Threats to Birds Climate Change • Habitat Loss Cats • Window Collisions Lead Poisoning Wind Factories
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THE QUARTERLY NEWS MAGAZINE OF TUCSON AUDUBON SOCIETY | TUCSONAUDUBON.ORG VermFLYCATCHERilion October–December 2013 | Volume 58, Number 4 Threats To Birds Climate Change • Habitat Loss Cats • Window Collisions Lead Poisoning Wind Factories Tucson Meet Your Birds What’s in a Name: Loggerhead Shrike Plus Nature Shop Winter Catalog Insert Features THE QUART ERLY NEWS MAGAZIN E O F TUCSON A U D UBON SOCIET Y | TUCSONAUD UBON. O RG 11 What’s in a Name: Loggerhead Shrike 12 Tucson Meet Your Birds VermFLYCATCHERilion 14 Threats to Birds October–December 2013 | Volume 58, Number 4 Why Climate Change Is the Number One Threats Threat to Birds • Threat to Biodiversity Tucson Audubon Society is dedicated to improving from Urban Development • Threats to To Birds the quality of the environment by providing Climate Change Habitats from Water Diversions and Bird–Window Collisions environmental leadership, information, and programs Pumping • Cats and Birds • Bird–Window Lead Poisoning for education, conservation, and recreation. Tucson Wind Factories Collisions and How to Prevent Them Audubon is a non-profit volunteer organization of Tucson Meet Your Birds • Get the Lead OUT! • Collisions with What’s in a Name: people with a common interest in birding and natural Loggerhead Shrike history. Tucson Audubon maintains offices, a library, Communications Towers • Industrial Scale and nature shops in Tucson, the proceeds of which Wind Factories, Birds, and Bats: Science benefit all of its programs. vs. Politics • Mine Claim Markers and Tucson Audubon Society Other “Death Pipes” • Electrocutions 300 E. University Blvd. #120, Tucson, AZ 85705 629-0510 (voice) or 623-3476 (fax) All phone numbers are area code 520 unless otherwise stated. Departments 4 Events and Classes www.tucsonaudubon.org Plus Nature Shop Winter Catalog Insert 5 Events Calendar Board Officers & Directors President Cynthia Pruett 6 Living With Nature Lecture Series FrONT COver: Peregrine Falcon by Will Sooter. Will is Vice President Bob Hernbrode 7 News Roundup a field biologist who has been observing and documenting Secretary Ruth Russell the behavior of a breeding pair of Peregrine Falcons for 8 Treasurer Richard Carlson 21 Book Reviews Directors at Large Matt Bailey, Ardeth Barnhart, 22 Conservation and Education News years. You can see his work at www.sharpeyesonline.com. Gavin Bieber, Les Corey, Jennie Duberstein, Dave Dunford, 25 Field Trips To have your photograph considered for use in the Debra Finch, John Kennedy, Linda Stitzer, Claire Zucker, Nancy Young Wright 26 Birding Travel from Our Business Partners Vermilion Flycatcher, please contact Matt Griffiths at Board Committees Conservation Chair Chris McVie, 27 Birds & Business Alliance [email protected]. Development Sandy Elers, Education Jennie Duberstein, Finance Richard Carlson, Outreach Vacant, Nominating 27 Classified Ads Linda Greene, Governance Dave Dunford, Personnel Cynthia Pruett Programs & Activities Field Trips Matt Griffiths Beyond Habitat Loss: Other Man-made Library 629-0510 Membership Meetings Jean Barchman 629-0510 Threats to Birds Compound Traditional Rare Bird Alert Andrew Core | Report Rare Birds 629-0510 Driver of Mortality Staff (unless otherwise stated, dial 629-0510 plus extension) Executive Director Paul Green ext 7001 Guest commentary by Darin Schroeder, Vice President of Conservation Advocacy Accountant Michelle Bourgeois ext 7003 at American Bird Conservancy Finance ext 7014 Membership Coordinator Jean Barchman ext 7002 It may seem obvious to those of us in the comprehensive assessment to date on the status Development Manager Erin Olmstead ext 7009 Volunteer and Development Coordinator conservation world that a bird species’ population of U.S. bird populations. Kara Kaczmarzyk ext 7011 size and trend are determined by the balance Threats such as free-roaming outdoor cats, Environmental Education Coordinator Bété Jones ext 7012 IBA Conservation Biologist Jennie MacFarland ext 7004 between reproductive success and adult mortality. inappropriately lighted communications towers, Urban Program Manager Kendall Kroesen ext 7006 In other words, birds that die must be replaced by poorly placed wind turbines, unnecessary night Restoration Biologist Jonathan Horst 971-6238 more birds than were lost if a species’ population lighting of tall buildings, lead poisoning, and even Field Supervisor Rodd Lancaster 256-6909 Communications and Habitat Restoration is to grow. glass windows in our homes all play a contributing Matthew Griffiths 971-7924 For many years, it was a given that the largest role to the decline of many bird populations Restoration Specialist Andy Bennett 262-1314 source of bird population declines was habitat loss (see page 14). By better understanding how our Restoration Specialist Linda Williamson 971-8639 Operations and Retail Manager Sara Pike ext 7008 through conversion for human use and habitat activities threaten birds, we can explore alternatives Operations and Retail Coordinator Kelly DiGiacomo