bird conservation news - inside and outside our borders

See recent news from BirdLife International at this link; and more recent news from the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) at their site, here.

There's more, too, from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, at their site, here - which is a site worth checking now & then. Although this link mentions information linked here previously, it's both worth repaeating as well as worth leading you to the sitre for future reference.

more info on Neotropic Cormorants

Read a bit of background info, see videos, images, and more about Wisconsin's newest avian addition - at this link, and then, some more at this link.

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.

bird conservation news - local and international

If you haven't looked at it lately, don't miss the growing amount of excellent information on the Bird City Wisconsin website. For example, check out the map with the existing municipalities that have attained Bird City status, here. And go to their homepage to begin learning about all of the other activities and initiatives they have in process - if you haven't been following these developments, you will be truly amazed!





Over on the international front, read recent news from BirdLife International at this link.

new birding book - a review

Steve Betchkal, for those of you who may not have met him or read any of his writing, or may not have seen any of his expert videography (he works for a local television station - WQOW - in Eau Claire, WI), is a man with diverse skills and interests. But they all sort of funnel into and are magnified when he starts talking about or writing about or photographing birds. Steve has a wide-ranging sense of humor. All of these things are displayed fully in his new book Make Birds - Not War: Step By Step Instructions for Saving the World a Birder at a Time. (Adarolf Publishing, 2011).

Steve is the author of All of This and Robins Too: A Guide to the 50 or So Best Places to Find Birds in Wisconsin.

But about this new book - this is not your usual birding book. Although descriptions of birding locations, evaluations of favorite places, the merits of the various wheres and hows of birding are found throughout, that's really only part of what's here. There is also poetry, philosophy, wry humor - and much, much more - and all wrapped thoroughly around and within the life and experiences of a birder. Is Steve "obsessed" with birds? Obsessed in a good way (and I hope I am, too). These are fluid, colorful, uplifting, evocative, and sometimes laugh-out-loud stories about birding, birds, birders, travel - and life.

Maybe not for everyone - but maybe for you. HIGHLY recommended. The book will be available after June 8th.

BirdLife International news

Recent news from BirdLife International can be found here. Of special interest is a recent news post on "Land use changes from a bird’s-eye view".

lots of birding news from all over

If you're home as I am instead of at the WSO Annual Convention in Lacrosse, here are a few links. Today I found a birding news website that I had previously overlooked - see it here; maybe it will be new to you also.

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And I have not looked at the Birdzilla site in a while, but did so today - see it here.

Read a great field ecology blog

Read the great blog of a superb field biologist, Dr. Josh Kapfer, who is on his way back to Wisconsin, where he has accepted a teaching position at UW-Whitewater - see the blog at this link.

Josh is an expert herpetologist - he did his graduate work on bullsnakes, does radio telemetry with box turtles, and he can tell you a good story of the day he and I found a queen snake (Regina septemvittata). But saying that would seem to somewhat limit his many interests in ecology - and he has many. Check his blog for much more information - and some great stories!

2011 State of the Birds on Public Lands and Waters

"This year’s report provides the nation’s first assessment of the distribution of birds on public lands and helps public agencies identify which species have significant potential for conservation in each habitat." Learn more by downloading the full report at this link.

bird conservation and related news

News from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center is available here.

If you've never looked at it, please check out the website of the The Midwest Coordinated Bird Monitoring Partnership, here.

News from The Conservation Leadership Programme can be found here.

Information regarding the National Conservation Training Center can be found here.

one minute a day for bird conservation

With one minute each day over the coming weeks - you can help make a difference for conservation and birds in Wisconsin. Starting today, an easy new project using your help can improve an area for birds and support an organization that is developing and restoring habitat in southeastern Wisconsin. Edy's (the company that makes fruit bars), has a annual program to provide community orchards around the nation. The Ozaukee-Washington Land Trust is attempting to get enough online votes to win this chance to develop an orchard on the grounds of the Forest Beach Migratory Preserve in Ozaukee County. Orchards can be great bird-attractors, and serve other purposes for the Land Trust as well. We surely can use help from as many people as possible - it's simple: go to this link, register (see the top row of links, and find the register link, there) the first time, then you can vote once each day - the organization with the most votes will be funded for developing an orchard this year. It takes a couple of minutes to register, but after that less than a minute each day to log in and cast your vote. A community garden group in Middleton won last year's spot in Wisconsin - please vote for the Ozaukee-Washington Land Trust's orchard project this year!

bird news for Friday!

Recent news from BirdLife International can be found here.


There are other stories this week, too: see the latest from the Bird Conservation Network in Illinois!










And for more - once again - regarding some news from outside of our region, see the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology's recent updates, here.

new issue of Ecology and Society

A new issue of the online journal Ecology and Society is available; go to this link - and you'll find Volume 16, Issue 1 | March 2011.

Of considerable interest to me is the paper entitled: Effects of Roads and Traffic on Wildlife Populations and Landscape Function: Road Ecology is Moving toward Larger Scales, by Rodney van der Ree, Jochen A. G. Jaeger, Edgar A. van der Grift, and Anthony P. Clevenger. I did a statewide (in Wisconsin) avian road mortality study while in graduate school- and this continues to merit a great deal of attention.

updated Bird Conservation Alliance website; other news

Go to this link to see the updated Bird Conservation Alliance website.

The Bird Conservation Alliance (BCA) is a network of organizations working together to conserve wild birds.

Through the Alliance, millions of birdwatchers and concerned citizens are united with conservation professionals, scientists, and educators to benefit bird conservation efforts.

Learn more about the Bird Conservation Alliance - many resources are available at their expanded site.

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Recent research links from the Institute for Bird Populations can be found here.