Spring has Sprung in Laramie

Over the past week, birds have started showing up to the Laramie area. On the Plains Lakes, hundreds of Redheads (Aythya americana), Lesser Scaup, and many other waterfowl are filling in the recently thawed ponds and lakes.

Redhead (Aythya americana) with Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) - Lake Hattie, WY

Redhead (Aythya americana) - Lake Hattie, WY

Along with waterfowl, gulls are also returning to the Laramie Plains, with California Gulls (Larus californicus) making up the bulk of the diversity. The star of the past weekend, however, was a young Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) that James Maley found at Sevenmile Lake. This sighting represents the first time that this species has ever been found in Wyoming! 

Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) - First state record for Wyoming

Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides) - First state record for Wyoming

California Gull (Larus californicus) - Meeboer Lake, WY

Not to be outdone, on Monday, Don Jones discovered an adult Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) on Meeboer Lakes, part of the Plains Lakes, which represents only the third time this species has been found in Wyoming.  Associating with the Great Black-backed Gull was also a Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus), a rare visitor from Europe.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) - Meeboer Lake, WY

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) (left) with a
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) (right) - Meeboer Lake, WY

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) with other gulls - Lake Hattie, WY

In addition to the waterfowl and other early spring migrants, the area is still hosting good numbers of winter finches, including all 3 of the rosy-finch species (Leucosticte sp.) and continuing numbers of Common Redpolls (Acanthis flammea).

Gray-crowned Rosy-finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis) - Buford, WY

In the coming weeks, waterfowl will continue to come into the area, as well as more blackbirds and McCown's Longspurs (Rhychophanes mccownii) among many others.

Note: all photos in this post are © Shawn Billerman

NY Times: Winter of the Monarch

The New York Times ran an interesting, albeit disturbing, piece on the threats to the wintering range of the monarch butterfly. The piece came out last week, but with spring in the air (gulls and blackbirds have returned!) I thought others may be interested.

Winter of the Monarch

To track the northward migration of monarchs, visit Journey North.

Bright nights speed birds' lives

Exposure to low levels of artificial light at night can cause birds to become ready for reproduction earlier than those that experience dark nights.

Davide Dominoni and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell, Germany, attached miniature devices to wild European blackbirds (Turdus merula) to record the light levels that the birds experience in city and forest environments. On the basis of these data, the authors exposed adult male blackbirds captured from both settings to either dark or low-light conditions at night. Birds kept in the brighter-night environment developed reproductive physiology nearly a month earlier and moulted sooner than their dark-dwelling counterparts.
The light level the authors used was 20 times lower than that produced by a streetlight, showing that even small changes can have an impact on animal development.

Abstract: Nature v494, pp 284–285 (21 February 2013). <doi:10.1038/494284d>

Original article: Dominoni, D, M Quetting, and J Partecke. 2013. Artificial light at night advances avian reproductive physiology. Proceedings Royal Society B v280, n1756, pp20123017. <doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.3017>

Winter Finch Extravaganza!

Across southern Canada and much of the United States, a variety of winter finch species have irrupted south of their typical winter range to the delight of many birders. While this pattern is most pronounced in the east, with huge numbers of both Red (Loxia curvirostra) and White-winged Crossbills (Loxia leucoptera), as well as Common (Acanthis flammea) and Hoary Redpolls (Acanthis hornemanni), we here in Laramie are also seeing good numbers of Red Crossbills and Common Redpolls, which are usually very rare in southern Wyoming. In addition to the winter finches, irruptions such as these also see large flights of Red-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta canadensis) and Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus), both of which are showing up in parts of Wyoming.

White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera) - Long Island, NY

Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) - Laramie, WY

While finch irruptions are fairly typical on a cyclical basis, the one that birders are seeing this winter is unusually large, due to widespread seed crop failure, including those of various coniferous trees, birches (Betula), alders (Alnus), and Mountain Ash (Sorbus sp) (Erskine and McManus 2003, Howe et al. 2012). As finches in the north wander in search of good seed crops, they move southwards in huge numbers (Pittaway 1998).

In addition to the irruptive species that only visit Wyoming on occasion, winters in Wyoming also host a number of other great finch species, including Pine Grosbeaks (Pinicola enucleator), Evening Grosbeaks (Coccothraustes vespertinus), and all three rosy-finch species (Leucosticte sp). Recently around Laramie, we have seen good numbers of Gray-crowned Rosy-finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis) and Red Crossbills, as well as smaller numbers of Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls. 

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis) - Buford, WY

Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator) - Albany, WY

Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea) - Albany, WY

As winter turns slowly into spring here in Wyoming, we can expect to continue to see many of these irruptive species well into April before heading back northward.

For more information on patterns of winter finch irruptions, see this very informative and interesting write up on eBird by Ron Pittaway.

