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To: Snowshoe who wrote (2837)7/17/2024 6:16:20 PM
From: Snowshoe
1 Recommendation   of 2910
 
The white raven has left Anchorage, but its many fans remain hopeful
adn.com

The white raven arrived sometime in October last year and quickly attained celebrity status. Paparazzi soon documented its every move. The bird even seemed to play to the cameras and was quite vocal.

But come April, there was silence. The bird left town along with most of the ravens that winter in Anchorage. The departure coincided with the arrival of raucous seagulls.

Wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott has studied these comings and goings. He says it’s normal for the birds to switch out, almost like they’re changing shifts. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it showed up again in mid to late October,” Sinnott said.

On the Anchorage White Raven Spottings Facebook page, many there are many posts from fans who hope this will happen. There’s already a countdown in anticipation of the bird’s return in October. But for now, that’s based on wishful thinking, not any scientific evidence.

18-Month White Raven Calendar $16.00
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From: Brumar897/28/2024 11:57:26 AM
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Birds that migrate from Brazil to Seattle each summer face new threat
July 28, 2024 at 6:00 am Updated July 28, 2024 at 6:00 am



Cindy Barrett, right, and Abby Carter, 11, on a tour with Ballard Kayak & Paddleboard, check out purple martins seen in a nesting colony made up of natural gourds hanging from derelict wooden pilings on Shilshole Bay in Seattle on June 29. “These kayaks allow us to get into some places to see really unique wildlife... (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)More

By
Kate Perez
Seattle Times staff reporter

On the far west side of Ballard in Shilshole Bay — an area typically only accessible by boat, canoe or kayak — dozens of dark purple and blue birds swoop through a forest of decaying wooden poles. Others dive in and out of human-made bird houses from natural gourds that hang from the poles20 feet from the water’s surface.

These are the homes of the purple martin, a bird locals are fighting to protect as nesting areas on the Seattle waterfront become increasingly scarce.

The purple martin, North America’s largest swallow, has migrated to the West Coast from southeast Brazil for generations, arriving in the spring and typically leaving by the end of August. The state doesn’t keep an official tally of the bird’s population, but experts say at least 300 flock to Western Washington each year.The birds are attracted to the West Coast because of its long and warm summer days that allow them to hunt for food for longer periods of time.



A purple martin hangs out on a gourd in its nesting colony in Shilshole Bay in Seattle on July 18. Purple martins are a bird species that are not endangered, but their homes are being taken down throughout the Seattle area. (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)

They prefer to make their homes near water in dead trees and logs known as natural snags, or in cavities like woodpecker holes and other crevices in docks and the posts that support them, called pilings. These natural habitats have become harder and harder to come by, though: More and more of these docks and pilings are being removed by state, county and city agencies around the Seattle area, including at Elliott Bay.

Like the poles in Shilshole Bay, some of the pilings are encrusted with barnacles and seaweed. Many have been treated with toxic chemicals to preserve the wood against water decay. When they’re removed, so are the homes of these birds.

Now, a small group of local researchers is racing to protect and relocate the remaining habitat before more pilings are removed in August.

Thousands of purple martins “nested in natural snags and cavities, but then they started declining … as snags became scarcer and scarcer,” said Kimberle Stark, a King County Senior Water Quality Planner.

Natural snags started to disappear from Washington’s coast and near other U.S. waterways as natural forest and coastlines became commercialized and industrialized.

“There’s no natural snags anymore, so [the birds are] completely dependent on people putting up artificial houses,” Stark said.



A purple martin peeks out of a nesting box at another approaching bird at their colony on Shilshole Bay in June. (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)

Legacy carried on

Though they are not listed as an endangered species, the purple martin population is low in Washington and considered a Species of Greatest Conservation Need by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which means human intervention is necessary for the birds’ success.

A loss of habitat has long threatened purple martins’ ability to reproduce. So has a decrease in insects to hunt and eat due to an increase in pesticide use. The state population dropped so much throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s that a local environmental scientist named Kevin Li started building homes for the birds as a passion project in 1996.

Li is responsible for many of the gourds hanging throughout King County, homes that simulate the natural nesting cavity these birds prefer. After Li started stringing up gourds in Western Washington, the number of birds jumped from an estimated one nesting pair in Shilshole Bay in 1996 to about 32 nesting pairs along the Seattle shoreline, plus 74 more on Vashon Island in 2004. After Li died in 2006, his friends continued his mission.

Jean Power, King County Environmental Lab field science unit supervisor, has been involved with the purple martin habitat restoration efforts since before Li died. Power inherited the project after his death, she said, and now works with Stark and her husband, Carl Bevison, on the project.

“[The birds] suck you in,” Stark said. “Kevin was so passionate about them … You do become kind of obsessive about them.”



A purple martin nesting colony is seen on gourds and boxes on derelict pilings in Shilshole Bay in Seattle on July 18. Purple Martins are a bird species that are not endangered, but their homes are being... (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)More

With their high-pitched, flutelike chirps and dark blue wings, watching the purple martin can be captivating. When they fly, their wings look like silver stars. They often swoop and divebomb each other, squabbling before they return to their respective gourds.

