2008 NATURAL HISTORY WORKSHOPS at the UWM FIELD STATION
"The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Field Station conducts a series of Natural History Workshops. These workshops offer an opportunity to study focused topics at college-level instruction under the guidance of noted authorities. Most workshops present two full days of instruction, and housing and meals are available at the Station. Enrollment is limited to
20, the atmosphere is informal and instruction is individualized. Workshops may also be taken for graduate or undergraduate credit by enrolling in UWM, Topics in Field Biology. Fees vary. Please contact the Field Station for more information and a registration form, or visit the website at http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/fieldstation/wkshops.html for full descriptions of each course, fee information, and a downloadable Registration Form. The 2008 workshop schedule includes seven courses:
Field Herpetology: Identification of Wisconsin Amphibians and Reptiles
Instructor: Dr. Josh Kapfer
May 30 & 31 (Friday & Saturday), June 1 (Sunday) optional
Vegetation of Wisconsin
Instructors: Dr. James Reinartz and Marc White
June 9-14 (Monday-Saturday)
Sedges: Identification and Ecology
Instructor: Dr. Anton Reznicek
June 20 & 21 (Fri-Sat)
Ecological Geology
Instructor: Dr. Roger Kuhns
July 7-11 (Monday-Friday)
Fishes of Wisconsin: Identification and Ecology
Instructor: Dr. Michael Pauers
July 18 & 19 (Friday & Saturday)
Common and Nuisance Algae
Instructor: Dr. Craig Sandgren
July 25 & 26 (Friday & Saturday)
Wetland Delineation
Instructor: Dr. Don Reed
Sept. 12 & 13 (Friday & Saturday)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Field Station
3095 Blue Goose Rd.
Saukville, WI 53080
Phone: 262 675-6844
Fax: 262 675-0337
mailto:fieldstn@uwm.edu
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Recent posts about birds and climate change can be found at the blog by that name, here.
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What's Laura Erickson up to, lately? Find out, here
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
MCAMMP
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Last weekend, the Milwaukee County Avian Migration Monitoring Partnership (MCAMMP) held its annual volunteer workshop at Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center. MCAMMP is at the start of its third year of operation. To learn more about our objectives, our partners, and the work done by our volunteers and college interns, go to the MCAMMP webpage. If you live in southeastern Wisconsin, and would like to participate or simply ask questions about the project, go the webpage to find contact information for members of the research team. In about six weeks, the new field season will begin. Over 120 volunteers and interns have participated thus far.
Friday, March 7, 2008
winter is wearing on me
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Don't get me wrong; I actually like winter. But this winter is getting to be a bit much. Like many people I've talked with lately, I'm looking forward to some signs of spring. So, these leaves will have to do for now (Witch hazel; Hamamelis virginiana).
Monday, March 3, 2008
more bird conservation-related news
Common insectivorous birds face major declines
See this link for information on declines of Purple Martin, Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, etc. in Canada.
Bill Passed to Halt Illegal Logging
In December 2007, an amendment was successfully attached to the Senate Farm Bill to stem the rise of illegal logging around the world. The provision adds plants harvested or taken illegally in areas outside the United States to the list of items prohibited by the Lacey Act, a 1900 law barring trade in illegally taken fish and wildlife. To comply with the Lacey Act, companies will have to demonstrate they “took due care” to ensure they are not using illegally harvested timber species imported into the United States. The Senate Farm Bill’s expansion of the Lacey Act establishes a legal structure to prosecute parties who import and trade wood found in violation of other countries’ forest laws.
Much of the world’s illegal logging occurs in countries such as Burma, Indonesia, Peru, Brazil, Russia, and Papua New Guinea, but the raw materials are often processed and manufactured into finished products in China, where they enter the marketplace. In Peru, illegal cutting of mahogany in the Amazon region often takes place in protected areas using cut-and-run logging practices that cause severe damage to forests and wildlife. Species such as the Harpy Eagle, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Great Potoo, Pavonine Quetzal, and Paradise Tanager are being threatened.
Expanding the Lacey Act to help address the issue of illegal timber imports has garnered the support of the Administration and industry, who have said existing laws are insufficient to stop the problem and prosecute offenders. In testimony to the House Natural Resources Committee, the American Forest & Paper Association estimated illegally harvested wood products cost U.S. companies about $460 million annually, and suppress wood prices between 7-16%. In late December, the United States and China discussed illegal logging at a trade summit to determine how the two countries can better coordinate their customs and police officials to prevent this illegal activity. Contact Darin Schroeder, ABC, dschroeder@abcbirds.org.
