MURIE AUDUBON SOCIETY                                                    CASPER, WYOMING
VOLUME 39 - ISSUE 8                    MONTHLY PUBLICATION             DECEMBER 2005

CALENDAR

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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IT’S TIME TO COUNT THE BIRDS!!

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

BIRD NOTES

TWAS THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS

WINTER SPARROWS

NOVEMBER BOARD MEETING NOTES

CONSERVATION NOTES

AUDUBON WYOMING COMMUNITY NATURALIST

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS

YEAR-END GIVING

THANK YOU

IT’S TIME TO COUNT THE BIRDS!!

The 56th Annual Murie Audubon Christmas Bird Count will be held on December 17, 2005.  If you or someone you know would like to learn more about this annual census, please contact any MAS Board Member.  Bird identifying skills are great but are not a requirement to participate.  If you would like to learn more about our winter birds but do not feel confident in identification, we will send you with a team and your help in counting species would be most appreciated.

Nationally, this is the 106th year for the Christmas Bird Count.  This annual census gathers valuable scientific data about geographic ranges and winter distributions of various birds.  Last year, during the 105th season, about 70 million birds were counted by over 55,000 volunteers from all 50 states, every Canadian province, and parts of Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies, and Pacific Islands.

At the Casper count last year, 66 species of birds were identified with 9,989 individual birds counted by 26 participants.   This year’s count will start at 7:30 AM as participants gather at the Audubon Center at Garden Creek, 101 Garden Creek Road to begin the day; we will return to the Center at 5:30 PM to compile the day’s results and have a pot luck supper.

For more information, please contact Stacey Scott at 265-6213 or Chris Michelson at 234-8726.

Other area counts are:

(Contributors: Walgrens & Tim Avery)

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

Amid all the parties, decorating, shopping and gift-wrapping, take time to just enjoy the holiday season.  One great way would be to participate in Murie’s or Bates Hole CBC, or other CBC’s around Wyoming.  For at least a few hours you can forget all about the hustle and bustle and relax with an outing enjoying Wyoming’s nature.

 

The Banquet committee will be meeting at 6:30 PM at 101 Garden Creek Rd. for about 30 minutes  If you would like to help, please plan to come or let me know you are interested.  We also need help setting up on the afternoon of the banquet.  We, also, would like to hear from you if you have raffle or silent auction items to donate.

 

Please remember to save your Christmas cards that have a bird(s) towards the center of the card.  I have plenty for the 2006 banquet but am looking for more for 2007 banquet. 

 

I have been remiss in thanking a great bunch of volunteers who help fold the newsletter each month.  Thank you very much!!  If you would like to help, give me a call.  We are usually done in under an hour.

 

Thank you to those who continue to bring their used ink cartridges to the General Meetings.  Keep up the good recycling!

 

Thanks, also, to Jim Brown for the donation of a painting, to Wil & Ann Hines for the 2006 calendar and Betty Rickman for the suet cakes for November’s raffle prizes.   Raffle donations for the monthly meetings are always appreciated.

 

Give Betty Krause, 237-2392, a call if you would like to bring refreshments for the monthly general meetings.

 

Merry Christmas, Rose-Mary King - President

BIRD NOTES

Reports of American Tree Sparrows, White-crowns and White-throats, as well as a few Harris’s Sparrows, indicate bird movement down from the north.  The sounds of geese overhead also tell us of migration southward.  Snow episodes and cooler temperatures remind us that winter is coming, and along with that comes the 106th Christmas Bird Count.  Wyoming has 20 CBC events; pick one near you (or two or three!!) and join the fun – and know that you are helping gather info about birds and their status!!

 

October Yard Birds – For the month of October, Wayne and I received 179 yard bird selections from 20 states, Yukon Territory, Costa Rica, and Australia with 80 different species reported.  We are still getting quite a few sparrows and woodpeckers reported, but this month Blue Jays and Gray Partridges are also numerous.  In fact, Blue Jays were in first place, followed by White-crowned Sparrows as no. 2 and Dark-eyed Juncos as no. 3.  Close behind in 4th place was the Gray Partridge.                        

