Dec06Jano7PNP

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CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

This CBC season marks the 107^th time that birders and conservationists will venture afield across the United States to count birds, thus contributing to the wealth of knowledge needed to help scientists learn more about the overall health of bird populations and of the environment. Since its inception in 1900, the Christmas Bird Count’s coverage has increased to include Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands.

What is a Christmas Bird Count? In the event that you have never taken part in a count or even heard of one before, each count circle consists of a 15 mile diameter circle (approximately 177 sq. miles). During the official count period of December 14 through January 5, observers in the field and feeder watchers identify and count all the birds they can find within the circle in a 24-hour time period.

Weather impacts were definite factors in the 106^th CBC results. In the American Birds review of the 106^th count, it was noted that in recorded weather history, there have been only 2 severe (category 5) hurricanes in the Atlantic; in the 2005 season, there were 5 such storms. October is the most important time for migrating neotropical birds, and as they traveled southward, they were met by a wall of storm activity from Mexico to the Caribbean basin. In hurricane ravaged areas, CBC observers found near annihilation of many key habitats. Many formerly wildlife-rich areas were found completely devoid of life (similar to the Gulf Coast towns and cities).

In addition, the continuing severe drought in southern Texas, southwestern U.S. and parts of Mexico affected what birds were found where, and in what numbers. Also, during the CBC period, winter storms tended to fall during the weekends (when many counts were held), creating difficult counting conditions and suppressed bird activity.

Although last year’s season had a record number of 57,156 participants on 2,060 circles (also a record), with 22 new counts in the U.S., bird numbers also reflected the weather impacts. A total of 652 species were found in the U.S. (same as last year) with 57,357,023 individuals tallied (almost 9 million less than last year); 289 species in Canada (compared to 300 last year) with a total of 3,231,694 individuals (up almost 180,000 from last year).

Weather was likely a factor in Wyoming’s CBC season also; 21 count circles yielded 119 species, down from 133 recorded the previous year. Casper had the highest number of species with 66 (the same number as the year before). Though numbers may not have been quite as high as in past years, Wyoming still had some high U.S. counts – Evanston had the high count for Greater Sage-Grouse at 288. Casper shared the high count for Golden Eagles at 31 with Kanab, Utah. And Dubois had the high for Clark’s Nutcracker at 81, the high for Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches at 786, and for Black Rosy-Finches at 320. Keith Evans from Ogden, Utah (who summarized the CBC results in Wyoming and Utah) noted that Merlin reports were above average in Wyoming – 23 on 11 count circles. He also noted that Eurasian Collared-Doves are well established in Wyoming and Utah (which I think surprises no one!) – 370 on 11 circles in Wyoming and 473 recorded in Utah (outnumbering Bald Eagles). American Crows also seem to be continuing their increase in numbers. It has also been noted that since the split of Cackling Goose from Canada Goose, there have been quite a few high count records being submitted; and consequently there has been some ID confusion with the other very similar small forms of Canadas. Therefore, many CBC regional editors have indicated that they are going to require good documentation for acceptance.

Murie Audubon Society is the sponsor of this 59^th annual count for Casper on Saturday, December 16; we will meet at the Audubon Center at Garden Creek at 7:00 a.m. to finalize party and route plans and then proceed into the field. After spending the day in the field, we will gather again at the Center at 6:00 for a potluck supper and to compile the day’s results (and tell our “war stories”). At this writing, the Casper area still has very dry conditions, with very cold weather predicted in the next few days. We have also been promised some snow activity, but it remains to be seen if that will actually happen, and who knows what will happen next week. Bottom line – it’s anybody’s guess what will happen on the 16^th!!!

Blue Grouse and Great Horned Owls are two species of particular interest. If you have seen either of these bird species, we would like to know about them so that they may be included in the census. Also, if you feed birds in your backyard, you may participate by counting them on the day of the count or keep track of birds you see the preceding 6 days (which will be tallied as “birds seen during count week”) and reporting the tally to us on the day of the count (please leave ans. mach. messages for Chris Michelson, Walgrens, or Stacy Scott).

