The Leaflet, May / June 2000
- Off the Beaten Path by Jess Gwinn
- SAS Birdathon to Help Fund Songbird Conservation Efforts by Don Whitehead
- SAS Calendar for May / June 2000
- Greater Prairie Chicken Outing by Jim Hengeveld
- SAS Monthly Programs
- Earthfest 2000
- Wanted: Conservation Chairperson
- Wanted: Hospitality Chairperson
Off the Beaten Path
For those of you who subscribe to the Bloomington-Birds listserve, it is old news that spring migration is underway. Of course, you don't have to subscribe to a listserve to know that spring is taking over from winter. Just take a walk outdoors and the evidence will strike your senses. The sights, smells, and sounds are abundant. Fruit trees and spring bulbs are blooming. Butterflies are flying. Frogs and birds are singing. Although many of the year-round resident bird species, such as the Eastern Towhee, have been singing for weeks, newcomers such as the Northern Parula and Black-throated Green Warbler have begun to add some diversity to the chorus. For those of you willing to spend some time outdoors listening to or looking for birds, frogs, or butterflies, there are opportunities to help monitor these creatures.
By the time this Leaflet comes out, it will probably be too late to participate in the Monroe County Parks and Recreation Birdathon (Saturday, May 6). However, it is not too late to participate in another local bird counting event. The May Day Bird Count is held annually on the second Saturday of May (May 13, 2000). The count coordinators for the McCormick's Creek Count are Jeff and Sandy Belth (825-8353). The count, which is an all-day event, covers all of Owen County and the intent is to count all individuals of all species heard or seen that day.
In conjunction with the Birdathon, SAS is once again conducting a silent auction. This year, bidding for silent auction items will begin at the East Third Street Bloomingfoods on May 15 and will continue there through May 19. Final bidding will take place at the Monroe County / Bloomington Parks and Recreation EarthFest to be held at Karst Farm Park on May 20. Bidding will take place from noon until 4 p.m. at EarthFest and prizes may be claimed after the close of bidding at 4 p.m.
A project that has just started this year in Indiana is part of the nationwide North American Amphibian Monitoring Project. This project is coordinated by Kathy Quimbach of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources within the Division of Fish and Wildlife (317-233-0936). Monitoring, which consists of listening for singing frogs and toads, is done at night. Monitoring is done on three separate nights throughout the spring and early summer to take into account different activity periods as well as different nighttime temperatures.
Before we know it, July will be upon us and so will the Lake Monroe Butterfly Count. This count, also coordinated by Sandy and Jeff Belth (825-8353), is similar to Christmas Bird Counts in that butterflies and larva are counted within a 15-mile diameter circle.
In addition to these activities, there are also regular monthly programs and assorted outings hosted by SAS (see the Calendar within this Leaflet). So, for those of you looking for something to do over the next two months, look no further than your own Sassafras Audubon Society.
SAS Birdathon to Help Fund Songbird Conservation
Efforts
As you may know, it has been evident for a number of years that the entire suite of birds that breeds in North America and winters in the American tropics may be in jeopardy. In Indiana, this group of birds includes 60% of the species and 80% of the individuals in our forests in the summer months. It includes the cuckoos, flycatchers, thrushes, vireos, warblers, and tanagers. There is a growing sense of urgency in the ornithological community and among conservation organizations concerning these Neotropical Migrant land birds (NTMB). It is imperative that we identify the factors compromising each species of NTMB and, equally important, that this understanding come quickly if we are to avoid further losses of biodiversity.
The basis for any meaningful conservation plan is careful and objective field research. Thus, at present, many ornithologists are studying NTMB in North America and at many sites in the tropics. In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on understanding the ecological factors that influence nesting success of NTMB on the breeding grounds (e.g., habitat loss, fragmentation, cowbird parasitism, and pesticide use). Unfortunately, the type of research necessary to acquire this understanding requires a small army of workers to locate and monitor nests, mist-net, measure and band birds, and gather habitat data. As a consequence, critical work on NTMB carries a high price tag. The unfortunate reality is that funding for conservation biology is woefully inadequate and extremely difficult to come by. Most researchers scramble continually for bits and pieces of funding and are invariably forced to operate on a "shoe string" budget.