 

Casper:  Jim Herold – Blue Jay, Betty Rickman – White-throated Sparrow, Pat Classen – Yellow-rumped Warbler, Cecil Foote – Pine Siskin, Chris Michelson – Sharp-shinned Hawk, Jim Brown – Blue Jay, Rose-Mary King – American Crow, Stacey Scott – Hooded Merganser, Bruce Walgren – American Goldfinch, Donna Walgren – White-crowned Sparrow; Buffalo:  Deane Bjerke – Blue Jay; Cheyenne:  Barb Gorges – Dark-eyed Junco; Dubois:  Anna Moscicki – White-breasted Nuthatch; Douglas:  Billie Snell – Harris’s Sparrow; Evanston:  Patti Gorman – Cassin’s Finch; Lovell:  Glen Olsen – Yellow-rumped Warbler; Riverton:  Bob Hargis – Brown Thrasher, Suzanne Hargis – White-throated Sparrow; Sundance:  Jean Adams – Sandhill Crane.

 

Thanks to all who helped with the Yard Bird Project in October!!  Pick the bird you most enjoyed seeing in, over, or from your yard in November and send your choice to Donna Walgren (ph. 234-7455), 4311 S. Center St., Casper  82601, or email to bwalgren_AT_coffeyDOTcom.  Thanks again!!  Donna Walgren

 

To find out what birds have been seen in Casper and around the state, call Murie Audubon’s Bird Hotline:  in Casper, 265-BIRD, outside of Casper, 1-888-265-BIRD.

TWAS THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Twas the day before Christmas and all work was done
the Killdeer were calling and not only one.
It was foggy and frosty by dawn's early light
when suddenly right toward me did fly
a Short-eared Owl chased by another, oh my!
I wondered if it was his father or mother,
a relative, maybe a sister or brother.

I looked in the pine tree for Scrub Jay or Hawk
but spied Nuthatch and Juncos and big Pheasant cock.
I looked in the culverts for small Burrowing Owl
and off in the distance heard Coyotes howl.
More birds were awaking, their calls I could hear,
the peep of the Pipits and lots more Killdeer.
Above winter wheat fields so lush and so green
glided Marsh Hawks and Kites with no time to preen.

With aperture figured and shutter speed set
I hoped that my camera wouldn't get wet.
I made sure my lens was clean and lint-free
and waited for God to allow me to see
a Red-wing or Heron or Goose flying free.

                                                                    (Photo taken by Pete Arnold)
I counted my blessings and sat down to say
that I'm grateful and humble and started to pray.
I thanked him for Towhee and Robin and Wren
and asked him forgiveness for all of my sins.

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes
and saw just above me, quite a surprise,

a Kestrel hovered then flew straight away

                                                                            (Photo taken by Rose-Mary King. 

                                                                                                            American Kestrel released at SCWR, Inc. 10-2005)
to a farmhouse with chimney and children at play.
They saw him and pointed as he lit on the flue
and in their small little voices,
"Merry Christmas to you!"
Like magic, quickly, the fog if did lift
and God gave us all this wonderful gift.

By Nan Moore
Christmas 2004

WINTER SPARROWS

Here in Wyoming, its late fall going on winter, and our winter species are starting to make their appearance.  One of the first birds to show up after making their way down from the far north are American Tree Sparrows.  Oh no – sparrows!  LBJs (Little Brown Jobs).  Not exactly everybody’s favorite when it comes to identification.  Borrowing from Kenn Kaufman in Advanced Birding, let’s set up the following scenario:        

“It’s the first week in December.  Here is a typical encounter between a beginning birder and a sparrow.  The sparrow sets off the encounter by flying up onto a fence wire.  Fighting off a sense of panic, the birder tries to focus on field marks.  Does the bird have a streaked or plain breast?  Plain.  Okay.  Is there or is there not a pale central stripe on the crown?  Can’t see that at this angle.  Okay, what about a central breast spot?  Also wrong angle.  And wing bars; do those pale lines qualify as wing bars?  At about this time, the bird drops back into the dry grass.  The birder has noted only one definite field mark: the plain breast.  Fortunately, at this time of year the likely suspects are not so numerous:  1) Tree Sparrows should be here by now; 2) White-crowned Sparrows might be still be moving through; 3) there’s also a possibility of a White-throat showing up; 4) another possible candidate is a Harris’s Sparrow; 5) No!! Chipping Sparrows are long gone, so it’s highly unlikely your bird is a chipper.  (Having said that, it’s always wise to keep in mind that the birds do not read the books!)