....."AND A GREAT HORNED OWL IN A PINE TREE."

We encourage you to join us for the count; it is great way to get out, see some of our winter birds, and enjoy the company of others interested in birds and conservation. And you do not have to be an “expert birder” to participate – we need all the eyes and ears we can get to find the birds and people to help with recording and driving.

For more information, please contact Stacey Scott at 265-6213, Chris Michelson at 234-8726 or Bruce Walgren at 234-7455. (Any questions about the potluck, call or email Donna Walgren.)

Dana Spizella wrote an article for the newsletter that tells of the difficulty in accurately “counting” the number of species flushed from a bush, species flying overhead or swimming on a lake. Two websites he suggests where you can practice your counting abilities can be found at Irania Bird Counting Game or How do we do it?. As he stated “So, if you are considering venturing out to take part in a Christmas bird count this season, you probably should brush up on your flock-counting skills, because sometime during that count you will likely be confronted with a flock of geese or crows, or at the very least, a bush full of house sparrows – and trust me, they won’t sit patiently waiting for you to count them all.”

Contributors to this article – Bruce and Donna Walgren, Dana Spizella, & the Editor.

Wyoming is known around the world for its fossils, from the fossil fish of western Wyoming which can be purchased in gift and rock shops all over the world, to the well known dinosaurs that have been collected here and have similarly found their way into museums all over the world.

    One lesser known aspect of paleontology in Wyoming is the record of fossil birds from here. Birds are generally very rare in the fossil record, mainly because of their delicate bones. But they are nonetheless known, and a good many from Wyoming. Since fossils are generally the remains of bones, one must learn to identify birds from their bones. Unlike modern birds, there are no field guides to this, but many bird bones are indeed quite easy to identify as bird bones.
    Fossil birds have been recorded from Wyoming almost as long as paleontologists have been collecting fossils here. One of them was even a contender for oldest (geologically speaking) bird fossil in the world. Bird fossils in Wyoming are known from isolated bone pieces, single bones, partial skeletons, complete skeletons, eggs, nest sites and bone accumulations. At our next membership meeting, we will look at how birds have changed from the Jurassic Period to modern times, and what types were known to live in Wyoming. The best record comes from the Eocene Green River Formation (roughly 50 million years ago), the same lake deposits that contain countless fossil fish, where numerous spectacular bird skeletons have been found.
    Jean-Pierre (JP) Cavigelli, prep lab manager and field trip organizer at that Tate Museum, will be our guest speaker for our January monthly membership meeting.   JP came to Casper two years ago from Laramie. In Laramie, he worked off and on in paleontology for 14 years, doing field work as well as a two year post as the collections manager for the University of Wyoming Department of Geology and Geophysics. He has had the good fortune of having been invited to join international paleontological expeditions to Mongolia, Niger (twice) and North Dakota. This talk is a combination of three of JP's favorite topics... birds and fossils and Wyoming.
    Join us on Friday, January 12, 2007 at 7 pm at the Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Building at 2211 King Blvd. The program is free and open to the public.                 J.P. Cavigelli and Bruce Walgren

Bruce’s Branch

Thanksgiving is behind us and the mad rush is on for preparations for Christmas. A recent news story revealed that the average male shopper spent over $400 on the day after Thanksgiving while female shoppers spent in excess of $300. At our house we stayed home, in fact we didn’t do any shopping the whole week-end! We’ve never been big spenders at Christmas and can’t see any future in spending ourselves into debt. An alternative to buying a gift for someone who doesn’t really need anything is to make a donation in their name to their favorite charity. Or, spend time with them by calling them, writing to them or paying them a visit. Create a new memory instead of increasing the balance on your credit cards!

The year is obviously nearing its’ end, time does seem to speed by and your “to do” list may not reflect your well meaning intentions. No use in worrying about your “to do” list, you can always carry it over ‘til next year.

