Home Program Field Trips
THE FISH HAWK HERALD
April 2004
Volume
13 Issue 8
Coeur
d’Alene Chapter of the National Audubon Society
ARTICLES: Migratory Bird Day - 4th
Annual Audubon Garage Sale - Bird Tracks: Spring House Cleaning at
Avondale, Summary of Board Meeting, New
Publication on Native Plants, Saving Reardon Pond - Boreal Conservation Framwork - ABC Releases
"Green List" - Using Bird Codes - Sandpoint Saturday - Chain of Lakes
- Birding with a Brown Bag - Observation Post
MIGRATORY
BIRD DAY
MAY 8, 2004
The Coeur d’ Alene chapter will celebrate
Migratory Bird Day at our “Adopted Wetland”, Mica Bay, on May 8, 2004 from 9:00
a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Beth Paragamian, a Watchable Wildlife specialist, will join
members that Saturday morning.
Highlighting the activities will be the
dedication of an informational sign, “Wetlands—Who Needs Them?” Lake City High School artists, Larina Helm
and Erick Fenenbok, created the lovely
depiction of Mica Bay and its native flora and fauna. Our chapter’s education committee developed the text.
Other activities for the day will
include raffles of various items, including a bluebird house, an Audubon
Mountain Bluebird, posters and books.
Members will be available with spotting scopes and will conduct bird
walks. Many educational materials will
be on hand and there will be special activities for children.
Fuertes' Eastern Bird Collection
Mica Bay is an important wetland
hosting many resident and migratory
waterfowl. It is home to Bald
Eagles, Osprey, Canada Geese, Great Blue Herons, numerous ducks, grebes and
songbirds. Mica Bay is approximately 6
miles south of Coeur d’ Alene on Highway 95.
Join us May 8 to say hello, do some
birding, view the beautiful interpretive sign, and just enjoy spring. Bring a friend.
Kris Buchler and Janet Callen,
4TH ANNUAL AUDUBON CHAPTER GARAGE
SALE JUNE 5
It is spring
house cleaning time! We would
appreciate getting any donated items for our upcoming garage sale in June. We are a non-profit organization. Ask for a receipt if you itemize on your
taxes. Remember one man's trash is
another man's treasure.
Top of Page
Bird Tracks
Audubon Members make
a difference
SPRING HOUSE CLEANING AT AVONDALE GOLF COURSE
On March 12th, four of us cleaned
19 old nests out of 25 birdhouses that we had put up on the Avondale Golf
Course last year. Some looked well used, others not. From studying the nesting material and nest
construction we were able to identify the nests of swallows, chickadees, one
possible bluebird and 2 small mammals. A few nests were
wet so we may need to do some caulking of roofs. We plan to check them again in
the fall.
Thank you Bill,
Roland and Dick
SUMMARY OF BOARD MEETINGS
Lynn
Sheridan
February 10
1)
Conservation: Mike Mihelich will write
a letter to Gov. Kempthorne protesting the program to let logging companies
harvest the largest trees from protected forest lands
2)
We will pay $20 to join the Fernan Lake
Conservation Committee. Roland Craft
will be our representative.
3)
Idaho Birding Trail Committee: has chosen approximately 25 sites from around
Moscow to the Canadian border, to be listed in the future official state guide.
4)
Education: The long awaited Mica Bay
Wetland pictorial sign is nearing completion.
5)
Library: We have a new CD and Tape on
Owls by Denver Holt added to our collection.
6) Donation: 2 "singing" stuffed birds and 2 "non-singing"
bird clocks were donated to the CDA Library as prizes for reading contest.
March
9
1) We need new board members!!! Please let us know if you are
interested in becoming a board member.
2) Planning is underway for
Migratory Bird Day on May 8, Earth Day on April 24, spring Highway 95 cleanup,
and the
annual yard sale on June 5.
3) A $100 honorarium was made to
Scott Rae to help with his flycatcher field research. He did a workshop for us on identifying birdcalls and songs last
spring.
4) Discussion re: do we need
liability insurance? It was
tabled till next meeting, while we check on it.