Note: all photos in this post are © Shawn Billerman

References:

Erskine, AJ and R McManus. 2003. Supposed periodicity of redpoll, Carduelis sp., winter visitations in Atlantic Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 117(4), 611-620 

Howe, EJ, ME Obbard, and J Bowman. 2012. Prior reproduction and weather affect berry crops in central Ontario, Canada. Population Ecology. 54, 347-356

Pittaway, R. 1998. Winter Finches. Ontario Field Ornithologists News

February Program

Laramie Audubon is hosting two programs tomorrow, Wednesday February 27th.

The first, an art exhibit by Beth Cochran, starts at 5PM at the Berry Center:

5:00 pm: "Furs and Feathers" photo exhibit, Beth Cochran
Photographs of specimens in the UW Vertebrate Collection
Wed., Feb. 27, 5-7pm, Berry Center

Join us for the kick-off event of UW Art student Beth Cochran's photo exhibit entitled "Furs and Feathers" on Wednesday, February 27, 5:00 – 7:00 pm in the Berry Center lobby. Beth will give a short presentation at 5:00, then be present to answer questions and provide information about her photos until 7:00. Free and open to the public.

The art exhibit is sponsored by UW Art Department http://www.uwyo.edu/art/, Biodiversity Institute http://www.uwyo.edu/biodiversity/, Vertebrate Collection http://www.uwyo.edu/biodiversity/vertebrate-museum/, and Laramie Audubon Society http://laramieaudubon.blogspot.com/.

6:30 pm: LAS Bird Chat and refreshments will be in conjunction with Beth Cochran’s photographs (Her exhibit reception begins at 5pm). You may still arrive at 6:30 or 7pm for Laramie Audubon program and will get a chance to see her photos.

7:00 pm: Sage-grouse as an umbrella species: is what’s good for the goose really good for the gander? – Jason Carlisle
Is Greater Sage-Grouse conservation beneficial for other inhabitants of the sagebrush steppe? The ecological concept known as the “umbrella species concept” holds promise as a means of streamlining the efforts of resource-strapped wildlife managers and extending conservation to oft-overlooked parts of the wildlife community such as non-game birds, small mammals, reptiles, and beyond. Simply stated, by focusing conservation efforts on a suitable umbrella species, managers hope to also benefit co-occurring wildlife with similar ecological requirements. Although the Greater Sage-Grouse has been informally adopted as the umbrella species of the iconic sagebrush steppe, this idea remains largely untested. Come learn how researchers from the WY Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit are setting out to test this idea using time-tested field methods and cutting-edge spatial analyses and how you can help.

Jason Carlisle, UW PhD student in Program in Ecology and Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

As usual, the talk will be held in the auditorium of the Berry Center, room 138.

Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages.  By counting birds in real-time, we can create a snapshot of winter bird populations!

This year, anyone visiting the GBBC website will be able to see bird observations pouring in from around the world and contribute their own tallies. Global participation will be made possible thanks to eBird, a real-time online checklist program that the Cornell Lab and Audubon are integrating into the GBBC for the first time this year. The GBBC is open to anyone of any skill level and welcomes bird observations from any location, including backyards, national parks, gardens, wetlands, and urban landscapes. The four-day count typically receives sightings from tens of thousands of people reporting more than 600 bird species in the United States and Canada alone.

The top 10 from 2012:
1)   Northern Cardinal
2)   Mourning Dove
3)   Dark-eyed Junco
4)   Downy Woodpecker
5)   American Crow
6)   House Finch
7)   American Goldfinch
8)   Blue Jay
9)   Black-capped Chickadee
10) Tufted Titmouse

When:
Friday, Feb 15 to Monday, Feb 18

What to do:
Count birds for as little as 15 minutes or as long as you wish.
Participate on one day to all four days.  Do what you want and can do!
Anyone can participate - from beginners to experts.

Where to report:
Report your sightings with others at birdcount.org.

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a joint partnership between Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, with Bird Studies Canada as its official Canadian partner.

Click here for more info from Audubon.

Laramie Conservation Expo

Laramie Audubon will be at the Conservation Expo tomorrow!

When: 9 am - 3 pm, Feb 9, 2013

What: The Laramie Conservation Expo promotes a responsible conservation ethic in the community by helping citizens learn about tools and methods to conserve water, energy and other resources. Participants can learn about such practices as composting, growing your own food, installing a wind turbine, purchasing a hybrid vehicle, water-efficient landscaping or building an energy-efficient home. More than 60 exhibitors, representing business, government, nonprofits and home practitioners, will give demonstrations and answer questions.

Vendors will display products to help with landscaping, green building, alternative energy, alternative transportation, recycling, local foods and environmental education. Government agencies and local nonprofits will explain their services. Experts will give presentations on smart energy choices, local foods and other topics.

Where: Albany County Fairgrounds Activity Center, 3520 US Highway 287, Laramie

Cost: Free and open to the public.

