Birds of the Neighborhood (March 21-31, 2002)

Species are listed in alphabetical order (numbers in parentheses indicate the order in which each species was detected, # symbols indicate species new this period, and * symbols indicate species not native to the area):

American Crow# (13) - irregular
American Robin (1) - daily
Blue Jay (11) - a few appear to be resident
Canada Goose# (12) - heard flying over on 3/24
Carolina Chickadee# (15) - detected on 3/24, 3/29, & 3/30
Carolina Wren# (14) - 1 or 2 resident birds in backyard
Common Grackle (7) - a few hanging around feeders
Dark-eyed Junco# (17) - a small influx of birds on 3/29
Downy Woodpecker# (9) - 1 on 3/23
European Starling* (4) - daily
Fish Crow (10) - daily
House Finch* (6) - daily
House Sparrow* (3) - daily
Mourning Dove (5) - daily (nest found 3/29)
Northern Cardinal (2) - daily
Red-bellied Woodpecker (16) - 1 on 3/29
Rock Dove* (8) - daily

Total Species This Week - 17
New Species This Week - 6
Cumulative Species Since 3/11/2002 - 18

The Buzzards of Hinckley

One of North America’s more unusual wildlife celebrations occurs annually in mid-March in the small northern-Ohio village of Hinckley, located about 25 miles south of Cleveland. There, local residents celebrate the return of buzzards, or Turkey Vultures to the community. Read more about the event here and here.

West Virginia Bird Place Names (Part 4 of 5)

[Note to readers: Part 3 of this series was published on 3/28/2002]

RAVEN (12) - a pillar (Raven Rock) in Monongalia County; a populated place and historical Post Office (Raven Rock) in Pleasants County; a Church (Raven Rock United Methodist) in Pleasants County; a Golf Course (Raven Pine Hills) in Jackson County [DeLorme]; a Spring (Raven Rock) in Hampshire County; a populated place (Raven Rocks) in Hampshire County; summits (both named Raven Rocks) in Hampshire and Jefferson counties; cliffs (Raven Rocks) in Pendleton and Randolph counties; and a Trail (Raven Rocks) in Randolph County.

RAVENCLIFF (2) - a populated place and Post Office (zip code 25913) in Wyoming County.

RAVENSEYE (1) - a populated place in Fayette County.

RAVENSWOOD (9) - a building in Kanawha County; and a populated place and Post Office (zip code 26164), a Ferry, a High School, a Middle School, a Plaza Shopping Center, a Seaplane Base, and a Works (locale) in Jackson County.

REDHEAD (1) - a Branch in Wayne County.

REDBIRD (3) - a populated place, an historical Post Office, and a historical School in Raleigh County.

REDWING (1) - a populated place in Lincoln County.

ROBIN (1) - a Hollow in Fayette County.

ROBINS (2) - a Run in Pleasants County and a School in Kanawha County.

SAPSUCKER (2) - Runs in Mason and Jackson counties.

SNIPE (1) - a Branch in McDowell County.

SNOWFLAKE (1) - a populated place in Greenbrier County.

SPARROW (1) - a Creek in Boone County.

SWALLOW (4) - a Branch in Roane County; and a Campground, a Run, and a Trail (all named Swallow Rock) in Randolph County.

SWAN POND (5)- a populated place, a lake, a Spring, and an Historic District (Swan Pond Manor) in Berkeley County; and a Run in Tyler County.

SWANDALE (3) - a populated place, an historical Post Office, and an historical School in Clay County.

SWANPOND (1) - an historical Post Office in Berkeley County.

TEAL (1) - an historical Post Office in Kanawha County.

To be continued . . .

Sex in the Backyard

The avian kind, that is! Yesterday morning, I noticed that a Mourning Dove was sitting on a nest that was placed atop a fence near the garage. Later in the day, I was sitting in the backyard watching the dove on the nest--not much happening there! Suddenly, I noticed two doves perched together on a horizonal branch of a red maple. They were engaged in courtship behavior (billing, etc.). Then, within full sight of the bird sitting on the nest and not more than 30 feet away, one of the doves in the tree mounted the other one and they copulated briefly. Was one of these birds the (promiscuous) mate of the bird sitting on the nest? Or did these two birds represent a second pair establishing a pair bond and breeding territory in close proximity to an already established territory?