NEW PUBLICATION ON NATIVE PLANTS
A group
of botanists from Boise have assembled a terrific new technical reference
entitled:
"Landscaping with Native Plants of the
Intermountain Region" Technical Reference 1730-3, December 2003. BLM, Idaho Native Plant Society and Boise
State Univ.
Copies
should be available through your local BLM office or contact Roger Rosentreter
at: roger_rosentreter@blm.gov.
SAVING REARDON POND
March 15, 2004
Good news! We raised the $50,000 needed for the
option to purchase Reardan Pond, now known as Audubon Lake.
Inland
Northwest Land Trust and Spokane Audubon Society wish to thank the many
generous donors who contributed. We appreciate the notes of encouragement
that accompanied your gifts and also the efforts of the many Audubon chapters
throughout Washington and north Idaho that promoted this project to their
membership. The Audubon chapters and their members were major contributors
to this effort.
Thank you to
the Yakima chapter for issuing the challenge early on. Thank you also to
Dean Schwickerath for his outstanding work bringing this project to the
attention of some major contributors.
As soon as
the details in the agreement are finalized and signed, INLT will pay Susan the
$50,000 nonrefundable option money, which will count toward the $350,000
purchase price.
Once the option agreement is
signed, we will have two years to raise the rest of the money to acquire the
property or find a conservation buyer.
Again, thank
you for helping us to save Audubon Lake so that it will remain outstanding bird
habitat for generations to come!
Vicki Sola
Development Director
Inland Northwest Land Trust
35 W Main Ave Ste 210
Spokane WA 99201
phone: 509-462-1239
fax: 509-328-4733
www.inlandnwlandtrust.org
"If I were to make a study of the
tracks of animals and represent them by plates, I should conclude with the
tracks of man"
Henry David Thoreau
Boreal
Conservation Framework
A Vision for Protecting Vital Breeding Grounds for Billions of North American Birds
Photograph
by Wayne Tree
Stretching from Alaska to the Atlantic Ocean,
Canada’s boreal forest is one of the world’s largest forests. It accounts for 25 percent of the earth’s
remaining intact forests, covers 1.3 billion acres, and is larger than the
Brazilian Amazon. With more fresh water
than any place on earth, Canada’s boreal forest supports some of the largest
populations of wildlife such as grizzly bears and wolves, and provides vital
breeding grounds for up to a third of North America’s land birds and 40 percent
of its waterfowl
In December 2003, the Canadian Boreal
Initiative (CBI) announced a landmark vision to protect this global
treasure. The Boreal Conservation
Framework proposes a new approach to balancing conservation and economic
development: the establishment of
a network of large interconnected
protected areas covering about half of
Canada’s boreal region, and the use of cutting-edge sustainable
development practices in remaining areas.
The Framework reflects an extraordinary alliance conservation
organizations, First Nations, and timber and oil companies who have signed on
to the Framework. (Information about the Framework can be found at CBI’s web
site: www.borealcanada.ca
While vast tracks of the boreal region
remain unspoiled at this point, the release of the Framework comes at a time
when development is rapidly escalating and land use decisions in every Canadian
province and territory will determine the fate of much of the boreal region
within the next three to five years.
With over 90% of the boreal under public ownership, a critical next step
will be to persuade Canadian governments to play a central role in making the
Framework’s vision a reality.
Much of the resource development in the
boreal is being driven by U.S. consumption.
The U.S. is the leading importer of Canadian forest products and oil and
gas. Eighty-one percent of Canada’s
forest products go to the United States, and most of the wood cut in Canada’s
boreal is used to make paper, including catalogs, junk mail, magazines, and
newspapers. And the U.S. buys more of
its oil and gas from Canada -- 60% of which is produced from the boreal -- than
any other single source.
Of the 298 bird
species that have some of their breeding grounds in the boreal forest, at least
40 species of land birds and several species of ducks are already experiencing
population declines in part due to habitat loss from logging and oil and gas
development.
While American consumption is largely
responsible, it also means that American citizens and companies can influence
the fate of this global treasure. The
boreal is perhaps the greatest forest conservation opportunity left on
earth.
An international campaign focused in the
U.S. is emerging. The Boreal Songbird
Network is a new network of conservation groups that include: the Boreal Songbird Initiative, the National
Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, the Natural
Resources Defense Council, and the American Bird Conservancy. These groups are working to build a broad
base of international support for boreal conservation and the adoption of the
Boreal Framework.