Power and the others maintain many of the gourds. Bevis said he and Power climb on ladders each year in fall or winter and take down every gourd to clean and perform maintenance before the birds migrate back in May. The group also purchases new gourds yearly.

The total number of bird pairs is unknown, since there’s no concerted effort to track them across the state. But Stark estimates about 150 pairs migrate to the sites she and her colleagues maintain, including at spots in the lower Duwamish River, Shilshole Bay and Terminal 91 in Elliott Bay. Stark said this lack of tracking makes it difficult to know how many birds need homes. It also makes it tricky to get support from state agencies.

“It’s kind of unfortunate. They’re a vulnerable species,” Stark said. “There’s no monitoring, there’s no coordination.”



Kayakers paddle past a purple martin nesting colony made up of natural gourds hung from derelict wooden pilings on Shilshole Bay while on a tour of the Ballard Locks in Seattle in June. (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)

The biggest issue facing purple martins is a lack of natural habitat, Stark said. Purple martins prefer nesting in colonies in wide, open spaces where they can fly freely and catch insects to eat.

But docks and pilings across King County are increasingly being extracted, since many of these structures have been treated with creosote, a chemical used to preserve wood. The product is tough to break down and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can remain as a tar-like mass in the water. It can also move into the soil and then to groundwater, resulting in dangerous creosote buildup in plants and animals.

Pilings have already been removed along Elliott Bay, and they will have to move gourds from Myrtle Edwards Park before extractions begin on Aug. 1, Stark said. When these pilings are removed from the area by government agencies, Stark and her team try to find nearby locations to relocate the gourds so the birds can find their homes from the previous year.

The Port of Seattle is actively partnering with Stark, her colleagues and other groups to relocate the gourds for purple martins to use in future seasons. Jenn Stebbings, Port of Seattle Habitat Restoration and Stewardship program manager, said the Port has worked with the group to relocate gourds at Terminal 91 close to their original locations.

The gourds now reside on tall, metal poles that are environmentally friendly.

The Port of Seattle has had to consider the trade-offs of removing pilings.

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From: Tom Clarke8/11/2024 6:48:04 PM
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From: Brumar898/16/2024 7:54:25 AM
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A 7,100-Acre Solar Farm Is Slated for What’s Left of Wisconsin’s Best Prairie Chicken Habitat
A proposal to build the state's largest solar farm is getting pushback from both hunters and birdwatchers, who have until Friday to comment on the project

By Dac Collins

Posted on Aug 12, 2024 6:39 PM EDT

Greater prairie chicken populations are down across Wisconsin. Wildlife managers counted only 248 male birds during the statewide spring survey in 2023. Photo by USFWS
An alliance of hunters, birdwatchers, and public land advocates in Wisconsin are pushing back against a massive solar project that’s being proposed in Portage County because of the impacts it could have on greater prairie chicken habitat and local hunting opportunities. These groups have stopped short of trying to block the project being proposed by Doral Renewables, which they say is essential in meeting Wisconsin’s long-term renewable energy goals. Instead, they are asking the state’s regulatory agency to scale down the project in a way that will better safeguard Wisconsin’s last remaining prairie chicken stronghold. The public comment period for the project closes Friday.

If completed in its current form, the 7,100-acre Vista Sands Solar project would be capable of producing around 1,300 megawatts of electricity, making it the largest solar project in Wisconsin by far. That’s enough to power roughly 200,000 homes, and it would be a significant step toward the state’s larger goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Doral’s vice president of development Jon Baker told Wisconsin Public Radio in July.

The area where the Vista Sands project stands to be built is ideal for vast arrays of solar panels. It’s a flat, sparsely populated, and mostly treeless landscape that is used predominantly for agriculture. But it’s these same qualities that also make the region one of the last best places for greater prairie chickens, a native grouse species that’s listed as threatened in Wisconsin and is on the decline throughout the greater Midwest.

The Buena Vista Wildlife Area covers more than 12,000 acres near the proposed development site and is home to two-thirds of the state’s overall prairie chicken population, according to the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. The group filed as an intervener in the state’s ongoing approval process, which is being led by the Public Service Commission.

A male prairie chicken dances on a lek. The birds require large open landscapes to breed and thrive.Photo by Brandon Jones / USFWS

“It’s treated similar to a lawsuit, with testimony, witnesses, and rebuttals. We just have a vested interest in this process and want to be engaged on a higher level,” WWF executive director Cody Kamrowski tells Outdoor Life. He says it’s the first time the group has gotten involved with the PSC. “We filed as an intervener because there wasn’t really another conservation group that was going to step up to the table and we were well suited for this position.”

Kamrowski makes it abundantly clear that WWF supports renewable energy development in Wisconsin, and that includes the Vista Sands solar project. He says the group and its supporters are simply asking the PSC to reduce the size of the project by 20 to 30 percent. This reduction would encompass buffers between the large solar arrays and the neighboring conservation lands that serve as lekking grounds for prairie chickens. Their concern is that the vast solar arrays being built — along with the accompanying fences, roads, and other infrastructure — will harm local populations of the birds, which require large open landscapes to breed and thrive.