Shannondale Springs Bird Hike

I birded the Shannondale Springs Wildlife Management Area this morning, hiking the River Bend Trail that parallels the Shenandoah River. The species total (27) seemed rather low considering the fair weather: overcast skies, cool temperatures, and no wind. But still, 5 species were seen for the first time this spring: Louisiana Waterthrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown-headed Cowbird, and American Wigeon. Species are listed here in the order in which they were detected by sight or sound (numbers preceding species names indicate elapsed time in minutes from start of hike):

000 START Hike: 7:25 AM (EST)
000 Carolina Chickadee
000 American Crow
000 Northern Cardinal
003 Double-crested Cormorant - 5
004 Red-bellied Woodpecker
005 Eastern Phoebe - 2
006 Wood Duck - 6
008 White-throated Sparrow
010 Louisiana Waterthrush - 1
012 Mallard - 28
019 Common Merganser - 13
020 Song Sparrow
020 Carolina Wren
024 Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 singing
024 Tufted Titmouse
026 Golden-crowned Kinglet - several
030 Blue Jay
033 Northern Mockingbird
034 Canada Goose - 22
037 American Goldfinch
041 Gadwall - 4
054 Brown-headed Cowbird - 8
060 American Wigeon - 14
082 Eastern Towhee - 1
089 Mourning Dove
102 Tree Swallow
104 Downy Woodpecker
109 END Hike: 9:16 AM (EST)

A Little About Me

Being the one-month anniversary of the beginning of this web log, it seems appropriate to reveal a little bit about myself. So here goes.

What sparked my interest in birds? As near as I can tell, it was a book that I checked out of our local library, probably when I was about 10 or so. I can't remember the name of the book now, but it consisted of stories about a man's adventures photographing and studying birds. I've had a passion for birds ever since.

My first life's ambition (after cowboy, farmer, or fireman, in no particular order) was to move to the wilds of Canada and become a hermit, where I could spend my days studying birds. It soon occurred to me that life would be infinitely easier if I had some source of income. That led me to think about pursuing an education that would allow me to focus as much attention on birds as possible. After intermediate stops at Central Michigan University and Lake Michigan College, I finally graduated from Michigan State University in 1969 with a B.S. degree in Wildlife Biology.

My ornithology professor at MSU, and a great inspiration to me, was George J. Wallace. Dr. Wallace was the author of An Introduction to Ornithology (a major college textbook), an early expert on the Bicknell's Thrush, and one of the pioneers in showing a link between the pesticide DDT and declining bird populations (his studies of DDT and American Robins on the MSU campus were referenced by Rachel Carson in Silent Spring).

Shortly after graduating from MSU, I received an invitation from Uncle Sam to serve our country. Not relishing the thought of spending time in Viet Nam, I opted to enlist in the U.S. Navy for 4 years. As luck would have it, I hever set board a ship during my tour of duty, instead enjoying shore duty in Scotland and Alaska.

My Navy tenure on Adak Island, centrally situated in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, allowed me the opportunity to work as a volunteer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which maintained a satellite office on the island for the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge (now the Aleutian Islands Unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge). Shortly after being discharged from the Navy in 1973, I applied for a temporary job as a Wildlife Biologist. I jumped at the opportunity, and worked for the next several years in various capacities in a series of temporary assignments. Major projects in which I was involved included restoration of the then-endangered Aleutian Canada Goose in the western Aleutians, removal of introduced Arctic Foxes from selected Aleutian Islands, and an inventory and survey of Aleutian Island seabird colonies. During the winter months, we conducted bird surveys on Adak Island and banded Gray-crowned Rosy Finches and Snow Buntings. I also got the shipboard experience that I missed out on in the Navy. The principle mode of transportation between island field stations during the summer field season was the 65-foot Marine/Vessel Aleutian Tern.

From the Aleutians, I transferred to the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Kodiak, Alaska, where I served as Assistant Refuge Manager and Acting Refuge Manager. Craving more involvement with birds, and less with Kodiak Brown Bears I transferred to the Alaska Regional Office in Anchorage to accept a position as Assistant Regional Migratory Bird Coordinator. Soon thereafter, I was put in charge of the Marine Bird Management Project, a small group responsible for monitoring the status and trends of Alaska's seabirds.

After living in Alaska for nearly 16 years, I started craving new challenges. Thus, I applied for (and was hired as) a staff wildlife biologist in the Office of Migratory Bird Management (now the Division of Migratory Bird Management) in Washington, D.C. Moving from Alaska to the Nation's Capitol provided just a bit of cultural shock! So much of a shock, in fact, that I eventually settled in the Eastern Panhandle of the "Wild and Wonderful" State of West Virginia, thereby committing to a long-term long-distance daily commute.

Staff-wise, the Division of Migratory Bird Management is a relatively small part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but it has national responsibilities for managing migratory bird populations. My specific area of responsibility is restricted largely to nongame (i.e., non-hunted) species. Projects that I have worked on include the Double-crested Cormorant depredation issue, the Executive Order for migratory birds, migratory nongame birds of management concern (now known as Birds of Conservation Concern), and revisions to the list of migratory birds, among many others.