For more information on how you can help
protect the boreal forest, please go to the Boreal Songbird Initiative website
at www.borealbirds.org
The
Boreal Songbird Initiative is a new project dedicated to educating bird
conservationists and naturalists throughout the United States about the
importance of North America’s boreal forest to migratory birds.
ABC Releases “Green List”
Reprinted
from: ABC "Bird Calls" November 2003
The American Bird
Conservancy (ABC) has produced a list of all the highest priority birds for
conservation in the continental United States and Canada. The new “Green List”
builds on the species assessments conducted for many years by Partners in
Flight (PIF) on land birds, expanded to include species of all taxa.
In the past, conservationists have been
faced with a plethora of lists, including the PIF Watch List, FWS’s Endangered
Species List and Birds of Conservation Concern List, as well as other lists for
shorebirds, water birds, and waterfowl. The reasoning applied to each of these
assessments has differed, and thus, any single list of birds derived from these
individual lists has been beset by problems of inconsistency.
Over the last year, PIF has made
significant advances in species assessment, resulting in a greatly improved
Watch List. ABC has gone a significant step further by taking PIF standards and
applying them to all taxa to produce the Green List. This is the first time
that a single, consistent set of criteria has been used for all birds in order
to produce a comprehensive set of priority species for conservation.
The list is divided into three broad
categories. Species classified as being of the Highest Conservation Concern
suffer from multiple problems and include many of the birds listed under the
Endangered Species Act. Others birds in this category include the Lesser
Prairie-Chicken, King Rail, Golden-winged Warbler, and Tricolored Blackbird. The
second and third groups are of equivalent concern to each other, but for
different reasons. Moderately Abundant Species with Declines or High Threats
include Black Scoter, Marbled Godwit, Band-tailed Pigeon, Red-headed
Woodpecker, Prairie Warbler, and Painted Bunting - birds that are still found
in relatively high numbers, but are declining at an alarming rate. Species with
Restricted Distributions or Low Population Size, covers species for which
populations may be stable and threats apparently limited, but are limited in
number or range. Reddish Egret, Costa’s Hummingbird, LeConte’s Thrasher, and
Black Rosy-Finch are examples from this group. To view the entire Green List go
to: www.abcbirds.org/greenlist.htm
USING BIRD CODES
ATSP Using four-letter bird codes instead of
writing down the entire 
name
of a bird is becoming more and more common among bird watchers. Using bird codes is standard practice if you
are doing bird surveys for most wildlife organizations and agencies. Birdwatchers
often use bird codes in their personal field notes.
It takes some practice to become
comfortable using bird codes. Trying to decipher your field notes after a day
of birding can be frustrating. You knew what NRWS meant when you wrote it down
at 9:00 a.m. but now you are at home in front of your computer making a list of
the birds you saw on your field trip and you don't have a clue to what this
code stands means. When you first start using codes it helps to have a code
list with you in the field and at home
on your desk.
Bird codes are easy to use and the rules
are pretty much straightforward. The rules are as follows:
Photograph
by Wayne Tree 1. If the name of the bird is one word, the first
four letters are used,
i.e. Mallard =
MALL.
2. If the name of the bird is two words, the
first two letters of each word is used, i.e. Tree Swallow = TRSW.
3. If the name of the bird is three words,
the first letter of the
first and the first
letter of the second, and the first two of the last word is used, i.e. Northern
Hawk Owl = NHOW.
4. If the name of the bird is four words,
the first letter of each word is used, i.e. Northern Rough-winged Swallow =
NRWS.
However, there are a few birds that have
such similar names that they would end up with the same code using these
rules. These you have to memorize. For example Bank Swallow = BANS and Barn
Swallow = BARS. Other birds not following the rules are Canyon Wren = CYNW,
Great Blue Heron = GTBH, and Lazuli Bunting =LAZB.
The band code system really becomes handy
and easy with practice and repetitive use. For the most part, especially with
North American birds, there are few duplications and these can easily be
learned.
If you want to try using the codes a list
of bird codes for our area will be available at our next meeting or you can
call me 664-5318 and I'll mail you one.
