ABA Blog

Open Mic: The Field Glass Ceiling

At the Mic: Brooke McDonald

Brooke McDonald is a technical editor for an environmental consulting firm in Northern California. In her free time she birds, gardens, plays with her dogs, and researches an obscure Calvinist sect.      

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Most birders are women. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2007 report, “Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis,” 54% of birders are women. At the Space Coast Birding Festival in 2011, 69% of attendees were women; at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival in 2010, 60-65% of attendees were women; and at The Biggest Week in American Birding, around 60% of attendees have been women. Tropical Birding estimates that two-thirds of their American clients are women, VENT estimates that 60% of their clients are women, and another leading tour company said that 54.6% of their clients booked for upcoming trips are women.

However, by any measure, women are poorly represented in the upper ranks of birding. 

• Women have 11.2% of the top ten eBird state lists for each U.S. state.
• Women are 9.3% of all state bird records committee members—a number that drops to 7.8% if the committee secretaries are excluded.
• There are eight women out of the American Birding Association’s top 100 ABA-area listers.
• Women are 3.6% of California county big day record holders.
• Finally, there has been only one woman out of the 35 current and former members of the American Birding Association’s Checklist Committee.

    This disparity was explored in a paper by Caren Cooper and Jennifer Smith titled “Gender Patterns in Bird-related Recreation in the USA and UK” published in 2010 in Ecology and Society. Cooper and Smith classified birding into four categories of increasing difficulty: Supportive, Participatory, Competitive, and Authoritative. They found that women’s participation decreased at each successive level. For example, membership in the National Audubon Society, a Supportive activity, was 63% female; Project FeederWatch and the Christmas Bird Count, Participatory activities, were, respectively, 66% and 37% female; inclusion in the ABA Big Day and ABA List Report, a Competitive activity, was 20% female; and service as an eBird state editor, an Authoritative activity, was 7% female.

    Unlike the challenge of bringing people of different races and ethnicities into the birding community, this is not an issue that can be resolved by simply introducing more women to birding. Women are already here, but they are not attaining high status in the community.  

    Authority in the birding community is a function not only of one’s skills but of confidence in one’s skills. According to Cooper and Smith, men are more likely to be overconfident in rating their own birding skills while women are more likely to be under confident. But what factors are responsible for this difference in confidence levels? 

“A lot of women tell me that they’re glad to see a woman taking the lead in the birding world.” — Debi Shearwater 

Most of the women I spoke with said that some male birders either ignore women entirely or are crushingly dismissive, patronizing, or condescending towards them. 

    “A lot of men just won't take a woman seriously,” said Susan Myers. “I get it all the time—people walk right past me. I'm the only one carrying a scope and I'm standing out front calling the birds and I’m magically invisible.”

    One woman who wished to remain anonymous told me about a female friend of hers who had rediscovered a bird that had been presumed extinct. A meeting was held to discuss the status and conservation of the bird, and during this meeting, the woman in question was totally ignored—until one of the men asked her to make coffee.

    Sheri Williamson said that some men have displayed outright incredulity at the fact that she wrote a field guide. She went on to say, “It's hard to get into a position of influence if you're not accorded the respect you deserve.” 

“It’s so much harder when you’re dating a birder to get taken seriously.” — Catherine Hamilton / photo from The Central Park Effect

Many women in the birding community are treated as the lesser half of a couple, coasting on their partner’s superior ability and only faintly reflecting their partner’s superior skills. Even women who were serious birders before they met their partners are often treated as if any birding ability they have was gained just by exposure to the rarefied air surrounding their partners. Women who actually were introduced to birding by their partners are treated as though this somehow cheapens and invalidates their interest in birds. If a younger woman is single, she’s often treated as a groupie and a follower, and not a serious birder in her own right.

    For example, the new film A Birder’s Guide to Everything is about three young birders who take off birding for the weekend… and a girl who goes along for the ride. As Next Magazine put it, “the group sets out for Connecticut with Ellen, a fetching photography lover from school, in tow,” while Variety said, “Pretty young shutterbug Ellen tags along to record their finds.” 

    Donna Dittmann said that when she was 19 or 20, a top ABA-area lister told her that she had a large California list only because she “hung with the big boys,” an accusation that never would have been leveled at a young man with her skills and experience.

    Sheridan Coffey said, “If we are together, most people will talk to my partner first, asking him questions and ignoring me.” She went on to say, “I am sometimes treated like his secretary, getting emails asking me to ask him if he will lead a group, or go to a festival, while not inviting me.”

    Catherine Hamilton, in a blog entry in 2011, wrote that she was called a harlot at an AOU meeting just for having the audacity to date another birder. “I stand here, with a small army of presumed Hester Prynnes behind me, wearing their binoculars in lieu of a letter, and I call you out, in the names of sexism, chauvinism, and tawdry pettiness. You know who you are. You know it is not just about one comment, one reputation. Is there really any question why there are so few young and youngish women in the birding world?” 

“If you play down your own knowledge and skills consistently enough, you can't blame people for buying into it.” — Sheri Williamson / photo by Laura Kammermeier

Women are often afraid to bird in some areas, but strong field skills are developed in part by birding in a variety of places. Debi Shearwater brought up the fact that women venturing into secluded areas do face real threats. Phoebe Snetsinger was gang-raped in Papua New Guinea, and many excellent birding spots have a reputation for being unsafe. These fears can keep women from birding alone, and bolster the stereotype that women view birding primarily as a social activity.

    Women are less likely to assert themselves in the field, more likely to admit mistakes, more likely to take their cues from other birders, more likely to use a querying tone when “calling” a bird, and more likely to discuss birds after they have been identified, all of which may be interpreted as evidence of poor birding effort and weak field skills. Women are less likely to report suspected rarities and are more likely to qualify their sightings, probably for fear of being publicly eviscerated by other birders, but bird reports that don’t sound confident are unlikely to be accepted.

    One of the women that I spoke with even qualified her own excellent birding skills, weakly stating, “I feel like I know my stuff.” As Susan Myers observed, “We are taught right from the start to qualify everything.” Julie Zickefoose said, “I think that as women we are trained from an early age to always defer to men. I'm trying to turn that ship around in my own mind.” Lynn Barber said, “I think many new women birders are hesitant to ask questions, especially of males, and may have difficulty in getting a mentor.” 

“It is hard for men to mentor women.” — Shawneen Finnegan / photo by Dave Irons

Lack of mentorship is a serious problem that holds female birders back. Birding with elite birders is how most people develop elite skills themselves, and men may simply have access to a larger pool of potential mentors. Mentors also introduce people to birding culture, teach field etiquette, and prevent new birders from making blunders that undermine their credibility. Women are major community builders and organizers in the birding world, but as far as field experience goes, Jennifer Rycenga said, “Women don't get a lot of mentoring, but give a lot of it.”

   “I enjoy helping others learn,” Julie Zickefoose said. “In fact, I'd rather go birding with a newcomer, because it's fun to be able to impart information and watch someone grow in confidence and ability.”

    “Mentorship is an area where I think women have an edge,” Sheri Williamson said. “We just need to connect more young female birders with female mentors. Giving special encouragement to young women in birding can only help birding, birds, and society at large.”

    If there were more women in mentorship roles in the birding community, women’s confidence in their own field skills would be improved and there would be more women inspired to ascend to the upper ranks. As it stands, however, most of the strong mentors in the birding community are men, and there are social factors that keep men and women apart, especially men and women of differing ages and relationship status. Some men who would otherwise be mentors can thoughtlessly destroy the confidence of less skilled birders.

    “Being a phenomenal birder doesn’t give you the right to be a complete asshole,” Catherine Hamilton said. 