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Debate Rages Over Last Roadless National Forests
The Forest Service is initiating rulemakings to weaken protection of roadless areas in the National Forests of Idaho and Colorado. National Forests contain much of the undeveloped or roadless forest left in the United States, and provide habitat for one-quarter of all U.S. threatened and endangered species.The Idaho proposal would open up 6 million of the state’s 8.7 million acres of National Forest roadless areas to development, which could negatively impact Northern Goshawk and Flammulated Owl. The Colorado plan eliminates protection for 300,000 roadless acres, and opens the door to old growth logging and extensive energy developments on the state’s remaining 4.1 million roadless acres.
These plans stem from an Administration policy of allowing state governments to petition for creation of new management plans for roadless areas on National Forests in that state. The Administration’s approach ignores strong scientific backing and public support for the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001, a national policy protecting all National Forest roadless areas, precipitated by the ongoing loss of roadless lands to development. The 2001 Roadless Rule is still the subject of court battles.
Meanwhile, legislation to codify the 2001 Rule and permanently protect National Forest roadless areas has garnered 148 cosponsors in the House and 19 in the Senate. The Forest Service is currently planning logging and mining projects that would impact roadless areas in Alaska, Idaho, and Wyoming.
For maps of all roadless areas in the lower 48 states, see http://roadlessland.org or http://roadless.fs.fed.us/maps/usmap2.shtml.
See this link for information on declines of Purple Martin, Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, etc. in Canada.
Bill Passed to Halt Illegal Logging
In December 2007, an amendment was successfully attached to the Senate Farm Bill to stem the rise of illegal logging around the world. The provision adds plants harvested or taken illegally in areas outside the United States to the list of items prohibited by the Lacey Act, a 1900 law barring trade in illegally taken fish and wildlife. To comply with the Lacey Act, companies will have to demonstrate they “took due care” to ensure they are not using illegally harvested timber species imported into the United States. The Senate Farm Bill’s expansion of the Lacey Act establishes a legal structure to prosecute parties who import and trade wood found in violation of other countries’ forest laws.
Much of the world’s illegal logging occurs in countries such as Burma, Indonesia, Peru, Brazil, Russia, and Papua New Guinea, but the raw materials are often processed and manufactured into finished products in China, where they enter the marketplace. In Peru, illegal cutting of mahogany in the Amazon region often takes place in protected areas using cut-and-run logging practices that cause severe damage to forests and wildlife. Species such as the Harpy Eagle, Blue-and-yellow Macaw, Great Potoo, Pavonine Quetzal, and Paradise Tanager are being threatened.
Expanding the Lacey Act to help address the issue of illegal timber imports has garnered the support of the Administration and industry, who have said existing laws are insufficient to stop the problem and prosecute offenders. In testimony to the House Natural Resources Committee, the American Forest & Paper Association estimated illegally harvested wood products cost U.S. companies about $460 million annually, and suppress wood prices between 7-16%. In late December, the United States and China discussed illegal logging at a trade summit to determine how the two countries can better coordinate their customs and police officials to prevent this illegal activity. Contact Darin Schroeder, ABC, dschroeder@abcbirds.org.
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Debate Rages Over Last Roadless National Forests
The Forest Service is initiating rulemakings to weaken protection of roadless areas in the National Forests of Idaho and Colorado. National Forests contain much of the undeveloped or roadless forest left in the United States, and provide habitat for one-quarter of all U.S. threatened and endangered species.The Idaho proposal would open up 6 million of the state’s 8.7 million acres of National Forest roadless areas to development, which could negatively impact Northern Goshawk and Flammulated Owl. The Colorado plan eliminates protection for 300,000 roadless acres, and opens the door to old growth logging and extensive energy developments on the state’s remaining 4.1 million roadless acres.
These plans stem from an Administration policy of allowing state governments to petition for creation of new management plans for roadless areas on National Forests in that state. The Administration’s approach ignores strong scientific backing and public support for the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001, a national policy protecting all National Forest roadless areas, precipitated by the ongoing loss of roadless lands to development. The 2001 Roadless Rule is still the subject of court battles.
Meanwhile, legislation to codify the 2001 Rule and permanently protect National Forest roadless areas has garnered 148 cosponsors in the House and 19 in the Senate. The Forest Service is currently planning logging and mining projects that would impact roadless areas in Alaska, Idaho, and Wyoming.
