my vote for best field guide of 2010

Since many new field guides are published each year, it's not easy for one to rise above the pack. But this book - Birds of the Middle East, Second Edition - by Richard Porter and Simon Aspinall (Princeton University Press) is the obvious choice for "first place" for me.

The reasons? The artwork is spectacularly good. Images of many plumages are included. The authors have expanded their coverage of species by 1oo over those found in the first edition - there are now more than 800. There are more species accounts and more than 820 maps. Maps are on the facing page, which is still not true for all field guides. The book is still really "field guide-size" - making it easier to actually use in the field.

For those heading to the Middle East, this book should make birding easier for you. And I pick it up every few days just to look at some of the plates, (owls, for example...and large falcons...and the many Middle Eastern wheatear species!)

what's going on with Barn Owls

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Maybe twice each year I post something about this symbolic and emblematic species, the Barn Owl. Barn Owl is endangered in Wisconsin, and is on the threatened or endangered list in a significant number of central US states, as well as in other countries around the globe. It is a cosmopolitan species, nesting on every continent except Antarctica. Learn more about this species at the website of the Barn Owl Trust.

Here's an overview from the WBCI All-Bird Plan BNOW Species account:

"Barn Owl population declines in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the Midwest are likely attributed to habitat loss and consequent inadequate food supply and nesting sites (Matteson and Petersen 1988). Management efforts should encourage agencies and land holders to preserve existing grasslands and acquire additional land, such as cropland, which can then be converted to grassland. Such efforts will benefit not only the Barn Owl population, but other obligate grassland bird species of Wisconsin. Additionally, nest box provisions near areas of quality foraging habitat may be another important management strategy (Matteson and Petersen 1988, Schneider and Pence 1992). Conservation and management strategies for this species should be focused in the following Wisconsin ecological landscapes: Central Sand Plains, Southeast Glacial Plains, Southwest Savanna, Western Coulee and Ridges, and Western Prairie (WDNR 2005)."

More information is also available at the following links: Barn Owl Conservation - Pennsylvania Game Commission site

Bioethics Case Studies

Owl Pages - Barn Owl

news May 7

I'll keep this notice very brief:

Resources from this year's Partners in Flight Conference are available here.

Read the latest news from the Birding CommunityE-Bulletin here.

Even though we don't see many Barn owls here in WI, there are conservation activities aplenty involving this species around the world. Read more at the site of of the Barn Owl Trust.

Read some news from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center here.

Then, if you're still in the reading mode, you can read Jeff Wells' Boreal Bird Blog at this link.

inner city owl

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In Milwaukee's inner city, there are many problems. Lots of these problems are related to human greed and indifference, racism, selfishness, and intolerance. To top all of that off, there isn't much space left for wildlife. That's not surprising - many major cities are no different. But Milwaukee (County) has a park system still having much to offer, and in some areas, wildlife still can find a place.

Today was the day for the Milwaukee Christmas Bird Count. My absolute good fortune led me to this Long-eared Owl, in dense brush and a row of trees along a creek, during a steady snowfall. While I've found this species in Milwaukee County before, I don't find one every year, and it is always a wonderful find - a gift, in fact.

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Long-eared owls may be in decline - there is much we don't know about their populations. It's a relatively cosmopolitan species, circumboreal in distribution (found around the northern hemisphere). The raptor trappers at Hawk Ridge have caught fewer in their banding nets as the years have passed - that seems ominous to me, but as I mentioned above, there is much we still have to learn about them, and about their numbers. They are secretive, not easily censused, and don't respond well to tapes. In fact, of the times I have heard them on nocturnal surveys, they have occasionally responded to a tape of a screech-owl - not to a tape of a long-ear vocalization. It has often seemed as though they are stimulated to call by the screech-owl tape, but that they seem to realize that they "made a mistake", and they immediately stop calling. This individual was found in the late morning, however - no tapes were used.