BIRD CONSERVATION The Magazine of American Bird Conservancy Spring 2014 BIRD’S EYE VIEW Where Migrants and ABC is the Western Hemisphere’s bird conservation specialist—the only BIRD organization with a singular and steadfast Cowboys Meet commitment to achieving conservation results for native wild birds and their CONSERVATION habitats throughout the Americas. n March, I had the pleasure of joining the celebration of the protection of Antisanilla—known With a focus on efficiency and working Common Yellowthroat by Double Brow Imagery in partnership, we take on the toughest SPRING 2014 problems facing birds today, innovating as “little Antisana”—high in the Andes of Ecuador. Protected by Fundación Jocotoco, a strong and building on sound science to halt extinctions, protect habitats, eliminate ABC national partner, Antisanilla adjoins several other large conserved areas and protects threats, and build capacity for bird conservation. Fantastic Voyagers IEcuador’s largest Andean Condor population as well as many other high-elevation species including A copy of the current financial statement and registration filed by the organization the Black-faced Ibis. may be obtained by contacting: ABC, P.O. Box 249, The Plains, VA 20198. Tel: (540) 6 Weary Travelers Welcome Here: 253-5780, or by contacting the following state agencies: Antisanilla is paramo, tropical tussock- the Red Knot, whose astounding Saving an Essential Migratory Outpost Florida: Division of Consumer Services, grassland above treeline, and from semi-annual migration from Tierra toll-free number within the State: in Bolivia the ceremony, you could see across del Fuego to the Arctic faces manifold 800-435-7352. the Andes for miles and miles—good threats. (See the story on Moonbird, Maryland: For the cost of copies and postage: Office of the Secretary of State, condor country protected by cliffs and, p. 12.) Statehouse, Annapolis, MD 21401. 12 Mapping Moonbird: The Amazing well, vastness. The ceremony was at- New Jersey: Attorney General, State tended by many from Jocotoco, finan- This work—conserving the full range of New Jersey: 201-504-6259. Travels of a Famous Shorebird of habitats and reducing threats all New York: Office of the Attorney General, cial supporters, biologists, and a cohort Department of Law, Charities Bureau, of local cowboys dressed in traditional along the way of migration—is the 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271. woolen ponchos. work of ABC and our many friends Pennsylvania: Department of State, 14 Still Life with Bird: An Artist Honors in Partners in Flight (PIF). You may toll-free number within the state: 800-732-0999. So, there I sat, listening to speeches recall that ABC hosted the fifth inter- Victims of Window Collisions Cowboys, known as chagras, celebrated with Virginia: State Division of Consumer and deep into the wonderful strange- ABC's Benjamin Skolnik and George Fenwick at national meeting of PIF in 2013, and Affairs, Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer ness of Andean culture and habitat, the inauguration of Antisanilla Reserve. Photo that coming from that meeting this Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 18 Golden-winged Warbler Conservation by Fundación Jocotoco, March 2014 23209. when my mind drifted to another spring are business plans for “bringing West Virginia: Secretary of State, State in Minnesota: From the Ground Up South American grassland, the Beni of back the birds.” ABC is helping to Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305. Bolivia. (Elsewhere in this magazine, Ecuadorian Andes. He immediately organize that effort. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by any state. you can read about the conservation replied that, yes, he had seen Buff- 22 Top Five Myths About In collaboration with PIF, ABC of Bolivia’s Barba Azul by our excel- breasts at Antisanilla and also Upland Bird Conservation is the magazine of ABC Wind Power and Birds lent national partner there, Asociación Sandpipers and others! So, in addi- establishes priorities, creates plans and is published three times yearly. Armonía, to protect the incredible tion to condors and ibis, this incred- defining what needs to be done, and Senior Editor: John Nielsen Blue-throated Macaw and many other ible place provides important habitat then works to accomplish the plan VP of Communications: Clare Nielsen species such as the Streamer-tailed for shorebirds migrating from North goals. No doubt many migratory Graphic Design: Gemma Radko birds will benefit from this work. But Editors: Jack Morrison, Merrie Morrison, Tyrant.) Armonía has recently discov- America. George Wallace ered that Barba Azul also hosts what sometimes, a happy coincidence of DEPARTMENTS may be the most important migratory This story is a piquant reminder that protecting birds on a remote moun- For more information contact: stop-over site for our Buff-breasted we must understand the full annual tain can accomplish more for our American Bird Conservancy Bird’s Eye View cycle of migratory birds if we are to 4249 Loudoun Avenue 2 Sandpiper on their way to the South- birds than we planned! P.O. Box 249 be successful in their conservation. The Plains, VA 20198 Black-throated Blue Warbler ern Cone of South America for the by Jacob Spendelow Our disappearing migrants need both 540-253-5780 4 On The Wire winter. I wondered, could Buff-breasts ABCbirds.org also occur here at Antisanilla? habitat and protection from human- created mortality factors on breeding 26 Q&A: Kenn Kaufman George H. Fenwick Join us online! I nudged my friend and world- grounds; stop-over sites such as Anti- President, ABC renowned ornithologist, Bob Ridgely, sanilla and Barba Azul; and on their 30 Species Profile who sat next to me, and asked about wintering grounds. We are learning long-distant migrant shorebirds in the that lesson with another shorebird,