At one time or another over the years, I have belonged to the following conservation and scientific organizations:

Alaska 200 Club
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Ornithologists' Union
Anchorage Audubon Society
Association of Field Ornithologists
Bird Populations Institute
British Ornithologists' Union
British Trust for Ornithology
Brooks Bird Club
Cooper Ornithological Society
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Eastern Bird Banding Association
Inland Bird Banding Association
Kentucky Ornithological Society
Michigan Audubon Society
National Audubon Society
National Geographic Society
National Wildlife Federation
Oronoko Bird Club
Pacific Northwest Bird and Mammal Society
Pacific Seabird Group
Raptor Research Foundation
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Scottish Ornithologists' Club
South Bend Audubon Society
Waterbird Society
Western Bird Banding Association
Western Field-Ornithologists
Wilderness Society
Wildlife Society
Wildlife Society--Alaska Chapter
Wilson Ornithological Society
Zero Population Growth

West Virginia Bird Place Names (Part 3 of 5)

[Note to readers: Part 2 was published on 3/25/2002]

GOBBLER (1) - a Knob in Cabell County.

GOOSE (14) - Creeks in Berkeley, Kanawha, Marion, and Wirt counties; a Cemetery and an historical Post Office (both named Goose Creek) in Ritchie County; a School (Goose Creek) in Kanawha County; an historical School (Goose Creek) in Marion County; Hollows in Kanawha and Webster counties; and Runs in Cabell, Harrison, Marion, and Ritchie counties.

GOOSE NECK (1) - an historical Post Office in Ritchie County.

GOOSE NEST (1) - a populated place in Berkeley County.

GOOSENECK (2) - a Bend in Roane County and a Run in Wirt County.

GOOSENEST (2) - a Run and an historical School in Calhoun County.

GOOSEPEN (2) - a Run and an historical School in Lewis County.

HEN (1) - a Run (Hen Shanty) in Wood County.

GROUSE (1) - a Run in Doddridge County.

GUANO (1) - a Creek in Putnam County.

HAWK (5) - a Campground in Hampshire County, a Cemetery in Jackson County, a Lake (reservoir) in Fayette County, and Runs in Hampshire and Tucker counties.

HAWKS NEST (3) - a populated place, a Country Club, and a State Park in Fayette County.

KINGFISHER (2) - a Creek and an historical school (Kingfisher Creek) in Webster County.

KITE (1) - a Knob in Calhoun County.

KITES (1) - a Run in Wood County.

OWL (10) - Creeks in Lincoln and Monongalia counties; a Fork in Calhoun County; a Church (Owl Hill Methodist) and a School (Owl Hill) in Wirt County; Hollows in Kanawha and Pendleton (Owl Knob) counties; and Runs in Calhoun, Ritchie, and Tyler counties.

OWLSHEAD (2) - summits in Tyler and Wetzel counties.

PHEASANT (5) - a Fork in Raleigh County, a Hollow in Greenbrier County, a Trail (Pheasant Mountain) in Tucker County, and Runs in Nicholas and Preston Counties.

PIGEON (14) - a populated place and historical Post Office in Roane County; a Branch in Lincoln County; Creeks in Mercer, Mingo, and Wyoming counties; an historical School and a Spring (both named Pigeon Creek) in Mercer County; a Hollow in Greenbrier County; a Knob in Preston County; and Runs in Braxton, Gilmer, Pocahontas, and Roane counties.

PIGEON ROOST (2) - a Lookout Tower in Grant County and a Run in Roane County.

PIGEONROOST (18) - a summit in Grant County; Branches in Logan and McDowell counties; Creeks in Lincoln and Mingo counties; Forks in Boone, Braxton, Kanawha, Lincoln, and Mingo counties; Hollows in Boone and Kanawha counties; a Ridge in Roane County; Runs in Jackson, Upshur, Wirt, and Wood counties; and an historical School (Pigeonroost Run) in Wood County.

To be continued . . .