For maps of all roadless areas in the lower 48 states, see http://roadlessland.org or http://roadless.fs.fed.us/maps/usmap2.shtml.
David Sibley editorial on "Green Buildings" from the Bird Conservation Alliance newletter
GUEST EDITORIAL - David Sibley: “Green Buildings” Should Save Energy and Migratory Birds
It becomes clearer every day that relatively small changes to building designs can be good for the environment and for the bottom line. The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo recently brought the revolution of “green buildings” to Chicago. The gathering of 18,000 industry experts hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council is another indication of the growing environmental movement within the architectural and construction constituencies. One thing that is largely missing from the green building debate, however, is the impact that buildings can have on migratory birds. Most home owners have experienced the shock of a bird colliding with their living room window at one point or another. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 900 million birds are killed each year when they collide with glass windows on homes, offices, and other buildings across the country. Many of these birds are killed immediately in collisions with the building structures. Others fall to the ground where they subsequently succumb to their injuries, or are too weak or dazed to escape gulls, cats, and other predators. The cumulative toll of these collisions on birds is significant, and when combined with habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, and a host of other human-induced threats, they can exacerbate population declines already being experienced by many migratory songbirds.
There are three critical problems at play in bird/building collisions that can be addressed by architects and building managers. Firstly, birds often see vegetation or sky reflected in windows, and simply try to fly through the glass. In other cases, birds can see right through a building and try to fly through one window into the habitat they can see on the other side. Thirdly, while migrating at night, birds can become confused by the nighttime illuminations on buildings, and can crash into the structures, or get caught in “death spirals”, unable to escape the pull of the lights.This bird mortality has not escaped the notice of birders, and local “Lights Out” campaigns are starting to catch on in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Toronto, where large, illuminated buildings attract migrating birds that are especially concentrated along shorelines. Many thousands of birds have already been saved as a result. A study in 2000 and 2001 by ornithologist Mary Hennen and other researchers from the Field Museum of Chicago found that turning off lights during migration season reduced bird deaths by 83%.Building owners and managers also save money, and contribute to energy conservation at the same time. It’s a win-win-win for the environment.
Design can make a huge difference too. For example, as reported in The New York Times on September 22, the Postal Service’s Morgan Processing and Distribution Center recently retrofitted 440 decorative, reflective glass panels with black vinyl to prevent the reflection of trees in Chelsea Park. The vinyl appears to have virtually eliminated bird collisions there. The New York Times’ own headquarters building is also a model for bird safe construction, using ceramic tubing to reduce the reflective properties of the building exterior.
Ultimately, the development of affordable glass that has a less reflective exterior surface could be the best long-term solution to the problem. Already, bird conservation organizations, as well as architects, planners, scientists, and glass engineers are working under the banner of the Bird-Safe Glass Working Group to promote the use of bird-safe glass products already available on the market, and to develop even more effective products in the future.
American Bird Conservancy is taking a national approach to preventing collisions, and aims to encourage “green building” designers to incorporate bird-safe designs. The New York Audubon Society has published a booklet, Bird-Safe Building Guidelines (www.nycaudubon.org/home/BSBGuidelines.shtml), addressing new building construction as well as the retrofitting of old buildings to be bird safe. Other groups, such as the Bird Conservation Network (www.bcnbirds.org/window.html) and Fatal Light Awareness Program (www.flap.org), are at work on efforts in Chicago and Toronto.
Ultimately, everyone from homeowners and office workers, to builders, architects, and city and building managers, has a stake and can make a difference in this issue. To my mind though, the only truly green building is one that is designed to reduce energy consumption and protect neighboring wildlife such as migratory birds.
David Sibley is the author of the Sibley Guide to Birds and Sibley’s Birding Basics.
It becomes clearer every day that relatively small changes to building designs can be good for the environment and for the bottom line. The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo recently brought the revolution of “green buildings” to Chicago. The gathering of 18,000 industry experts hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council is another indication of the growing environmental movement within the architectural and construction constituencies. One thing that is largely missing from the green building debate, however, is the impact that buildings can have on migratory birds. Most home owners have experienced the shock of a bird colliding with their living room window at one point or another. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 900 million birds are killed each year when they collide with glass windows on homes, offices, and other buildings across the country. Many of these birds are killed immediately in collisions with the building structures. Others fall to the ground where they subsequently succumb to their injuries, or are too weak or dazed to escape gulls, cats, and other predators. The cumulative toll of these collisions on birds is significant, and when combined with habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, and a host of other human-induced threats, they can exacerbate population declines already being experienced by many migratory songbirds.
