shorebirds: news, info, & conservation - within & beyond our borders

See this recent news on the World Waders site, for a start.

Then, news from the International Wader Study Group is posted here.

If you're REALLY into shorebirds, become part of the IWSG listserv, by going here.

And, eBird has a page devoted to the International Shorebird Survey - see it here.

Although it is a little dated, this publication from USGS shows info on North American shorebird populations.


(image of knots from National Digital Library - Greg Breese)

Earth Portal

If you have never looked at it, see the Earth Portal - lots of great information.

birds and people

BirdLife international highlights the links between birds and people at a new webpage -see it here.

shrubland bird species

"According to the Breeding Bird Survey data from 1966 to 2003, 50 of 78 shrubland species are declining, and there is no trend information for 29 species." See more at this link. Plus additional information is at this link.

Our recent exchanges about bobwhites have me thinking about this group.

The partial list given at the first linked page above is dominated by western species, but some familiar WI species are on the list as well.

Along with ongoing declines, however, may be some range expansion of some shrubland species resulting from a warming climate in the upper Midwest. This summer I have already heard a few more reports than usual (for June) of White-eyed Vireo (the usual locations in Dane or Green counties, plus a report of a possible pair for the 2nd year in a row near the Ozaukee-Washington county line, and now a possible Milwaukee County bird). I had one along Milwaukee's Menomonee River in September last fall; where was that individual en route from? And this species is fairly regular not far south, in locations about 100 miles from the WI-IL border (I had them reliably near Joliet, IL, in June last year). Will we see (or mostly hear) more in future summers?

But what of the other declining species in this group: how will they fare in Wisconsin in the coming decades?

more on bobwhites in WI

Months ago I posted on the decline of the bobwhite in Wisconsin. Here's more information from the WDNR quail survey, at this link - see especially the regression graph (Figure 2) on page 2.

early summer woodlands

The early summer woodlands at this latitude are a study in all of the greens - and leaf shapes are highly varied. The canopy has a particular group of avian species that we don't see easily unless we take time and watch very carefully: Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos, Yellow-billed Cuckoo. If you're not far from an edge, you'll add Indigo Bunting, Northern Cardinal, and sometimes a few others. And while you're counting, you can simply stand in awe of the colors and patterns overhead.

migratory bird conservation factsheets, plus Steve B.'s new book

I may have passed this along before, but it's worth repeating - Go over to the website of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center to see a variety of excellent fact sheets on migratory bird conservation, at this link.

If you're looking for my review from last week of Steve Betchkal's new birding book, you can find it at this link.