West Virginia Nonprofit Conservation and Environmental Organizations

Allegheny Conservation Alliance
Appalachian Trail Conference
Blue Heron Environmental Network
Brooks Bird Club
Brooks Bird Club - Handlan Chapter
Canaan Valley Institute
Friends of Blackwater Canyon
Friends of the Cheat
Friends of Deckers Creek
Greenbrier River Watershed Association
Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory
Institute for Earth Education
Izaak Walton League of America - West Virginia Division
Monongahela River Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center
National Association of Conservation Districts - West Virginia Association
Nature Conservancy - West Virginia Chapter
Oglebay Institute - Environmental Education
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
Partners in Flight - West Virginia Working Group
Potomac Valley Audubon Society
Sierra Club - West Virginia Chapter
Three Rivers Avian Center
Trout Unlimited - West Virginia State Council
Trout Unlimited - P. Pendleton Kennedy Chapter
West Virginia Bass Federation
West Virginia Bowhunters Association
West Virginia Cave Conservancy
West Virginia Citizen Action Group
West Virginia Conservation Officers Association
West Virginia Environmental Council
West Virginia Forestry Association
West Virginia Highlands Conservancy
West Virginia Land Trust
West Virginia Native Plant Society
West Virginia Native Plant Society - Eastern Panhandle Chapter
West Virginia Natural Heritage Program
West Virginia Rails-to-Trails Council
West Virginia Rivers Coalition
West Virginia Scenic Trails Association
West Virginia Soil Conservation Agency
West Virginia Trails Coalition
West Virginia Trophy Hunters Association
West Virginia Watershed Resource Center
West Virginia Wildlife Federation

Birder or Bird Watcher?

When I was developing my interest in birds in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the literature I read suggested to me that I was becoming a bird watcher, a person who engages in the hobby of watching birds. So that's how I came to view myself, as a bird watcher. Then, in the early 1970s, coincident with the founding of the American Birding Association, people who watched birds were suddently being referred to as birders. I was somewhat taken aback by this new terminology. In my mind, I associated the word birder with bird lister, someone who's interest was primarily in compiling lists of the birds he or she had seen in a particular year, State, or country. Well, over the years, I have grown more comfortable with the word birder, and have even come to consider myself one, but I still think that there's much more to birding than simply ticking off species on a checklist. For many years, I labored under the belief that birder was of relatively modern origin; only recently have I discovered that the term has actually been in use much longer than bird watcher (see below).

A. Birder:

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2002), the word birder is a noun dating from the 15th century. They assign it two meanings:

1. a catcher or hunter of birds, especially for market. 2. a person who birds.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th edition, 2000) assigns the word three meanings:

1. A bird watcher. 2a. A breeder of birds. 2b. A hunter of birds.

The use of bird as an intransitive verb (as in, "John likes to bird") dates from 1918, and means "to observe or identify wild birds in their natural environment" (Merriam-Webster).

B. Bird Watcher:

A person who observes and identifies birds in their natural surroundings (American Heritage).

Merriam-Webster Online (which suggests that bird watcher be hyphenated) dates its origin to 1905 but does not provide a definition, considering it to be synonymous with its second meaning for the word birder (i.e., a person who birds).

So there you have it. It appears to me that birder and bird watcher can be used interchangeably depending on your whims. But be warned, a die-hard birder may take offense at being referred to as bird watcher!

West Virginia Bird Place Names (Part 2 of 5)

[Note to readers: Part 1 was published on 3/24/2000]

CHICKEN (2) - Runs in Pocahontas (Chicken House) and Taylor counties.

CRANE (8) - a Branch (Crane Trace) in McDowell County; Creeks in McDowell and Mercer counties; a Fork in Wyoming County; a Knob in Jackson County; Runs in Gilmer and Lewis (Crane Camp) counties; and an historical School in Preston County.

CRANECO (1) - a populated place in Logan County.

CRANENEST (3) - Runs in Jackson, Roane, and Tyler counties.

CRANES (2) - a Branch in Wayne County and a Fork in Barbour County.

CRANES NEST (1) - a Run in Nicholas County.

CRANESNEST (3) - a Cemetery in Wirt County; and Runs in Roane and Wirt counties.

CRANESVILLE (5) - a populated place, an historical Post Office, an historical School, a Swamp [DeLorme], and a Church (Cranesville United Methodist) in Preston County.

CROW - (5) a populated place and historical Post Office in Raleigh County, a Run in Wetzel County, and a locale and historical Post Office (Crow Summit) in Jackson County.

CROWFIELDS (1) - a populated place (subdivision) in Greenbrier County.

DOVE (2) - a Creek in Wood County and a Hollow in Hardy County.

DUCK (10) - a populated place with a Post Office (zip code 25063) in Clay County; Creeks in Braxton, Gilmer, and Harrison counties; a Cemetery and a Church (both named Duck Creek) in Harrison County; an historical Post Office (Duck Creek) in Braxton County; a Run in Calhoun County [DeLorme]; and an historical School (Duck Creek) in Gilmer County.

EAGLE (14) - a populated place and a Church in Fayette County; an historical School (Eagle Avenue) in Jefferson County; a Bend in Clay County; Branches in Greenbrier and Summers counties; a Cemetery in Clay County; a Chapel in Berkeley County; a Church in Fayette County; an historical Post Office (Eagle Mills) in Doddridge County; a summit (Eagle Rock) in Hampshire County; a cliff in (Eagle Rock) and a Spring (Eagle Rock) in Pendlton County; and a Run in Berkeley County.