COVER PHOTO: Black-throated Blue Warbler by Glenn Bartley BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 3 Study Finds Up to One Billion Birds ON the WIRE Killed Annually in Collisions Outreach Efforts in Hawai‘i ederal scientists recently reported Overall, the study provides quantita- Those species include: that between 365 and 988 million tive evidence to support the conclusion • Golden-winged Warbler and Canada Benefit Rare Honeycreeper birds are likely killed in the United that building collisions are second only F Warbler at low-rises, high-rises, and States each year following collisions with to cats (estimated to kill approximately overall; ne of ABC’s focal species has Robert Stephens, Project Coordinator buildings. The study was the most com- 2.4 billion birds each year) as the largest been in the spotlight recently, for MKFRP. The goal is to increase prehensive of its kind and was conducted source of direct human-caused mortality • Painted Bunting at low-rises Owith community celebrations awareness among the local community by scientists from the Smithsonian Con- for U.S. birds. and overall; and famous actors alike calling attention about Palila, their threats, and the servation Biology Institute and U.S. Fish • Kentucky Warbler at low-rises and to the critically endangered Palila. management necessary to preserve this and Wildlife Service. “This study presents a significantly more high-rises; unique native species for the future. robust estimate and a much-needed The first annual “Palila Palooza” festival Interestingly, the researchers found that refinement of the data on building col- • Worm-eating Warbler at high-rises; brought more than 600 people together A spectacular mural of the Palila—co- homes are responsible for nearly half (44 lision mortality,” Sheppard said. “The • Wood Thrush at residences. in Hilo, the largest city on Hawai‘i Island, sponsored by ABC—is featured promi- percent) of all bird mortality. Low-rise improved understanding and credibility Several species exhibit high vulnerability and was hosted by the Mauna Kea Forest nently in downtown Hilo, serving as buildings (56 percent of mortality) and it provides on the issue will help us better to collisions (relative to population size) Restoration Project (MKFRP), an ABC a reminder of this imperiled natural high-rise buildings (one percent) account advance collision reduction efforts such as regardless of building type, including partner. Guest speakers, including ABC’s treasure. for the remainder of bird collision deaths. those we’ve already seen in places such as Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Brown Chris Farmer, gave presentations about San Francisco, Oakland, the province of Creeper, Ovenbird, Gray Catbird, and Palila ecology and restoration efforts, Finally, reaching a larger audience, actor “A substantial percentage of birds are Ontario, and the state of Minnesota.” Black-and-white Warbler. which include management of hybrid Jason Scott Lee gave voice to the Palila Artist Kathleen Kam paints the Palila mural in being killed at homes,” said Christine in a 30-second public service announce- downtown Hilo. Photo by Jackson Bauer Sheppard, ABC’s Bird Collisions Species most commonly reported as mouflon sheep that threaten the bird’s Read more online: ABCbirds.org, ment that describes the causes of the Campaign Manager. “This is a problem building kills include White-throated habitat. search on “collisions release” bird’s declining population and manage- See the Palila PSA: www.youtube. almost anyone can do something about, Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Ovenbird, Palila are found only in high-elevation, ment efforts to help save it. These efforts com/user/RestoreMaunaKea right away. ABC BirdTape was created and Song Sparrow. However, the Purchase BirdTape: dry-forest habitat on the upper slopes of are part of an ongoing partnership with for use at homes, and properly applied, study found that some species are ABCBirdTape.org the Mauna Kea volcano. “Palila live in the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Read about ABC’s Palila conserva- has been found to deter most bird disproportionately vulnerable to building a remote and rugged area of the island Natural Resource’s Division of Forestry tion efforts: visit ABCbirds.org collisions.” collisions. Several of these are birds of See “How to Save Half a that not many people ever visit,” said and Wildlife. and search “Palila” national conservation concern and fall Billion Birds”: www.youtube. victim primarily to certain building types. com/user/abcbirds

Arizona Hummingbird Haven Protected Canada Warbler by Mark Hoffman aton’s Birder Haven, a mecca for Arizona’s outstanding hummingbird “because without his vision and thousands of birders worldwide, is diversity and a chance to get a ‘life’ Plain- determination, this birding oasis could Pnow assured of long-term protec- capped Starthroat, Violet-crowned Hum- easily have slipped away.” tion following a successful international mingbird, or Magnificent Hummingbird fundraising campaign. ABC, in partner- for their North American list. Paton’s Birder Haven had its start in 1974, ship with Tucson Audubon Society and when Wally and Marion Paton, life-long Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, raised the “We should also recognize the efforts bird-lovers, began to plant flowers and funds to acquire the property with contri- of Victor Emanuel,” Fenwick continued, install water features on their property. butions by thousands of birders. More than 15 species of hummingbird began to frequent the property; when the ABC has turned the property over to couple realized that birders were crowding Tucson Audubon Society for long-term outside their fence to get a better view, management as a public hummingbird they opened their gate and welcomed sanctuary. Victor Emanuel successfully them inside. They continued to welcome raised funds to support its ongoing visitors for more than 35 years. maintenance. The property had passed on to the Patons’ “This is one of the prime birding destina- children, who wanted to ensure it would tions in the United States and clearly be saved. Now, through this successful warranted the all-out effort to preserve collaboration and the generosity of thou- it,” said ABC President George Fenwick. sands, their parents’ labor of love has been Violet-crowned Hummingbird by Greg Homel, “Birders worldwide come here to see Natural Elements Productions preserved for future generations.

4 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 5 Weary olivia’s Barba Azul Nature huge numbers each fall at the height others fly in by themselves. It’s a Reserve is best known as a of the dry season, when the flooded natural spectacle worth seeing, and global stronghold of the Blue- streams and rivers found here shrink worth saving.” throatedB Macaw, a famously color- up suddenly, exposing vast mudflats ful and critically endangered bird and short grasslands rich with insect Hennessey says the best-known Travelers migrants found in Barba Azul each found only in this country. But this larvae, worms, and other creatures mix of rivers, floodplains, wetlands, these birds feed on. fall are North American shorebirds grasslands, and palm forests is also an such as the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Welcome important outpost for a wide array of “In the fall the birds appear to come a mid-sized, visually striking bird migratory birds. from every direction,” Hennessey known for marathon migrations, says. “Some arrive in groups while aerial agility, complicated breeding Some of these migrants spend the habits, and a tendency to land and Here: winter here, while others stop to eat linger near injured flock members. and rest before completing longer Once there may have been more journeys. Many­—but by no means ...this mix of rivers, than one million of these birds in the all—are long-distance migrants that Western Hemisphere. But in the late Saving an Essential breed in the upper reaches of the floodplains, wetlands, 1800s and the early 1900s, market Western Hemisphere. Most, for rea- hunters, mostly from North America, Migratory Outpost sons not fully understood, appear to grasslands, and palm pushed them almost to extinction. be declining all across their migratory Current population estimates range in Bolivia ranges. forests is also an from a high of roughly 60,000 to as few as 15,000. All of these birds seem to thrive important outpost for inside the boundaries of Barba Azul. The descendants of the Buff-breasted By John Nielsen, Senior a wide array of Writer/Editor, ABC Bennett Hennessey, Director of the Sandpipers that survived those market Bolivian conservation group Aso- hunts breed in tundra found on ciación Armonía, says it’s no coin- migratory birds. Arctic coasts from central Alaska to cidence that the migrants arrive in Devon Island, Canada. From June to August they leave their breeding

Buff-breasted Sandpiper displaying by Ian Davies Barba Azul habitat by Daniel J. Lebbin, ABC