Donna and I recently visited Soda Lake to check out what waterfowl species might be present. The inlet basin is now full again after years of reclamation to remove contamination from the refinery waste. In past years, we had spent many hours birding at Soda Lake, but the ongoing work and associated low water levels had reduced the numbers of birds that made it such an attraction. Anyway, our recent visit brought back many pleasant memories and hope for more as the lake recovers and refills, plus we found a Long-tailed Duck among the more common species!

Don’t forget about the Christmas Bird Counts – Casper’s on December 16 and Bate’s Hole on January 1, 2007. Have a wonderful and safe holiday season.

PRESIDENT - BRUCE WALGREN

A Trip To Esterbrook

"O little village of Esterbrook,

How sweet to see thee there........"

Esterbrook was a point of destination in the distant past for the Casper Bird Group's weekend birding that was led by Dr. Oliver Scott. In more recent years, a place to pass through while birding on the way to Cheyenne's Big Day or to do individually during the birding season.

Esterbrook is tucked away in the mountains approximately 82 road miles from Casper. It always struck me as a scenic little village that was somewhat in disrepair. I imagine it was more hustling-bustling when it was a busy copper mine village. It is suppose to be named for Esterbrook Creek. I have no idea if the Esterbrook Creek it was named after is the same creek that was named after Mrs. Esther Cooper, a pioneer woman in 1897. Esterbrook of the present is pretty well clustered in timber. You can't really see it until you are in its midst.

Esterbrook does have a rustic church that is on an open hillside west of the village & pointing to Laramie Peak. The altar area of the church has a picture window that frames Laramie Peak. A sign outside the church says: Esterbrook Community (Church) - Non-denominational, Consecrated for Christian service AD 1946. I entered the church, saw the picture window, viewed Laramie Peak, & signed the register, noting that the person who visited the church the same day was from Houston, TX. There are a lot of houses rising around the Esterbrook area. I would imagine some are permanent living quarters and others are seasonal cabins. The US Forest Service had or has a guard station at Esterbrook.

So I thought a trip to Esterbrook would be a delightful idea. I needed to get out of the house & into the field & see what humanity was doing these days. I don't have Verna here now to prompt me to get on the stick & get moving before rigor mortis sets in. So Gina & I set out on Tuesday, 21 November 2006. I realized that I needed to refresh my memory about the terrain in the area of Esterbrook & some of the good birding spots along the road & maybe recall some of the birds I had seen & the roads that took me there.

As most assume, I took I-25 eastward. After crossing into Converse Co., I arrived at Raptor Row on the south side of the Interstate but nary a bird to be seen. I viewed the exits to Glenrock, the smoke of Dave Johnston, the exit to Ayres Natural Bridge & some road work before arriving at Exit 140 on the west side of Douglas, where I indeed made my exit. I went to the STOP sign but since I was going right I took the YIELD route to the street that saw me to the Esterbrook sign & highways 91-94. After going under the Interstate, the routes divided & I went left on Hwy. 94 where my Esterbrook refresher journey was about to begin. In fast order I'm at the irrigated fields on my left where Betty Rickman found the dickcissel. A little farther on I'm at the 1st of 3 access signs. Usually these refer to WY G&F Dept. fishing access areas, but they can do well as birding areas too. I don't stop at any of these access points but continue on to the bridge 8.5 miles from the start. I stop at the bridge & note that the only birds in sight are black-billed magpies. I continue onward with the next stop being LaBonte. I certainly hope this is LaBonte. There is a community hall & school. At least I think it is a school. This is where the black top ends & the road splits into 2 gravel roads. I take my noon repast here. When I take up my journey again, I note that Esterbrook is 15 miles down the road to my left. This is where the real birding begins. A good stop is the bridge just ahead. I think this is LaBonte Creek. It would be a good place for it. I used to see turkey vultures & some ducks here. I won't see another creek until I go down Bruner road (CCR-10) to the creek. I believe they may call that creek Mill Creek. So starting up again at LaBonte Creek bridge, I travel 1.1 miles on the main road to where I start seeing dead wild sunflower bushes. For the next 1.5 miles I'm in the area where Bob South saw a lesser goldfinch among American goldfinch. I saw it too at a later date. Now I'm approaching Bruner road. So I make a detour from the main road. The bushes on the sides of Bruner road have offered green-tailed & spotted towhees. At the bridge, one might see more American goldfinches, lazuli bunting, yellow & yellow-rumped warblers, swallows, western meadowlark, & vesper sparrows. We have seen lesser goldfinch near the end of bushes & trees along the road to the west. I'm sure there were many more species at this birding spot, but time has consumed my records.