“Generational links between women are missing.” — Jennifer Rycenga / photo by Bob Droege

The age structure of the birding community may also partially explain the absence of high-profile women. Older women are often dismissed as “kitchen window” birders. Shawneen Finnegan said that while becoming a top-notch birder is far easier when one begins watching birds at a young age, many women begin birding later in life. Jen Brumfield observed that men were the default leaders in previous generations, and Jennifer Rycenga pointed out that girls have historically been discouraged from cultivating interests in a single-minded manner, pursuing the sciences, and playing outside.

    Will a change in generational attitudes naturally result in more women gaining leadership roles in the community? Another hobby that is nerdy, intense, and male-dominated—but young—is video gaming, and gamers have had a great deal of productive discussion recently about how some men not only insist that women demonstrate extensive gaming credentials before they’re grudgingly accepted as fellow gamers, but also see some women as “imposters” who are only feigning interest in gaming. Within the last few weeks, I observed an exchange on Facebook where several young male leaders in the birding community made harassing comments in response to a picture of a young woman wearing binoculars, indicating that even though more overt forms of sexism may vanish, there are still ongoing subtle forms that need to be addressed.

    “I doubt any of us are totally innocent, having grown up in a culture where women are still struggling to be taken as seriously as their male counterparts in virtually all aspects of life,” Sheri Williamson said.

“I think anyone, male or female, is capable of developing extreme field skills.” — Julie Zickefoose / photo by Nina Harfman

Birding can be a fraternity in the best or the worst sense of the word. One woman I spoke with seemed to accept as the natural order of things that there’s a “pecking order” in birding that men suffer under too, but most of the women I talked to maintained that women birders get the worst of it. There is a lot of cliquishness in birding, and while men who get into birding are often quickly accepted into the group, many women are treated as outsiders even after years of birding.

    There may be excellent women birders out there who have become so frustrated with the hazing and casual sexism that they have rejected the birding community entirely, and there may be many women who are overlooked in a birding culture that considers the size of one’s list as an important measure of one’s worth.

    “Some of the top listers are not necessarily the most skilled birders in the state,” Jen Brumfield said. Shawneen Finnegan concurred, saying, “A big list doesn't equal a high level of birding expertise.” 

 

“I think a lot of birding is a boys’ club and women may feel excluded.” — Susan Myers / photo from Oriental Bird Images

While several women that I spoke with alleged that women just aren’t as motivated as men are to make a name for themselves in the birding world, this comes uncomfortably close to the specious argument that there are few women CEOs and corporate managers because women just aren’t interested in corporate advancement. That said, men and women may well seek different things from birding, although whether those differences are innate or a product of culture is impossible to determine.

    Gender Patterns in Bird-related Recreation in the USA and UK qualified it thus: “…Our results suggest that males are more likely to be achievement-oriented in their motivation, seeking to meet some standard of performance, whereas females might be more likely to be appreciation-motivated, participating to reduce stress or gain a sense of connection with nature.” 

    “I probably have a pretty huge life list, because I seek new birds avidly wherever I go, and I go to a lot of cool places,” Julie Zickefoose said. “But what lights my fire is having a good close encounter with a bird—any bird—that teaches me something about how it lives, thinks, reproduces, feeds.”

    “I think it's the nature of women to have a more holistic approach to things,” Susan Myers said. “There is nothing less like hunting than keeping a list. A lot of these hardcore listers have no interest in the behavior of the birds. They want to see it, tick it and get the hell out of there. It's the women who behave more like hunters. They want to understand the birds, know the behavior, know the environment.”

    Ultimately, women in the birding world need to have more confidence in themselves.

    “We should learn to trust ourselves and not always go running off to find an ‘expert’ to confirm what we probably already have figured out for ourselves,” Julie Zickefoose concluded. “If female birders frustrate me, it's because so many of them never allow themselves to arrive.”

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References:

http://www.cawatchablewildlife.org/pdfs/2011%20Space%20Coast%20Festival%20Economic%20Report.pdf

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss4/art4/

http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/ref/collection/document/id/176

http://jezebel.com/5922961/the-fight-against-misogynism-in-gaming-enlists-some-big-names

http://mydogoscar.com/birdspot/2011/08/09/h-is-for-harlot/

http://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-a-birders-guide-to-everything-1200442639/

https://www.nextmagazine.com/content/tribeca-film-festival-birder%E2%80%99s-guide-everything

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Thanks:

(Special thanks go to Lynn Barber, Jen Brumfield, Sheridan Coffey, Donna Dittmann, Shawneen Finnegan, Catherine Hamilton, Laura Kammermeier, Susan Myers, Jennifer Rycenga, Debi Love Shearwater, Sharon Stiteler, Sheri Williamson, and Julie Zickefoose. I had additional discussions with Jennifer Schramm Cutillo, Liz Deluna Gordon, Noah Gaines, Jeff Gordon, Clay Kempf, and Clayton Tschudy. Some numbers and details were provided by Iain Campbell, Victor Emanuel, Marci Madsen Fuller, Kenn Kaufman, and Kim Kaufman. Finally, Dave Irons, Dave Moseley, and Rick Wright provided feedback on various iterations of this piece.)

 

Open Mic: Owen J. Gromme - An Enduring Legacy through a Birder's Eyes

At the Mic: Susan Ford-Hoffert

The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, is grateful that Susan Ford-Hoffert – an experienced and well-traveled birder and also a longtime Museum member and enthusiast – took time to share her keen and beautifully written observations about Owen J. Gromme: An Enduring Legacy, on view through July 2013.

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Growing up in rural Wisconsin, the daughter of an avid outdoorsman, I was surrounded by Labradors and German Shorthairs, regularly oiled my leather Red Wing boots and spent hours on the banks of the Wisconsin River. I ate game and walked miles with my father and the dogs, learning the importance of good habitat and clean water to maintaining healthy populations of waterfowl and upland game. I also learned that such healthy environments also benefit sparrows, warblers, and chickadees. Frankly, it benefits all of us.

So loving Owen J. Gromme’s work is a no brainer. Surrounded by his paintings of upland and water fowl – grouse stripping a tree of buds in early winter, geese settling in for the night at Horicon Marsh, sandhill cranes chaperoning their colts in early spring – I am home.

Gromme knew the importance of ecology long before the first Earth Day. As head curator of birds and mammals at the Milwaukee Public Museum, he was also an avid conservationist. I have an old, slightly musty edition of his Birds of Wisconsin. The plates are a bit faded but they still show a liveliness and affection for his subjects.

My favorite is the first plate – two bald eagles watch as a distant osprey flies away with a good-sized fish in its talons. The birds are rendered perfectly, but the best part is the energy in this painting. The eagles are MAD! One is launching from its perch with obvious piratical intent. The other, I gleefully imagine, is screaming insults and epithets at the disappearing bird (although given the weak eeks an eagle makes, I’m sure the osprey just rolled its eyes).

Gromme infuses his paintings with emotion but not at the expense of accuracy. I know these places. I have walked those marshes and woodlands and I know these scenes.

So I was absolutely delighted to find that eagle painting at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, as part of Owen J. Gromme: An Enduring Legacy on view in the Museum’s new building addition gallery. It is one of forty-three paintings commissioned in 1965 by the Marshall & Isley Bank for its new Milwaukee building. BMO Harris Bank acquired M&I and in 2011 donated the collection to the Woodson Art Museum. This is particularly satisfying given Gromme’s and the Museum’s history. He was instrumental in organizing the first Birds in Art exhibition back in the early 70s. It is right that his best collection comes home to stay in Wisconsin.

Right now all the paintings are on view through July, something worth a trip to see. Each tells a story – the wolf staring at the tundra swan swimming beyond his reach on a windy winter day; the redwing blackbirds harassing a great blue heron midair, two hawks passing “lunch” to each other on the wing, evening grosbeaks perched like lemony Christmas ornaments in the pines. Walking through the collection can take awhile; I keep finding new details in each piece.

A recreation of Gromme’s studio dominates the gallery. It’s the kind of place where I want to spend some time – pulling out his many reference books (Birds of Wisconsin is there), posing the artist models of the turkey and goose, fingering the collection of bird eggs, and pouring through all his sketches. It’s a good kind of mess; the kind left by a man who is creative and curious and excited by his subject.