6 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 7 Hudsonian Godwit, Stilt Sandpiper, grounds, starting marathon journeys Vermilion to the southern part of South Amer- Last year Hennessey White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Flycatcher ica, where the “buffies” winter in the Sandpiper, and Wilson’s Phalarope. pampas grasslands of Argentina, and other bird These birds are the reason Barba Azul Uruguay, and Paraguay. is known as one of the most impor- researchers saw a tant wintering grounds in Bolivia and Most appear to pass through the as a vital stopover for migrants that center of North America, landing total of 1,000 “buffies” winter farther to the south. every now and then in short-grass areas such as pastures, turf farms, golf foraging in the But “northern” birds are not the only Larry Thompson courses, cemeteries, and airports, as migrants found here. Hennessey says well as the damp edges of lakes and ungrazed grasslands researchers have also identified at least ponds and in agricultural fields. This of Barba Azul. 32 birds that breed to the south, in part of the journey has become more Argentina, and then migrate north- White Woodpecker difficult over the years, as more and ward for the winter. The list of “aus- more of these short-grass areas have tral migrants” found in Barba Azul they look prepared to finish migratory been converted into suburbs, frag- includes wonders such as the Ash-col- journeys than can cover more than mented by roads and powerlines, and ored Cuckoo, Scissor-tailed Nightjar, Upland Sandpiper 6,000 miles one way. If there’s a treated with pesticides that may be by Shutterstock White Woodpecker, Fork-tailed more compelling example of how harmful to the birds. Flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, and important a migratory stopover can Hudson’s Black-Tyrant. Other complications may include the ally stopping to refuel on Caribbean Hennessey says that their poor condi- be, I don’t know what it is.” spread of “no till” farming methods islands—they find more degraded tion changes rapidly as the birds start Other migrants travel in their own Owen Deutsch Last year Hennessey and other bird that make it harder to find insect habitats and unknown numbers of foraging in short grasses in or near the directions within the tropics, includ- researchers saw a total of 1,000 larvae and other foods in agricultural illegal (and legal) hunters. When they floodplain of the Omi River, which ing thousands of waterbirds, from “buffies” foraging in the ungrazed areas and the fact that the once- reach the coast of South America they winds through Barba Azul like a fat, the Jabiru to the threatened Orinoco grasslands of Barba Azul. Often, they common wildfires that create some must fly over roughly 1,000 miles slow snake. Moving through the Goose. Many of this remarkable were joined by Upland Sandpipers. short-grass areas are nowhere near as of Amazonian forests before reach- grasses on striking yellow-ochre legs, goose species migrate back and forth Like buffies, Upland Sandpipers are common as they once were. ing habitats, such as Barba Azul, that the sandpipers peck for food with across the Amazon to Barba Azul, says marathon migrants that spend the provide the sustenance and shelter their short black beaks. The flocks rise Dan Lebbin, Conservation Biologist winter to the south of Barba Azul, in As they fly south, Buff-breasted Sand- that they require. instantly when startled, flashing their with ABC. “Some Orinoco Geese are Black- pampas grasslands found primarily pipers may also be threatened by out- white underwings as they zig-zag into resident breeders in Barba Azul, but bellied in Argentina. These birds were also door colonies of abandoned domestic Hennessey says no one knows how the sky. researchers have found that others Whistling- cats. As they near the Gulf of Mexico, these shorebirds do it, year after year. hunted to the brink of extinction in nest in Peru’s Manu National Park,” Alan Wilson Duck the birds encounter especially large “What we do know is that when “After a few weeks, the sandpipers the early 1900s. he notes. numbers of potentially deadly wind they get here they are emaciated and leave, flying to their wintering Some Austral Migrants Other northern migrants known to turbines. While crossing the Gulf exhausted. It’s hard to imagine them grounds farther to the south,” Although the Orinoco Goose is de- of Barba Azul use Barba Azul include American and the Caribbean—and occasion- flying much farther without resting Hennessey says. “When they leave, clining across its range due to hunting Golden-Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, for a while.” their fat stores have been refilled and

Buff-breasted Sandpiper flock at Barba Azul by Daniel Alarcon

8 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 9 Western Tanager by John Turner

Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grants Program, and the Robert Wilson Charitable Trust.

Blue-throated Macaws by Paul B. Jones Hennessey says he hopes it’s the beginning of a trend. “As soon as the lands were protected, wildlife numbers began bouncing back,” and habitat loss, the birds find refuge pesticide use taking a heavy toll he said. “Barba Azul is much more at Barba Azul. Here, the geese nest in on birds. Efforts to protect these than a victory for the Blue-throated tree cavities as well as artificial nest lands proceeded unremarkably until Macaw. The range of plants and boxes, which produced 23 chicks in the early 1990s, when the world’s animals found here year-round 2013 alone. largest concentration of Blue- is tremendous, and the amazing “Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” throated Macaws was found on the migratory birds seem to be becoming The protected habitat mosaic at — William Hutchison Murray private ranch that is now Barba more abundant. Basically, we’ve Barba Azul that supports all of these Azul. Asociación Armonía bought shown that if you save it, they will migrants is part of a much larger set that ranch to establish a reserve and come.” The bird conservation movement is 100 years old. One in This spring ABC has a terrific opportunity to scale up these of “Beni” savannas found in Bolivia. later expanded it by purchasing every six Americans is a bird-watcher. Yet in the face of efforts. ABC Chairman Warren Cooke and Board member These complex grasslands sit between neighboring ranches, with help from dramatic declines of birds and their habitats over the past Jonathan Franzen have boldly established a challenge match the forested upper reaches of the ABC, Rainforest Trust (formerly John Nielsen is Senior Writer/ 40 years, the needs of birds have not been addressed on for bird conservation. From now through June 30, all Amazon rainforest and foothills of World Land Trust-US), Patricia Editor at ABC and a donations to ABC will be matched dollar for dollar, up the Andes. and David Davidson, International the grand scale necessary. former Environment to $150,000. Can you help us with an extra gift? Conservation Fund of Canada, Correspondent at Until now. Farmers, ranchers, and settlers IUCN NL/SPN (sponsored by the National Public Radio. Your donation will support the habitat protection and have had an impact on the Beni In 2006 his book Last summer the Bringing Back the Birds initiative Netherlands Postcode Lottery), threat reduction work of ABC and our partners, which has savannas for hundreds of years, with Loro Parque Fundación, U.S. Fish Condor/To the Brink and was launched at the extraordinary Partners in Flight V Back/The Life and Times of One Giant Bird the potential to save millions of birds annually. Together overgrazing, burning, logging, and & Wildlife Service’s Neotropical international conference, hosted by ABC in Utah. There, won the National Outdoor Book Award for we will expand bird conservation across the Americas, pro- hundreds of scientists, conservation organizations, and Natural History Literature. tecting both the rarest birds and those in our backyards. government agencies united to provide full-life cycle protection for suites of migratory and resident native birds Please join our spring challenge match by donating Isolated palm islands are scattered throughout the Barba Azul wetlands. Photo by Bennett Hennessey in eight priority, geographically linked habitats. online at ABCbirds.org or by using the enclosed envelope.

To complement this habitat work, ABC is tackling the top threats to birds including collisions with glass, and pesticide poisoning.

Let’s be bold and bring back the birds.