Mr. Kaufman also notes that when looking at sparrows, the “field mark approach” doesn’t always work.  An alternative is to observe the shape and behavior.  American Tree Sparrows are small sparrows with rounded heads (with a rufous cap IF you can see it!) and medium-long tails, notched at the tip.  They are usually in small flocks, in brushy areas, and often feed on the ground.  Their call notes include a soft “tsip” and a sharper sounding alarm note.  Winter flocks also utter a melodious, warbling twitter that Thoreau described as the “tinkle of icicles.” 

White-crowned, White-throated, and Harris’s Sparrows are medium to large sparrows with fairly long, square-tipped tails.  Their heads appear slightly peaked, and call notes usually are sharp and distinct (though white-throats are a bit softer).  They also tend to be found in brushy areas.

In A Birder’s Guide To Wyoming, Dr. Oliver Scott says that American Tree Sparrows can arrive in Wyoming as early as late October and are usually gone by April 1st. White-crowns may be abundant migrants in September, October, and November and again in April and May.  White-throats and Harris’s may show up in October and be seen infrequently until some time in May.

So, if you are looking at an LBJ, don’t give up too soon trying to identify it.  Trust me – winter sparrows are easier to figure out than summer sparrows!!                Dana Spizella

NOVEMBER BOARD MEETING NOTES

63 out of 77 Audubon Adventures classrooms now have sponsors.  (To sponsor a classroom - $41.50, contact Ann Hines.)                                               

Casper’s Christmas Bird Count is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 17, with a pre-count organizational meeting to be held on Nov. 1 at 7 pm at the Audubon Center at Garden Creek.  The post-count pot luck will be held at the Garden Creek Center starting at 5:30 pm.   Contact Stacey Scott or Michelson for details.  

State/National Audubon news:  Bart Rea reported that 3 community naturalists have been hired – for Casper, Gillette, and Sheridan. 

The board discussed the possible purchase of the Duncan Ranch by the State Land and Investments Board; because of the value of the area to habitat and wildlife, it was agreed Murie should support the acquisition. 

We are continuing work on plans for the annual fund-raising banquet in January, and are in the process of soliciting donations for the raffle and silent auction.  If anyone has items to donate, contact any board member.

As always, the Board welcomes input from the Murie membership; please send us any comments and suggestions you may have, or come to the Board meeting!!        Recording Secretary - Donna Walgren

CONSERVATION NOTES

“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who can not.”   -- Aldo Leopold

05-ANWR_map3ANWAR Dodges the Bullet Again – For Now!  Drilling in the Arctic was included in the House budget bill (where it can’t be filibustered as it was in the energy bill); the Senate has already approved a budget package including a provision allowing leasing and drilling.  This time at least two dozen moderate House Republicans oppose the Arctic drilling idea, and through their pressure got the measure removed from the House budget package. The political roller coaster on oil and ANWAR has been going on for 30 years.  The debate started in 1977; at that time, Stan Senner was a young environmentalist from Fairbanks, Alaska who went to Washington to lobby for protection of the proposed drilling area.  This “wrestling match” has continued for 3 decades and it still isn’t over.  Many may remember Stan when he was in the National Audubon Rocky Mountain Office in Boulder; he is now director of Audubon Alaska.  “We have the chance of seeing the infrastructure of the oil industry spanning the entire Arctic coast and that would be a tragedy,” Stan says; but he can’t believe that Congress will give up on the last pristine slice of Arctic wilderness in America. 