Read Next: Can Wildlife and Clean Energy Coexist in the West?

Although more research is needed around the effects of renewable energy projects on prairie chickens, past studies have shown that the birds will go out of their way to avoid power lines, roads, and other signs of human development. Similar conversations are underway in the West regarding renewable energy projects and sage grouse, a species that’s closely related to prairie chickens that’s also extremely sensitive to human development.

“We’ve been getting beat up a little bit just because there are plenty of groups out there that are [pushing] renewable energy at all costs — regardless of what the local impacts are,” Kamrowski says. “That’s the really fine line that we’re trying to walk. We support renewable energy and solar, but we need to be mindful of localized wildlife impacts.”

Those impacts could (and likely would) extend to other species as well, he says. The Buena Vista Wildlife area and the surrounding public lands in Portage County are home to plenty of whitetails, wild turkeys, and coyotes, all of which provide opportunities for local hunters.

The Buena Vista Wildlife Area also provides hunting opportunities for whitetail deer, wild turkeys, and predators.Photo by Jim Hudgins / USFWS

Kamrowski clarifies that the current proposal for Vista Sands does not include building on public land, and the majority of acreage slated for development is privately owned agricultural lands. (Under the current framework, farmers are offering their acreage to Doral as part of a lucrative 25-year lease.) Many of the large solar arrays, however, would be built on acreage that abuts the scatter work of conservation lands in Portage County where prairie chickens and other critters are known to live.

Kamrowski voices two primary concerns with such an arrangement: In addition to cutting off migration routes and pushing out wild birds and critters, Kamrowski worries sportsmen and -women might be less likely to hunt among sprawling arrays of solar panels.

“In hunter safety, they teach you to know your target and beyond, and if there are structures around instead of open farm fields, people aren’t going to be shooting in that direction,” Kamrowski explains. “So it does devalue the recreational value of that property to some degree.”

Hunters aren’t alone in pushing back on the size and scale of the solar project, either. Kamrowski says WWF has been supported as intervener by other conservation nonprofits such as the Dane County Conservation League and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology — both of which have acquired and worked to protect some of the best remaining prairie chicken habitat in and around the Buena Vista Wildlife Area.

“That’s what’s really powerful about all this. You’ve got hunting groups, and then you’ve got non-consumptive birdwatching groups involved. That really speaks to the importance of this and the uniform message that everybody has.”

What’s Next for the ProjectIn July the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released an Environmental Impact Statement for the Vista Sands Solar project. The DNR determined that the project, as currently proposed, could negatively impact the local prairie chicken population, and it gave recommendations for how the PSC should move forward on approval.

The DNR’s primary recommendation is to remove 10 of the proposed primary areas for solar arrays along with four alternate sites. The agency also asks regulators to consider alternate locations that would be less impactful to wildlife, since the company is currently leasing an additional 2,900 acres in the county that is not included in its current project footprint.

Kamrowski says the DNR’s recommendation lined up nicely with WWF’s own request to reduce the project’s footprint by around 20 to 30 percent and establish a buffer zone between the solar arrays and their associated infrastructure and neighboring conservation lands.

“We ended up doing a GIS analysis, and [the two] recommendations actually aligned perfectly … the DNR just did [their analysis] by solar arrays and not by miles,” Kamrowski says. “So we’ve just said we’re going to adopt the DNR’s recommendation just to keep it consistent between the two.”

Kamrowski says the PSC has until January 2025 to make a decision on the Vista Sands project. The agency is currently accepting public comment on the project, but that window closes Friday. ( Click here to comment.) He says there’s already been a flood of comments, but he hopes that more hunters will speak up and express their support for the DNR’s recommendation to scale down the project.

“It’s all about wildlife-responsible renewable energy siting,” Kamrowski says. “And I think we can find that balancing act.”

A Massive Solar Farm Is Slated for Wisconsin's Best Prairie Chicken Habitat (outdoorlife.com)

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From: Brumar898/20/2024 12:29:25 PM
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Seal Island sees record number of breeding puffins

By Derrick Z. Jackson

August 17, 2024

Elsewhere, there are reminders that seabirds in the Gulf of Maine remain highly vulnerable.

Photo by Derrick Z. Jackson.

From a bird blind on Seal Island, I watched as puffins zoomed in from the sea with a rainbow of fish drooping from their beaks.

They carried copper and golden juvenile haddock, redfish and white hake. Others had pink krill from massive upwellings that created magenta blotches just offshore.

Some even carried bright silver herring: juicy fish that were once key prey for puffins in Maine. Atlantic herring are also a prime commodity for humans, who have overfished the species so badly that the fishery in New England has routinely been shut down early in recent years.

To see a number of puffins bringing herring to chicks was a stirring reminder of what the ocean can still offer.

Photos by Derrick Z. Jackson.Seal Island, which sits 21 miles off Rockland, was once home to the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the Gulf of Maine. It is now managed by the Audubon Seabird Institute, and was the second island that Audubon’s Project Puffin restored puffins to after a century’s absence spurred by hunting in the late 1800s. The first was Eastern Egg Rock, six miles off Pemaquid Point.