A complete list of North American Bird
Codes can be found on:
www.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/BBLCode.html
SANDPOINT SATURDAY
The first item on our agenda for our 28
February field trip was to relocate the "Common Teal" first reported
by Earl Chapin in December. The teal had been found in Bottle Bay, but more
recently, had been relocated across Pend Oreille Lake near the Pack River
delta.
The "Common Teal" and the
Green-winged Teal were formerly considered two separate species, but are now
classified as subspecies of a single species, Anas crecca. The "Common Teal" or "Teal", as
it is known in Europe, is a rare visitor to the east and west coasts of North
America.
The male of the Eurasian
subspecies
(A. c. crecca) has a horizontal
white stripe between the flank and the back, whereas our homegrown Green-winged
Teal (A. c. carolinensis) has a
vertical white stripe well forward on the flank. These slashes of white are
useful field marks at a distance.
After a brief stop at City Beach, where
we found our first Tundra Swan of the day, we proceeded on Highway 200 to the
Pack River delta. From several pullouts high above the water, we scanned the
rafts of waterfowl for our target teal. The rafts were dominated by Gadwall,
Common Merganser, Canada Goose and Tundra Swan. Close up against the muddy
shore, we found a dozen Green-winged Teal mixed in with a larger group of
foraging Northern Pintail. The range was about 700 yards, and we set up our
combined optical firepower and gave it, and our eyes, a good workout. The
Green-wings, no doubt sensing our interest, arranged themselves in especially
uncooperative poses, such as head-on or rump-on, or even concealed behind their
bigger cousins. Though we searched diligently, the sought-after horizontal
stripe did not appear, and we headed south to Denton Slough where several of
our trip highlights awaited us.
Denton Slough was dotted with American
Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Goldeneye, Redhead, and scaup. Kris found a bright
chestnut-headed Eurasian Wigeon male. And Ellen found two pair of Red-breasted
Merganser mingling with the Common Merganser. For many of us, this was the best
view we had ever had of these rare visitors in migration. Bill pointed out that
the Red-breasted are far northern breeders, and he and Joan had seen many of
them on their summer trips to the Arctic. While we all had a good look at the
four birds, they flew off before we had completely sated ourselves on their
appearance.
Ellen had picked the Red-breasted males
out of the Common crowd by observing their dark breasts. The field guides all
show the males as having a brown breast, yet the descriptions
("reddish-brown" or "salmon-pink" with "heavy black
streaking"), and even their name, imply a red component that is not
typically observed in the field. This appears to be yet one more example of the
naming of birds from their appearance as lifeless specimens in the hand, to the
confusion of the modern birder.
On our return north, we stopped one more
time at the Pack River delta, relocated our little group of Green-wing, and
once again arrayed our 5 spotting scopes along the cliff edge. This time,
perseverance was rewarded, and we found the horizontal stripe we were searching
for. We were each able to view the Eurasian bird as it turned broadside,
showing its unique white stripe in contrast to the nearby American cousins.
Next we drove along Oden Bay, where we
found more waterfowl, and a pair of amorous Bald Eagle near their nest. We
added to our tally of Common Loon and grebes. At the dock on the west side of
the Pack River delta, we found a lone, optimistic Killdeer.
Our last stop was the 3rd Street dock in
Sandpoint. We counted more of the waterfowl species that we had observed
already that day, and turned up our only California Gull of the trip. As
daylight disappeared, we returned to our warm homes after a successful day of
late winter birding.
Trip
participants: Kris & Ed Buchler, Janet Callen, Roland Craft, Dick Cripe,
Bill Gundlach, Lisa Hardy, Ellen Scriven, Jennifer Soules, Paul Wik.
