September 2013 Galloping Through The Galapagos John Cleal and Marion Homier will present “Wildlife Photographs from the Galapagos Islands” at the September 16, 2013 meeting of the Oklahoma City Audubon Society. Marion and John took a month to visit the Galapagos Islands and Amazon Basin in 2007. They photographed the wildlife they encountered. They are amateur photographers only and do not have expensive equipment. However wildlife, particularly in the Galapagos, is usually quite tame so some interesting pictures resulted regardless. Marion and John share an interest in all aspects of the natural world. Marion is a Federal retiree and has adapted well to retirement over the past two years. In addition to travel, wildlife watching and photography with John, thanks to him she has also discovered a latent addiction to golf. She is continually distracted by bird calls and flyovers during her backswing and her preferred courses are those that are “birdiest.” Their golf equipment includes birding binoculars! John is also retired, being allergic to work in any form. Besides nature watching, he is dedicated to the pursuit of sloth and lethargy, and losing at golf, chess and the battle with weeds. Please join us on Monday, September 16 for an enjoyable evening of bird photos and birders! Our meetings are held September through June on the third Monday of each month. They begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Will Rogers Garden Center, I-44 and NW 36th Street. Visitors are always welcome. Conservation Report: Crystal Lake Expo Location: Crystal Lake, 6625 SW By Dave Woodson, Conservation Chairperson th 15 , OKC Members from our Society will participate in City Care Family Friday/Saturday Outdoor Expo at Crystal Lake, on 27-28 Sep 2013. 27-28 Sep 2013 The goals of the Expo are to peak interest in birding and cre- Friday: 9am-3pm. ate a fun filled learning experience for the attendees and par- Saturday: 9am- ticipants. Volunteers include Bill Diffin, Nathan Kuhnert, 4pm Family day Nadine Varner, and me. You are invited to join us. At least two members are needed each day, but the more the mer- Participants: Check- rier. For our display, we have mounted bird photos on poster in/setup on Thurs- boards, a Bird ID game, a number of different field guides, day 26 Sep be- and we’ll show attendees how to use spotting scopes tween 12pm to 6pm. Tear-down on Saturday after and binoculars. If someone is available and could provide a Expo closes 4pm to 7pm few bird houses, feeders, etc. please contact me. Let me know if and when you are available. Black-capped Donacobius, President’s Perspective http://www.xeno-canto.org/131419 By Bill Diffin Red-whiskered Bulbul, http://www.xeno-canto.org/97419 In the April, May and June articles we Grey-cheeked Bulbul, http://www.xeno-canto.org/35825 listened to songs of sylvioid birds from Cetti's Warbler, http://www.xeno-canto.org/142083 both the Old World and the New. Below Chestnut-headed Tesia, is a sampling of calls from these same http://www.xeno-canto.org/114886 species. Sibley's guide often describes Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, two or three calls for a species with http://www.xeno-canto.org/28817 names indicating their functions like Common Chiffchaff, http://www.xeno-canto.org/146689 alarm call, flight call, chase call, contact Singing Cisticola, http://www.xeno-canto.org/99668 call, etc. At least some species have Whistling Cisticola -1, http://www.xeno-canto.org/127081 many calls. For example the great Whistling Cisticola -2, http://www.xeno-canto.org/127082 variety of chickadee calls was Whistling Cisticola -3, http://www.xeno-canto.org/127080 demonstrated in one of the sources linked in the April Trilling Cisticola, http://www.xeno-canto.org/48433 article. Rattling Cisticola, http://www.xeno-canto.org/116030 Chestnut-throated Apalis, Because bird songs are louder, more extended and more http://www.xeno-canto.org/71443 complex than calls, they often seem more important to us. Eurasian Blackcap, http://www.xeno-canto.org/144602 In fact though calls must be just as important as songs to Striated Laughingthrush -1, the lives of birds. Mated pairs undoubtedly communicate http://www.xeno-canto.org/115742 about predators, territorial threats from rival pairs, the Striated Laughingthrush -2, brooding female's need for food, who will mind the http://www.xeno-canto.org/115743 youngsters at any given time, etc. We really don't know how Striated Laughingthrush -3, detailed the communication is between pairs. Scientific http://www.xeno-canto.org/115745 investigation in this area doesn't seem to have progressed very far. However consider that the song of a male in breeding condition may be more than just evidence of his health and strength. It may be