Both islands were seeded with puffin chicks brought from Newfoundland. Puffins began breeding anew on Eastern Egg Rock in 1981 and Seal Island in 1992.


RELATED STORY: Off the coast of Maine, puffins are rebounding and feasting on a new snack


This summer, despite the long-term warming of the Gulf of Maine and long-term increase in the severity of weather events, conditions were so uneventful that Seal Island set a record for breeding puffins.

The crew of Coco Faber, Amiel Hopkins, Liv Ridley, Reed Robinson and Nacho Gutierrez counted 672 active puffin burrows, about 100 more than the last census five years ago. The total number of known burrows surpassed 1,000 for the first time.

Photo by Derrick Z. Jackson.Other birds also did well. Razorbills, a larger cousin of the puffin, established a record 101 active burrows.

“The weights for the puffin chicks were just so good,” said Faber, 30, the crew supervisor. “Unlike many recent years when there were big shifts or drops in what puffin parents could find, this was a summer where they steadily found fish.”

That buoyant mood was shared on Matinicus Rock, another island 23 miles from Rockland, also managed by the Seabird Institute. Crew supervisor Tracey Faber, Coco’s sister, said that not only were the puffin chicks doing well, but Arctic tern and common tern nest numbers were up.

Common murres, another bird re-established in Maine after being gone for more than 100 years, fledged a record 16 chicks.

“We saw some great growth in some birds,” Tracey Faber said.

Photos by Derrick Z. Jackson.But elsewhere there were reminders that seabird islands in the Gulf of Maine are highly vulnerable.

Earlier this month, researchers at the Gulf of Maine Seabird Working Group gathered at a conference hosted by the Seabird Institute in Bremen.

One topic was the damage caused by last winter’s violent storms, particularly on Petit Manan Island, which sits off a stretch of Downeast coastline that got hammered in January.

Photo by Derrick Z. Jackson.Island supervisor Amanda McFarland and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Linda Welch said the vast majority of natural sod burrows under relatively small rocks and artificial nesting structures were destroyed.

The artificial structures had been built by Welch over the years to entice puffins to breed higher up on the island.

This winter’s obliteration left puffin parents competing for available space, with multiple eggs in the same burrow complex and parents trying to roll unwanted eggs out of the way — puffins hatch and raise only one chick at a time.

“There was a nest of a 30-year-old nesting pair that was shot down the shoreline 30 feet. We found burrow markers tossed all over the island,” said McFarland. “It was so ironic and sad because the food for the puffins was so good.”

Photo by Derrick Z. Jackson.The island’s puffins saw one of their lowest birth rates in recent years.

“When I saw the damage, I almost started to cry,” Welch said. “We really need to think more than ever about taking a hard look at climate resilience for seabirds.”

Seal Island sees record number of breeding puffins (themainemonitor.org)

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From: Brumar899/1/2024 1:43:18 PM
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Meet the man behind Maine's puffin resurgence
Predators and human hunting had wiped puffins from islands off of Maine's coast. Dr. Stephen Kress had a wild idea to bring them back.



Author: Amanda Hill (NEWS CENTER Maine)
Published: 9:50 AM PDT August 30, 2024
Updated: 10:42 AM PDT August 30, 2024



ST GEORGE, Maine — Maine has a puffin population thanks to one determined researcher who hatched a plan more than 50 years ago. His idea was to take newly hatched puffins—also known as pufflings— from Newfoundland and bring them back to Eastern Egg Rock, an island off the coast of Maine where they had once lived, but over the years had been killed off by predators and humans.

It was a wild idea at the time, but Dr. Stephen Kress thought maybe if they grew up on the island they'd come back to it as adults and keep breeding.

Despite a successful regrowth now, more than 50 years later, it was a slow start to his so-called Project Puffin.

"After about the first four years when none of the puffins came back, I was starting to, you know, wonder for sure," Kress said.

Every summer for those first four years, Kress and a team of researchers planted themselves on Eastern Egg Rock along with a new batch of pufflings taken from Canada's population, kept them safe, and watched them fledge never knowing if they'd return to the island.

"And because normally puffins are colonial birds, it would take a very brave puffin to land on an island all by itself. So my thinking around that was to try to put some decoys on the island to give them the impression there were other puffins there and eventually, I even played recordings of puffins, and eventually, I also put mirrors up to give the puffins something to look at that would move," Kress said. "They did land almost immediately. We had our first sighting within days of putting up the decoys."

Suddenly, the project and Kress felt rejuvenated. It was working.



Credit: Richard Podolsky
Bill Bridgeland paints puffin decoys in 1975.

"It was super exciting because there had been so many critics and naysayers that said this was never going to work. It was a total miracle in my mind because what this meant was the chicks had learned, that rock was their home and they had—at least a few of them—had remembered that. There's thousands of islands in Maine alone so the puffins had to remember exactly how to get back to Egg Rock. So a few of them did, and that meant maybe more would, and that was the first sign of hope."

As one of the most successful rebuilds of a bird colony, Project Puffin hasn't just rekindled a population in Maine, Kress said Eastern Egg Rock and its surrounding islands have also become important training grounds.