Gromme was born in 1896 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and spent his early years along Lake Winnebago, watching great flocks of geese and ducks on the waters. He was an avid hunter and taxidermist. At twenty-one he worked for the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago as a taxidermist. After World War I, he joined the Milwaukee Public Museum where eventually he became the head curator of birds and mammals until his retirement.

Gromme was a charter member of the Wisconsin Society of Ornithology and helped found and organize the International Crane Foundation. He helped form the Wisconsin Peregrine Society that reintroduced the birds to the state. He had his fingers in every issue that affected birds and wildlife in Wisconsin because Gromme loved them and what they represented. He wanted to ensure that every generation had a chance to experience the wild beauty of the natural world. So he did something about it.

As his museum career took off, he began collecting data on Wisconsin wildlife, which gave scientific evidence to population increases and, more often, declines. Gromme became a conservationist and activist early – which meant he was often the first and sometimes only voice calling for better wildlife laws. In the 1930s, he stood with Aldo Leopold to fight for protection of herons and bitterns, who were being exterminated by fishermen thinking the birds were threats to the state’s fisheries. He built and operated Wisconsin’s first hawk trapping and banding station. In 1961, he went to Washington in the fight to save Horicon Marsh. He stood up in the 1970s when chemical insecticides were found to be killing birds. He took on the DNR as well as the Federal Fish and Wildlife Services when he thought they were on the wrong side of issues that touched wildlife resources and refuges. Word has it he could be cranky but, well, he was effective.

The work of this splendid man who died in 1991 doesn’t document the past. It celebrates the present. A pair of sandhill cranes flies into dawn;you can see the underside of one bird and the back of the other. A field-guide-worthy picture. But it’s more – if you give yourself to it, you will hear their trumpets and the buzz of the mosquitos. You’ll feel the cool air on your cheek and smell the dampness of that bog. You’ll feel the love of the artist for this scene, these birds, this wild place – which still exists in no small part because of Gromme’s conservation efforts.

The birds of Owen J. Gromme are his enduring legacy in art and in life.

 

Open Mic: A Big Win for Birding Youth at the World Series of Birding

At the Mic: Brian Quindlen

Brian "BQ" Quindlen is an elementary school teacher in Garnet Valley School District and the Upper Main Line YMCA Earth Service Corps coordinator. BQ is celebrating his eleventh year at the Upper Main Line YMCA in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and has served as lead coach for the World Series of Birding teams for the last six years. An active birder in the northeastern United States, BQ is a member of the conservation organization Friends of Exton Park and leads bird walks for the Cape May Bird Observatory.

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New Jersey Audubon Society celebrated the 30th annual World Series of Birding on Saturday, May 11^th and for the first time a youth team took home the cup! The Upper Main Line YMCA’s “B.B. Kingfishers”, comprised of three high school students from suburban Philadelphia, tallied 186 bird species for the historic win.

 

Senior Director of Youth Development Brian Raicich (left) and birding coach Brian Quindlen (far right) stand with the B.B. Kingfishers and the Urner Stone Cup, won for achieving the highest bird count of the World Series of Birding. Center: Nathaniel Sharp, 17, Ben Bussmann (captain), 18, Austin Smith, 16 (Photo by Kriston J. Bethel)

 

 The B.B. Kingfishers hail from the Upper Main Line YMCA Earth Service Corps, a teen environmental service-learning program in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. The team’s captain, Ben Bussmann, 18, and his teammates Nathaniel Sharp, 17, and Austin Smith, 16, participate in our year-round YMCA program. In addition to the B.B. Kingfishers, the YMCA was also represented by the middle school team, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Brant! Yusuf Romaine-Elkhadri, Liam Gallagher, Connor Simpkins, and team captain Tyler DiAndrea came in second place in the middle school division with an impressive 157 species.

Team captain Ben Bussmann, a senior from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, tipped his hat to all of the younger competitors at this year’s World Series of Birding awards ceremony. “I’m really proud of all the youth teams,” Bussmann remarked. “Of the top 12 teams, five of them were youth teams.” He is a seven-year veteran of the World Series of Birding with many career highlights, including one middle school division victory, one high school division victory, and now, the coveted Urner Stone Cup. Ben will be attending State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry this August.

 

Austin Smith, 16, Ben Bussmann (captain), 18, and Nathaniel Sharp, 17, scan the trees in Stokes State Forest (photo by Brian Quindlen).

 

Nathaniel Sharp is a junior at Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, and his Urner Stone Cup victory marks his fourth year competing in the World Series of Birding. A meticulous and academic birder, Sharp is an active member in the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club and participates regularly in local Christmas and Spring Bird Counts. Last year, Sharp’s World Series of Birding team took home the high school division championship.

The third B.B. Kingfisher, Austin Smith, is a five-year veteran of the World Series of Birding. A sophomore at Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Austin has captured one middle school division title during his years as a competitive birder. One of Smith’s most prominent mentors is his older sister, Dani Smith. Dani is an Ornithology Department intern at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and a decorated YMCA Earth Service Corps and World Series of Birding veteran.

 

Marsh Wren at Jake’s Landing, NJ (photo by Brian Quindlen).

 

This is my sixth year as the YMCA Earth Service Corps coordinator, and one of my responsibilities is to act as the lead coach for our World Series of Birding teams (in addition to my full-time commitment as an elementary school teacher). I began my career as a birder for the YMCA during its first year of competing in the World Series high school division eleven years ago. Once I graduated high school, I returned to the program to serve as its coordinator.

I was very lucky to have a strong mentor during my formative years as a birder. Brian Raicich, the YMCA’s Senior Director of Youth Development, has been my most influential birding mentor. He has been a leader and a visionary for my fellow birders and me, and my goal with YMCA Earth Service Corps is to provide the same experience for future birders and naturalists.

The dedication and work ethic of these students is absolutely astounding. Between weekly classroom sessions, weekend field trips, and their own independent time in the field, these students display a serious level of dedication and passion for birding. This victory shows what students are capable of achieving when given the opportunity to display their talents!

Young birders have certainly been garnering more attention over the past several years. As young birders are becoming more visible in our bird clubs and hot spots, I think it is important for the birding community to begin to recognize these individuals as birders first and young second. Veteran birders must speak with the younger generation as peers, not talk down to them simply because they are young. The birding community thrives when information is exchanged and positive connections are built between its members.

The Upper Main Line YMCA students and staff have been very fortunate to have veteran birders who mentored us over the last eleven years. Specifically, the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club have guided us on Christmas Bird Counts, field trips, and World Series of Birding scouting trips, all while being our finest teachers. My hope is that more birding clubs around the nation embrace the younger birding generation as students, friends, and future club members!

Congratulations to the B.B. Kingfishers, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Brant!, and all of the other youth division teams for representing the new generation of birders! We look very forward to seeing everyone at next year’s World Series of Birding!

Open Mic: Introducing Wader Quest

At the Mic: Rick Simpson

Rick Simpson of Newport Pagnell, UK, is a bird guide, illustrator, author of Confessions of a Bird Guide, and a Birdlife Species Champion. 

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As if life wasn’t complicated enough when it comes to waders and shorebirds it is not just their identification that is confusing, their very definition gets the grey matter working if you start talking to someone who lives on the opposite side of the Atlantic to you. It gets a bit like explaining the rules of Cricket. In North America all shorebirds are waders, but in the UK they are not, however all waders are shorebirds which of course is not true in the US and Canada, see what I mean?

For the purposes of this article, as this is a North American website we will use shorebird, but we mean wader…. follow?

So what is Wader Quest? In its simplest form it is a quest to see as many of the world’s shorebirds as possible, on a limited budget in a 12 month period. However, there is more to it than meets the eye.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Wader Quest has two main aims:

1) To raise awareness about the dreadful plight of shorebirds throughout the world, especially those that rely on the inter-tidal zones during their life.