Back on the road to Esterbrook, I stopped 0.6 miles from Bruner road. In past we've seen wood ducks in a little obscure pond to the west of the road, but the pond doesn't seem to be there any more. Am I in the wrong spot??? Just a short distance from this spot (0.2 mi.) I arrived at the start of the Lewis' woodpecker area which continues onward for 2.1 miles. In the distant past we used to see fair numbers (15-20) of this woodpecker here. We were still seeing a few in 1999. Another 0.4 miles down the road & I see where a fairly recent fire has occurred on the eastside of road. The fire looked like it was contained in short order. Also on the eastside of road is a sheer rock wall 75-100 feet high. We always thought that this would be a good place for canyon wrens, but what we want & what we get are two different things. I drove through range type land for a short period (0.4 mile) before heavy stands of timber began. This is great birding area & if one can find a place to park, the area ought to be walked. It is about a 1 mile walk. We've seen goldfinch, towhees, warblers, sapsuckers, & woodpeckers in this area. As I drive on I pass the junction with Glendo road (CCR-6), so I must have been on CCR-5 since we left LaBonte. From this juncture, I pass the Norcross sign 0.8 miles later. I know Dan & Pat Norcross. Dan's folks lived here & Dan & Pat have it now. Then in 0.3 miles I'm at another juncture in the road. This used to be a great place for mountain bluebirds. I hope they are still here. The westward road continues as CCR-5 towards Laramie Peak, while the other road goes to the little village of Esterbrook. Esterbrook was a great place to see broad-tailed hummingbirds. To be continued. The Hummer

Editor’s note - I found the following on the Internet regarding Esterbrook - “Like the creek of the same name, this town was named for Mrs. Ester Cooper, an important Wyoming pioneer, in 1897 (see the Cooper Mansion in Laramie). It had a short stint as a copper mining town.

Dr. CHARLES R. PRESTON 21^st Annual Banquet sPEAKER

Dr. Charles R. Preston is Chief Curator of the five museums of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and the Founding Curator-in-Charge of the Draper Museum of Natural History. The innovative 55,000 square-foot Draper Museum opened in 2002, as part of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center complex, in Cody, Wyoming. The Draper has become a model for a new genre of immersive natural science museums focused on the integration of humans and nature near globally important conservation areas, such as Yellowstone National Park. Dr. Preston has been lauded widely for his visionary leadership in creating the Draper Museum.

Prior to his current appointment, Preston was Chairman of the Department of Zoology at the Denver Museum of Natural History, and before that Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He holds or has held adjunct faculty appointments in biology and environmental science at the University of Colorado (Boulder and Denver campuses) and in environmental policy and management at the University of Denver.

A zoologist and wildlife ecologist, Dr. Preston studies the connection between human and natural systems with an eye toward predicting wildlife dynamics in relation to human activities. He is also interested in the evolving role of natural history museums and other informal science education venues in society, and is a strong advocate for the role of scientists as public educators. He promotes understanding of the dynamics of coupled human and natural systems through his writing, university teaching, public appearances, and museum exhibits. Dr. Preston’s most recent book, Golden Eagle: Sovereign of the Skies, was released in 2004 by Graphic Arts Center Publishing, Seattle, WA.

Winter bird species are being reported around the state now – Gray-crowned and Black Rosy-Finches in Sundance, a Yellow-billed Loon at Lake DeSmet, in Casper area waters – Tundra Swans, Herring Gull, Common Loon, Pacific Loon, White-fronted Goose, White-winged Scoter and Long-tailed Duck, and Rough-legged Hawks are being reported regularly now, along with a Ferruginous Hawk or two.

