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Winter Bird Highlights 2012

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Winter Bird Highlights 2012 Winter Bird Highlights FROM PROJECT FEEDERWAtch 2011–12 cience • Volume 8 Volume • cience s itizen c Focus on Focus s we look back at the 2011–12 season of Focus on Citizen Science is a publication highlight- ing the contributions of citizen scientists. This is- FeederWatch, we’re also taking the opportu- sue, Winter Bird Highlights 2012, is brought to you by Project FeederWatch, a research and education proj- nity to reflect on the first 25 years of the proj- ect of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies A Canada. Project FeederWatch is made possible by the ect. Much has changed in our backyard bird communi- efforts and support of thousands of citizen scientists. ties, and so it should. Each calendar year represents a Project FeederWatch Staff generation for the species we see at our feeders. The David Bonter birds visiting today may be 24 generations removed Project Leader, USA Janis Dickinson from the birds enjoyed and observed by the partici- Director of Citizen Science, USA Kristine Dobney pants in FeederWatch during the inaugural season! Project Assistant, Canada The world is changing quickly, and birds are feeling Wesley Hochachka Senior Research Associate, USA the impact. Who would have thought that the gregari- Anne Marie Johnson ous and common Evening Grosbeak would disappear Project Assistant, USA Rosie Kirton from our feeders? We certainly could not have imag- Project Support, Canada ined that the Eurasian Collared-Dove, a species barely Denis Lepage Senior Scientist, Canada found in North America when FeederWatch began, Susan E. Newman would spread from coast to coast and now be a dom- Project Assistant, USA Kerrie Wilcox inant actor in the dramas that play out in backyards Project Leader, Canada from Florida to Alaska. What are we likely to find dur- Join Project FeederWatch! ing the next 25 years? Chances are, we don’t yet even Anyone in the United States and Canada with an in- terest in birds and a feeder to watch is welcome to know the questions to ask. But we do know that birds join. Help scientists monitor winter bird populations while you learn more about the birds in your neigh- will continue to move, that populations will fluctuate. borhood. To join, contact the FeederWatch office in Sitting back, observing our feeders, and watching what your country. happens along the way is part of the joy of this journey United States Cornell Lab of Ornithology that we take together as FeederWatchers. 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 Acorn Woodpecker by Pam Koch. 1-800-843-BIRD (2473) Cover photo of Pileated Woodpecker by Bob Vuxinic. [email protected] www.feederwatch.org Canada Bird Studies Canada P.O. Box 160 Port Rowan, ON N0E 1M0 1-888-448-BIRD (2473) [email protected] www.birds.canada.org/pfw.html Focus on Citizen Science Staff David Bonter Editor Diane Tessaglia-Hymes Design Director © Cornell Lab of Ornithology 2012 2 Participant Birdification Alliteration By Vern Aune reflections Tufted Titmice* twitter and Purple Finches* flitter th as Ruby-throated Hummers* flutter by. s part of our 25 season celebrations, we asked Excited voices utter: “Hey! Look, up by the shutter— Aparticipants to share their favorite FeederWatch it’s a swallow-tail butterfly! memories through our online forums. We have sprin- kled some of the quotes we received throughout this Red-bellieds* and Downies*, of course, but Blue Jays* and Yellow-rumpeds*(!) also do it— publication. get hooked on a foodstuff extraordinary In addition to memories submitted online, we and are happiest while gorging on suet. received a letter from Vern Aune of Waukesha, Wisconsin. He wrote: Sharp-shins* hurry, and little critters scurry, as passerines flee frantically for cover. “To honor the twenty-fifth season of Project Accipiters worry the chippies to a flurry, FeederWatch, I have written a set of whimsical, part- while Kestrels* so stealthily hover. ly ‘tongue-in-cheek’ verses, which are intended to il- lustrate a part of the avian diversity of our homesite. The sunlight glimmers, and the cascades shimmer, While the twenty-five species denoted by an asterisk (*) as some warblers flit fitfully down; comprise but a fraction of the total on our ‘Lot List,’ it A Bay-breasted* bathes and a Palm Warbler* waves, nevertheless provides a representative sample of the re- while sipping is done by an Orange-crowned*. sults of the efforts of my wife, Judy, and myself to ‘birdi- fy’ our yard over the past forty-five years. We think that Some sparrows are Chipping*; amphibians start pipping, the verses exemplify the fact that even in an urbanized as finches to feeders fly in. setting it is readily possible to attract a wide variety of Chipmunks chatter, but, it