"There's almost 1,000 young biologists that have been trained there at Eastern Egg Rock over the last 50 years and many of them are starting their own projects," Kress said. "Some of them have had careers of their own that were sparked by this experience, so that's kind of the new way I see Egg Rock and the other resort colonies on the coast to inspire the next generation of biologists."

More than five decades into this project, Kress said it's not only just the beginning of growing and supporting and learning from Maine's puffin population but also so much more.

"It's a new way of thinking about stewardship of the planet and how people have a responsibility to take care of life on Earth. We can't assume that nature will take care of all of these things because we have such a profound effect on the nature of this planet," he said.

Kress added that paying attention to how much plastic you're throwing away that will end up in the ocean, and how much carbon you're off-putting are simple ways to start helping.

Despite the incredible growth in the colony, without the teams of researchers who come back each summer, Kress says Maine's puffin population would easily be wiped out again by predators like peregrines, gulls, and eagles. So the project presses on. Kress is no longer involved, but he remains hopeful for its future.

"This hands-on active approach, that was the big surprise. And it worked so wonderfully that many other people are using these methods around the world. I know about 800 other projects in many countries helping about a third of the world's seabird species," Kress said. "And it's not just about the seabirds, these rich ocean spots at the seabirds are showing us, they're also important for fish, for sea turtles, for marine mammals, for all the wildlife that people care about—that they should be concerned about."

Here's the man responsible for Maine's puffin resurgence | abc10.com

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From: Brumar899/19/2024 1:46:37 PM
   of 2910
 
As sandhill cranes ruin crops, Wisconsin weighs chemicals and hunting


Driving down a west Madison street, Dorothy Harms saw something that didn’t seem to fit with the urban environment: a sandhill crane.

Harms is a Reedsburg farmer and while she’s used to seeing sandhills in her neighbors’ fields, the city crane caught her by surprise.

Yet the large, long-legged birds with a croak-like call are not that rare these days. Their numbers have grown in Wisconsin, which is pleasant for those who enjoy watching them but not a universally positive experience.

Cranes can damage houses, car windows and golf courses. But statewide, their biggest impact is on agriculture. The sandhills cause $1.6 million in crop damage a year, according to a 2021 estimate provided by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Sandhill cranes are widely hailed as a conservation success story. While Wisconsin conservationist Aldo Leopold predicted in the 1930s that they would be extinct in the Upper Midwest, the population rebounded in the late 20th century and has been going strong ever since.

That means, in some sense, Wisconsin has been a victim of its own success.

“I think the crane population is going to continue to increase. I think there really does need to be a look at ... how do we kind of keep a balance with this?”

“I think the crane population is going to continue to increase,” Harms, who is president of the Sauk County Farmers Union, said. “So I think there really does need to be a look at, you know, how do we kind of keep a balance with this?”

Hunters and some farmers have advocated for a hunting season to try to control the populations and limit the harm to agriculture. Ecologists argue that killing the birds wouldn’t eliminate crop damage.

But there is another tool to deter cranes from mucking up a farmer’s corn crop: Avipel, a coating applied to seed that gives a bird an upset stomach, deterring them from trying to eat the plants again.

If used correctly, the treatment can keep more of a farmer’s crop intact — if they can afford to take on the risk that comes with applying Avipel.

Anne Lacy, director of Eastern Flyway Programs for the International Crane Foundation, spoke about Avipel during a recent town hall in Fort Atkinson focused on cranes’ impact on agriculture. She said experts are confident the “chemical itself works” but that other barriers must be overcome, such as cost or the need for farmers to juggle another step in the planting process.

“All of these things are why it is not a solution yet because it is harder for farmers to use it,” Lacy said. “So that is what we need to know and … we all will, hopefully, work together in the Legislature to get these things solved.”

Farmers like Dave Mickelson can use Avipel, a seed treatment that deters birds from eating crops, but there are barriers to using the chemical.

Wisconsin crane count is up
Each Christmas, bird lovers across the state will count the number of birds, with the 2023 count finding the most cranes in nearly a decade, according to International Crane Foundation data.

Over 12,000 cranes were spotted in Wisconsin last year, a far cry from the couple of thousand observed in 1982. The marked rise in the crane population has taken some getting used to.

Rick Gehrke, a corn farmer from Omro near Oshkosh, recalled his father having to take measures to fend off cranes on their property but noted the problem “is more and more widespread, at least in central Wisconsin where I’m at.”

Frustration runs rampant for farmers in Wisconsin, with the land most desirable for row crop production in the south-central and eastern parts of the state also overlapping with the areas where cranes like to spend time. Some will stop in the state before continuing their trip south for the winter, while others will stay in Wisconsin through the colder months.

Brian Madigan, vice president of agronomy at Country Visions Co-op in Plymouth, recalled a farmer who had planted his crop late, which coincided with the cranes’ spring arrival in his field.

“It was like 8 acres, just gone,” Madigan said, as he shared the farmer’s reaction. “Like, why did I even put the effort into planting it? And I’m sure not going to replant it, because it’ll just be the same thing again. It’s like, ‘Here’s the buffet, come and get it.’”