Painted Bunting by Steve Byland Wood Thrush by Ed Schneider Red-faced Warbler by Greg Lavaty

10 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 11 Mapping Moonbird: The Amazing Journeys of a Famous Shorebird

n February 1995, researchers banded several hundred Red Knots on a beach in Tierra del

1. Mingan Archipelago, Canada: Fuego, Argentina. All were of the rufa subspecies, known for epic migratory journeys between CANADA When Moonbird was first seen here in 2006 these rugged islands in the wintering grounds in southern Argentina and breeding grounds in the central Canadian Arctic. Gulf of St. Lawrence in northern Quebec weren’t known as important I 1 stopovers for Red Knots headed All but one of those tagged birds are probably long gone: The average lifespan of arufa Red Knot is south of their Arctic breeding Ninety percent 3. Delaware Bay: grounds. Moonbird’s subsequent six to seven years. The stunning exception is the Red Knot known today as B95 or “Moonbird.” of the world’s Red Knots­— UNITED rufa 3 “publicity tours” through the including Moonbird—converge here STATES archipelago helped change that, in late May to eat the eggs laid by however. Canadian researcher thousands of spawning horseshoe Yves Aubry says B95 has For at least two decades this overharvesting of horseshoe crabs. The resulting natural spectacle Red Knot by Hans Hillewaert now turned up here for has been put at risk by overharvesting of individual bird has been crabs that spawn in Delaware eight years in a row. horseshoe crabs, pollution,development, migrating more than 18,000 Bay. We also helped restore and beach losses linked to winter storms. miles every year. Overall, some of the Red Knot feeding But Moonbird has survived it all, at least that’s far enough to reach the beaches that were washed so far: he’s been seen here dozens of times moon and make it halfway away by Hurricane Sandy. since 2005, including last year. back again, which is where the nickname “Moonbird” comes And for well over a decade, from. we’ve been urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service In the lifetime of B95, the (FWS) to add the rufa Red rufa Red Knot population has Knot to the list of plants plummeted from 150,000 and animals protected by to about 30,000, due to the Endangered Species problems linked to climate Act. Last September, FWS change, overfishing, and proposed to classify the birds more. In some places, recent as “threatened,” which could counts seem to be holding steady, raising hopes that these make it easier to save the lands they need. birds can be saved. ARGENTINA B95 is the only wild bird we know of that has its own Well-reported Moonbird sightings build support for biographer: Phillip Hoose, author of Moonbird: A Year on efforts to conserve endangered places that sustain these the Wind with the Great Survivor B95. “He’s among the Moonbird on the move. Photo by Jan van de Kam shorebirds. One of these places is the Delaware Bay, where toughest four ounces of life in the world,” said Hoose of Red Knots gather by the thousands each spring. Shorebird the celebrated bird. “He’s a cause for hope in an age of expert Lawrence Niles of LJ Niles Associates saw extinctions.” 2. Southern Argentina: This is Moonbird’s winter home and the place where he Moonbird there three times in two days last May. “The was first captured and tagged in 1995. Since then, he has been resighted many times by researchers, often in the middle of dense flocks of Red Knots foraging on more we learn about the problems faced by shorebirds in Special thanks to the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve beaches. In December 2013, he was identified by some of the same researchers general and Red Knots in particular, the more Moonbird Network and the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences who originally banded him. One of those researchers burst into tears when he amazes me,” Niles said. “His mere existence is a call to for their input on this story. recognized Moonbird’s leg tags. Another, Patricia Gonzales of the Global Flyway 2 action.” If you see this bird or any other banded migratory shorebird, report Network, called it “one of the greatest moments of my life.” it to BandedBirds.org, noting band color and any visible letters or ABC has been involved in those efforts for years. We numbers. helped the states of New Jersey and Delaware limit LIFE PRESERVERS: Places Where Moonbird Has Been Seen 12 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 13 “One billion” of anything is almost impossibly abstract. For most of us, it’s just a very, very large number. So how is it possible to imagine one billion birds—the number estimated to be killed annually in the United States after colliding with buildings? How can people come face- to-face with this statistic?

For artist Lynne Parks, the challenge in a personal one. Each Friday during migration, she collects birds on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Lights Out Baltimore program. The still-living victims of collisions are rushed to a wildlife rehabilitator. The legions of the dead are collected, stored, and handed over to research institutions at the end of the migration season.

But first, Parks takes a moment with her camera to immortalize each bird. The results are stunning: photographs that bring the beauty of each bird—and the heartbreak of each loss— into focus.

Barn Swallow (left) Common Yellowthroats (below) Still Life with Bird An Artist Honors Victims of Window Collisions

14 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 15 Some of those images are shown here. “The statistics are horrible,” she says, “but when you hold one of these birds, it becomes an individual. You see the remarkable design of the bird, realize how remarkable each of these birds is, and how tragic it is to lose each one.”

Parks’ photographs were recently exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and other organizations have expressed interest in showcasing her work. Observers have an opportunity to see birds—many of them migrants that have become lost in the reflective glass of office buildings—that they might never otherwise have known.

“These birds are visitors. They represent a treasure that we share with other parts of the world,” Parks says.

We hope that the work of Lynne Parks inspires onlookers to see birds that way, too, and to take action to bring that staggering number of “one billion” down to a more imaginable size.

Eastern Towhees

American Woodcock

How you can help: Nearly one-half of all bird collisions occur at homes, with each U.S. home likely causing several bird deaths each year. (See “Collisions Study,” p. 5.) These deaths can be prevented by applying any one of a variety of window treatments. ABC BirdTape is easy to apply, long-lasting, and inexpensive. ABCBirdTape.org.

Our thanks to Lynne Parks for the use of these photographs. All images are © Lynne Parks, 2014.

BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 17 Golden-winged Warbler by Ashok Khosla While the warblers, woodcock, and Creating Habitat on grouse share habitat, they don’t Public Lands compete for resources. Golden-wings nest on or near the ground, prefer- One of Dieser’s goals is to establish ring spots at the base of goldenrods productive relationships with the and other broad-leaved plants that forestry divisions that manage these often host caterpillars, a major food public areas. “Historically, forest source for the warblers. Once their management plans tended to clear- chicks fledge, the male and female cut expansive areas of aspen,” he says. warblers split up their brood and lead “Clear-cuts greater than seven to 10 the young birds into older deciduous acres have very little usefulness for forests with a more complex vegeta- most wildlife species. We are hoping tion structure, which provides cover to generate interest in a more bal- and foraging habitat. anced harvest approach that can allow both timber harvesting and wildlife “Golden-winged Warblers are very habitat maintenance.” faithful to patches of habitats in or near where they nested the previous This strategy can be accomplished in season,” Peter says. This makes for a number of ways. One is to harvest very interesting land-management smaller “patches” of fewer than 10 strategies. “At Tamarac National acres within diversified forests, which Wildlife Refuge, we know that will help establish and maintain a con- Golden-winged Warblers have nested tinuous source of second-growth habi- in a certain area, so we have to man- tat for Golden-winged Warblers and age the surrounding land with that in other forest wildlife. This approach mind. We can’t just create a young would also result in a more balanced forest patch that’s not close to previ- forest in terms of both age and cover Golden-winged Warbler ously occupied spots; if it’s too far types, distributed among aspen stands, away, the warblers won’t use it.” mixed hardwoods, boreal pine forests, Conservation in Minnesota: and open shrubby areas.