EAGLES (4) - a Camp and a Trail (Eagles Camp) in Pocahontas County, and historical Schools in Berkeley and Pocahontas counties.

FINCH - (3) a populated place and historical Post Office in Ritchie County, and a Run in Marion County.

FISHING HAWK (1) - a Creek in Randolph County.

To be continued . . .

West Virginia Bird Place Names (Part 1 of 5)

The U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System is a wonderful source of information on place names. I used it to identify West Virginia geographic features with bird names. A couple of names found in the DeLorme atlas, but not the GNIS database, are denoted by [DeLorme]. The resultant list includes 77 different bird place names that have been used to describe more than 330 geographic features in West Virginia. I have not researched the derivation of any of these names, although I suspect that most (but certainly not all) are named for birds. Features named Turkey (82), Pigeon (34), Raven (24), Goose (22), and Eagle (18) are particularly well-represented in West Virginia. Surprisingly, I found no features named after the State bird--the Cardinal, but there are three features named Redbird (a common colloquial name for the Cardinal).

The following types of features are included in this list: Bends (bottoms, loops, or meanders), Branches (streams), buildings, Campgrounds, Camps, Cemeteries, Chapels, Churches, cliffs, Country Clubs, Creeks (streams), Dams, Ferries, Forks (streams), Gaps, Golf Courses, Historic Districts, Hollows (valleys), Impoundments (reservoirs), Knobs (summits), Lakes (reservoirs), locales, Lookout Towers, Mountains, pillars, Ponds, populated places (cities, settlements, towns, or villages), Post Offices, Public Fihing Areas, Ridges, Rocks (summits or cliffs). Runs (streams), Schools, Seaplane Bases, Shopping Centers, Springs, State Parks, summits, Swamps, Trails, valleys, and Works (locales).

And here's the list of West Virginia bird place names (click here for a map showing the location of West Virginia counties):

BALD EAGLE (1) - a valley in Marshall County.

BIRD (13) - Branches in Mingo and Wyoming counties; Cemeteries in Putnam and Roane counties; a Knob in Clay County; an historical Post Office in Tyler County; Ridges in Hampshire and Wood counties; historical Schools in Gilmer, Mercer, and Wood (Bird Ridge) counties; and a Run and Campground (Bird Run) in Pocahontas County.

BIRDS (5) - a populated place, a Creek, and a Church (Birds Creek United Methodist) in Preston County; and a Run and an historical School (Birds Run) in Harrison County.

BLACKBIRD (2) - a Knob and a Trail (Blackbird Knob) in Tucker County.

BLACKEAGLE (1) - a populated place in Wyoming County.

BLACKHAWK (3) - a populated place, an historical Post Office, and a Hollow in Kanawha County.

BLUE GOOSE (1) - a Pond in Mason County.

BLUE JAY (4) - populated places (Blue Jay and Blue Jay 6)--the former with a Post Office (zip code 25816)--and a Lake (reservoir) in Raleigh County.

BOB WHITE (2) - a populated place and a Post Office (zip code 25028) in Boone County.

BUZZARD (14) - Branches in Kanawha and McDowell counties; a Dam (Buzzard Branch) in McDowell County; Cemeteries in Pocahontas and Ritchie counties; Creeks in Mason and Putnam counties; a Hollow and a Ridge in Pocahontas County; Rocks in Wood County; Runs in Berkeley, Monongalia, and Ritchie counties; and an historical School in Pocahontas County.

BUZZARD ROOST (2) - Knobs in Jackson and Wayne counties.

To be continued . . .

Favorite Witticism

"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting new discoveries" (A. A. Milne)

Beyond Bizarre

If you haven't already heard about it, you owe it to yourself to read this story about the seabird that was eaten alive by a squid--from the inside out! Science fiction doesn't get any stranger than this!

Thanks to Jack Siler at Birdingonthe.Net for bringing this wacky incident to the attention of birders worldwide.

(Note: A modified version of this was posted to the WV-Bird listserv on 03/23/2002.)

Birding on Federal Lands

A one-stop-shopping guide to recreational opportunities on some 2,177(!) individual parcels of land managed by eight different Federal agencies is available at Recreation.Gov. You can search the site for any of 23 pre-selected activities. The 6 most frequently listed recreational activities?

Fishing (1437 hits)
Wildlife Viewing (1337)
Hiking (1321)
Picnic Areas (1294)
Camping (1116)
Boating (1133)

Birding, the fastest-growing and most popular outdoor activity in the United States today, is not among the pre-selected activities. But then again, birding is one type of Wildlife Viewing, so maybe I should be pleased that Wildlife Viewing ranks so high. But would that be too naive of me? I wondered. Which prompted me to do some more looking.