The inter-tidal zones of the world are being destroyed at an alarming rate; it is easy to understand the value of rainforests and thus engender support for saving them, but not so large expanses of mud. We urgently need to raise the profile of beaches, mud flats and other wetland areas around the world among birders and non-birders alike and show that rather than being desolate wastes they are exciting, vibrant and productive ecosystems upon which millions upon millions of creatures depend, birds among them. In the USA you know about this only too well with the problems you are having with the beach plovers, Piping, Snowy and Wilsons and this is due to recreational use for the most part. Imagine then the problems faced where governments are set on turning these places into factories or fields for the plough and local people hunt the birds for food.

Pied Avocet

2) To raise money to support the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) Spoon-billed Sandpiper captive breeding programme.

There are probably less than 100 breeding pairs of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper left in the wild today. Their survival is in the balance and they are hurtling towards extinction. The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the UK is part of an international team set up to prevent the extinction of this amazing little bird. The captive breeding programme they are carrying out is designed to provide a safety net for the species should the attempts to prevent its extinction in the wild fail. We would like to raise as much money as we can to assist them in this noble task.

Thus Wader Quest was born; the idea being to travel the world, visiting the six major continents on which shorebirds can be found with a view to seeing as many of them as we possibly can, whilst engaging with local communities through talks, visits and the media. Obviously our funds are limited as we are not sponsored in any way, so it was not designed as a serious attempt to set or break any records, it was merely an extravaganza that we hoped would capture people’s imagination and get them to follow our travels and adventures and who knows? Maybe feel the urge to donate to the cause.

Naturally our quest started in the UK on November 1^st 2012. We wondered what would be our first species and assumed that it would be Northern Lapwing, the UK’s most common shorebird. But we travelled for two hours across the UK to Norfolk, through some prime lapwing habitat and didn’t see a single one.

Black-tailed Godwit

This rather underlined the whole point of Wader Quest for us. Shorebird species are in decline the world over. It is not just these enigmatic species in far flung corners of the world that are in trouble. In the last thirty years or so, the Northern Lapwing population in the UK has halved. A lot is spoken of the decline in songbirds, but it seems to us that shorebirds are the forgotten cousins in the bird world, and they shouldn’t be.

So what then was our first bird? Well when we arrived at the Titchwell RSPB reserve in Norfolk we were further thwarted by the water levels on the reserve being too high for shorebirds, especially the smaller Calidris types, we wondered if this was an omen, first no lapwings and now this! As we trudged up the path towards the beach eventually we came across a Common Snipe, at last the list was opened. That was quickly followed by Common Redshank, the absent Northern Lapwing and a Black-tailed Godwit, but where were all the birds?

At the end of the track one passes through a dune area and out onto the beach. As we passed between the last of the dunes it was like opening the door to a surprise party, there were shorebirds everywhere, the beach was rippling with life; we were in heaven. Red Knot, Black-bellied Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Sanderling, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Ruddy Turnstone and Dunlin were all scurrying up and down the beach going about their business.

Ruff

We spent a long time enjoying this spectacle and then decided that a reviving cup of tea was required. Whilst imbibing this refreshing infusion we learned that there was a rarity in town; White-rumped Sandpiper. We couldn’t resist it and off we set in hot pursuit.

A short drive along the coast to the ley NNT reserve and some local directions and we were in the hide watching and waiting. As we did so we clocked up some more birds for the list, Pied Avocet, European Golden Plover and Ruff but where was the sandpiper? Eventually we found it, having a preen in the middle of a group of Dunlin, we ended the day on 16 species, not bad for England in November.

The next morning and another dash for a rarity, this time Long-billed Dowitcher. It was at the home of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper captive breeding programme at Slimbridge WWT in Gloucestershire. We saw it and also a Eurasian Whimbrel, taking our tally up to 18 for the first part of our quest in the UK.

Two days later we flew to Thailand in search of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and much else besides. Were we successful? We’ll let you know next time.

Open Mic: A Record-breaking Bahamas Big Year

At the Mic: Woody Bracey

Elwood D. Bracey, MD, is a retired physician who now lives in Treasure Cay, Bahamas, where he is very active in the birding community.

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January of 2012 started auspiciously. The early part of the month saw several productive Christmas Bird Counts and some rare birds in The Bahamas. And I watched the film The Big Year. Those circumstances persuaded me to challenge Tony White's single-year record of 198 species, and by the end of January, I was already up to 155, a new monthly record for me.

The Grand Bahama CBC tallied Western Kingbird, Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Louisiana Waterthrush, and White-throated Sparrow, all very rare in The Bahamas.

A rough road trip to Hole in the Wall in southernmost Abaca gave us three Kirtland's Warblers. And the good birds just kept popping up.

All the expected wintering species were joined by a Swainson's Hawk (a first for the Caribbean, well photographed by Bruce Hallett at left) and a Horned Lark. The Horned Lark required a trip to Nassau, where the bird was feeding in the short grass of a golf course with Palm Warblers and Least Sandpipers.

A highly unusual Greater Scaup was well documented on Hobby Horse Lake, and the lone Anhinga on Paradise Island, later photographed by Linda Huber, may have been the last survivor among the birds that once bred there. I also added a Gadwall at Harrold and Wilson Ponds, a female Shiny Cowbird at Rainbow Chicken Farm, and the Cuban Grassquits and Pied Imperial Pigeons of central Nassau; those latter two species, introduced many years ago, are now well established, as is the Caribbean Dove, originally imported from Jamaica for hunting—and smart enough now to spend most of its time hiding in the dense understory of the Bahamas National Trust Botanical Garden.

The free-flying exotic waterfowl kept by Pericles Maillis in the western suburbs of Nassau often attract wild migrants, among them the beautiful male Northern Pintail that joined the Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal and White-cheeked Pintails on the pond.

More controversial was the Caribbean Coot, with its high white frontal shield, found on the abandoned Shark Golf Course; though the AOU recognizes this species, others, including David Sibley, have their doubts. I counted this species, and in fact found another good candidate later in the year on the pond at the Treasure Cay Golf Course; both were photographed by Tony Hepburn. A Black-headed Gull, present as an immature in 2010-2011, returned in 2012 as a handsome adult, molting into its dark-headed breeding plumage during its stay.

Back on Abaco, the Organic Vegetable Farm maintained its status a the best place to see Bahama Yellowthroats (hundreds!). We also had a Chipping Sparrow, a second White-throated Sparrow, American Pipits, and a young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Nine Barn Owls crowded into a single large ficus tree overlooking a recently plowed field, attracted by the same mice and rats that kept the Swainson's Hawk there all winter, too.

Several early February deepsea fishing trips turned up Magnificent Frigatebirds and Audubon's Shearwaters, but no Manx, which are possible at that time of year. A favorite spot for sparrows, the Big Bird poulty Farm south of Marsh Harbor produced such good wintertime finds as Lincoln's, Savannah, and Grasshopper Sparrows, along with American Robins, American Pipits, Dickcissel, Blue-headed Vireo, Nashveille Warbler, and a Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Most frustrating was a Swainson's Warbler that popped up for Bruce Hallett to photograph while I, just ten feet away, missed it. Nothing would bring that skulker back out again.

Spring migration can be a non-event in The Bahamas. But 2012 was different. I'd never seen so many migrants, especially thrushes and seed-eating birds. After a cold front with rain on April 24, I counted 20 Veeries, 24 Gray-cheeked Thrushes, and 2 Swainson's Thrushes at Angelfish Point. Later that day I had a Wood Thrush along the Treasure Cay sewage outfall. Four migrant thrush species in one day is a once-in-a-lifetime thing in The Bahamas!