testimony to his fitness as a communicator, his Oklahoma City Audubon vocabulary, his range of expression from urgent panic to bold agression. Among the collection of calls below, certain Society themes stand out as particularly frequent. One is a jay-like "jeer" or "jay". Another is a sharp "chip" or "chup" which Officers 2013 may be repeated frequently enough to be considered a chatter. See if you recognize in the non-U.S. birds President Bill Diffin 722-3778 some calls very similar to the ones you hear locally. Vice President John Shackford 340-5057 Secretary Sharon Henthorn 521-9958 Tufted Titmouse, http://www.xeno-canto.org/145941 Treasurer Nancy Vicars 831-1945 Carolina Chickadee, http://www.xeno-canto.org/111140 Parliament Ted Goulden 354-3619 Horned Lark, http://www.xeno-canto.org/70544 Programs Warren Harden 364-3491 Barn Swallow http://www.xeno-canto.org/144982 Recorder Esther M. Key 735-1021 Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Conservation Dave Woodson 601-622-3467 http://www.xeno-canto.org/123367 Field Trips Mark Delgrosso 445-2300 Purple Martin, http://www.xeno-canto.org/59093 Newsletter Editors: American Bushtit, http://www.xeno-canto.org/109191 Pat Velte 751-5263 Wrentit, http://www.xeno-canto.org/109854 Carla Brueggen 495-3259 Verdin -1, http://www.xeno-canto.org/121399 Publicity Doug Eide 495-8192 Verdin -2, http://www.xeno-canto.org/135943 Historian Vacant Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher Refreshments Sue Woodson 601-622-3467 http://www.xeno-canto.org/118058 Webmaster Pat Velte 751-5263 Skylark, http://www.xeno-canto.org/138228 Striated Grassbird -1, http://www.xeno-canto.org/39490 The Oklahoma City Audubon society is neither a chapter Striated Grassbird -2, http://www.xeno-canto.org/68685 of nor affiliated with National Audubon. Common Grasshopper Warbler, http://www.xeno-canto.org/105831 For Oklahoma City Audubon news between newsletters Marsh Warbler, http://www.xeno-canto.org/90518 and meetings visit: OKC-Audubon.org 2 Bird of the Month that skua. (As you can tell, I am a chicken when it comes to calling tricky bird IDs, especially of those birds By John Shackford I have never seen. Where was I when the skua was The South Polar Skua here? I had been accidentally dropped from OKBirds (Stercorarius maccormicki ) that and I missed the whole thing because of that.) showed up at least from August 7 - August 10, 2013 at Lake Over- South Polar Skuas are about 21 inches long, with wing- holser was more like the Okla- spans of about 52 inches, so they have a wider wing- homa bird of the decade or cen- span than the widest jaegar, the Pomarine, at 48 tury than bird of the month. Tony inches. This skua harasses other birds to make them Solorio and his father Jim photo- drop or throw up food, or predates other birds directly graphed the bird on August 7, as meals. The bird at Lake Overholser, from the photos thinking it was a jaeger. On Au- I have seen, knocked down at least 2 Cattle Egrets and gust 8, Mikey Lutmerding, 1 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. From the photographs it (apparently a northeastern U.S was evident that these birds were completely at the birder), was the first to suggest mercy of the skua. Other birds seen to be pursued and that this bird was a South Polar Skua. Clarity on the caught also were a probable Little Blue Heron and bird’s identification soon began to take shape thanks to some species of tern. The skua appeared to be getting Chad Ellis’ posting to eBird. A group of experienced orni- plenty of opportunities for food by knocking other birds thologists with Cornell out of the sky. Lab of Ornithology, in- cluding Marshall Iliff The nesting range of the and eBird contributors, South Polar Skua is only collaborated and identi- in Antarctica and it nests fied the bird. Then the on the ground, since fun began! there are no trees in Ant- arctica. They lay 1-3 I thought this would be eggs but usually 2. an easy bird of the When the bird is not month to write about— nesting it is an oceanic but I was wrong. The bird almost exclusively. reason it has not been During the Antarctic win- easy is that hard infor- ter, which is our summer, mation on skuas seems this skua migrates north- to me to be, at the cur- ward to warmer climes rent time, somewhat and is infrequently seen mushy. To quote a line as far north in latitude as from Seabird Osteol- Oklahoma in the Pacific ogy, “The five species Photo © Terri Underhill. Used with permission and Atlantic oceans. of skuas are more or What a treat for so many people to have the unusual less of the same size and appearance.” To complicate opportunity to see one of these truly oceanic birds the situation further the 3 species of jaegers are smaller inland--in Oklahoma, no less.