Field Trip Report - Sept 21

This morning, the Laramie Audubon Society field trip checked a couple of songbird migrant sites in and around Laramie. We had pretty good success, and although it is getting late for many birds, there were still good numbers of migrants around. Along the Greenbelt, we had two MacGillivray's Warblers, a late Western Wood-Pewee, and some other good migrants.

Our eBird list from the Greenbelt is here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15220827

We ended with a walk through Greenhill Cemetery, where the highlight was a *Cassin's Vireo*. It was seen feeding in the pines along the south edge of the cemetery. A late *Olive-sided Flycatcher* was also actively feeding from the tops of the Black Poplars. We also had a female *Williamson's Sapsucker*, many Yellow-rumped Warblers, and two each of Orange-crowned and Townsend's Warblers.

Our complete eBird list from Greenhill Cemetery is here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15221619

Good birding,
Shawn Billerman

Cassin's Vireo by Shawn Billerman

Field Trip to in-town hotspots -- Sat Sept 21

This weekend we will take a field trip to some birding hotspots within Laramie City limits. We will meet at Night Heron books 8 am to fuel ourselves and carpool. We will start with a short walk at Optimist Park and the Laramie Greenbelt, head over to see what is hanging out at LaBonte Park, and finish at the cemetery. The community garden and trees at the cemetery have hosted some great birds in the past week, including lots of Wilson's Warblers and White-crowned Sparrows with rarer sightings of Tennessee Warbler and Lewis's Woodpecker.

All ages and abilities are welcome. Please dress appropriately for the weather.

Wilson's Warbler by Shawn Billerman

LAS Field Trip - Laramie Plains Lakes - Sabine's Gulls ++

Frank, Chad, and Kristina birding at Twin Buttes by Julie Hart

Today (September 14), 10 people joined the Laramie Audubon Field Trip to the Laramie Plains Lakes in Albany County.  We had fantastic weather, and many great birds.  Ducks appear to be accumulating on all of the major lakes, with good numbers of both dabblers and divers.  Songbirds continue to make a strong showing, and we had many Wilson's Warblers, along with smaller numbers of Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers in the few scattered trees.  Four *Great-tailed Grackles* continue near Blake's Pond. There are also good numbers of raptors continuing, with Ferruginous,
Swainson's, and Red-tailed Hawks, Prairie Falcon, and both Bald and Golden
Eagles.  Small numbers of shorebirds continue, with Baird's and Semipalmated
Sandpipers, both yellowlegs, and Long-billed Dowitchers.

The true highlights of the day came at Lake Hattie, where we found 5 *Sabine's
Gulls* far out over the lake, best viewed from near the dam.  There was a
single adult, but the rest were juvenile.  The incredible wing pattern was
clearly visible when they would fly.

After the official LAS trip ended, four of us returned to Lake Hattie to
try and get better views of the Sabine's Gulls, and to try to document them
better.  We were not disappointed, and we were able to re-find 3 of the
juvenile birds.  One flew by fairly close to where we were standing.  In
addition to the gulls, we also found an adult *Parasitic Jaeger* that
mostly kept to itself, but gave chase to some Black Terns briefly.  There
was also an adult *Lesser Black-backed Gull* with the California and
Ring-billed Gulls.

Good birding!
Shawn Billerman
Laramie

American White Pelicans on Lake Hattie by Julie Hart

Field Trip to the Plains Lakes - Sat Sept 14th

The recent weather system has brought in lots of migrants to the area and we will be heading out tomorrow, rain or shine, to see what is around on the Plains Lakes. We will likely spend a lot of time looking at waterfowl, but there are bound to be small migrating passerines fueling up for a long migration. People of all ages and birding levels are encouraged to participate, but please dress appropriately.

Meet at 8 am at Night Heron Books, downtown. We will carpool from there.

Canada and Greater White-fronted Geese by Shawn Billerman

Meet the Sagebrush Sparrow

In Wyoming, many birders have become familiar with the Sage Sparrow, which is a common sagebrush obligate species that breeds across much of the state.  However, the Sage Sparrow as we know it no longer exists.  In July 2013, the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) published their annual supplement to the Check-list of North American Birds.  In this update, the AOU decided, based on extensive research, to split the Sage Sparrow into two species (Chesser et al. 2013).  The first, the Bell's Sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli), is found in chaparral dominated habitat in western California south to central Baja California.  It reaches east-central California, where it has limited contact with the second species (Cicero and Johnson 2007, Cicero and Koo 2012).  The second species, which is widely distributed through the Great Basin in sagebrush steppe, and is especially common through much of Wyoming, is the Sagebrush Sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis).