There are three critical problems at play in bird/building collisions that can be addressed by architects and building managers. Firstly, birds often see vegetation or sky reflected in windows, and simply try to fly through the glass. In other cases, birds can see right through a building and try to fly through one window into the habitat they can see on the other side. Thirdly, while migrating at night, birds can become confused by the nighttime illuminations on buildings, and can crash into the structures, or get caught in “death spirals”, unable to escape the pull of the lights.This bird mortality has not escaped the notice of birders, and local “Lights Out” campaigns are starting to catch on in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Toronto, where large, illuminated buildings attract migrating birds that are especially concentrated along shorelines. Many thousands of birds have already been saved as a result. A study in 2000 and 2001 by ornithologist Mary Hennen and other researchers from the Field Museum of Chicago found that turning off lights during migration season reduced bird deaths by 83%.Building owners and managers also save money, and contribute to energy conservation at the same time. It’s a win-win-win for the environment.
Design can make a huge difference too. For example, as reported in The New York Times on September 22, the Postal Service’s Morgan Processing and Distribution Center recently retrofitted 440 decorative, reflective glass panels with black vinyl to prevent the reflection of trees in Chelsea Park. The vinyl appears to have virtually eliminated bird collisions there. The New York Times’ own headquarters building is also a model for bird safe construction, using ceramic tubing to reduce the reflective properties of the building exterior.
Ultimately, the development of affordable glass that has a less reflective exterior surface could be the best long-term solution to the problem. Already, bird conservation organizations, as well as architects, planners, scientists, and glass engineers are working under the banner of the Bird-Safe Glass Working Group to promote the use of bird-safe glass products already available on the market, and to develop even more effective products in the future.
American Bird Conservancy is taking a national approach to preventing collisions, and aims to encourage “green building” designers to incorporate bird-safe designs. The New York Audubon Society has published a booklet, Bird-Safe Building Guidelines (www.nycaudubon.org/home/BSBGuidelines.shtml), addressing new building construction as well as the retrofitting of old buildings to be bird safe. Other groups, such as the Bird Conservation Network (www.bcnbirds.org/window.html) and Fatal Light Awareness Program (www.flap.org), are at work on efforts in Chicago and Toronto.
Ultimately, everyone from homeowners and office workers, to builders, architects, and city and building managers, has a stake and can make a difference in this issue. To my mind though, the only truly green building is one that is designed to reduce energy consumption and protect neighboring wildlife such as migratory birds.
David Sibley is the author of the Sibley Guide to Birds and Sibley’s Birding Basics.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
conservation news 2-27
See the latest video from the American Bird Conservancy here, with information on the Grenada Dove, and the proposed removal of carbofuran from the market.
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News about the recently-formed Shorebird Research Group of the Americas can be found at their website. World-wide declines in many shorebird species have prompted a global approach to shorebird conservation.
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Recent decisions to open the Chukchi Sea to oil drilling could threaten many seabirds, in addition to polar bears. Learn more at the BirdLife International webpage devoted to this issue.
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News about the recently-formed Shorebird Research Group of the Americas can be found at their website. World-wide declines in many shorebird species have prompted a global approach to shorebird conservation.
*******************************
Recent decisions to open the Chukchi Sea to oil drilling could threaten many seabirds, in addition to polar bears. Learn more at the BirdLife International webpage devoted to this issue.
Monday, February 25, 2008
hoarfrost
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According to the Arctic Climatology and Meteorology glossary (find it here), the term "hoarfrost" is defined as:
"A deposit of interlocking ice crystals (hoar crystals) formed by direct sublimation on objects, usually those of small diameter freely exposed to the air, such as tree branches, plant stems and leaf edges, wires, poles, etc., which surface is sufficiently cooled, mostly by nocturnal radiation, to cause the direct sublimation of the water vapor contained in the ambient air."
Of course this is a superb definition. But it does not tell you anything about beauty. For that, you need your eyes and brain and all that you have ever learned and felt. And all I can do is share this photo (click on the photo to see it in a larger size) with you, and tell you that it was magnificent. (Sax-Zim Bog, St. Louis County, MN; Feb. 24, 2008).
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