Trip list:
|
Common Loon |
7 |
|
Red-necked Grebe |
21 |
|
Horned Grebe |
37 |
|
Double-crested Cormorant |
1 |
|
Great Blue Heron |
17 |
|
Tundra Swan |
185 |
|
Canada Goose |
302 |
|
Green-winged Teal |
13 |
|
Mallard |
49 |
|
Northern Pintail |
48 |
|
Gadwall |
108 |
|
Eurasian Wigeon |
1 |
|
American Wigeon |
165 |
|
Redhead |
93 |
|
Ring-necked Duck |
136 |
|
Lesser Scaup |
130 |
|
Common Goldeneye |
45 |
|
Bufflehead |
67 |
|
Hooded Merganser |
45 |
|
Common Merganser |
219 |
|
Red-breasted Merganser |
4 |
|
Bald Eagle |
12 |
|
Ruffed Grouse |
1 |
|
American Coot |
80 |
|
Killdeer |
1 |
|
Ring-billed Gull |
63 |
|
Herring Gull |
37 |
|
California Gull |
3 |
|
Rock Pigeon |
1 |
|
Mourning Dove |
4 |
|
Belted Kingfisher |
4 |
|
Northern Flicker |
4 |
|
American Crow |
4 |
|
Common Raven |
25 |
|
Black-capped Chickadee |
4 |
|
American Robin |
3 |
|
Bohemian Waxwing |
8 |
|
European Starling |
18 |
|
Song Sparrow |
6 |
|
Red-winged Blackbird |
2 |
Chain Lakes Trip
March 14
Lisa Hardy
We started our Sunday trip with a visit
to the flooded fields by Tamarack Ridge to look for the Tufted Duck. Local
farmers flood these hayfields every spring for several months, providing an
attractive stopover for waterfowl on their way to their breeding grounds. We
estimated 2000 Northern Pintail foraging in the shallows around the periphery
of the flooded area. Center stage at the flooded fields were hundreds of ducks
of the genus Aythya -
Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup and Lesser Scaup. Amongst
these cousins, we relocated the male Tufted Duck, probably the same individual
that was found here last year. The lighting was superb, a watery sunshine at
our backs, and we practiced our skills at distinguishing Lesser and Greater
Scaup.
We birded our way down the river to Rose
Lake, then stopped next at Lane Marsh. Terry spotted a Northern Shrike by the
bridge. At the marsh, we saw our first Wood Ducks of the day, Hundreds of swans
foraged at the south end of the marsh. We saw one dead swan, prompting
discussion of the lead-poisoning issue, and what possible prevention measures
exist. Lane Marsh is famous for its harvest of dead swans each spring. The swans
are more susceptible than other waterfowl, because their longer necks allow
them to feed deeper in the muck at the pond bottom, and thus they are more
likely to ingest heavily contaminated mud. Kris and Roland were filling out
site descriptions for the proposed Idaho Birding Trail, and we discussed how
the issue of metals contamination from mine tailings in this area should be
addressed in the IBT literature. We agreed that it should be addressed, and
presented in an educational light.
Waterfowl were sparse on Cave, Medicine
and Black Lakes. During our trip, we found most of the waterfowl concentrated
in the seasonally flooded areas. At Medicine Lake we found a few dozen Tree
Swallows with one or two Violet-greens mixed in. And a small group of Green-winged
Teal at the west end of the lake were our only teal for the day.
We finished by backtracking to the
Killarney Lake Road, and driving in as far as the boat launch. The flooded
fields along the route hosted more swans, pintail and wigeon, as well as the
largest concentration of Wood Ducks of the day (16). It was a good day of
transitional birding, moving our mindset out of winter birding and facing us
towards the increasing rush of spring migrants in the next few months.
Trip
participants: Kris Buchler, Janet Callen, Roland Craft, Dick Cripe, Susan
Cross, Christine & Terry Gray, Lisa Hardy, Jenny Taylor.