Sagebrush Sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis) - Albany Co.

The decision to split the Sage Sparrow into two species was based on genetic evidence, ecological data, and morphological differences between Bell's and Sagebrush Sparrow.  These two species come into contact in a narrow region of east-central California.  Where they meet, there is limited interbreeding, meaning each species prefers members of its own species, resulting in few hybrids and little gene flow (Cicero and Johnson 2007, Cicero and Koo 2012).  Further, there are strong niche differences between the two sparrows, with Sagebrush Sparrow preferring the cooler, wetter Great Basin desert sagebrush, and Bell's Sparrows favoring hotter, drier regions with less variability in temperature through the year (Cicero and Johnson 2007, Cicero and Koo 2012).

While this decision has relatively little impact on us here in Wyoming, it does add a new species of bird to the already diverse class, Aves.  It also means that the next time you're in California and see a Sage Sparrow, it is now recognized as a distinct, new species, the Bell's Sparrow.  This new research also adds to our understanding of how species boundaries are formed, and what factors may be important in the constant evolution of species.

Note: all photos in this post are © Shawn Billerman

References:

Chesser, RT, RC Banks, FK Barker, C Cicero, JL Dunn, AW Kratter, IJ Lovette, PC Rasmussen, JV Remsen, Jr., JD Rising, DF Stotz, and K Winker. 2013. Fifty-fourth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 130(3): 1-14

Cicero, C and NK Johnson. 2007. Narrow contact of desert sage sparrows (Amphispiza belli nevadensis and A.b. canescens) in Owens Valley, eastern California: evidence from mitochondrial DNA, morphology, and GIS-based niche models. Ornithological Monographs 27: 78-95

Cicero, C and MS Koo. 2012. The role of niche divergence and phenotypic adaptation in promoting lineage diversification in the Sage Sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli, Aves: Emberizidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 107: 332-354

eBird talk tonight!

Please join us for a special talk tonight about eBird!

WHERE:  UWYO Berry Center auditorium, corner of 10th and Lewis St
WHEN: Refreshments and birdchat begin at 6:30 pm, talk starts at 7:00 pm
WHAT: Brian Sullivan, program leader for eBird, will present a stimulating talk about how you can get involved with eBird, an international repository for bird sightings. Learn how eBird can help you keep track of your life list, find new places to birdwatch, and contribute to scientific endeavors!

American White Pelican by Shawn Billerman

Bird research in the news

I came across two articles highlighting bird research this week. The first is related to the public talk we are co-hosting Sept 4th on eBird, and the second is on shearwater movements being tracked during their non-breeding season.

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CROWDSOURCING, FOR THE BIRDS
published in The New York Times August 19, 2013

Photo from Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Helena, Mont. — On a warm morning not long ago on the shore of a small prairie lake outside this state capital, Bob Martinka trained his spotting scope on a towering cottonwood tree heavy with blue heron nests. He counted a dozen of the tall, graceful birds and got out his smartphone, not to make a call but to type the number of birds and the species into an app that sent the information to researchers in New York.

Mr. Martinka, a retired state wildlife biologist and an avid bird-watcher, is part of the global ornithological network eBird. Several times a week he heads into the mountains to scan lakes, grasslands, even the local dump, and then reports his sightings to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a nonprofit organization based at Cornell University. 

Read the rest of this article here.

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SEABIRDS FITTED WITH SATELLITE TAGES TO TRACK MOVEMENTS IN THE GULF OF MAINE

published on Constantine Alexander's blog and LinkedIn August 18, 2013

Photo copyright NOAA

Researchers at NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary are using satellite technology to learn more about the movement, life cycle, feeding and foraging habits of Great Shearwater seabirds in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Scientists have attached satellite transmitters to 10 birds and are tracking their movements this summer.

Shearwaters are one of more than 30 species of seabirds that can be found in the sanctuary. The birds winter and nest in the southern hemisphere, usually appearing in the Gulf of Maine in April to feed. However, little is known about how they spend their time in the Gulf of Maine.

Read the rest of the blog entry here. You can read about the research directly and track individual birds at the NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary page.

Webinar Series on Shorebird Identification

Willet by Shawn Billerman

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is offering a series of webinars this fall to help people learn shorebird and waterfowl identification. This is a great opportunity for those wanting to advance in this difficult area. Kevin McGowan is a great teacher and helped me become the birder I am today. The series starts this Friday and each webinar is only $10. Space is limited.