Cranes are territorial and typically claim a field as their own. The hatching season for chicks coincides with the spring planting season for farmers, creating a window for them to dig up seeds in search of bugs or other potential food.

Sandhill cranes, like these on Dave Mickelson's property in Leeds, often return to the same territory year after year.

Farmers often will try using cannons or other noise-making devices to scare off cranes, though Lacy said the birds will often wise up to the din and realize it isn’t a threat.

Sandhill cranes are protected under federal law, though farmers can obtain a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that allows them to shoot and kill cranes to mitigate crop damage. About 200 of those permits are issued per year in Wisconsin, allowing farmers to remove 1,100 to 1,200 cranes, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

That’s considered a last resort, however, and farmers must show they’ve exhausted all non-lethal methods before killing cranes.

Sporting organizations, such as the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, and some farm groups have supported the idea of a hunt, arguing it could trim the population and give farmers who shoot and kill cranes the legal right to consume the birds, an option not available now. At least 15 states have crane hunts, mostly in the Rocky Mountain and Western states, though North Dakota and parts of Minnesota allow a hunt.

A fall hunt could curb the population of sandhills that would return to fields in the spring, said Bruce Ross, executive director of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association.

“We’re not steering by the rear view mirror,” Ross said. “We’re looking through the windshield.”

Conservationists have argued that public polling indicates opposition to a hunt and that the limited number of licenses issued wouldn’t resolve the crop damage or provide resources to help farmers.

“With the level of a hunting season there will be for sandhill cranes, it will not raise enough money to cover all of it,” Lacy said.

Dave Mickelson has struggled with cranes wreaking havoc on his land. The birds cause an estimated $1.6 million in damage each year statewide.

Avipel comes with limitations, questions
Others have tried to shift the discussion toward encouraging farmers to use Avipel, the seed treatment that dissuades cranes from disrupting crops.

Studies show Avipel is effective for cranes and other birds, such as geese and turkeys. A Cornell University study found that fields using seed treated with Avipel had higher yields than those which did not.

Dan Hirchert, Wisconsin state director with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said that Avipel isn’t a “cure all,” in part because of the cost and burden placed on a farmers’ planning process. Still, he said, the chemical is a highly valuable option.

“There would be pitchforks up in the air if we didn’t have Avipel for use in Wisconsin,” Hirchert said.

But Avipel has its limitations. In 2019, the DNR estimated that only 160,000 acres of corn were treated with the chemical, a fraction of the 3.7 million acres of corn crop statewide.

It can be applied only to corn seed, meaning that those who harvest potatoes, wheat and cranberries — all of which grow differently than corn — are out of luck. And Avipel hasn’t yet been certified as organic, which cuts off farmers who specialize in organic corn.

Pesticides in Wisconsin must be approved by both the Environmental Protection Agency, which requires tests to certify that a product is safe to put on crops, as well as the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

“With the level of a hunting season there will be for sandhill cranes, it will not raise enough money to cover all of it.”

It is recommended that farmers use protective equipment when applying Avipel to seeds, much like other pesticides. Research compiled by the federal government shows the ingredients in Avipel have low acute toxicity, meaning they require high levels of exposure to make someone sick.

Gehrke, the Omro farmer, said he hopes that holds up over time.

“There is a huge concern, especially long-term, of how this will affect (humans),” he said. “I know there’s studies out there that say that it’s completely safe. I hope so.”

When a farmer buys their seed from a co-op, like the one Madigan works at, the distributor will effectively open a bag of seed, coat it with the liquid Avipel and seal it back up before giving it to the farmer. This can cause a couple of problems.

First, the Avipel coating takes more time and adds another step in the already messy planting process. In addition, this alteration of the seed means that a farmer can’t swap it out for a different version if planting conditions change. And, if there is additional seed left over, they can’t sell it back to the co-op, as Avipel is considered an aftermarket modification.

Then there is the expense. Avipel adds around 15% to the cost of seed per acre. For a large farm, that $10 to $15 per acre can really add up. Madigan said only 10-15% of farmers at his co-op generally treat their seed with Avipel.

“You’re taking some risks to do it,” Madigan said.

The rising sandhill crane population means cranes are often spotted in urban and residential areas, like this Madison neighborhood.

How to ‘make farmers whole’
The DNR has a program that will pay for crop damage caused by a number of species, such as deer, bear, elk or geese.

The program also will give farmers money to prevent animals from wrecking their crops in the first place.

But the program is funded by part of the money hunters pay to harvest those various animals. Under state law, it can include sandhill cranes only if lawmakers authorize hunting them.

“There’s a cost and who's going to pay that cost?” Harms, the Reedsburg farmer, said. “More often than not, farmers seem like they end up being the end of the line.”

Lacy and the International Crane Foundation want the state to change its policies to help offset the costs farmers incur by purchasing Avipel. A state lawmaker, Rep. Dave Considine, D-Baraboo, proposed such an idea but hasn’t seen it gain traction, Lacy said.

A panel of state lawmakers, farmers and conservation groups is looking at possible ways of addressing the rise in sandhill cranes.