This is certainly the case in Indiana where my students and I have been working on NTMB in the heavily forested landscape of south-central Indiana for almost a decade. This work is closely coordinated with work by colleagues in Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri. The major goal of this work is to understand how patterns of regional forest fragmentation influence the nesting success of NTMB. An additional goal in south-central Indiana is to determine how the timber and wildlife management practices in Hoosier National Forest (timbercuts, salvage cuts, wildlife openings) and state forests (smaller timbercuts) influence the breeding success of NTMB. We now have a database that includes information on reproduction from 3496 monitorable nests, plus information on abundance from hundreds of point counts and many years of mist-netting.
The preliminary results of this work are intriguing. It is apparent from collaborative work with others in the Midwest that forest fragmentation has an enormous impact on productivity. Birds in small forest patches suffer very high rates of parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds and a high percentage of nests is taken by various predators. Consequently, nesting success of forest birds is very poor in the agriculture-dominated landscapes that characterize much of the Midwest. In marked contrast, both parasitism and predation are low and nesting success is high in large forest patches.
The conservation message from this is clear. We must identify, protect, and restore as many large forest patches as possible throughout the Midwest. In this context, the operative word is large - the bigger the better. South-central Indiana's heavily forested landscape is of enormous importance. NTMB in much of this area appear to be doing quite well, but there is increasing evidence that creating openings in the canopy of the forest (clearcuts and wildlife openings) may lower reproductive success (by attracting Brown-headed Cowbirds and nest predators).
It is imperative that this work in our forests continue so that we may provide guidelines for management. However, this is dependent on funding. The seven years of work to date has been possible only because of significant contributions by Audubon chapters in Indiana and elsewhere in the Midwest. The contributions by SAS and other chapters have been channeled through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation which provides a 50% match for funds raised.
This leads us finally to the Birdathon - Sassafras Audubon Society's big spring fund-raiser. Over the past few years, moneys raised by pledges to the SAS Birdathon have provided significant support for work on NTMB. In this way, you and your chapter provide critical support for basic research in conservation biology.
We hope that with the format used in the Birdathon this year (as well as last year), there will be even greater support for work on our long-distance migrants. Even though the Birdathon will likely have been completed by the time you are reading this Leaflet, it is not too late to pledge your support. Your help is an investment in a healthier planet.
SAS Calendar for May / June 2000
All outings and programs are free and open to non-members.
Wednesday, May 17, 2000 "Follow a Bluebird Trail"
This will be a morning outing to monitor a bluebird trail. Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the Eastland Plaza parking lot behind Ellis Floral on East 3rd St. For more information, call trip leader Ross Brittain at Wild Birds Unlimited: 333-2121.
Saturday, May 20, 2000 "EarthFest 2000," Karst Farm Park 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.
This is a free family event co-sponsored by Monroe County Parks and Recreation and City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation. (See related article in this Leaflet.) For more information, call MCPR: 349-2800.
Saturday, May 27, 2000 "Local bird outing"
Join leaders Susan and Jim Hengeveld (988-1671) in an outing to look for resident warbler (and other) species as well as to catch the tail end of spring migration. Meet in the Eastland Plaza parking lot behind Ellis Floral on East 3rd St. at 7:00 a.m.
Wednesday, May 31, 2000 "May Program: The Bats of Indiana"
John Whitaker, of the Life Sciences Dept. at Indiana State University will be the guest speaker. Room 1-C of the Monroe County Public Library from 7:00 p.m. to approximately 8:30 p.m. Refreshments served, including complimentary shade-grown coffee provided by Wild Birds Unlimited.
Saturday, June 10, 2000 "Panther Gap Trail"
This will be an all-day, 10-mile, rugged hike. Bring lunch and something to drink, and don appropriate footwear. Meet in the Eastland Plaza parking lot behind Ellis Floral on East 3rd St. For more information, call hike leader Cathy Meyer, 339-8184.