By Gemma Radko, Communications from the Ground Up and Media Manager, ABC

hen I first talked to This rapidly declining species requires One of Dieser’s main goals is to “Once we assess the areas, we go in ABC contractor Peter a particular habitat to breed success- figure out how more Golden-winged and remove overly dense shrub and Dieser, he was trudging fully: early successional or “young” Warbler habitat can be conserved or aspen undergrowth using prescribed throughW several feet of snow in the forests. Dieser, with the support of a created. The work lies in adjusting fire or mechanical treatments,” Dieser frigid woods of northern Minnesota, grant from the Minnesota Lessard- how the forest grows over time. continues. “This mimics natural confirming boundaries for a new Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, processes such as tree blow-downs, project area. Even though Golden- works with public organizations that “The areas where I work—already- tornados, and low-severity forest fires, winged Warblers were then thousands manage deciduous forest lands in established forest canopy gaps, or which leave a good mix of habitats of miles away in the tropics, work to Golden-winged Warbler breeding shrub/wetland interfaces on public behind.” conserve this species continued. It’s a areas in the state. These include the lands—would naturally become year-round, full-time job, involving Minnesota Department of Natural overgrown with shrubs or become Over time, this work will preserve hours of planning and field surveys, Resources, Four Brooks Wildlife single-species stands of aspen trees. and improve habitat for bird spe- visits to job sites with contractors, Management Area, Tamarac National This reduces resource availability to cies of interest, including game birds meeting with land managers at Wildlife Refuge, and various counties. understory plants that are important such as Ruffed Grouse and American upcoming project sites, and training to this ground-nesting bird,” he says. Woodcock, as well as the Golden- winged Warbler. Kevin Sheppard with a truckload of pulp wood, harvested to help increase forest health and create foresters. second-growth habitat for game species and threatened bird species such as the Golden-winged Warbler. Photo by Jerry Havel

18 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 19 Conservationist with NRCS. “When owners out,” he laughs. “But more Ruffed Grouse Wild American Turkey Woodcock ABC first contacted us about put- “Ultimately the strength people will want to go out once spring ting together this type of partnership arrives! it was like music to my ears. With of the Minnesota Kevin, we’ll really be able to increase “I want to make sure that landown- the amount of young forest habitat in partnership will be ers have a good healthy, deciduous targeted areas across the state—some- forest in place,” Sheppard continues. thing that will benefit not only wild- heavily dependent on “When I’m on the ground and do my life like the Golden-winged Warbler, job right, I teach landowners not just but will also increase forest health and active involvement, forestry facts but about tree species, resiliency.” micro-habitats, and how to maintain John Turner

Bruce MacQueen equal sharing of productive and dynamic landscapes.” Shutterstock Private land conservation deals with Other Birds Found in Golden-winged Warbler Habitat much smaller properties; the areas success, and trust.” Partnerships Beyond Sheppard assesses are typically tracts of Minnesota 40 to 600 acres. Landowners contact Jeff Larkin, Range-wide A second strategy is to leave more Department of Agriculture’s Natu- Progress on Sheppard about establishing and man- Breeding Habitat Coordinator for Another ABC expert is also working trees standing when timber is harvest- ral Resource Conservation Service Private Lands aging habitat for deer and small game Golden-winged Warbler to reverse the decline of the Golden- ed, especially in harvests exceeding 10 (NRCS). As part of the federal Farm wing, in Minnesota and beyond: Jeff While Dieser focuses on optimizing such as grouse, turkey, and woodcock, acres. This approach has the benefit of Bill, NRCS has money available to Larkin. Larkin is our Range-wide public land use for the Golden- or for forest management training to creating additional forest “edge” that help private landowners implement Breeding Habitat Coordinator for winged Warbler, ABC’s Kevin increase aspen, which is harvested for the birds for breeding; then they are can be used by wildlife. conservation practices on private Golden-wings; he’s also a Professor of Sheppard concentrates on privately- pulp and paper. Judicious harvest- overtaken by a more closed-canopy forestland. Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at “This new approach is still evolving,” owned lands. Private lands comprise ing of aging aspen habitat can help forest once again.” Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Dieser admits, “but conscientious a major percentage of the forests in “One of our gaps has always been that landowners meet both financial and game-management goals, plus will This new program is off to a strong foresters prefer to maintain forest northern Minnesota. we don’t have a seasoned forester on “We have developed a strong partner- create the second-growth forest stands start. “We have a lot of landowners quality, which will sustain its useful- staff that can meet with landowners ship base in Minnesota over the past Sheppard’s work is part of a part- that Golden-winged Warblers prefer. showing interest,” Sheppard remarks, ness for people and wildlife over the to put these types of plans together,” year,” says Larkin. “Our initial success nership between ABC and the U.S. Plots of 10 acres have proven ideal for “but first we need to assess potential long-term.” says Will Bomier, Area Resource on public and private lands is evi- such project sites—and are also a good sites to make sure they are suitable.” dence of that strong partnership. The size for Golden-wing territories. He makes these initial assessments using GPS coordinates and aerial Minnesota program is modeled after “These early-successional habitats take photos to determine property bound- the Pennsylvania program, which has a few years to establish,” Sheppard aries, then meets with the landowners been in place for nearly three years. says. “And Golden-winged Warblers to walk around their land. “Ultimately the strength of the Min- do not use them right away. Years nesota partnership will be heavily de- three to 12 are the optimal times “Right now, with -20 temps and 40 pendent on active involvement, equal that these created sites are used by inches of snow, we can’t get land- sharing of success, and trust.”

Peter Dieser (right) received a M.S. in Natural Gemma Radko is Resources Science and Management from the Communications University of Minnesota. His thesis research and Media included trend analysis and database integra- Manager at tion for the Cloquet Forestry Center Continu- ABC. She is ous Forest Inventory. He comes to ABC from Photo by Mike Parr, ABC an avid birder Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center. and member of the Maryland Ornithological Society, Kevin Sheppard (left) has nearly two decades and often leads field trips for members. of experience practicing forestry in northern She is a licensed bird bander and ran a Minnesota. Kevin operated his own consult- MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and ing forestry business before starting at ABC, Golden-winged Warbler habitat a few years after mechanical opera- Survivorship) station for nine years. Gemma and has experience working in both the tions have finished and the land has had some time to regenerate. also teaches ornithology classes at The Golden-wings won't use habitat until some regeneration has taken USDA Forest Service and county forestry place. Photo by Peter Dieser. Graduate School in Washington, DC. departments. Photo by Erin Loeffler

BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 21 Photo by J. Marjiis TOP FIVE MYTHS about Wind Power and Birds

by Michael Hutchins, National Coordinator, Bird Smart Wind Energy Campaign, ABC

Every now and then it helps to “hit the reset button” on bird conservation issues. That makes it easier to find Bird Smart Wind Energy Campaign, says those are some of the wrongheaded notions now embedded in the and fix false statements and misleading assumptions that can make these issues more contentious than they national debate about the potential threats that poorly sited and poorly operated wind facilities pose to North need to be. Take wind power, for example. Is it always “green?” Does it kill a lot of birds? If it does, is that American birds. In an effort to move past them, Hutchins has identified the Top Five Myths involving wind the price the nation needs to pay for clean energy? Dr. Michael Hutchins, National Coordinator for ABC’s power and birds. Here they are, in reverse order.