That includes a hunt, as well as other means of boosting Avipel and other possible solutions for farmers.

Ross, the executive director of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, said that a hunt and the revenue it generates to aid farmers is a good idea but not “the entire solution.”

Helping increase the availability of Avipel is a good idea, too, he said.

“If you’re going to make farmers whole, it has to be a combination of a hunt to control that future population, maybe some access to that hunter depredation funding and also some sort of funding from some source to help offset the exorbitant costs of Avipel,” he said.

As sandhill cranes ruin crops, Wisconsin weighs chemicals and hunting | Government | captimes.com

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From: Snowshoe10/4/2024 7:09:08 AM
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Birders argue over plan to change dozens of bird names
npr.org

Say goodbye to Bachman’s Sparrow, Scott’s Oriole and Townsend’s Warbler. Those three birds are among a half-dozen that will get renamed first under a plan by the American Ornithological Society to do away with common bird names that honor people.

But whether or not the society will keep going after that, and get rid of all eponymous bird names, remains to be seen.

Last year, the society announced a plan to do just that. The goal was to rename over a hundred North and South American birds, to purge bird names of links to racism and colonialism without having to engage in contentious and time-consuming debates about the morality of every historical figure that had ever been honored in a bird’s common name.

The sweeping move, however, surprised and upset many birders and ornithologists.

This week, opponents and proponents will get to have their say at the society’s annual meeting in Colorado, which features a forum on Thursday to discuss the bird renaming plan.

“I cannot predict what is going to happen there,” says Kenn Kaufman, an author of field guides and a fellow of the society.

He’s seen his fair share of birding controversies, like when birders debated whether they had to actually see a bird or just hear its call in order to add it to their birding life list.

This controversy, though, is in its own league, says Kaufman.

“Something at this scale, I don’t think has ever happened before,” he says. “The decision was put out there, there was a very strong reaction in some quarters, and so the initial decision might wind up being altered.”







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From: Brumar8910/6/2024 11:59:53 AM
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This is why cedar waxwings are special

by Bob Duchesne, Good BirdingSeptember 27, 2024

Cedar waxwings. Credit: Courtesy of Bob Duchesne

As soon as I was allowed to ride my bicycle there, my hometown library became one of my favorite destinations. It wasn’t much more than a half-mile away. But to a fourth-grader, it felt like 10.

I was fascinated by all the books I could take home for free. I was even more fascinated by the cedar waxwings that frequented the mountain ash trees around the building.

The trees were right outside the library window. When the waxwings were feeding, they didn’t care how close I was, because I was on the safe side of the glass. I could see every feather. That made a lifelong impression.

I still love them. And now that I know more about them, I love them even more.

Cedar waxwings are special.

Cedar waxwings could have been designed by a Renaissance painter. The colors blend subtly together. Pale brown on the head and chest blurs into delicate gray on the back and wings. The belly is a pale wash of yellow, not overdone. The colors fuse together, giving the bird a silky look.

Not yet satisfied, the painter adds a jaunty crest to the head and adorns the wings with waxy red beads, giving the bird its name. The tail is dipped in yellow wax. I could, and did, watch them for hours.

And that was long before I knew their other secrets.

Cedar waxwings are one of the most sociable species on the planet. They spend most of the year hanging out together in sizable flocks. About the only time they aren’t gathered with friends is during the breeding season. Even then, they tend to form loosely organized nesting colonies.

A big flock needs a big food supply. Cedar waxwings are nomadic, wandering until they find a banquet table. Berries and fruit provide much of their diet. Many trees produce firm berries that don’t soften until winter bruises them.

Waxwings roam around until they find just the right berries at the proper ripeness. Then they devour all they can stomach.

Sometimes overripe berries ferment. Yes, drunken cedar waxwings are a thing.

Cedar waxwings are comfortable around people. They have no problem gleaning berries from ornamental trees in populated areas. Ornamentals in shopping malls are a favorite. They scarcely notice when people walk out of the supermarket, wheeling a grocery cart right by the tree.

In the spring, before new berries come out, waxwings eat blossoms. They particularly like blossoms on apple and cherry trees. A few weeks later, wild strawberries are often the first fruit to ripen. Waxwings are commonly seen rising off the ground as they pluck the tiny berries off the stems.

By early summer, while still waiting for fruit to grow, waxwings will typically feed on flying insects. They are not as nimble in the air as swallows, but close. They compensate by flying from perches to snatch unwary bugs, or swooping over rivers and wetlands to grab a bite.

Cedar waxwings can also glean insects from vegetation, like warblers. Their ability to get food from multiple sources, using a variety of foraging strategies, has made the species particularly resilient. Populations have remained stable for decades, and are even increasing in some regions.

Cedar waxwings nest as far north as Hudson Bay, across most Canadian provinces. They nest as far south as Virginia, or even lower in the Appalachian highlands. Once off the nest, they can wander as far south as Panama.

Wandering birds share a characteristic. Long-distance migrants often have longer wings.

Nomadic birds may also fly long distances, but they do it in short hops. The most efficient way to fly with shorter wings is by quick bursts of flapping, then folding the wings into the body and coasting. This gives birds a bouncy look in flight.