For more information, call (307) 721-0072 or visit www.lrcd.net or www.uwyo.edu/enr/upcoming-events.

Extinction before Identification?

From this week in Conservation Science by Conservation Magazine:

"Dour predictions that extinctions will outpace efforts to name Earth’s species are unfounded, scientists argue. With the help of amateurs and online tools, they say, researchers could catalogue most of the planet’s flora and fauna within a century." Read more here.

For more on how to get involved with online scientific opportunities for amateurs, here is a list from the most recent Audubon magazine:

Seafloor Explorer: mark bottom-dwelling creatures on the seafloor
Cyclone Center: help classify 30 years of cyclone images
Whale Fm: help identify whale songs
Old Weather: transcribe weather records from mid-19th century ship logs

Grassland Birds & Black-tailed Prairie Dogs

Here is the abstract from a recently published scientific paper with interesting results showing differences in the grassland bird community on and off prairie dog colonies.

McCown's Longspur by Shawn Billerman

Augustine, D. J. and Baker, B. W. (2013), Associations of Grassland Bird Communities with Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs in the North American Great Plains. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12013

Colonial burrowing herbivores can modify vegetation structure, create belowground refugia, and generate landscape heterogeneity, thereby affecting the distribution and abundance of associated species. Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are such a species, and they may strongly affect the abundance and composition of grassland bird communities. We examined how prairie dog colonies in the North American Great Plains affect bird species and community composition. Areas occupied by prairie dogs, characterized by low percent cover of grass, high percent cover of bare soil, and low vegetation height and density, supported a breeding bird community that differed substantially from surrounding areas that lacked prairie dogs. Bird communities on colony sites had significantly greater densities of large-bodied carnivores (Burrowing Owls [Athene cunicularia], Mountain Plovers, [Charadrius montanus], and Killdeer [Charadrius vociferus]) and omnivores consisting of Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris) and McCown's Longspurs (Rhynchophanes mccownii) than bird communities off colony sites. Bird communities off colony sites were dominated by small-bodied insectivorous sparrows (Ammodramus spp.) and omnivorous Lark Buntings (Calamospiza melanocorys), Vesper Sparrows (Pooecetes gramineus), and Lark Sparrows (Chondestes grammacus). Densities of 3 species of conservation concern and 1 game species were significantly higher on colony sites than off colony sites, and the strength of prairie dog effects was consistent across the northern Great Plains. Vegetation modification by prairie dogs sustains a diverse suite of bird species in these grasslands. Collectively, our findings and those from previous studies show that areas in the North American Great Plains with prairie dog colonies support higher densities of at least 9 vertebrate species than sites without colonies. Prairie dogs affect habitat for these species through multiple pathways, including creation of belowground refugia, supply of prey for specialized predators, modification of vegetation structure within colonies, and increased landscape heterogeneity.

More Mimickry!

I came across a couple of amazing examples of birds mimicking human speech on Buzzfeed and wanted to share the videos with you all! It seemed particularly apropos following Julie's post on mimickry.
First, an amazing Common Myna named Kaleo who was raised by a human from the age of about 3 days old:

Here is another myna making an appearance on The Johnny Carson Show (some of you may remember Jack Hanna of the Columbus Zoo appearing on late-night talk shows with a host of animals- seeing him on TV as a child was one of the reasons I became a biologist!) :

And finally, Pepper, a European Starling that was rehabilitated after being found at a very early age with a broken leg, making an incredible array of vocalizations:

More on the CBC

Fellow board member Anika pointed out this recent podcast from Science Friday about the Christmas Bird Count. For more information on the CBC check out the National Audubon site. More locally, Eve Newman, Outdoors reporter for the Laramie Boomerang, accompanied my team the day of the count and wrote an article about this year's event in Laramie.

A Not So Silent Spring

I came across this article from Conservation Magazine yesterday, albeit a couple years old, but it's very interesting. The article is about birds incorporating human noises into their vocal repertoire.

A male European blackbird was terrorizing the neighborhood. For several months, he started singing at around 5 a.m. each day, but this was no ordinary song. The bird imitated the sounds of ambulance sirens and car alarms at a jarringly life-like volume. It even produced cell-phone ring tones that went unanswered for hours.

The tale of the annoying blackbird in Somerset, U.K., was not unique. Hans Slabbekoorn, an assistant professor of behavioral biology at Leiden University in The Netherlands, had heard similar stories—but he was skeptical that such bizarre reports could be true. So he started asking people to send him recordings of the off-kilter blackbirds. Sure enough, what he got back was pitch-perfect imitations of urban noises, including not just sirens and car alarms but even the distinctive sound of a golf cart backing up—mimicked by blackbirds living near a golf course.

While the sounds seemed artificial, the reason birds were making them was surprisingly natural....continued here.