Swallows were numerous, too, including Bank and Cliff among the commoner Tree, Barn, and Bahama Swallows. A lone Chimney Swift was seen high above the coppice, where I found Red-eyed Vireos and Eastern Kingbirds and yet more thrushes along a narrow trail. Our backyard feeder was a riot of color with Painted and Indigo Buntings galore, two Blue Grosbeaks, and a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The grosbeak stayed for a week, but a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird was a one-day wonder. That same last week of April saw such summer residents as Gray Kingbird, Black-whiskered Vireo, and Bahama Mockingbird return and set up territories, while Blackpoll Warblers continued to pass through until mid-May.

In early May, Bridled, Sooty, Roseate, and Common Terns followed the Least Terns back to The Bahamas. Then came the White-tailed Tropicbirds, the Antillean Nighthawks, and the Great, Cory's, and Sooty Shearwaters. Finally, on May 12, after hearing the birds deep in the coppice, I saw my first Key West Quail-Dove for the year at Angelfish Point.

June is the month for fishing tournaments and deepsea trips. We continued to see good numbers of pelagic species, including a Black-capped Petrel fifteen miles off Munjack Cay. Most exasperating was the mid-afternoon revelation one day by the mate that he had seen a "Jesus Bird" cross our wake earlier in the day; I never saw a Wilson's Storm-Petrel on a single one of the ten or more deepsea trips I made in 2012.

Abaco was quiet for the rest of the summer, but trips to other islands really helped my list. With the help of Ed Rahming and Lewis Phillips, my late-June adventure on South Andros added Great Lizard Cuckoo, Indian Peafowl, Bahama Oriole, and eleven Cave Swallows. In July, my wife, Betsy, and I added Pearly-eyed Thrasher and Red-footed Booby on San Salvador, where surprises included a Purple Martin, an American Avocet, and lots of Gull-billed Terns.

The expected Snowy Plovers were nowhere to be found, but the endangered subspecies of the West Indian Woodpecker was easy to find along Jake Jones Road. 

A storm in late August brought some unusual fall migrants to New Providence. Most notable were the Arctic Tern and the two Black Terns seen on the stony shores of Lake Killarney by Paul Dean and Tony White and photographed by Tony Hepburn. By the time I got there, two other much-needed birds, a Sandwich Terns and a female Boat-tailed Grackle, had left: I would have to wait 'til later in the year for them.

Back on Abaco, we had the pleasure of the company of a young American Flamingo on Maillis's Pond through the summer.

Unbanded and not yet entirely pink, this was most likely a second-year bird. The flamingo departed at the end of September, but a Wilson's Phalarope, the first for Abaco, appeared on the very same pond October 2, spinning and feeding with several Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.

At the Poultry Farm we had an Empidonax Flycatcher, an Eastern Wood-Pewee, two Blackburnian Warblers, and a tantalizing thrush. Browner than a Gray-cheeked Thrush, the bird did not vocalize, and though we suspected a Bicknell's Thrush, we did not count it. The farm near Treasure Cay gave us several sightings of a Philadelphia Vireo and a Great Crested Flyatcher, a Blackburnian Warbler, several Tennessee Warblers, and a lone Cedar Waxwing were at Robert's Nursery. Most exceptional was the second Bahamas record of a Warbling Vireo, seen on October 18 near Marsh Harbor with Becky Marvil, who got diagnostic photographs of the bird.

The arrival of Hurricane Sandy on October 26 was much worse than predicted. Three days later, I met Bruce Hallett and Margo Zdravokovic on Grand Bahama to look for birds blown in from the continent. An Eastern Bluebird, perhaps only the second record for The Bahamas, was feeding at West End among the distressed swallows, pipits, and Palm Warblers. The 25 Common Terns at West End Point were exceptional; among them were two Sandwich Terns, the only ones I saw all year. At McClean's Town, on the eastern end of the island, we found two Clay-colored Sparrows, well photographed by Hallett.

Back on Abaco, an Orange-crowned Warbler was in the Avocado Grove at the Big Bird Poultry Farm in mid-November, and a House Wren and a Swamp Sparrow, both extreme rarities, were photographed at the always interesting Cooperstown Dump. The next day I found a Wilson's Warbler at Robert's Nursery, and on November 23 I had a Swainson's Warbler in the exact spot at the poultry farm where Bruce Hallett had photographed the bird in the spring. That same day I watched a seemingly large, silent Myiarchus with a pronounced yellow belly. Brown-crested Flycatcher? Maybe, but it did not call, and I did not count it. 

I thought I'd missed the Chestnut-sided Warbler for the year, but on November 28, one emerged from the deep coppice into plain view. Another miss avoided!

A visit to Great Inagua was essential for several species, so Hallett and I met in Nassau and went on to Matthewtown, the only settlement on the most southerly island of the The Bahamas. It had rained for two weeks straight, roads were flooded, the mosquitoes were ferocious. But we could watch thousands of courting American Flamingos, and we added Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Plover, Burrowing Owl, and a bonus American Wigeon to my year list. 
The most amazing sight was of a Peregrine Falcon nailing an exceedingly rare Greater Scaup on the ponds; the scaup survived, dazed. We were interested to find a population of Red Jungle Fowl living in the woods far from any human habitation; Warden Henry Nixon told us they had been there for years, but I listed Gallus gallus as an exotic, uncounted species.

Back in Nassau, on November 28 I saw a Caspian Tern from Tony White's deck. Tony, competitive as he is, congratulated me on breaking his Bahamas big year record—a real friend!

The end was in sight, and I made a big push in the last two weeks of the year with three Christmas Bird Counts. First up was South Abaco, where we located another House Wren. Nassau was next, with another Wilson's Phalarope loafing with the Black-bellied Plovers; a female Boat-tailed Grackel flying in front of my vehicle finallly checked off a bird I'd missed several times during the year. Two Bahama Mockingbirds, seen with the CBC compiler Neil McKinney, were also good finds for the early winter.

A sunny Christmas Day was made even more joyous when I saw my first Red-breasted Mergansers in over two years. The Green Turtle Cay mudflats were alive with shorebirds, including 52 Red Knots, an all-time high count for that species anywhere in The Bahamas.

Next morning I flew to Grand Bahama for one last shot at the scarce Brown-headed Nuthatch, which had eluded me three times during the year. On December 27, at our third and final stop, when my friend Bruce Purdy had already got back into the vehicle, I heard the call; not one but two of these little tree creepers came in close to pose for pictures, going up and down and upside-down on the Caribbean pines. What a delight, and what a brilliant end to my big year of 242 species!

New Year's Eve was a welcome end to the frenzy: it was our anniversary, and I promised my wife that she would be a bird widow no longer. Many thanks to her and to all my good birding friends for their help. 

 

Open Mic: The Most Exciting Lifer EVER

At the Mic: Brian Monk

Brian Monk is a veterinarian, birder, photographer, and professional orchid grower and lecturer. He received his DVM from Virginia Tech in 1997 and currently resides in Ft. Lauderdale, Floirida, with his wife Mary-Margaret and his 5 rescued cats. 

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        When I woke, I had no intention of hiking through the Big Cypress. Five thirty AM comes awfully early when you have been out the night before. A quick drive through the Micosukee reservation was all I wanted to do. Alone with my coffee, I groaned as the weather alert related the fog advisory in western Palm Beach and Hendry Counties. Without question, Snake Road would be blanketed in thick, woolen fog.  

     The Big Cypress Swamp presses up against Broward, and like the palm of your hand pressed hard against chicken wire, parts of this unique habitat bulges through the border. This is important to me for one singular reason: Tufted Titmouse. On the advice of David Simpson, I had stopped several times at the southernmost part of the Snake Road exit, hoping to see or hear this species and tick it for my county list. I was zero for four, and more drastic measures were needed. The maps on Google Earth had been taunting me for weeks with another possible approach to the western edge of Broward County, by hiking in from the Hendry County side, through the Big Cypress. So I spent the next hour looking at maps and waiting out the NWS fog advisory. I found a lone cypress dome about a quarter mile inside the Broward line. The area was accessible by the road bordering a canal, accessible from 75. The map showed a series of twisting, circling trails leading from a bridge over the canal all the way to this spot.

