mingo National Wildlife Refuge where we can walk the boardwalk or drive the 20-mile tour through the refuge. 

   You will also be coached on the ins and outs of getting others sto pledge donations to Birdathon!

   So there is something for everyone: repeat Birdathon birders are the best!   Don’t have the foggiest idea about equipment and books? Don’t worry: we’ll be discussing what you need in terms of binoculars and field books, and the experts who show up will let you (carefully) handle theirs.  See you at the Church January 17^th!

If this is your first copy of Bird’s Eye View we apologize on behalf of National Audubon Society but 26 of you have apparently been buried somewhere in outer cyberspace.

   National Audubon supplies our membership committee with a “chapter change report” hopefully at some time every month.  This data shows new memberships that have been added and also those that may have not been renewed.

   The program they’ve been using for about five years was the blend of two different computer programs that actually were not very compatible.

In an effort to improve the situation the folks at National have been working to implement a new and better program for a number of months.

   They finally unveiled their new program in late November and we were stunned to find 26 names and addresses we had not seen before.

   Subscribers to Audubon magazine become automatic members of the chapter area in which they reside.  In this case, it’s the six counties comprising Iron, Madison, Reynolds, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Washington.  In addition, members in nearby areas can belong to our Chapter if they petition the national organization.

   And—if you didn’t know it—East Ozarks Audubon was chartered October 1, 1980, as Chapter #N10.

   For those who do not wish to receive the magazine, National Audubon permits us to offer local memberships at a lower price.  And so we offer those “local” memberships for an annual fee of $10 to cover our costs of printing and mailing the newsletter and postcard meeting reminders.

   Depending on seasonal promotions, the price for  Audubon magazine varies from $20 to $35 per year.

   At this time we are permitted to recruit National Audubon memberships for an annual fee of $20.  And the good part of that is that we are promised the entire $20 fee will be returned to our Chapter as a reward for the recruitment.

   This offer is only applicable if our own Chapter membership committee collects the $20 and submits it to the national organization.

   Unfortunately, we do not receive any subsequent funds when the newly recruited member renews his membership at a later time.

   If you have questions about recruiting new members or about our local membership category, call or write Bob Lewis (573 756-5484) or at

26 Tanglewood Court, Farmington, MO 63640 or at birds1928@att.net.

By Bob Lewis

Dove hunters of the Twentieth Century would be astounded to see the birds that are now available right here in Missouri.  A modern avian odyssey has occurred.  And it is growingly being noticed by Missouri dove hunters who realize what a beautiful big new target is now available in the form of the Eurasian Collared Dove.

            Where did they come from? 

How long have they been here? 

Are they all over the state? 

These are questions being asked by hunters fresh from the field.  Actually, the story of the bird’s arrival in Missouri is an unbelievable modern day odyssey. 

The origin of the species can be traced back to India through the ages.  But the birds unexplainably expanded their population up through Pakistan and Iran and into Turkey and the Balkans in the 1600s in a great western migration.

After this great movement the doves apparently halted their migration for another 300 years.  But by 1930 they had slowly expanded across Europe and by 1955 they were nesting in Great Britain.  They were also occurring in such extremes as Iceland, Spain and above the Arctic Circle.

You might wonder how they were able to hop the Atlantic Ocean.  In this case they needed the help of man. In 1970 a pet dealer in the Caribbean islands sent a friend to England to purchase a few Ringed Turtle Doves, a domestic cage bird with no natural populations anywhere in the world.

But when the friend returned to the pet dealer he had a small flock of Eurasian Collared Doves instead.  These birds are very similar.  Both species have a black ring across the back of the neck.  The Eurasian Collared Doves are obviously larger and not as “bright white” as the Ringed Turtle Doves.

Here is where the story gets wild.

Some teenage boys broke into the pet shop apparently to steal parakeets, which they could sell.  But somehow they managed to accidentally release the doves.

 So now you see how they crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean island.  It is not known what route they took to reach south Florida but by the early 1980s the birds were being seen around Homestead.  They were originally mistaken for feral populations of the Ringed Turtle Doves.

In a trip to south Florida in 1987 I saw both the Eurasian Collared Doves and also some wild Ringed Turtle Doves.  Like other people, I assumed I was seeing only one species but I noticed some of the birds were larger and not quite as bright white as some Ringed Turtle Doves that I had seen as released birds in Missouri and Kansas.

The Eurasian Collared Dove measures 11 to 12 inches long with a 14-inch wingspan.  Their actual weight is 5 to 6.5 ounces.  This compares to our native Mourning Dove which is 9 to 13 inches long, 13-inch wingspan and 3 to 6 ounces weight.  The Eurasian Collared Dove has a squared off tail while the Mourning Dove has a pointed tail.

Bill Reeves, Steve Dilks and I began hearing about these large whitish doves that were being seen around Delta, Missouri in the late 1990s.  After several trips to the town, in 1998, we learned what streets to walk down to find them.  It was easy once you learned their musical call. Next we began finding them in Puxico and then Dudley.  They showed up in Farmington in 2005.

Like the European Starling a century earlier, the Eurasian Collared Dove is now expanding rapidly westward across the United States.  If it keeps going westward it could hop from Alaska to Russia and then back down through Asia to where it started in India.

Note the black collar on the nape of the neck

You don’t have to hide one of these birds if you shoot one in dove season.  The Missouri Department of Conservation has approved them as legal game birds during the normal dove season.  They have also added the White-winged Dove, a native American bird that is slowly expanding into Missouri from the Southwest.  But you’re not likely to see one of these unless you know where to look in East Prairie.

If you want to look for Eurasian Collared Doves in your area, the best place to begin is at your local feed mill or even a feed store.  The birds are known to congregate where loose grain can be found but they also eat seeds and an occasional insect.

They nest in trees and build a sloppy nest of sticks like other doves.  They normally lay two white eggs.

As these birds expand their range in North America, it will be interesting to observe their impact as an introduced species upon our populations of native birds.  Our country has several open niches created when native species like the Passenger Pigeon and Carolina Parakeet became extinct.  Maybe this new dove will use part of the niche left vacant with the passing of the Passenger Pigeon. 

          This article also appeared in the December issue of

River Hills Traveler magazine