It’s particularly noticeable with finches and waxwings.

Birds that flock are usually noisy. Songs and calls help keep the flock together. Cedar waxwings are frequently heard before they are seen. Their reedy whistle is unlike any other bird call, except for their close cousins, Bohemian waxwings.

Bohemian waxwings are slightly larger and grayer than cedar waxwings. They nest farther north, with a range that extends over most of Alaska. They are also nomads. Even though their home range is west of the Great Lakes, they regularly sweep eastward in big flocks in search of winter fruit.

Cedar and Bohemian waxwings will likely invade this winter, and they don’t mind sharing each other’s company. Some flocks of cedar waxwings are already here.

Be sure to show them to your fourth-grader.

This is why cedar waxwings are special (bangordailynews.com)

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From: Brumar8910/9/2024 1:47:11 PM
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4 things to know about fall bird migration, according to a Wisconsin naturalist
Songbird migration is nearing its peak in the state

By Clara Neupert
October 8, 2024

Sandhill Cranes in flight at sunrise at Crex Meadows in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Lorie Shaull (CC BY 2.0)

During peak migration, more than 15 million birds can journey through Wisconsin skies in one night. The nocturnal migrants include the American Redstart, Magnolia Warbler and the Swainson’s Thrush. These species join thousands of other birds making their way south for the winter.

Naturalist Bill Volkert is a yearly witness to the hustle and bustle, and he has the numbers to show for it. Vokert has sighted more than 4,300 species of birds. His goal: To see half of the 11,000 species of birds in his lifetime.

The retired wildlife educator returned to WPR’s “ The Larry Meiller Show” to talk about the wonders of our feathered voyagers.

See different areas of Wisconsin and thousands of bird species You can go most anywhere in the state and find a good spot where birds are both nesting in summer and stopping over this time of the year, Volkert said.

Hot spots include the Horicon Marsh and the Mississippi River. If you’re headed to the marsh, Volkert recommends getting there by late afternoon and staying until sunset. Around 6 p.m., birds will return from feeding and gather for the night.

Find more places to birdwatch at Travel Wisconsin.

A Redstart at Horicon Marsh. Photo courtesy of Jack Bartholmai

However, watching the actual migration flights take place can be a challenge.

“We usually don’t see most of the birds really flying in migration,” Volkert said. “We see them more stopping over and gathering in flocks to refuel and rest, because most of the migration, especially for songbirds, takes place at night.”

When they’re migrating, birds typically fly between 2,000 and 5,000 feet in the air. That’s because they’re searching for favorable winds.

It’s common to see birds like Canada geese flying at lower altitudes during the day. Volkert calls those “feeding flights,” and explained that the geese are traveling between their feeding and resting sites.

Migration is one of the greatest phenomena in the natural worldVolkert spends a lot of time in nature and said migration is one of those things that never ceases to amaze him.

Take for example the sandpiper, who makes flights of 8,000 to 10,000 miles each way. And new technology and research has revealed that some birds are capable of making these long flights almost nonstop.

“(Migration) is just a wonderful way to gauge the changing seasons as the different birds arrive and as they leave again,” Volkert said.

Sandpipers. Courtesy UW-Green BayAnd yet, there’s mystery!

Scientists know more information than ever about what makes birds tick, but Volkert said part of the intrigue around migration is in the questions that remain.

Recently, scientists uncovered that migrating birds return to the exact same tree and nest perch every year.

And there’s still more to uncover about how birds navigate. We know a few of the environmental cues they rely on, which vary by species. Volkert said birds use winds, geographic features like rivers and mountains and stars.

But we don’t know how birds find their way when the night sky is cloudy. One theory is electromagnetic fields. An experiment done in the 1970s showed that attaching magnets to a pigeon’s head disoriented the birds and made them unable to fly home.

Another mystery is the parenting methods of shorebirds. Adult shorebirds leave young behind at their nesting grounds and go south. The baby bird is able to migrate alone, a distance of up to 7,000 miles.

Wisconsin has an estimated breeding population of more than half a million ducks, according to the Wisconsin DNR. Photo courtesy of Dave Bowers/Ducks Unlimited

Migration patterns offer clues to how well birds are surviving a changing worldMigrating birds will face many challenges during their flights south, Volkert said. Their winter and summer habitats are shrinking, as well the stopover sites they use as refuge while they rest and refuel. There are tall buildings with deceiving windows, looming communication towers and predatory outdoor cats.

“The world’s just basically getting more dangerous for birds,” Volkert said.

In order to reduce window strikes at his home, Volkert installed little adhesive strips about 4 inches apart on his windows. That’s reduced collisions from 10 to 12 a year to zero.

Additionally, predation by domestic cats is the No. 1 human-caused threat to birds in the U.S. and Canada. Several audubon societies urge owners to keep their felines inside or consider an alternative like building a “catio.”

“These birds have been here with us for so long, and they have a place in nature,” Volkert said. “We’ve just basically got to give them that place that they need and make it safe for them.”

4 things to know about fall bird migration, according to a Wisconsin naturalist - WPR

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