Southwestern
Flyer - March 2006
The newsletter of the Fort Worth Audubon Society
PRESIDENT’S
PEN
By: Lynn Barber
Help! The hunt is on! Once again, I am asking for your help—especially those of you who have been involved in our chapter for many years.
As you may be aware, a number of Fort Worth Audubon folks have met to brainstorm about how we might celebrate our chapter’s 65th anniversary. Lots of exciting ideas! Although we have not finalized things, stay tuned for at least one late summer/early fall event, as well as an event in conjunction with our chapter’s hosting of the winter meeting of the Texas Ornithological Society in January 2007. We are also hoping to have displays on the history of our chapter over the years, without which our chapter would not be what it is today.
But the point of my column this month is not to advertise any of the actual events, but to ask for your help in locating the people who have been involved in our chapter over the years, but are not currently actively involved. We particularly are interested in locating those who were officers or board members, or who were instrumental in the great projects of our chapter over the years. We want to honor them, and meet them if we have not already done so.
But where are these people? Do you know them, or know someone who knows them? Even if they live too far away to attend our events, we would like to be in contact them, and to thank them for their part in our chapter’s history. We would appreciate any leads that you might have, and if you are interested in doing some sleuth-work, we would appreciate you helping us locate those people that seem to have magically disappeared.
And if you have any stories that you would like to share about the “good old days” of the chapter, please send them to me, so those of us who have been around for awhile can reminisce and those of us who are new can hear about them.
Thanks for whatever information you are able to contribute!
ORNITHOLOGY REPORT
by:
Greg Keiran
Mid January
2006 to Mid February 2006
NOTEWORTHY RECORDS for Tarrant County:
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (1): - 17 Jan: Reported at Village Creek Drying Beds (DP, Ft. Worth)
Rufous Hummingbird (1) –24 Jan – 12 Feb: Female Rufous Hummingbird female is still around Ft. Worth yard. New photo put on the current Rufous Hummingbird page on my website (page goes from August 2005 to January 2006). [ www. lynnbarber.com ] (Lynn Barber, Fort Worth).
Most interesting from North Central Texas Area:
Bald Eagle - 26 Jan: A pair of Bald eagles are hanging around the intersection of Hwy. 5 and 1378/Country Club Road in McKinney, approx. 1/2 mile from the Heard. (Michele Dudas, Lead Naturalist/Live Animal Manager, Heard Natural Science Museum). Also reported 21 Jan at Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA) (Ron Chenault, Carrollton, Tx).
Little
Gull (1): - 15 Jan: at Wright Patman Lake near Texarkana (Brian
Gibbons, Dallas). Relocated 21 Jan: (Lynn Barber, Jerri Kerr, Lucie Bruce,
Ann Hoover, Gail Morris).
Caracara: - 4 Feb: Reported from Lake Tawakoni area (Richard
Kinney)
Pileated Woodpecker (2) – 24 Jan: At the nest tree
at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge. One outside & the other flew
out of the old nest (Lee Lemmon).
Smith's
Longspur: - 21 Jan: in the fields in northern Lamar County. (Lynn
Barber, Jerri Kerr, Lucie Bruce, Ann Hoover, Gail Morris).
McCown's Longspur , Lapland Longspur, & Smith Longspur
– 4 Feb: Reported from Lake Tawakoni area (Richard Kinney). From
near Abeline, 12 Feb: Today was so cold, windy, and miserable I knew there
had to be something blowing in with the front. Sure enough, just south
of Abilene and north of Tuscola I found a mixed flock of Horned Larks,
McCowan's Longspurs and at
least 3 Laplands mixed in. First flock seen was about a hundred birds
and then about an hour later another flock of close to 300 birds were
seen. These flocks were seen on CR 152 and 154 in south Taylor County.
(Laura Packer, Big Country Audubon, Abilene, TX, lgpacker@cox.net)
American Woodcock: Rock Wren – 21 Jan: at Lewisville
Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA) (Ron Chenault, Carrollton, Tx).
Purple Finches - 7 Feb: At Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (Lee Lemmon).
Send accounts of your sighting to: Greg Keiran - 9 S. Kingston Ct. - Bedford, TX 76022 (H) 817/282-3312 - (W) 817/280-7598, gkeiran@AOL.com
CONSERVATION
REPORT
by:
Jim
Sipiora
February 10, 2006
Details of “possible encounters” with Ivory-billed Woodpeckers were announced during this week’s meeting of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Recovery Team in Brinkley, Arkansas. Martjan Lammertink, science advisor for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology search team, is cautious when noting there have been about six possible visual encounters since the field season began in November 2005. “It's really positive that we are getting a lot of these encounters now. It keeps us motivated, and it gives us the idea that we are honing in on something,” said Lammertink, an international expert on large woodpeckers.