 

The target bird, photo by Nate Swick

 

     After a few quick and unfruitful stops near the “Furniture Ponds”, I decided to scout the area I had seen on the map. After all, I didn’t even know if I could drive there. One illegal U-turn and less than an hour later and I found myself driving north on a well-traveled gray dirt road just inside Hendry County. Birds were everywhere. Warblers flew over the truck, waders stared at me from the canal banks, and two flocks of turkeys ran in front of the truck, finally exploding into the air and over the tree line. 

    When I finally reached the bridge, I was pleased and encouraged to see that the trail was wide and rutted and well-traveled. If it weren’t for the gate I could probably drive to Broward! The GPS was telling me that it was just over 4 miles to the site where I might find Tufted Titmouse. I did the calculations in my head and at 15 minute miles and time for finding the bird I could make it in three hours. It was 8 AM, the sun was shining, the temperature had just reached 70, and the trail was easy. I had nowhere to be. So I plugged the coordinates into my GPS and started walking.

        The trail was easy and the miles fell away behind me. I had to backtrack at one point about a mile in, where the “trail” was just an open patch of impassable marsh. But I had already heard the Peter! Peter! Peter! of a titmouse and my optimism was high. Again I checked my position.

     The GPS was telling me that my destination was less than 1000 yards away just through a field of knee high broom grass generously dotted with head high holly bushes. Finally. It was just a few steps away. Ahead of me I heard strange drawn out, high pitched clucking noises coming from a smaller cypress copse just on the right of the trail. I stopped and thought about it, realizing that it was more turkeys. The sound was very different from the contact calls I was used to hearing from them though. I thought I must have disturbed them.  

I heard a crash in the cypresses and stopped. Something in the bush was coming toward me. Fast.

 

photo from wikipedia

I could hear what sounded like hooves hitting the ground and I spun to face it. I was sure it wasn’t a swamp ape and I was hoping it was a deer. I saw a flash of tan and a Florida Panther leapt out of the brush!  I heard paws her hit the ground and its momentum carried it across the trail and into the brush on the other side.  I froze. The cat froze. Having worked with cougars in zoos and private collections - even helping to raise one from a cub - I could tell that this one was female and maybe 100 pounds and with no tags or collar. I could see her back with her tail twitching in the tall grass less than 20 feet from me. I thought about making noise, but chose to just observe and hope she wasn’t hungry as all I had to defend myself were my binoculars and a 400mm telephoto lens. I could feel every beat of my heart.  Five breaths later she ghosted away through the brush. 

 

     I didn’t move.  I was stunned and not wuite certain what to do next. On the one hand this was a first for me. I had never seen a cougar in the wild, let alone from less than 20 feet. The taste of metal and adrenaline was in my mouth. It was possible that the cougar was hunting turkeys, and she had no interest in me.  It was equally possible that she was interested in me, and changed her mind at the last second (I am more than twice her size). I looked at the GPS. I was less than 500 yards from my destination. She was just as likely to run away as she was to circle around and wait for me, and I still needed Tufted Titmouse. 

So I kept going.

    I walked 50 feet, turning backwards for 10 steps, repeating this the entire way. I became as quiet as I knew how to be. Another 400 yards put me within sight of the cypress dome, and my hearing became intensely acute. I listened to the birds, but watched the bush. Finally, I held up my phone and played a recording of Tufted Titmouse. I was immediately answered by a single bird – Peter! I held my breath and waited until I heard the call again – Peter! Peter!  Relief!

    I walked back out the way I had come in, checking the marks I had left on trail against the GPS. The trip out was uneventful, though it always takes longer when you think a large predator may be stalking you. Finally the truck came into view and I let out a whoop!  The old black men fishing from the bridge looked at me like they thought I was crazy.

#143, ABA Countable #136

Watch The Lost Bird Project on PBS this Earth Day

 

ABA members will likely be interested in The Lost Bird Project, a new documentary film about five North American birds driven to extinction in modern times, which will air on public television stations across the country on Earth Day, Monday, April 22, 2013.

Gone and nearly forgotten, the Labrador Duck, Great Auk, Heath Hen, Carolina Parakeet and Passenger Pigeon have left a hole in the American landscape and in our collective memory. Moved by their stories, sculptor Todd McGrain set out to bring their vanished forms back into the world by permanently placing his elegant, evocative bronze memorials at the location of each bird’s demise.

Todd McGrain at work

The Lost Bird Project is a one-hour documentary that tells the story of how these birds came to meet their fates and the journey that leads McGrain and his brother-in-law, Andy Stern, from the swamps of Florida, the final roosting ground of the Carolina Parakeet, to a tiny island off the coast of Newfoundland, where some of the last Great Auks made their nests and where the local townspeople still mourn their absence 150 years later.  McGrain and Stern scout locations, talk to park rangers, speak at town meetings and battle bureaucracy in their effort to gather support for the project. McGrain’s aim in placing the sculptures is to give presence to the birds where they are now so starkly absent. “These birds are not commonly known,” he says, “and they ought to be, because forgetting is another kind of extinction. It’s such a thorough erasing.”

Great Auk

The film is directed by Deborah Dickson, whose previous films have been nominated three times for Oscars, and is produced by Muffie Meyer, whose previous directing credits include the original Grey Gardens documentary and several Emmy award-winning documentaries.

The Lost Bird Project is about public art, extinction and memory.  It is an elegy to five extinct North American birds and a thoughtful, moving, sometimes humorous look at the artist and his mission.

Check your local public television listing for exact dates and times of the broadcast in your area.  A full list of all the broadcasts can be found on the film’s website.

Carolina Parakeet

In case you miss the broadcast, the film is being distributed directly by the creators with the intention of offering it as a tool to individuals and organizations dedicated to educating local communities about conservation and preservation of our fragile natural environments.

Individual DVDs and screening licenses are available for purchase on the The Lost Bird Project website.  The license system makes it easy for hosts to hold either a free or ticketed event.  A step-by-step screening guide is available to assist in planning and publicizing film screening events.

The Lost Bird Project is also the name of a new not-for-profit dedicated to using art and storytelling to connect people more deeply with the natural environment.

Remember, Monday, April 22, on PBS! 

Open Mic: 2013 Birding Cup coming to Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center

At the Mic: Jennifer Pencek

Jennifer Pencek is a freelance writer based in State College, Pennsylvania, and associate editor of the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State. She loves being able to mix her love of writing with the outdoors.

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Birding enthusiasts and those new to the ever-growing pastime are getting ready for the 2013 Birding Cup at Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center in Petersburg, Pennsylvania, the center’s annual fundraising tournament. Will you be one of them?

The Birding Cup, this year held from 7 p.m. Friday, May 3, to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4, is a contest among teams of birders to identify the most bird species in a twenty-four hour period in the central Pennsylvania region (Huntingdon, Centre, and adjoining counties). Teams must compete based on a set of Birding Cup rules, and the winning teams are awarded prizes immediately following the contest at the center.

For some insight into the world of Birding Cup, listen to this 2007 story reported by Cynthia Berger of WPSU.

Birding Cup selects winning teams in four categories:

The Birding Cup goes to the team that identifies the most species overall;

The County Cup goes to the team that finds the most species while searching in only one county;

The Potter Mug is for the best team with at least half of its members who have less than two years of birding experience; and

The Birding Boot goes to the team that identifies the most species traveling only by non-motorized means (walking, biking, canoeing, etc.).

Shaver’s Creek fundraising goal for this year’s Birding Cup is $12,000. Pledges may be made per bird identified or in a single donation, and donors may choose to support a specific team. For more information, visit the website or call 814-863-2000 or 814-667-3424

Birding Cup teams must consist of at least three members and must follow the rules of Birding Cup when participating. Team entries should be submitted no later than four days prior to the start. Team entry is free but teams are encouraged to raise at least $100 in donations to Birding Cup. Contact Shaver’s Creek to enter your team. Download the official Birding Cup checklist online to track bird species you see during the Birding Cup. This completed checklist must be submitted by 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the center.