doesn’t matter, interesting birdlife.” we still hear birdsong above the din. We hear a Phoebe*, followed by a Pewee*, as a Chick-a-dee* sings: “Fee-Bee.” And then a Hermit Thrush* creates a quiet hush, and guess who* sings: “Drink-your-tea-e-e”? An Olive-sided* orders: “Quick, three beers,” and a Cardinal* cheerily offers the crew three “Cheers!” A goat-sucker* calls for violence toward “poor-Will,” then an Ovenbird* calls continually for the “teacher.” Scarlet Tanagers* and towhees; Bell’s Vireos* and Veeries*, are easy—and not too hard. Vern and Judy say: “Come see these beauties, Red-bellied Woodpecker by Errol Taskin by Red-bellied Woodpecker and Welcome!, to our yard!” A lasting legacy eederWatchers are generous folks, contribut- plans. Rita made many lasting contributions to Fing their time, energy, and money to help us the project, including 106 FeederWatch counts— all better understand the birds. We simply could observations that will continue to be used to track not track changes in bird populations without changes in bird populations. Her thoughtful gift gifts above and beyond the annual participation builds upon her legacy, showing her dedication to fees, and we greatly appreciate the tremendous the birds and science. If you would like to make support. In fact, during the 2011–12 season, we a gift or add FeederWatch to your estate plans, received donations from 2,452 participants to- please visit the web sites listed below. Thank you taling more than US$66,000. We are especially for your support! grateful to FeederWatcher Rita Fetter, a long- Canada: www.birdscanada.org/support time FeederWatcher who recently passed away birds.cornell.giftplans.org/ and left a $10,000 gift to the project in her estate U.S.: 3 Taking a closer look at doves BY ANNE MARIE JOHNSON, CORNELL LAB OF ORNITHOLOGY L to R: White-winged Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, and Mourning Dove. Photo by Allison Shock. Eurasian Collared-Dove, Photo by Dove, Dove. and Mourning L to R: White-winged ourning Doves have long been expansion was having an effect on native dove spe- cies. A 2009 analysis of FeederWatch data in Florida one of the most common species found no evidence that collared-doves were squeez- seen at feeders in much of North ing out other doves. But the results may be different M in other areas where food may be more limited in America. Other species of doves are rapidly winter. Vernon Dayhoff, FeederWatching in Colorado spreading across the continent, however, and Springs, Colorado, for the last 25 years, first started observations from FeederWatchers are help- seeing Eurasian Collared-Doves at his feeders in 2011 and saw their impact immediately. He wrote, “A year ing track the invasion and the impacts that ago they started coming one or two at a time. Now I these invaders are having on Mourning Doves see 16 at one time. They usually keep other birds away, including Western Scrub-Jays! I haven’t seen more and other less-common native species. than one or two Mourning Doves in my feeding area Eurasian Collared-Doves have spread at a re- since the Eurasian Collared-Doves arrived.” markable rate—moving northwest from Florida to Similarly, FeederWatch data indicate a slight, long- the Pacific coast in the last decade. The species was term decline in Mourning Dove flock sizes in the first spotted nesting in Florida in We started with a pair of Southeast and South Central re- 1982, having presumably reached gions (see page 10), but more anal- North America from the Bahamas Eurasian Collared-Doves several ysis is needed to determine if the where many individuals had years ago, and they have changes can be tied to the arrival been released. By 1992, the spe- certainly multiplied here. Last of the Eurasian Collared-Dove. cies reached Alabama, and then week I reported 10 and was Results are mixed elsewhere. by 2002, a few individuals had surprised today to see 11. This past spring, Kenneth Poole reached Illinois and New Mexico. Barbara Boyer, Bellevue, Idaho of Mimbres, New Mexico, wrote Now collared-doves inhabit much about his observations of dove in- of the western U.S. and reach as far north and west teractions in his yard after noticing a difference be- as British Columbia and Alaska. Large numbers of tween winter and summer: “I have observed over collared-doves have yet to reach the northeastern U.S. the course of several winters (if not longer) that the or Canada east of Alberta, although we expect that to Eurasian Collared-Doves seem to coexist well in our happen in the coming years. feeding area with our other dove species—White- Collared-doves can raise as many as six broods a winged, Mourning, and Inca. There have been no year—the female can lay eggs while still attending to signs of aggression. However, now that the breeding young in a previous nest.
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