For more information, click here.

Threatened IBA in the Dominican Republic

For those that were present for my LAS presentation on Bicknell's Thrush a few years ago (2009 I think?), you may remember that I conducted research on this thrush in the Dominican Republic. The place where I conducted this research is an Important Bird Area is now under severe threat. Please read below for more information.

Sunset in the Sierra de Bahoruco by Julie Hart

Excerpt from the Birding Community E-bulletin by Paul Baicich and Wayne Peterson.

IBA NEWS: PRESSURES IN THE DR

In December we ran a quick review of a new bird finding guide for the Dominican Republic, RUTA BARRANCOLI, by Steven C. Latta and Kate J. Wallace (2012, National Aviary).

Now there is news from the Dominican Republic that the Sierra de Bahoruco, an Important Bird Area (IBA) in that country is currently under increasing threat.

The area has long been suffering due to burning for charcoal production and illegal agricultural practices, and in mid-July a dry forest area on its northern foothills an area formally protected as Loma Charco Azul Biological Reserve, is starting to be cleared to make way for an agricultural settlement. This is occurring despite the fact that the area is supposed to be protected as a Biological Reserve.

The Dominican Agrarian Institute has approved this activity, and about 260 acres are slated for immediate destruction. Multiple species are at risk. The Loma Charco Azul Biological Reserve, which falls under the larger Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve which has been ratified by UNESCO, is habitat for the endangered Bay-breasted Cuckoo (Coccyzus rufigularis), an endemic species with a very limited distribution in Hispaniola.

You can get more details on this threat and actions being taken here.

State of the Birds 2013

The 2013 report on the state of the birds focuses on birds on private lands. Approximately 60% of land in the U.S. is privately owned. Highlights of the report include:

• Through the Farm Bill’s Working Lands for Wildlife Program, more than 700 ranchers are enhancing 2.5 million acres of aridland habitat for the benefit of sage‐grouse.
• Regional spring counts of Henslow’s Sparrows are now about 25 times higher than 30 years ago, prior to the Farm Bill’s Conservation Reserve Program.
• Through Mountain Plover Nest Conservation Programs in Nebraska and Colorado nearly 250 private landowners have protected more than 1,000 nests of the imperiled Mountain Plover.

Download the State of the Birds 2013.

Restless Nights for Relocated Birds

When managers try to move a species to a new environment, many of the animals often die soon after being released. Now scientists have found one possible reason for the high failure rate. According to a study in Biology Letters, birds don’t get enough sleep when they’re in an unfamiliar place.

Read the rest of the commentary from Conservation Magazine here.

Breeding Birds of the Laramie Plains

By mid-July here in Laramie, breeding season is well under way, and for some species, already over.  While early summer can be a slow birding time in many parts of the country, things are still quite interesting and exciting here in Albany County.

Out on the plains around Laramie, many songbirds are busy feeding nestlings and fledglings.  I recently took a trip up to the Old Laramie River Road, which runs through a variety of grassland types, from the typical dry shortgrass prairie to wetter, longer grass habitats closer to the Laramie River.  This variety of grassland habitats means that this area has some of the best diversity of grassland species in Albany County, including both longspurs, Lark Buntings, and Vesper Sparrows, among many others.

Many species, including Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris), and McCown's Longspurs (Rhyncophanes mccownii) have fledged young, and already seem to be flocking in preparation for their southward migration toward the end of August.

McCown's Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii) fledgling - Albany Co.

In addition to McCown's Longspurs, Old Laramie River Road is probably the best spot in Albany County to see Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus).  In wetter, longer grass, this species is quite easy to find as they sing from any elevated perch.  Like McCowns, Chestnut-collared Longspurs also skylark, singing in flight, although their skylarking display is not as impressive as that of McCown's Longspur.

Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) - Albany Co.

Chestnut-collared Longspur fledgling - Albany Co.

Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) - Albany Co.

In addition to the great songbird activity, Old Laramie River Road has also had an exciting diversity of raptors, with many fledgling Swainson's Hawks foraging across the plains.  There have also been Red-tailed and Ferruginous Hawks, American Kestrels, and Prairie Falcons.

Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) juvenile - Albany Co.

Despite the heat of the summer, there is still quite a bit of bird activity out there, so get out there and see what you can find.  This is a really interesting time of year, and you never know what might show up.

Note: all photos in this post are © Shawn Billerman