Golden Eagle by TTSTudio Myth #5: Everything about Wind Those claims have been called Myth #4: Modern facilities are even experimenting with these systems. To Power is "Green." into question in Somerset Wind Facilities Use my knowledge, few wind facilities are currently planning County, Maryland, where New Technologies to install these technologies, as they are expensive. Wind power facilities are “green” in the sense that they do plans are being laid to build to Minimize Bird Kills. not produce air pollution. But it’s been clear for decades 26 turbines near a major Another version of this myth holds that taller, more that when these facilities are built near migratory pathways, nesting area for Bald Eagles. This is often represented efficient “monopole” turbines are easier on birds than breeding areas, and other bird-rich locations, they pose In central Wyoming, the as a fact by spokesmen for the less efficient older “lattice” turbines in places such very real threats to federally protected birds and bats. Those owners of the proposed the wind power industry, as Altamont. Recently, this argument was undercut facilities are not “green” unless birds and bats do not count. Greater Sage-Grouse by a study of American bird kills linked specifically to Chokecherry-Sierra Madre by Shutterstock who suggest that modern They do. complex want to raise as wind facilities come monopole turbines. That report concluded that the newer, taller monopole turbines may actually be more dangerous, The country’s most notorious example of how “bird- many as 1,000 turbines equipped with sophisticated in an area important to Golden Eagles and Greater bird-tracking radar systems and other technological primarily because bird kills were found to be greater at unfriendly” badly sited wind facilities can be is the taller turbines. 5,400-turbine complex built in 1981 near Altamont, Sage-Grouse. And a major wind facility may soon be “bells and whistles” that help limit bird kills. Some of California, in an area known at the time as both a migratory constructed in the middle of a migratory route in Kansas these technologies are potentially helpful, but none of In the last 10 years alone, the average height of turbines corridor and as a hunting ground for Golden Eagles. Since used by the world’s only remaining population of wild the important ones have been independently tested for used at U.S. wind facilities has increased by 50 percent, the 1980s, at least 2,000 Golden Eagles and thousands of Whooping Cranes. effectiveness. For example, there’s no solid evidence that and this trend is almost certain to continue. The blades high-tech radar systems will be able to accurately detect other birds have been killed by the blades of these turbines. We could probably add scores of other controversial wind on the world’s largest wind turbine, now being tested in oncoming flocks of protected birds, or to do that quickly Denmark, are a staggering 718 feet tall. Spokesmen for the wind power industry say they’ve power proposals to this list and still have some to spare. enough to close down turbine complexes in time to avoid learned how to steer clear of important bird habitats. bird deaths. No more than a handful of wind power

22 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 23 Myth #3: Offshore Wind Facilities Kill Fewer Birds. At the moment it’s extremely difficult to estimate the potential impact of offshore wind facilities on birds. For example, how does one develop site-specific estimates of bird collisions when carcasses land in open water and either sink, get carried off by tides and currents, or are eaten by predators? And if there are no carcasses, how can wildlife protection laws be effectively enforced? Bird experts don’t know the answers to those questions

yet. But it’s fair to say that nothing they have learned so far Photo by Imagevixen/Shutterstock suggests that offshore wind facilities are always better for birds. In other words, there’s some reason to believe that offshore facilities built in migratory pathways may be just as deadly as badly sited onshore plants. For example, in recent years, the claim that offshore wind facilities will kill fewer Projects such as these should be moved to the back burner Myth #1: Bird Kills Linked to Wind Power vital birds. A rapid, headlong, and irresponsible expansion birds has been used to support a series of proposals to build until we’ve learned more about the potential threats that are the Price We Have to Pay to Combat of the nation’s wind facilities could result in further facilities off the southern coast of Texas in particular, even offshore wind facilities pose to birds, and much more Global Climate Change. declines in our nation’s bird populations in the very near though vast numbers of declining bird species fly through about how to keep offshore bird kills to a minimum future, especially when the damage done by badly sited those waters twice a year, while migrating back and forth through proper siting and mitigation. There’s no reason If just one myth is dispelled, I hope it is this one, partly wind plants is combined with the damage done by habitat between breeding grounds in North America and wintering to repeat the same mistakes we’ve made with land-based because it has been endorsed by the leaders of some of the loss and other human-caused threats such as window grounds in the Caribbean and Central and South America. wind plants. country’s better-known environmental groups. Though collisions and predation by outdoor cats. they might not say so for the record, these good people seem convinced that massive bird deaths linked to turbines Finally, if our use of fossil fuel is not decreased proportionally with the growth of renewable energy— Myth #2. Wind Power Facilities Can’t In addition, data sent to regulators at the U.S. Fish and will be one of the inevitable side effects of a successful which is not currently happening—we still won’t solve Hide Bird Kill Numbers from the Public. Wildlife Service (FWS) is often treated as “proprietary effort to reduce emissions of fossil-fuel pollutants linked to the climate change problem, and thus far, the wind energy information”—an industry catch phrase that implies that global climate change. Since the 1980s, federal “Right to Know” laws have build-out has not decreased our use of fossil fuels. Our use the public has no right to see it; ridiculous, yet true. We been used to drive pollution levels down at many of the However, ABC is convinced that better siting regulations of coal, for example, has actually increased. should add that in 2011, ABC asked FWS to release some nation’s factories and chemical facilities, even when those and tougher bird protection rules would make it much bird kill data that had not been made available to the emissions were within federal guidelines. Basically those easier for wind power companies to build Bird Smart We can do better than that. public, under the terms of the Freedom of Information rules mandated that regular pollution readings taken facilities. Fully tested, mandatory permitting regulations Act (FOIA). Three years later, we’re still waiting. ABC was Read “10 Myths,” an expanded version of this by government regulators or independent experts be leading to proper siting of new facilities and appropriate, forced to take legal action in an attempt to obtain the data article at ABCbirds.org. Search on “wind myths” made easily available to anyone who wanted to see them. effective mitigation would make them much better for we requested because the public has a right to know. Nonprofit watchdog groups have used this information to birds—and in the long run, for people, since many birds “shame” factories with high pollution levels into finding See ABC’s Wind Development Bird Risk Map: Defenders of these business-friendly rules and regulations play key roles in the ecosystems on which people depend. cleaner ways to make their products. Some of these same ABCbirds.org. Search on “wind map” sometimes say they are the only way to stop competing companies have also been punished in the marketplace We’ve written a letter to Interior Department Secretary businesses from using bird kill data to gain a competitive by competing businesses that made it known that their Sally Jewell, encouraging her to conduct a national ABC's efforts to establish Bird Smart wind energy in the U.S. advantage in the marketplace, but that’s exactly what facilities were “cleaner.” programmatic wind Environmental Impact Statement. are made possible in part by the generous support of the Leon for-profit businesses should be doing. The voluntary and The results could help identify, once and for all, locations Levy Foundation. secretive nature of existing bird protection rules makes Sadly, very different rules are now being used to govern that the industry should avoid completely and others it impossible to know whether bird kill data gathered at bird kills at our nation’s wind facilities. The current rules where the risk to public trust resources, including native specific wind plants is accurate or credible, if it is gathered allow contracted employees of wind facilities to collect birds, is low. ABC’s Wind Development Bird Risk Map at all. These rules are highly problematic. Michael Hutchins earned his Ph.D. in animal and report potentially embarrassing bird kill data. This could be useful in this regard, but there are many other behavior at the University of Washington in self-reporting of bird fatalities also makes it easier for wind Indeed, the nation’s native birds are not the property of considerations, including impacts on other wildlife species. Seattle. Prior to coming to ABC, Michael power companies to hide their findings or consciously served as Director, Department of Conservation for-profit wind companies, but are a collective resource deceive the public and regulators, covering up potential Let us not forget that one of the most pressing problems and Science, at the Association of Zoos and of the American people and held in trust for current and Aquariums and Executive Director/CEO at Kirtland's Warbler by Robert Royse violations of federal laws including the Endangered linked to climate change is the loss of precious plants and future generations. The Wildlife Society. He has authored over 220 animals, including many irreplaceable and ecologically Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the articles and books. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