Open Mic: Never Mind the Bullock's - Taking Molecular Studies with a Grain of Salt

At the Mic: Steve N.G. Howell

Steve is a senior international bird tour leader for WINGS and has written several books including A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, Gulls of the Americas (with Jon Dunn), and most recently, Petrels, Shearwaters, and Albatrosses of North America.  He lives near Point Reyes, California.

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There's no denying it: Molecular studies are helping us unravel the mysteries of avian relationships, and quickly. But until we fully understand the finer principles of genetics, the history of genes, and what that all entails, we will continue to make mistakes in our interpretations of the results of molecular studies. Is there anything we can do about this? Perhaps we can start with a grain of salt, and if that doesn't work then it's time to break out the lime and tequila.

A Tale of Two Orioles 

As an example of the tribulations involved in molecular studies, let's review some recent developments with a time-honored favorite in the North American taxonomic arena - the Northern Oriole complex. The taxonomic tale of Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula and Bullock's Oriole I. bullocki is fairly well known - two species, then one, and now three (what, three?). Less well known to most ABA members, perhaps, is the Mexican cousin of Baltimore and Bullock's - Abeille's Oriole I. abeillei (unhelpfully named Black-backed Oriole by those seemingly unaware that 12 of 16 oriole species in Mexico have black backs, including both Baltimore and Bullock's).

            In 1999, a molecular phylogeny of New World orioles was produced, in which, supposedly, Baltimore Oriole and Abeille's Oriole were closely related, while Bullock's Oriole was more closely related to Streak-backed Oriole I. pustulatus (Omland et al. 1999, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 12:224-239).

            The authors realized how odd this looked, so a fuller genetic analysis was undertaken, which confirmed the earlier result (Kondo et al. 2004, Condor 106:674-680); it was then postulated that this was an amazing example of adult male plumage patterns diverging very quickly in an evolutionary time scale (between Baltimore and Abeille's). A follow-up paper by the same team (Kondo et al. 2008, Evolution 62-5:1182-1191) went on to show that Abeille's Oriole was derived from Baltimore Oriole (Bullock's Oriole was ignored). This was thus a remarkable case of a tropical resident species evolving from a migratory ancestor, contrary to the paradigm of resident tropical avifaunas tending to be the reservoir from which migration flows. Another paper used the new and "robust phylogeny" to explore the evolutionary history of plumage patterns in orioles (Omland & Lanyon 2000, Evolution 54:2119-2133). Another paper using the new phylogeny postulated that orioles colonized mainland South America from Caribbean islands (Sturge et al. 2009, Condor 111:575-579). And so on.

The adult male of Abeille's (or Black-backed) Oriole (shown here) is a striking bird, although the female looks very similar to Bullock's Oriole and the two species can be difficult to separate in female/immature plumage. Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, Mexico, March 2012. © Steve N. G. Howell.

            Amazing stuff. But this is where the trail of genetic clues led, so how could it not be true? Hence, the AOU (2000, Auk 117:847-858) moved Bullock's Oriole to follow Streak-backed Oriole, and thus separated it from Baltimore Oriole by five other species. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot was the response of many field ornithologists, but what did they know of genetics?

            However, as knowledge of genetics increased, further molecular analyses of these orioles showed that the earlier grouping of Baltimore and Abeille's was in error (Jacobsen et al. 2010, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 56:419-427; Jacobsen & Omland 2010, Ecology & Evolution 2:2413-2429). Today it is believed that Abeille's is more closely related to Bullock's Oriole, which fits with older conclusions based on morphology, vocalizations, and biogeography. These two orioles are a good example of how messy the progress has been in applying new genetic tools to avian taxonomy, for only a few years ago these two were "among the most closely related of avian species" (Kondo et al. 2008:1183).

            Along with a clearer understanding of "Northern Oriole" relationships, the claims of rapid plumage evolution and of a resident tropical species deriving from a northern migrant are also now debunked. And given that the baseline phylogeny was flawed to an unknown degree, is it still true (as claimed by Omland & Lanyon 2000:2119) that "plumage patterns and colors are highly labile between species of orioles?"  

            Still, after a litany of at least five publications it would appear that we have established something more firmly than before, and hopefully we have a better understanding of the evolutionary history of these three species. But these three species of orioles live in North America, where many people were familiar enough with the birds to notice that the genetic results were incongruous with intuition. For the other species, less familiar to most people, the original results of Omland et al. (1999) appear not to have been questioned. My opinion is that most of their results look reasonable, yet it is entirely possible that some of the other relationships "proven" by genetics and statistics are in error. For example, Orange Oriole I. auratus and Streak-backed Oriole might be closer than reported. Either way, the unfortunate error involving Baltimore Oriole and friends does not instill confidence. Moreover, some well-marked, potentially species-level taxa were omitted from the analysis, despite "the importance of dense taxon sampling" in the title of Omland et al. (1999); an example would be Dickey's Oriole I. [graduacauda] dickeyae of west Mexico.

            These molecular studies on relatively well-sampled orioles exemplify how little scientists really understand/understood about genetics. And these flaws went on to color or discolor a number of ecological and environmental studies and theories. Some might cry: "But that was then, this is now; today we really do understand things." Certainly one would like to think that our knowledge of genetics has improved in the past few years, but how much?

 

What Do We Not Know?

Although some may claim otherwise, avian geneticists are still groping around in a recently tilled but dimly lit field, learning how to use their new tools. Thus it seems only common sense to treat their early harvests as working hypotheses, especially at the taxonomic levels of genus and species. This is particularly true given that ornithologists can't even agree on what constitutes a species. In this regard, check out the eloquent but sobering essay entitled "A species is whatever I say it is" by Nigel Collar in the March 2013 issue of British Birds (vol. 106:130-142), which highlights numerous other examples of the unresolved issues with genetic studies.

            Although problems with genetic analyses may be fewer than those associated with studies based on non-genetic data, they are still problems. Despite this, taxonomic committees appear to have fallen in love with "glamorous" DNA studies, seduced by the promise of ultimate truth. Hence it often seems they are running amok on freshly plowed soil of uncertain viscosity, undervaluing or ignoring non-genetic tools that might help them avoid getting needlessly stuck. One day, who knows, the genetic tools may be so refined that we won't need any other lines of evidence, but there will be years or decades of messiness before we reach that point - if we ever do.

            In the meantime, species and genera are constantly being shifted around hither and thither. Bullock's Oriole is only the tip of the iceberg. Of course, birders only "suffer" from all this if they try to keep up with lists that are changing every week, or with using field guides compelled to adopt the latest and greatest changes - regardless of whether these changes are helpful for somebody trying to identify a bird. I can only think that poor Roger Tory Peterson must be rolling in his grave, now that the new Peterson field guides to birds try to follow taxonomic sequence - which is contrary to the simple brilliance of Peterson's original system.

            One cannot help but wonder how many more taxonomic decisions fueled or driven solely by genetics are simply errors in analyses. The merger of skuas into the genus Stercorarius, because Pomarine Jaeger is supposedly more closely related to Great Skua than to the other jaegers? Putting Willet in between Lesser Yellowlegs and Greater Yellowlegs? Are all the recent wood-warbler genus reshuffles truly accurate, or might some be changed again? And how about them sparrows and towhees? And so on... How many things do we not know that we don't know?       

Thanks to Ned Brinkley, Burr Heneman, Alvaro Jaramillo, Peter Pyle, and Brian Sullivan for comments on an earlier version of this essay.

P.S. As of March 2013, the AOU check-list still separates Bullock's Oriole from Baltimore Oriole by 5 species of orioles: Orange, Jamaican I. leucopteryx, Spot-breasted I. pectoralis, Altamira I. gularis, and Audubon's I. graduacauda. Yet Yellow-backed Oriole I. chrysater is 9 species distant from Audubon's, despite the phylogeny of Omland et al. (1999), which placed Yellow-backed and Audubon's as each other's closest relatives (a view that is supported by morphology, voice, and biogeography, pending analysis of the unsampled taxon dickeyae, mentioned earlier). Time to pass the tequila...