November and December typically bring lots of reports of nuthatches, sparrows, woodpeckers, Steller’s and Blue Jays, waxwings, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Northern Shrikes, and the Yard Bird Report has reflected this – along with many reports of Sharp-shinned Hawks checking out the fare at the “birdfeeder buffet.”

Bruce Bennett in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory is one of our Yard Bird Project participants; he noted that there had been many flocks of Trumpeter Swans flying over. One exhausted swan landed on a highway in northern Yukon; the Conservation officer up there put the bird in a dog kennel and flew it down to Bruce. He fattened it up on potatoes, carrots, and grain and then released it. Bruce said, “My son’s daycare thought that was pretty cool.”

October Yard Birds – For the month of October, Wayne and I received 179 yard bird selections from 21 states and Hong Kong, China with 81 different species reported. The October yard report usually has large numbers of juncos, woodpeckers (especially flickers), jays, White-crowned Sparrows, and chickadees; and frequently there are a couple errant hummingbirds. True to form, the most reported yard bird for October was Dark-eyed Junco, with Northern Flicker coming in second. In third place was Blue Jay – and there was a Calliope Hummingbird reported in Idaho and a Black-chinned Hummingbird in Colorado.

Casper: Jim Herold – American Robin, Chris Michelson – Eurasian Collared-Dove, Bob Yonts – Blue Jay, Rose-Mary King – American Robin, Gloria Lawrence – White-crowned Sparrow, Jim Lawrence – Harris’s Sparrow, Bruce Walgren – American Crow, Donna Walgren – Black-capped Chickadee; Cheyenne: Barb Gorges – Dark-eyed Junco; Lovell: Glen Olsen – Northern Flicker; Sundance: Jean Adams – Sandhill Crane.

Thanks to all who helped with the Yard Bird Project in October!! The weatherman is promising very cold weather with possible snow; this may push some different birds our way. November is almost over, so we will be waiting to see what yard birds you all will report. Send your yard bird for November to Donna Walgren (ph. 234-7455), 4311 S. Center St., Casper, WY 82601, or email to Piranga_AT_bresnanDOTnet. DONNA WALGREN

Mercury and Wood Thrushes – David Evers, a researcher from the Biodiversity Research Institute in Gorham, Maine studying elevated mercury levels in fish-eating birds, expanded his work to include songbirds in New York state, particularly Wood Thrushes, whose population had declined by 45% in recent decades. He found that the Wood Thrush had the highest levels of mercury of all the songbirds tested – high enough to affect reproduction. It has been proposed to cut mercury emissions from New York power plants in half by 2010. However, much of the mercury actually comes from smokestack emissions that drift eastward from coal-burning power plants in the Midwest. (The Casper College lecture series “Energy Futures: Global Changes That Challenge Wyoming” discussed similar problems relating to energy production impacts and possible solutions.)

Pesticide Ban – Carbofuran, introduced in 1967 and sold under the name of Furadan by the FMC Corporation, has been responsible for poisoning millions of wild birds, including many passerines, eagles, Burrowing Owls and Red-tailed Hawks. In August of 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency canceled the registration of most uses of this highly toxic pesticide.

Migrant Birds Returning Earlier – Early studies indicated that short-distance migrating birds are able to adapt to the world’s changing climate. A European study published in Science has found that birds that migrate long distances have also been changing their migration patterns – they are arriving in their summer nesting grounds as early as the short-distance migrants. It had been thought that migration timing was triggered by changing day length, not climate variation, but this recent study indicates a permanent change in migratory behavior due to climate change.

DONNA WALGREN

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

Other WYOMING Christmas Bird Counts

Fossil Birds of Wyoming

Bruce’s Branch

A Trip To Esterbrook

Dr. CHARLES R. PRESTON 21^st Annual Banquet sPEAKER

BIRD NOTES

CONSERVATION NOTES

WYOMING COUNTY LIFE LISTS

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