Prelude to the Ivory-bill Rediscovery – In an editorial in BirdScope, Cornell Lab director John Fitzpatrick noted that several early conservationists had a hand in the survival of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge.  In the mid-1900s the US Army Corps of Engineers were planning an ambitious 232-mile channelization project in the Cache River ecosystem.  The National Environmental Project Act of 1969 (NEPA) had barely been instituted when the Cache River project was on the verge of becoming a reality.  Pratt Remmel, Jr. and Tom Foti (founders of the Arkansas Ecology Center) were protesting the lack of oversight of the project.  A court test of NEPA was brought by Richard Arnold and sportsman attorney Johnnie Moore – the court room arguments continued from 1971 to 1976 with help from the Environmental Defense fund.  All this resulted in the historic ruling that NEPA must require “full disclosure” of environmental impacts.  Rex Hancock, a sportsman dentist, then organized a national coalition of duck hunters and environmentalists, and finally convinced the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (plus eight other state wildlife agencies) to oppose the project.  After that Kay Kelly Arnold and Nancy Delamar (the first two directors of The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas) launched efforts to protect these swamp forests.  Dale Bumpers (governor-turned-senator) helped expand the White River NWR, and then, in 1986, helped create the Cache River NWR.  Further expansion of both refuges brought the total area of protected swamp and bottomland hardwood forests to 220,000 acres of possible habitat for America’s largest (and most mysterious) woodpecker.  Some may consider environmental impact studies “inconvenient” and “unnecessary,” but the Ivory-bill owes its survival to NEPA’s EIS process.

Duncan Ranch Recreation Area?  – The Duncan Ranch south of Glenrock has recently become available for purchase, and the Office of State Lands and Investments is evaluating the possibility of acquiring the property and including it in the state school trust lands.  The 6,439-acre ranch is located 6 miles south of Glenrock on Boxelder Road; the area has a rich diversity of habitats, wildlife, and recreational opportunities for hunters, birders, and other outdoor enthusiasts.  The state has put down $143,500 for a purchase option and now must decide if the area will be worth the $5.9 million price tag.  It would increase public access to federal and state lands, among these Boxelder Canyon, which besides offering challenging hiking and fishing opportunities (and fantastic geology!), is suitable for bighorn sheep introduction.  Public comment on the purchase is being solicited. For more info, check the Office of State Lands and Investments website.        Donna Walgren

AUDUBON WYOMING COMMUNITY NATURALIST

Kenneth Keffer is the new Community Naturalist for Audubon Wyoming at the Audubon Center at Garden Creek.

He was born and raised in Wyoming and graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2002 with a degree in Wildlife Biology and Management.  Since then Keffer has worked on numerous field studies including projects on prairie dogs in Thunder Basin National Grassland, small mammal communities in Grand Teton National Park, northern flying squirrels in Alaska, and wild Bactrian camels in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia.  Most recently he worked on a northern New Mexico ranch that is being managed for conservation and education.  Over the years Keffer have also volunteered at a couple of the MAPS bird banding stations, as well as participated in a handful of Christmas Bird Counts. 

Ken says, “I'm excited to be on board, and I look forward to working with you all in the coming months and years.  Hopefully I can meet many of you at this year’s Christmas Bird Count, or feel free to give me an email, a call, or stop by the Center for a cup of coffee anytime.  Keffer can be contacted at: kckeffer_AT_yahooDOTcom or kkeffer_AT_audubonDOTorg (coming soon) or 307-473-1987

President’s Note:  On behalf of Murie Audubon Society, welcome back, Ken, to Wyoming and to Casper.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS

For those of you that are still hunting for gifts for the birder in your family or for friends, you may want to consider books, CDs or even DVDs on the topics of birds or nature.  Perhaps you may also consider purchasing bird feeders and / or food to put in them.  Below is a sample of what’s available.

National Geographic Complete Birds of North America is a new publication that covers every bird species in North America, as well as all the migrants that fly through.  This is not exactly a field guide, more similar in size to Sibley’s first book.  Illustrations, photos, and text offer dozens of tips to describe the birds.  Range maps and migration maps are also included.

Shorebirds of North America: The Photographic Guide by Dennis Paulson offers quality and a large variety of photographs of shorebirds that can be found in North America.  Again, this is not necessarily a field guide, but the wide selection of photos show birds in flight as well as average plumage differences between breeding adults, non-breeding adults and juveniles.

On Ancient Wings: The Sandhill Cranes of North America by Michael Forsberg.  This may be more of a coffee table book that includes great photos of Sandhill Cranes taken by Michael Forsberg over the course of five years.  Forsberg has documented these majestic birds in habitats ranging from the Alaskan tundra, to the arid high plains, from Cuban nature preserves to suburban backyards.  The text intertwines the lives of cranes, people, and their common places to tell an ancient story at a time when Sandhill cranes and their wetland and grassland habitats face daunting prospects.