The visual encounters have been reported by members of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's search team, as well as birders, hunters, and refuge employees. In one case, there may have been two birds in flight. These are being called “possible encounters” because they do not rise to the level of confirmed sightings, which require better documentation. “There is nothing more definitive than anything we’ve reported previously and we certainly are not claiming any new confirmation of the bird," said Ken Rosenberg, the Lab’s director of Conservation Science and a member of the Recovery Team. "But when you put these encounters together there is a very interesting pattern—there has been a flurry of encounters from a couple of key areas.” The search team is using that information to further guide its work in the Big Woods. In another 10 instances during this field season, people have reported hearing possible ivory-bill sounds in the Big Woods—double-knocks and the bird’s kent call. In two instances, Cornell volunteers used video cameras to record the sounds they were hearing. The knocks were recorded shortly after playback of some ivory-bill calls.
Although
no recordings exist of the ivory-bill’s drumming with which to compare,
woodpeckers in the Campephilus family all have that distinctive BAM-bam
cadence to their drum and the ivory-bill is the only Campephilus woodpecker
in the United States. Analysis shows the recordings made by the volunteers
have the right characteristics, placing them well within in the range
of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker’s drumming cadence and frequency.
Lammertink says there has also been a nice series of kent calls picked
up by ARUs (autonomous recording units) strapped to trees in the Big Woods.
According to Ron Rohrbaugh, director of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Research Project, the search team uses a well-defined system for ranking any possible encounters. He says the latest visual encounters all rank in the lowest classification. "They’re all number ones. That means that no more than one field mark was observed, and it was observed by just one person,” he said. Although the visual and audio encounters may not constitute new confirmation of the presence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Rohrbaugh agrees with Lammertink that these encounters keep the crew energized and the morale high.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is heading the ivory-bill recovery effort. Jon Andrew, the agency’s Recovery Team leader, says he is also encouraged by the latest reports. “It gives you hope, thinking that they’re out there and we’re on the right track in finding them," Andrew said. "We’re just getting into the best time for the search and perhaps the next few months will result in finding a roost or a nest hole.” The ivory-bill’s breeding season is believed to begin in February, a time when birds become more active and vocal.
More than 70 people attended this week’s Ivory-billed Woodpecker Recovery Team meeting—experts from all over the country. Andrew is delighted with the spirit of cooperation at the meeting and the progress in laying out a blueprint for the recovery of the bird. A draft of the recovery plan will be released in September for public comment. The goal is to finalize the recovery plan in June 2007. It is likely searches for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker will also spread to other states in the species’ historic range. With training and coordination assistance from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, it’s hoped systematic searches in other states, such as South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida can begin by the fall of next year.
The complete results of this year’s search in the Big Woods will be made public as soon as possible after the close of the field season at the end of April.
The
Traveling Birder
by:
Lynn Barber
As I mentioned in my last column, I am
doing some writing about my 2005 big year of Texas birding. One of the
most challenging parts of my big year was trying to find the Greater Flamingo
that had magically appeared down off the coast by Port O’Connor late last
fall (south of Galveston and north of Corpus Christi). I have just written
up my flamingo-related adventures, part of which included trying to figure
out first, who had a boat that could get out there to aid in the search
for the flamingo as the flamingo kept changing from one inaccessible island
to another, and second, who would actually be willing to take birdwatchers
out there. Somehow birders didn’t seem to rate quite as highly as hunters
in this regard during duck-hunting season.
After
all that, when I finally got to see the flamingo last year, it wasn’t
from a boat, but was while I was standing on the fishing pier at Goose
Island State Park. Great views but the flamingo was so far out that my
pictures, while showing a recognizable flamingo shape, were not very good.
I kept hearing that the flamingo has stayed around since then, moving
out to a spoil island visible from some of the boats that take birders
out to see the Whooping Cranes at Aransas NWR. I really wanted a better
pictures of the flamingo, so I decided last week to take a Whooping Crane
boat tour to see it (as well as the cranes).
The trip was a great trip on one of the shallower-draft boats that go
for the cranes, and the day, while threatening rain, held off for the
duration of the boat trip. About 15 of us were on the boat, with Capt.
Tommy Moore and first mate (I think that’s the proper term) Jon McIntyre,
a birder who also did a Texas big year last year. We left the Fulton harbor
at about 1:00 pm. On our way out to the crane area, we got a tantalizing
view of the flamingo on a narrow small island, surrounded by a couple
of American White Pelicans, but the boat kept going for the main goal
of the trip, the cranes. I was promised that we’d return for better views
of the flamingo, so I had to bide my time.
I saw more Whooping Cranes on this trip than I had ever seen before. First
there was a pair, then five, then two groups of three, then a single,
then a pair and then another pair, for a total of 18! The last two were
really quite close, and while we sat with the front of the boat held steady
in the mud at the edge of the waterway, they walked closer and then flew
even closer! In the excitement, I almost forgot my flamingo quest.
We also saw many Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, a few Common Loons, both
Neotropic and Double-crested Cormorants, egrets including Reddish, Brown
Pelicans, American Oystercatchers, Eared Grebes, Red-breasted Mergansers,
Long-billed Curlews, Royal and Caspian Terns, and Black Skimmers, as well
as the ever-present Laughing and Ring-billed Gulls.