24 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 25 Q&A

JN: What’s changed for the worse? about spring migration now, centered hero, Roger Tory Peterson. But in my KK: Threats to birdlife are becom- on northwest Ohio and the Biggest 20s, I was greatly influenced by one Kenn Kaufman ing more complicated. At one time, Week, and listing will hardly get a of my Arizona birding friends, Bob solutions were straightforward, even mention. It’s all about the experi- Witzeman. ence, the community of birders, and if they were hard to accomplish: stop Bob was a doctor then, but in his the plume trade and the egrets will the parade of birds…the science and Talks about magic of migration. spare time he put together a coalition bounce back, stop using DDT and to fight the Orme Dam project. The the pelicans will bounce back. Now Kim and Kenn Kaufman government was going to build a huge the threats are more subtle and wide- dam at the confluence of the Salt and Birding, Birds, spread and insidious, more multi- Verde rivers; it would have flooded out dimensional. some of the best riparian habitat in the Climate change is already underway; entire Southwest. Bob and his friends and The it’s hard to tell how far it’s going to fought it for years, and ultimately they go or what impact it will have on won. It was a powerful lesson for me. which species. What can we do to Although I only did a few little things maximize the number of species that to help with that effort, it influenced Biggest Week my whole outlook, ever since, on what make it through the next bottleneck? It requires more agile thinking and we birders could and should be doing. priority-setting. For example, in the But all the rabid young birders that Western Kingbird by Greg Homel, short term, some migratory species Natural Elements Productions I knew in the 1970s got involved in have shown serious declines, and we conservation work in some way. The need to focus on those immediately. “I always had a sense late Ted Parker, for example, was a genius in the field, but he shifted ore than 40 years ago, a disaffected 16-year-old from Wichita, JN: One more history question. of the importance of How is bird-listing different today? pretty quickly from just learning about Kansas, started hitchhiking back and forth across North tropical bird diversity to a focus on KK: The biggest difference involves conservation, because trying to save it. I think for most of us instant information. If a really rare America in pursuit of birds, cutting costs by eating cat food it was explicit in the who get into birding young, the listing bird showed up in the 1970s, you becomes less important over time. Mand sleeping under bridges. In 1973, the year that he turned 19, Kenn might hear about it within a few days Even among birders focused on listing, writings of my boyhood if you were lucky. Now the news the vast majority wind up supporting Kaufman went on a listing spree, hitching all year and identifying a arrives on your smartphone within hero, Roger Tory conservation efforts. The exceptions minutes. The focus has shifted from seem to be those sad people who are record of more than 660 bird species. Kaufman’s book about that journey, finding birds to chasing birds that Peterson.” just interested in numbers and not in others have found. On a national the birds themselves. Kingbird Highway, has become a classic among young birders. level, you can’t play unless you can afford to jump on a plane at a mo- JN: What is the difference between JN: Magic? ment’s notice. the average “Big Year” and The Big- Now a famous naturalist, JN: Almost everything in the the DDT era, such as Bald Eagle, KK: Yeah. The more I study the facts, gest Week? Why northern Ohio? conservationist, and author, Kaufman world of birds and bird-listers has Peregrine Falcon, Osprey, and Brown At the same time, there’s more empha- the more I know about the science of KK: Actually, this region could be lives in northern Ohio with his changed since the early 1970s. Pelican, have made strong comebacks. sis on local efforts: doing a “Big Year” migration, the more magical it seems considered the birthplace of bird wife Kimberly Kaufman, Executive What’s changed for the better? And the public perception of birding for a single county, doing a “green” to me. listing. Migratory birds are so con- Director of the Black Swamp Bird has improved tremendously. Some Big Year entirely without motorized KK: We know far more about birds centrated on the Lake Erie plain that Observatory (BSBO). Recently negative stereotypes are still out there, travel. Birders engaged in these efforts JN: Some birders don’t become now—about their classification, ID, it was possible to run up big lists here Kenn talked to ABC’s John Nielsen but they’re fading, so more people are mostly competing against them- involved in efforts to protect migratory routes, behavior, every- even in the era before cars and good about the upcoming Biggest Week in are getting into birding without fear selves, not against each other. birds and their habitats. You did. thing. We have good census data that optics. As long ago as the 1890s, American Birding, put on by BSBO, that they’ll be considered nerds. I’m When and why did you become allow us to track population trends, Overall, I’d say that the level of Lynds Jones and W. L. Dawson were and about his legendary travels in the especially encouraged by the sheer a conservationist? rather than just guessing. Some birds interest in listing is about the same. doing Big Days and county Big Years early 1970s. numbers of young birders that I’m that had been declining seriously in That is, it’s still not a main focus KK: I always had a sense of the impor- in Lorain County, Ohio, just east meeting. for most birders. I’m writing a book tance of conservation, because it was of where the Biggest Week is now explicit in the writings of my boyhood