Each of the 2177 individual sites has a Web page associated with it, including some brief text describing the site and the types of outdoor recreational activities that are available. Recreation.Gov allows you to search for specific key words or phrases that appear on these Web pages. Here's what I found when I searched for variations on the word bird:

bird (431 hits)
birds (341)
birding (18)
birdwatching (15)
bird watching (10)
birdwatcher (7)
birder (7)
birders (4)
bird watcher (2)

Okay, so about two-thirds (1337) of the Federal sites offer Wildlife Viewing opportunities, but only about 40 percent of those (something on the order of 400) have anything to say about birds. Makes one wonder just how serious these Federal agencies really are about catering to the growing throngs of birders, doesn't it? There doesn't seem to have been any conscious effort to reach out to the birding community.

Birds Links to the World

This one-stop interactive site provides links to some of the best bird pages on the Web. Extremely comprehensive! If you're into birds, you'll want to add this one to your list of Favorites.

Birds of the Neighborhood (March 11-20, 2002)

I live in an older house situated on a small city block in a downtown neighborhood in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The “neighborhood” consists of a 9-block rectangular area (my block plus the surrounding 8 city blocks), but most of my observations are of birds seen in, or viewed from, my yard. The following list of 12 species isn’t particularly impressive, but I suspect that it is probably fairly typical of what you would expect to see in many older, small-town urban residential areas in the Mid-Atlantic States (asterisks indicate species not native to the area):

American Robin - recently arrived and singing
Blue Jay - a pair hanging around
Common Grackle - a few spring migrants visiting feeders
European Starling* - tens
Fish Crow - a few hanging around
House Finch* - tens
House Sparrow* - hundreds roosting in front yard
Mourning Dove - 1 or 2 pairs in yard
Northern Cardinal - several resident pairs
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 on the 16th & 18th (rare in the neighborhood)
Rock Dove* - 10s-100s (has become a real scourge)
Turkey Vulture - 1 overhead on the 18th (not often seen in the city)

A Downright Buggy Web Site

If you live in Delaware, Maryland, or Virginia, and are into creepy-crawler critters such as beetles, butterflies, and moths, you might want to check out recent postings from the VA-MD-DE Bugs listserv.

Garbage Gulls

A small flock of about 35 Ring-billed Gulls cruised the Wal-Mart parking lot in Martinsburg this afternoon. I'm disappointed. I thought one of my favorite birds would show a little more class in choosing a fast-food hangout. Personally, I'd like to think that the more discerning among them really had their eyes on the Girl Scout cookies that were being hawked on the sidewalk!

(Note: A modified version of this was posted to the WV-Bird listserv on 03/16/2002.)

Our Woodpecker Tree

Well, actually, it’s our neighbor’s tree. But I can see it from our back porch and it’s nearly on the property line, so I think I’m justified in laying part claim to it. About 3 or 4 years ago, the former owners of the property on which the tree is rooted had most of the crown lopped off by a local tree trimmer so that their flower gardens would receive more light, leaving amputated major limbs pointing skyward. Well, the poor tree has never fully recovered from this abuse. It has struggled each year to put out new foliage, but it is now obviously dying. Several of the skyward-pointing limbs are clearly dead, with large strips of peeling bark.

The good news is that this tree is now starting to attract woodpeckers, a rarity in our downtown neighborhood. Twice in the last couple of weeks, I have awakened to the staccato drumming sound of a woodpecker. In coming downstairs and looking outside on each occasion, I spotted a Downy Woodpecker, the smallest of our North American woodpeckers, busy at work on one particular branch. I don’t know if it was drumming just to hear itself drum (it proved to be a very resonant limb) or if it was excavating for small insects. But, regardless, it was clearly “enjoying” itself, if birds are capable of that human emotion.

This morning, while doing dishes, I heard the unmistable harsh-sounding quirrr call of a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I ran to check the woodpecker tree and there it was, on the very same limb that had been used by the Downy! Some people mistakenly identify the Red-bellied Woodpecker as a Red-headed Woodpecker. Could it be because the Red-bellied Woodpecker, while having not the slightest trace of a red belly, does have a red head? Hmmm. I’ve often wondered if this strange misnomer was some bird taxonomist’s idea of a joke on future birders and ornithologists.