The Singing Life of Birds: The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong by Donald Kroodsma.  Professor emeritus Kroodsma from the University of Massachusetts shares what he’s learned from more than three decades of recording and analyzing the songs of birds in this book.  He discusses how birds acquire their songs, what makes their songs unique, what functions they serve, and how they’ve evolved.

To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifetime Obsession by Dan Koeppel.  Dan Koeppel shares his story about his father Richard, an obsessive birder who spent more time birding than with his family.  Over the years, Richard spotted more than 7,000 different species of birds, a number achieved by fewer than a dozen other people.  Dan Koeppel, a nature writer, shares his account of his father’s 50-year birding odyssey with facts about this ritualized, expensive sport, including its history, the rules and technicalities of listing, the people and organizations devoted to making lists, and questions of taxonomy.

In the Company of Crows and Ravens by John Marzluff and Tony Angell.  This book examines the interaction of crows and humans.

The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker by Tim Gallagher.  This is the story of the year, the re-discovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

North American Owls: Journey through a Shadowed World by Jim Burns.  The author devotes a chapter to each of the 19 species of owls found in North America.  The essays are combined with stunning full-color images of these elusive birds, and as these birds are so often heard and not seen, an audio CD is part of this complete owl package. 

If the above books aren’t of interest, you may want to consider a regional birder’s guide for that trip next spring or fall.

There is also a large variety of CDs and tapes related to birding on the market.  Included in this group are titles such as the Petersen Field Guide Series: A Field Guide to Western Bird Songs, Birding by Ear (Western and Eastern/Central versions), Bird Songs of the Rocky Mountain States and Provinces from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and others.

A DVD of Jacques Perrin’s Winged Migration, while not as dramatic as on the big screen, is still fun to watch.

A favorite shopping tip of ours is to research the book(s) that we’re interested in with online book sellers where you can get details about the book, sometimes even see sample pages from the book, and read editor and individual reviews.

If books aren’t your bag, how about a gift subscription to any of the numerous birding magazines such as Birding from American Birding Association, Birder’s World, Wild Bird, Bird Watcher’s Digest or Cornell Lab’s  Living Bird.

Finally, bird feeders and food to put in them may be a good idea for folks that enjoy observing birds in their back yards.  Try to pick feeders that can be filled and cleaned easily.  Also consider where and how your prospective feeder will be mounted.  There is a large variety of specialty feeders on the market, some  aimed at specific species (i.e. hummingbirds), others for specific food (i.e. Niger) and still others that claim to be squirrel-proof.  Don’t forget water if you do feed birds, it’s probably more important than food, and there are lots of models to pick from.

While this list is not meant to be complete, or to recommend one book or author vs. another, we hope that it may provide you with some ideas of what is available for this holiday season.  Bruce and Donna Walgren

YEAR-END GIVING

As the year draws to a close, many of us get out the checkbook and determine how much extra money we will have after the Christmas bills are paid and decide who to donate to and how much.  Please consider the following organizations.

Murie Audubon Society - you can use the form HERE to make a donation to MAS, i.e. bird hospital, Audubon Adventures or beside “other” designate “scholarship fund.”  We are sending one youth to the Lucius Burch Center at Trail Lake Ranch EcoTracs Camp, Dubois, summer of 2006.  Your donation is tax deductible and stays in Wyoming.  Your donation of time and talent is, also, gratefully appreciated.

Audubon Wyoming - Call Diane at Audubon Center to find out about specific programs you might want to donate to, make a generic donation or visit their website.  Your donation is tax deductible and stays in Wyoming.  Your donation of time and talent is, also, gratefully appreciated.

National Audubon Society - There are many areas within the NAS where monetary help is needed.  Becoming a NAS member is one way.  Please put Murie’s  membership code - Z50 - on your membership application form.

Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. -  Visit their website and you will find their pages for items needed, as well as volunteer application and agreement.  Unscented paper towel rolls and toilet paper rolls are always needed.  Your cash donations are tax deductible - your donation will stay in Wyoming - and will be used to care for the injured and orphaned birds and mammals.  Your donation of time and talent is, also, gratefully appreciated.

Dear Murie Members, Thank you for the donation to the American Cancer Society in memory of my daughter, Sheryl, and for all the phone calls, cards, and support extended over the past several years.  Your kindness and caring means so much.     Barb Yonts

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