26 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 27 Sure, some things were definitely bet- Sandhill Cranes by Richard Susanto ter in the early 1970s. It was easier to A Little GREEN Can Save the Gold! make discoveries then, easier to break records. My friends and I were just out there without adult supervision, running around and finding amazing things at every turn. This year, ABC and a priority of But on the other hand, there are and Black ABC’s Migratory terrific possibilities for young birders Swamp Bird Bird Program. today. There are now so many organizations and programs…lots of Observatory are Donations to Save chances to travel (without hitchhiking partnering to the Golden-Wing or eating cat food)! Lots of ways to get step up the focus will enable ABC direct education and experience. With the rise of youth programs, listservs, on conservation and its partners headquartered. So in that sense we’re and Facebook, it’s vastly easier now for during the 2014 to advance teen birders to find each other and stay keeping with tradition. Some people “The more I study the Biggest Week in reforestation work will see new birds when they come in touch. Even if you’re the only teen to The Biggest Week in May, but for facts, the more I know birder in your town, you can still have American Birding. in the El Jaguar most it’s just about the experience, a community of peers who share your Private Reserve, the sense of wonder at getting to see interest. Kids who are just now getting All Biggest about the science of an important site so many of these amazing migrants. into birds shouldn’t feel that they’ve Week participants are encouraged migration, the more somehow missed out. Right now there for the warbler on its wintering grounds. JN: Recently, BSBO, ABC, and are huge opportunities for adventure, to contribute to our Save the Golden- other bird groups stopped (at least magical it seems for seeing the birds and helping to save Wing Project to offset their travel carbon The project will provide native tree temporarily) a single-turbine wind them. power facility near Ohio’s Magee to me.” footprint—and support creation of saplings to coffee farmers, helping them Marsh. I’ve been asked why we made JN: One last question. How many a habitat corridor in Nicaragua for to move from sun coffee to shade-grown birds are on your life list now? such a fuss over a single turbine. overwintering Golden-winged Warblers. coffee and creating new habitat for How should I have responded? development, and now we’re pushing for mandatory guidelines so that this I don’t keep bird lists anymore. I With a minimum suggested donation of Golden-wings and other birds, such as KK: This location represented the kind of thing doesn’t happen repeat- don’t have the foggiest idea how worst possible place to put a wind tur- edly. Wind power can be a very good many birds there would be on my just $10, we hope that small donations by Wood Thrush and Kentucky Warbler. bine. It’s in the heart of incredibly im- thing, but we need to be responsible life-list, state-list, etc., if I were still many thousands of birders will help “save portant stopover habitat for migratory about where we develop it. (See “Top doing that. I still speak that language the gold!” Save the Golden-Wing will also support songbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl. Five Myths,” p. 22) and I still celebrate with friends when It’s the only known consistent stop- they hit a listing milestone, and my community programs aimed at improving JN: You said you’re impressed by the The tiny Golden-winged Warbler is in over area for the endangered Kirtland’s interest in rock music and science- bird habitat and help to stabilize Warbler. It’s the center of the most sheer number of young birders you fiction flicks has not changed since big trouble. The species is one of the meet these days, and years ago you watersheds for sustainable farming. concentrated population of nesting the 1970s, but my interest in birds fastest-declining birds in the Americas Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states. were one yourself. Would you rather has gone beyond the listing phase. be a teen birder then or now? It would have been like saying, we’re just going to stick you with this one little nail, but we’re going to put it in Kenn Kaufman is an American author, artist, naturalist, the middle of your eye. If we couldn’t and conservationist. In addition to “Kingbird Highway,” Donate online at support.ABCbirds.org/biggest-week protect this most vital area from a tur- Kaufman is known for his work on several popular field Learn more about Biggest Week: biggestweekinamericanbirding.com bine, how could we protect any place? guides to birds and butterflies in North America. His writ- ings have appeared in a wide range of publications and he is The situation demonstrated the fail- a field columnist for Audubon magazine. ure of voluntary guidelines for wind

28 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 29 SPECIES PROFILE Bringing Back the Birds: Your Legacy of Conservation

ABC is bringing back the birds. More than a slogan, “bringing back the birds” describes the grand scale on which ABC and our partners are working to reverse the declines of bird Black-throated populations across the Americas. We are achieving important bird conservation results right now—but to achieve lasting success our work must continue and grow well into the future. Blue Warbler You can help us make a lasting difference when you include ABC in your estate plans.

When you make a bequest or other estate gift by naming ABC as a beneficiary of your will, retirement plan, trust, or life insurance policy, you will create your own legacy of bird FOREST conservation: not only one that ensures your children and grandchildren will be able to experience a diversity of remarkable birds and habitats, but also that the next generation of bird conservationists, now poised to achieve even more results that benefit birds, will have JEWEL the resources to do so.

Photo by Jacob Spendelow We can and must succeed at bringing back the birds. Your estate gift to ABC will ensure success for tomorrow, next year, 25 years from now, and beyond. Imagine how much more he Black-throated Blue quality and upward inflection. It is also we can accomplish together. Warbler’s species name is the rather slow-paced and often described If you would like more information on how to join ABC’s Legacy Circle with an estate gift, or if you have Latin adjective caerulescens, by birders as “I’m so lazeeeeeee.” Twhich means “turning blue.” already included ABC in your estate plans, please contact ABC Planned Giving Director Jack Morrison at Black-throated Blue Warblers 540-253-5780, or [email protected]. The male is truly a lovely sight—a are not currently considered striking mix of black, blue, and white threatened, although they do need plumage. The nondescript, olive-green large, undisturbed areas of forest and yellow female looks completely to breed most successfully. Forest Common Loons by Brian Lasenby different, which led Alexander Wilson, fragmentation allows nest predators The female Black-throated Blue is drastically known as the “father of American different in appearance from the male. Photo such as squirrels and snakes, and Ornithology,” to describe the female by Greg Lavaty, texastargetbirds.com brood parasites such as Brown-headed Black-throated Blue as a separate Cowbirds, easier access to nests. species in the 19th century. Wilson understory during nesting season, called the female bird “Pine Swamp often in hilly or mountainous terrain. ABC’s work benefits this species in Warbler,” and several years later, when It builds its nest in the fork of a low many ways. For example, reserves in John James Audubon painted this shrub. The bird winters in dense our International Reserve Network in bird, he called it the same thing. tropical forests in the Caribbean Latin America—now numbering more and Central America. Interestingly, than 60—provide overwintering habi- Despite these differences in appear- on the wintering grounds, the sexes tat. Our efforts to reduce threats to ance (known as sexual dimorphism), use slightly different habitats. One birds support the Black-throated Blue both male and female Black-throated study in Puerto Rico showed males and many of our other eastern wood Blues have a white base on their pri- most common in forest at lower to warblers, which are frequent casual- mary feathers, forming a distinctive mid-elevations, while females used ties of free-roaming cats as well as of “pocket handkerchief” appearance. shrubbier habitat at higher elevations. collisions with glass windows, turbines, and communications towers. This warbler favors mature deciduous The male’s song, which sounds like and mixed woodlands with a thick zoo-zoo-zoo-zeee, has a distinctive buzzy

30 BIRD CONSERVATION • SPRING 2014 NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 2392 BIRD CONSERVATION MERRIFIELD, VA The magazine about bird conservation throughout the Americas American Bird Conservancy P.O. Box 249 The Plains, VA 20198 ABCbirds.org

Streamer-tailed Tyrants occur at the ABC-supported Barba Azul Reserve in Bolivia. Photo by Marcio Lopez