ext 7007 degradation from ecologically unsustainable land that will help to reduce the human impact. Tucson Audubon Nature Shops uses. There are increasingly fewer places for our American Bird Conservancy leads programs 300 E University Blvd #120 ext 7015 623-3476 fax / 629-0510 Shop Manager native birds to live—especially large blocks of that are monitoring and working to reduce some Hours: 10 AM–4 PM, Monday–Saturday unbroken natural habitat—limiting bird population of the most significant drivers of bird mortality, and Agua Caliente Park, 12325 E Roger Rd 760-7881 size. But now, to make matters worse, other man- these are beginning to achieve notable results. Hours: NOVEMBER–APRIL Thursday 9 AM–1:30 PM, Friday & Saturday, 10 AM–2:30 PM made threats to birds are growing. The combined For example, our Collisions Program, working with effect is devastating bird populations. partners, influenced decisions in San Francisco, Vermilion Flycatcher is published quarterly. For address For example, of the 341 neotropical migratory Toronto, and across the state of Minnesota to changes or subscription problems call 629-0510, or write to Membership Coordinator, Tucson Audubon, 300 E. species found in the United States, 127 are known require bird-saving building designs. Our Pesticides University Blvd, #120, Tucson, AZ 85705. Submissions are to be in decline—60 of these in severe decline Program influenced a near-total ban on d-CON rat due the 1st of the month, two months before the date of the and suffering a population loss of more than 45 poisons that harm many raptors. tewart issue. Please send submissions as Microsoft Word or RTF S documents, or plain text files, to Matt Griffiths at mgriffiths@ percent in just the past 40 years. This analysis We are optimistic that—with concerted effort to att tucsonaudubon.org. , M was confirmed in the 2009 State of the Birds understand and reverse these threats—we’ll find Coordinator Matt Griffiths 971-7924 ARM Proofreaders Tucson Audubon staff and volunteers report assembled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ways to reduce human impacts, and ultimately F IND Design / Layout Eng-Li Green Service and many partners, known to be the most avoid further extinctions. VF W © 2013 Tucson Audubon Society 2 Tucson Audubon Vermilion Flycatcher OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2013 Visit tucsonaudubon.org for updates and more. COMMENtaRY PAUL GREEN | EXECUTIVE DIRECtoR The Roots of Hope What role does hope have in saving increased and as Congress failed to act birds, other wildlife, and the future of the in 1940. Critical habitat designation for earth? endangered species had to wait until The passing of the Passenger Pigeon 1973 with the Endangered Species Act. Snowy Egrets were nearly wiped out by plume hunters in the 1800s. should remain a lesson to us all 100 There is incontrovertible evidence that ARUULA P years on. Our society allowed unfettered DDE, the metabolite of DDT, is directly we fear so we can see a way forward. capitalism and commercial market hunting responsible for the thinning of eggshells Skillfully managed, the anger that can to drive the species from 3–5 billion birds in birds of prey and other effects on come out of realizing what is really going to extinction in a little over 100 years. A breeding. Bald Eagles had declined from on can become the energy that we use few people attempted to curtail hunting around 400,000 in the mid-1800s to just to change the world. Action to change in the late 1800s in Michigan, Ohio, and 417 breeding pairs during the middle things is the natural and healthy result of Pennsylvania, but without clear scientific part of the last century. DDT was finally acceptance of a new unpalatable truth. evidence about the scale of the decline or banned in the U.S. in 1972 as the result And the most effective way we have popular support to save the birds, it was a of grassroots pressure, even as DDT of dealing with this emotional pain is to hopeless cause. manufacturers campaigned vigorously turn toward other people. Our inner mind At about the same time, plume hunters against the ban. seeks connection with others, and this had nearly wiped out the Snowy Egret Peregrine Falcons had declined can lead naturally to becoming part of population of the United States. By 1886, from around 4000 to 324 pairs in urgent grassroots action for change. the market created by the millinery trade 1975, recovering to around 3000 pairs This brings me back to the question was responsible for killing around five throughout North America today. California posed at the outset. I believe that real million birds a year, creating jobs and Condors were reduced to 22 birds in change in the future will come not by profits, but pushing several species close 1987, all in captivity. While 435 California hoping for change but through the to extinction. Condors are alive today, 237 in the wild, proactive work of grassroots activists. In the late 1800s, big-game hunter their survival is in jeopardy unless lead As grassroots activists, we have a duty George Bird Grinnell campaigned against ammunition is banned (see page 18).