Complete trip list:
|
Pied-billed Grebe |
4 |
|
Great Blue Heron |
4 |
|
Tundra Swan |
1053 |
|
Canada Goose |
1720 |
|
Wood Duck |
18 |
|
Green-winged Teal |
4 |
|
Mallard |
164 |
|
Northern Pintail |
2018 |
|
American Wigeon |
264 |
|
Canvasback |
54 |
|
Redhead |
156 |
|
Ring-necked Duck |
550 |
|
Tufted Duck |
1 |
|
Greater Scaup |
6 |
|
Lesser Scaup |
50 |
|
Common Goldeneye |
64 |
|
Barrow's Goldeneye |
8 |
|
Bufflehead |
47 |
|
Hooded Merganser |
16 |
|
Common Merganser |
44 |
|
Bald Eagle |
2 |
|
Northern Harrier |
2 |
|
Red-tailed Hawk |
5 |
|
Ruffed Grouse |
3 |
|
American Coot |
301 |
|
Killdeer |
8 |
|
Ring-billed Gull |
16 |
|
Rock Pigeon |
5 |
|
Belted Kingfisher |
1 |
|
Northern Flicker |
3 |
|
Pileated Woodpecker |
1 |
|
Tree Swallow |
30 |
|
Violet-green Swallow |
2 |
|
Steller's Jay |
1 |
|
Black-billed Magpie |
5 |
|
American Crow |
2 |
|
Common Raven |
3 |
|
Black-capped Chickadee |
3 |
|
Red-breasted Nuthatch |
1 |
|
Winter Wren |
1 |
|
American Robin |
20 |
|
Varied Thrush |
1 |
|
Northern Shrike |
1 |
|
European Starling |
3 |
|
Song Sparrow |
5 |
|
Red-winged Blackbird |
18 |
|
House Finch |
6 |
brown bag
Birding
3/16/04
Lynn
Sheridan
Laura Bayless, Bill Gundlach, Roland
Craft and I started up the rocky Tubbs Hill trail, about 12:15. A few gulls cried out, but the woods were
quiet. In the grassier parts some flowers were seen: Blue-eyed Grass Sisyrinchium agustifolium, Spring
Beauty Claytonia lanceolata,
Yellow Buttercups Ranunculusm,
Glacier Lily, Erythronium grandiflorum
and the fuzzy leaves of Arrowleaf Balsam Balsamorhiza
sagitta.
The downed, burned trees from last autumn's firecracker
blaze had a carpet of flowers around them. Bill told us the few red
berries hanging from a lone bush on the hillside were poisonous. I
thought it might be Baneberry
Photograph
by Wayne Tree .
As we left at 11th St, a Northern Flicker
jeered at us for having a birdless search.
Adieu, till we meet again next month.
Observation Post
2004 Kootenai County Big Year.
The chapter website list will be updated weekly with the new birds being
seen. Our total to date is 99
Wood
Duck,
Flooded fields along River Road, west of Catalo, March 9 (Lisa Hardy)
Gadwall, Flooded fields along River Road, March
9 (Lisa Hardy)
Eurasian
Wigeon,
Lane March, March 7 (Charles Swift)
American
Wigeon,
Killarney Lake, March14 (Chapter Field Trip)
Redhead,
Flooded fields
along River Road, west of Cataldo, March 3 (Lisa Hardy)
Tufted
Duck,
Flooded fields along River Road, March 9 (Lisa Hardy)
Greater
Scaup,
Flooded fields along River Road, March 14 (Chapter Field Trip)
Barrow's
Goldeneye,
Flooded fields along River Road, March 14 (Chapter Field Trip)
Northern
Harrier,
Flooded fields along River Road, March 9 (Lisa Hardy)
American
Coot,
Flooded fields along River Road, March 14 (Chapter Field Trip)
Killdeer, Mica Bay, CDA Lake, February 25 (Mica Bay Survey)
Wilson's
Snipe,
Thompson Lake, March 10 (Jennifer Soules)
Glaucous
Gull,
Fighting Creek Landfill, March 14 (J. Harry Krueger, South Idaho Birder)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Fighting Creek Landfill, March 14 (J.
Harry Krueger)
Tree
Swallow,
Mica Bay, CDA Lake, March 10 (Mica Bay
Survey)
Violet-green
Swallow,
Mica Bay, CDA Lake, March 10 (Mica Bay
Survey)
White-breasted
Nuthatch,
Coeur d'Alene, Home on Harrison Ave., March 8 (Dick Cripe)
Spotted
Towhee,
Armstrong Hill, CDA, March 10 (Kris Buchler)
Vesper Sparrow, Fighting Creek Landfill, March 14 (J.
Harry Krueger)
Birds observed
by Steve Lindsay that we have not found yet.
Merlin, Post Falls, January 12
Horned
Lark,
Rathdrum Prairie, January 4
Brewer's
Blackbird,
Post Falls, January 12
Home Program Field Trips