Shannondale Springs

At mid-morning on Friday, I spent a wonderful 1 1/2 hours walking the [Shenandoah] River Bend Trail in the Shannondale Springs Wildlife Management Area, Jefferson County. Kudos to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources for maintaining the trails in this area in such great condition. Outside in a shortsleeve shirt and shorts--temps in the 60s-70s-- while the poor folks in Minnesota shoveled out from under two feet of snow! Here are the birds and butterflies that I saw, listed in order of detection (nc = individuals not counted):

Birds:
Eastern Phoebe - 3
Turkey Vulture - 3
Song Sparrow - nc (many)
Wood Duck - 6 (all in pairs)
American Crow - nc
Canada Goose - 15 ( most in pairs)
Mallard - 34 (most in pairs)
Belted Kingfisher - 2
House Finch - 1
Common Merganser - 9
Carolina Chickadee - 7+
Northern Cardinal - nc
Blue Jay - 2
Carolina Wren - nc (many)
Hooded Merganser - 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1+
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
Gadwall - 2 (1 pair)
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Mourning Dove - 2
Eastern Towhee - 1

Butterflies:
Cabbage White - 30 (apparently recently emerged)
unidentified skipper - 1

(Note: A modified version of this note was posted to the WV-Bird listserv on 03/15/2002.)

Notes from Jefferson County

At noon on Thursday, at the National Conservation Training Center, I heard my first Eastern Phoebe of the year, although I'm sure that they have been in the area for a while.

Also, I heard American Crows and Fish Crows calling simultaneously along the Potomac River. This was an easy aural ID, but what would I have done if this was the height of the nesting season and fledgling American Crows were out and about and calling? Hint: The two species are extremely similar in appearance, to the best way to tell them apart is by voice, the cah-cah call of the Fish Crow being more nasal than that of the American. Fledgling American Crows (i.e., young birds just out of the nest), give a cah-cah call that very closely resembles that of the Fish Crow.

(Note: A modified version of this was posted on the WV-Bird listserv on 03/14/2002.)

Measuring Birding Intensity in Greater West Virginia

Birding is the sport of pursuing wild birds with binoculars, scopes, and cameras. The sport used to be called bird watching, but that term is now out of fashion among true adherents. Birding intensity can be defined as a measure of the amount of birding activity. It is conceptionally related to hunting pressure and fishing pressure. Wildlife and fisheries biologists have a keen interest in hunting and fishing pressure, respectively, because of the relationship to the harvest of game species. There has been relatively little interest in birding intensity, probably because of the non-consumptive nature of birding. A 10-fold increase in birding activity will have no, or very little, effect on bird populations, while the same degree of increase in hunting pressure on Ruffed Grouse could conceivably have a noticeable effect on local populations.

How much variability is there in birding intensity among the six States in the Greater West Virginia region (defined as West Virginia plus the surrounding States of Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia)? Since there are no readily available figures on the number of days or hours that birders spend in the field each year, I have used membership in the American Birding Association an indirect measure of birding intensity. I calculated three separate indices for comparison among the six States: total number of ABA members, ABA members/100,000 adults, and ABA members/100 square miles.

West Virginia ranks dead last in the number of ABA members (78); 5th in the number of ABA members/100,000 adults; and 5th in the number of ABA members/square mile. With 5.5 ABA members/100,000 adults, West Virginia ranks just above Kentucky (3.64), but well behind top-ranked Maryland (15.84). West Virginia also ranks just above Kentucky in the number of ABA members/100 square miles (0.32 versus 0.28), but again lags well behind top-ranked Maryland (6.38). Given current levels of birding activity (as reflected by ABA membership), and with all other things being equal, these statistics suggest that a rare bird that showed up somewhere in Maryland would be 18 times more likely to be detected by a birder than one that showed up in West Virginia. And remember, statistics don’t lie!

(Note: A modified version of this was posted to the WV-Bird listserv on 03/11/2002.)

Birding Altona Marsh

Today was a bluebird day--albeit cold and extremely windy (in actuality, a downright miserable day to be afield!)--following the passage of a strong cold front last evening, in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. I walked the railroad tracks that parallel Altona Marsh in Jefferson County (the easternmost in the State), and in 1 hour and 20 minutes tallied 23 species (listed here in the order in which they were detected):

American Robin
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow (in full song)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
European Starling
Canada Goose
American Goldfinch
Common Grackle
House Finch
Red-winged Blackbird
Tufted Titmouse
Mourning Dove
unidentified crow
Mallard
Rusty Blackbird
Common Snipe (14 individuals)
Red-tailed Hawk (2)
Carolina Chickadee
Turkey Vulture (1)
Blue Jay
Carolina Wren
Fish Crow (2)
Dark-eyed Junco (one small flock)

Altona Marsh is "perhaps the best-known example" of a calcareous wetland in the Central Appalachians (also see description in Eugene E. Hutton et al. 1968. A marl marsh natural area in West Virginia. Castanea 33: 241-246).

(Note: A modified version of this was posted to the WV-Bird listserv on 03/10/2002.)