Finally, though, we headed back for the flamingo, which I feared would
have vanished to another island, but there it was, slowly making its way
its tiny island, really just a narrow walkway. As the flamingo moved along,
the American White Pelicans mysteriously parted from its path. While our
boat did not go very close, we did get closer than I had been able to
get before, and I managed to get enough photographs to make me happy.
I would strongly recommend this trip to someone that you want get excited
about birding! Or for you, to reinvigorate your love of birding! Even
if the flamingo is long gone, which it probably will be by the time you
read this. The flamingo was really a bonus bird on this trip. There’s
really nothing like two monstrous white birds, with their black and red
heads, and black wing tips, and each with over a 7-foot wing span slowly
flapping across the marshes! And you should get a view of at least one
of these lovely cranes, and most likely, more than that, any time from
November through March.
Our Next Meeting: March 9, 2006
DIGISCOPING WITH CLAY TAYLOR FROM SWAROVSKI OPTIKS, N.A.
We will discuss the origins and a short history of digiscoping, in order to get an understanding of where digiscoping stands today, and what it might become 1n the future. We will cover choosing a suitable camera for digiscoping and the various methods of attaching cameras to scopes, with emphasis on adapter types and their pros and cons. Digiscoping field techniques like camera settings, focusing, and image evaluation will be discussed. Attendees are encouraged to bring their spotting scopes, cameras , and other accessories if they have questions about them. There will be lots of pictures to illustrate the talk, both good ones and bad ones.
Clay Taylor started in photography in 1970, and birding in 1975. He has served as a Chapter President of his local Audubon Society in his native Connecticut, served on the CT Rare Records Committee, was a field coordinator for the CT Breeding Bird Atlas and CT Butterfly Atlas, and was the founding President of the CT Butterfly Association. He has worked as the Naturalist Market Manager for Swarovski Optik, N.A. for 7 years. His article on digiscoping appeared in the Dec. 2004 issue of Bird Watcher's Digest, and his digiscope photographs will be featured on the BWD Website very soon.
The Fort Worth Audubon Society meets the second Thursday of each month (except summer months) at 7:30 p.m. Meetings are now held in Research and Education (RES) Bldg, Everett Hall, Room 100, at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (formerly Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine) at 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard at Montgomery.
March Fieldtrip:
March 4th
Just a reminder that the Fort Worth Audubon Society is hosting a field trip to the Canyon of the Eagles on Lake Buchanan near Burnet, Texas on Saturday, March 4 (see previous post for details.)
All who plan to go must make their own lodging and boat trip reservations for the Ultimate Eagle Cruise.
We will meet at the boat landing at 8:15 AM. Directions are as follows.
From the town of Burnet at the intersection of Highways 281 and 29, drive west on HIghway 29 for 3 miles to FM 2341. Turn right (north) and go 14 miles to the cruise entrance (literally to the end of the road.) You will come to the Canyon of the Eagles Lodge; check in at gate house and proceed to the end of the road.
If you plan to go and have not RSVP's, please do so at philmarj@mesh.net or (817)596-3227.
March 25
The Fort Worth Audubon Society will host a birding trip to the Meridian State Park on March 25. Meridian State Park is located about 60 miles SSW of Fort Worth, and is usually a reliable place for seeing Golden-cheeked Warblers as they arrive on their nesting grounds in late March. They should be fairly easy to find at this time as the males sing to establish their territories.
We will meet at the Benbrook Antique Mall parking lot at 9250 Hwy 377S at 6:30 AM.
Leader: Phil Craighead (817) 596-3227 philmarj@mesh.net
Directions to meeting place: From West Loop I-820 take the Hwy 377S / Granbury exit and head southwest on Hwy 377S for approximately one mile. Benbrook Antique Mall will be be on the right.
Trip length: 3/4 day; recommend bringing lunch, water and sun screen.
Please RSVP to trip leader by March 20.
Fort Worth Audubon Society Field Trips are open to all, members and nonmembers, beginners to world-class birders. We especially want to encourage and welcome first time birders to come on our local trips in the Fort Worth area. These trips are an excellent way to get started learning the birds and the best locations and seasons to find them. There are always people on these trips who are willing and able to answer any question about birds. We try to help everyone see all the birds we find. We have dozens of extra binoculars for those who may need them, just call ahead to ask.
On the longer trips, we arrange for local meeting places where we encourage everyone to carpool. This helps prevent vehicle overcrowding in the field, saves gas expenses and most importantly is a good way to get to know your fellow birders. Don’t let bad weather deter you. Often the best birding is in the worst weather. Miserable conditions certainly build camaraderie. A field trip may be canceled due to inclement weather. Notify the field trip leader if you have concerns about the weather the day of the field trip. Come prepared. Warm weather trips may bring out mosquitoes, chiggers, etc. Bring along food and water because lunch is always in the field.