 

Open Mic: A Veterinarian's Pespective on the Feral Cat Issue

At the Mic: Brian Monk

Brian Monk is a veterinarian, birder, photographer, and professional orchid grower and lecturer. He received his DVM from Virginia Tech in 1997 and currently resides in Ft. Lauderdale, Floirida, with his wife Mary-Margaret and his 5 rescued cats. 

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    Let me make myself perfectly clear:  I love cats. I am a veterinarian, quite a few of my patients are cats, and I count five of them as my pets. I believe that cats have an inherent value to us, both as living things and as companions. I also love birds, and have been watching them before I was old enough to know what they were. Without question, birds also have inherent value, both to our planet and our hobby. My position as both a birder and a veterinarian lends me a unique perspective about the current controversy surrounding feral cats, and the various solutions offered up to address this issue.

A recent study has determined that 1.4-3.7 billion birds are killed by feral cats per year, and its publication has pitted wildlife conservation groups against feline advocacy groups. The controversy centers around the most important question, “What is the solution to this problem of cat overpopulation?” The only thing that these two groups seem to agree on is that feral cat overpopulation exists. 

Feral cats lead short and brutal lives. Kittens suffer a 50-75% mortality rate.  Disease is prevalent in feral cat populations, as expected.  They are plagued with parasitism by various worms, arthropods, and protozoa; viral diseases like Feline Leukemia, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, Herpes, Distemper, and Rabies; bacterial infections such as Toxoplasmosis, and Haemobartonellosis. Traumatic injury is common. Feral cats suffer attacks from dogs, other cats, and other wildlife. And they suffer from the inexplicable cruelty of some humans. Personally, I have seen cats poisoned (both inadvertently and intentionally), caught and tortured, shot (with arrows and bullets), and set on fire. Many feral cats are chronically malnourished.  Regardless of the debilitation, feral cats for the most part receive no veterinary care for their illnesses, even in “managed” colonies, and suffer needlessly. Feral cats rarely live more than 6 years, and rarely die peaceful deaths.

    Rabies in feral cat colonies is a serious concern. Rabies is an untreatable and uniformly fatal disease. Prophylatic preventative therapy is long, painful, and expensive. Though cats are not a primary carrier of the disease (like raccoons or bats), they are easily infected due to their interactions with other wildlife. And because cats are generally accepted, humans are easily exposed. According to the Centers for Disease Control, cats are the only species with an increasing frequency of rabies infection.

    Feline advocacy groups are in favor of continued tolerance of feral cats, citing the effectiveness of Trap-Neuter-Release programs (TNR) and managed colonies in reducing feral populations. Trap-Neuter-Release programs are intended to reduce cat populations by surgically sterilizing as many feral cats as can be caught. These cats are then released back into the environment. In some instances, the groups attempt to “manage” these feral populations by feeding cats in a specific area, the intention being to keep them from preying on other animals. 

    This solution on its face has a certain moral palatability and logical origin. If all feral cats are prevented from reproducing, then eventually the population will be reduced to zero, and this can be accomplished without killing a cat. But the flaws in this thinking should be apparent. Not all cats can be captured, and these continue to reproduce.  New individuals can enter the TNR area at will, and they will reproduce. And surgical sterilization does nothing to prevent continued predation on native wildlife.  TNR can neither eliminate feral cats, nor reduce predation, and does not address illness or disease, facts supported by actual scientific study. 

    Proponents of TNR ignore these facts. They downplay or deny outright the problems with rabies and other diseases. They counter that feral cats are a natural part of the ecosystem and play an important role in the biologic control of pest species, that the estimation of wildlife killed by cats is grossly exaggerated, and that conservation groups have more important things to worry about. They have provided no studies that refute the numbers of wildlife killed. The studies that they do refer to regarding the effectiveness of TNR are of limited scope, and often contradictory in their findings. All of these studies openly admit that TNR will not be effective at eliminating feral cat populations.

          What is not in dispute is that domestic cats are an invasive species, with a population of 60-70 million in North America. Derived from the desert-dwelling wild felines of northern Africa, and brought to this continent by European settlers, cats are exceptionally well adapted to a predatory lifestyle, having keen eyesight, acute hearing and sense of smell, incredible strength and speed, lethal weaponry, and an incredible rate of reproduction. Cats are beautiful, efficient, and almost-perfect predators. And they are an alien species, altering the landscape, and causing- environmental, agricultural, and economic harm. There is no other small cat native to North America similar to Felis sylvestris, and thus they have a huge and disproportionately damaging effect on wildlife.

    Cats have their own biology, ecology, and ethnology, and their behaviors directly impact the biome.  There are 60-70 million feral cats in the North America. Feral cats draw their sustenance almost entirely from wildlife that they catch and kill.  A cat will eat as often as possible, and must eat several times a week (at least) to survive. These are facts, undisputed by both sides. One shouldn’t need to use statistics or  years-long research to see how quickly the numbers of dead prey add up.

    Clearly, given the stated facts, feral cats must be completely removed from the environment, and by that I mean active extermination. From an ethical perspective, this may sound like a difficult thing to do, and I understand the visceral response concerning the outright extermination of an individual life.   But only the complete elimination of feral cats will provide the solutions that both conservationists and feline advocates want. Disease, health problems, public safety, and environmental concerns are all addressed successfully by eliminating the feral feline population. I have considered all other possible solutions from the perspective of both a veterinarian and a conservationist, and they are either impractical or impossible.

    The removal and eradication of harmful invasive species has become an important part of most conservation plans, and is actually supported by federal, state, and local law. These laws mandate the protection of native wildlife, and as such require the active elimination or control of alien species. Laws currently exist that allow specifically for the control, prevention, and elimination of feral cat colonies, while protecting pet cats and their owners. 

    Feline advocacy groups like Alley Cat Allies approach this situation without compromise. They use vague moral reasoning and use this to generate guilt in their audience, tearfully pleading that no one needs to kill the poor, defenseless little kitty-cats. Questions about the effectiveness of TNR and the health of feral cats are dismissed, or met with a furious, venomous, and illogical character assassination. They state as loudly as possible that “cats are not a threat to wildlife” and scream that the science behind cat-predation studies is flawed, all without offering up any evidence to the contrary.  Fingers are pointed to habitat loss, cell-phone towers, and anything else that might play a role in population or biodiversity loss, and admonishments handed out to the guilty conservationists.  With these methods, they apply pressure the public to adopt TNR. Unfortunately, this has been effective at even the legislative level.  A bill is currently being explored in the Florida legislature that would make the creation of feral cat colonies much easier, regardless of their effect on wildlife, disease, or property rights, and it has gained some traction, already receiving unanimous passage by the Florida House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee. They are essentially being treated as a naturally occurring wild species.

    This problem of feral cats is a difficult one. Although it is only a part of the greater question of avian conservation, it is obviously an important part. Further, it seems to be a part where real progress could be made, with benefits that are not so vague as biodiversity for biodiversity’s sake. Improving feline health in general, while keeping our precious wildlife safe, is a noble goal, that we can only approach ignobly. Feral cats exist because of man’s ego and carelessness. But TNR does not adequately address the issue. It does not ease feline suffering or eliminate feline predation on our wildlife to a point that is acceptable, to me as a veterinarian and a conservationist, or to anyone else who considers the facts.  As difficult as it may be, the elimination of feral cats via Trap and Euthanasia is the only truly viable solution.

EDITOR'S NOTE: We are aware that this subject prompts passionate responses and we welcome strong opinions about ideas, but we ask that commentors please stay courteous and refrain from personal attacks. Otherwise we will delete your comment and ask you to resubmit using more civil language. 

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