Crow Pursuing Kestrel

It is common knowledge among ornithologists that American Crows are frequently harassed by songbirds that may be one-tenth smaller. Among the species that most frequently engage in this behavior in the eastern United States, at least in my experience, are the Eastern Kingbird and the Red-winged Blackbird. Both of these species are extremely aggressive and territorial, not only toward other individuals of their own kind, but to individuals of other species as well. Crows are opportunistic predators on the eggs and young of songbirds, so the impetus for this David versus Goliath-type behavior is strong.

Thursday morning, while driving down a back-country road in Jefferson County, West Virginia, I was surprised to see an American Crow in hot pursuit of an American Kestrel. The kestrel is a small raptor in the falcon family. The crow is about four times heavier than a kestrel. My hypothesis is that the kestrel had just captured a small prey item of some type and that the crow was trying to steal it, but I couldn’t verify that the kestrel was actually carrying prey. Nor was I able to determine if the crow was successful in getting the kestrel to let loose of the prey, if, in fact, that was the goal of the chase. The crow is an intelligent and adaptable predator, so this type of pursuit behavior is not really unexpected.

(Note: A modified version of this was posted to the WV-Bird listserv on 03/14/2002.)

Marbled Murrelet and Northern Spotted Owl Status Challenged

As reported by YourPlanetEarth on 03/01/2002, a petition has been filed with Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton to have the endangered species status of the Marbled Murrelet and the Northern Spotted Owl reviewed. If that review doesn’t take place, the American Forest Resource Council, a mouthpiece for the timber industry, has warned that they will file a suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. More details of this issue are available in articles published in the Oregonian and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Bald Eagles in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia

While sitting in a meeting room at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC)--located near Shepherdstown, West Virginia--this afternoon, I and several colleagues witnessed an adult Bald Eagle soaring up and down the adjacent Potomac River. One adult was seen on two different occasions about 30 minutes apart, so it is difficult to say if our sighting involved 1 bird or 2, but even one is exciting!

Earlier in the year, during the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park Mid-Winter Bird Count on January 20, I observed an adult Bald Eagle flying down the Potomac River at a point just east of Williamsport, Maryland. Shortly after I spotted it, the bird veered away from the river into Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the vicinity of Falling Waters. This locality is perhaps 10-15 miles upstream from NCTC.

(Note: A modified version of this was posted to the WV-Bird listserv on 03/08/2002.)

Frigid Temperatures Don’t Stop Cardinal from Singing

A Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), the familiar “Red Bird” of many easterners, began singing this morning at 6:15 AM from the shrubbery beside our house. What causes me to remark on this event is the exceptionally cold temperature. With the termometer hovering near single digits, this is perhaps the coldest morning we have experienced in this exceptionally mild winter. It appears that the increased hours of daylight may be having more influence on this bird’s physiology and behavior than a aient air temperatures.

If this had been just about any other songbird, one could naturally have assumed that the bird singing outside my window was a male. But female cardinals are nearly as likely to burst forth in spontaneous song as are the males. Cardinals also differ from many other songbirds in their tendency to sing throughout the year. For them, singing is as much about advertising and defending their territory (yes, the females defend a separate territory during some parts of the year) as it is about attracting a mate of the opposite sex.

The bird sang for about 10 minutes and then fell silent, going about its daily routine, just as I am about to embark on mine.

Saga of a Squirrel-Eating Hawk

As reported in a series of articles in the Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette, a Red-tailed Hawk found the well-manicured and wooded grounds of the State Capitol Complex a fine place to spend the winter, what with its overabundance of plump squirrels grown fat thanks to the well-intentioned but misguided efforts of State employees. The real-life interactions that played out between the hawk (predator) and the squirrels (prey), with the hawk feasting happily on steady diet of squirrels, caused a public uproar. Here, in a nuthsell, is what happened:

To be completed . . .

A Shameless Plug for a Steady-State Economy

Unbridled economic growth is vital to the security of the United States. True or False? Sad to say, the President, Congress, and Wall Street have it all wrong. Unbridled economic growth is actually the greatest threat to the continued stability of the
United States and the world community. A steady-state economy, as visualized by Brian Czech and others of his ilk, is the simple solution.

Anyone who cares at all about wild places and the creatures that inhabit them, or who wants to ensure that future generations will inherit a quality environment in which to live, owes it to themselves to learn all they can about what can be done to bring
about a steady-state economy.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would someday recommend that a person sit down and read a book on economics for pleasure. An oxymoron, surely. But wait, before you dismiss me as a complete kook, take a closer look at Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train: Errant Economists, Shameful Spenders, and a Plan to Stop Them All, a new book on economic ecology by Brian Czech.

For previews of the book (including selected excerpts from the text), and reviews written by both professional critics and the general public, check these pages at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can also find additional information on Brian Czech’s home page. Are you still suspicious about the motives behind corporate globalization and its impact on the natural resources of Planet Earth? Then check out Brian Milani’s Green Economics Website.