Wednesday, June 28, 2000 June Program-Speaker TBA
Monroe County Public Library-Room 1C; 7:00 p.m. to approximately 8:30 p.m. Refreshments served.
Greater Prairie Chicken Outing
On Saturday afternoon, March 25, Susan and I drove over to Effingham, IL, where we had arranged to meet Steve Dunbar. After checking in at our motel, we drove with Steve down to the prairie-chicken lek near Newton to watch the evening display by the chickens as well as to get (hopefully) a glimpse of a Short-eared Owl. On the way down to the lek, we stopped at a couple of plowed ag fields that were teeming with American Golden-Plovers and Pectoral Sandpipers. The plovers were almost exclusively still in their duller, basic (or winter) plumage, but it was fun to see them nonetheless. At the lek, the male chickens put on a nice show, prancing and displaying, seemingly to each other. We were also fortunate to watch the changing of the guard between the diurnal Northern Harriers and the nocturnal (or crepuscular) Short-eared Owls. We saw at least five owls and we watched them hunting for a while prior to returning to Effingham for the night.
When we returned to the lek on Sunday morning, a couple of Short-eared Owls were still hunting. The prairie-chickens put on another incredible show as we observed many pair-wise interactions among the males as well as between males and females. There were at least 16 males present on the lek, and we counted 8 females in the morning. Besides hearing the booming noises that the males made, we heard a number of other bizarre and complex vocalizations by the males, many of which seemed to be associated with agonistic encounters. Also in the morning, we watched several harriers hunting directly over the lekking grounds. We watched as two harriers (one female, one young) repeatedly dive-bombed the prairie-chickens, alternating forays with rests right at the edge of the lek and fairly close to displaying birds! The harriers didn't seem to be intent on preying upon the chickens (a male prairie-chicken weighs twice as much as a female harrier and nearly three times as much as a male; female prairie-chickens also outweigh both male and female harriers), but they were quite effective at putting many of the birds (particularly the females) to flight. On the other hand, several of the displaying males merely glanced up as a harrier would dive-bomb to within what looked like inches of it.
For the trip, we saw/heard a total of about 70 species. Other than the aforementioned species, we also saw or heard Ring-necked Pheasant, Northern Bobwhite, Common Snipe, and several Loggerhead Shrikes. SAS plans to offer this trip again next year, probably again in late March. We will announce the trip in a winter Leaflet so be on the lookout for it if you're interested.
SAS Monthly Programs
Sassafras Audubon Society is now hosting monthly programs on the last Wednesday of each month (thanks to the new program coordinator, Steve Cotter). Currently, the programs are being held at the Monroe County Public Library, in Room 1-C. Programs begin at 7:00 pm and typically last for about an hour and a half. There is NO CHARGE for these programs and, in addition to hearing speakers from around the state (recently we have had speakers from the Indiana Karst Conservancy, from Eco-Logic, and from the Sycamore Land Trust), you can enjoy refreshments provided by SAS and shade-grown coffee, compliments of Wild Birds Unlimited. Mark your calendar for the last Wednesday of each month; come out and meet fellow SAS members.
Earthfest 2000
The Monroe County Parks and Recreation Department and the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department will once again sponsor EarthFest. The theme this year is "For the Birds." It will be held on May 20 from 12:00 noon until 4:00 p.m. at Karst Farm Park. There will be numerous activities, crafts, demonstrations, exhibits, information tables, talks, walks, and interpretive hayrides. Birders from Sassafras Audubon Society and from Wild Birds Unlimited will be on hand to answer any of your bird-related questions. This year we are also pleased to have Bloomington Hospital join us. They will be available at the information booth to provide first aid should it be necessary. Live music from several local bands will provide entertainment throughout the afternoon. Several food vendors will also be on site.
Sassafras Audubon Society will be hosting a silent auction at which a variety of items (such as a birdfeeder, courtesy of Wild Birds Unlimited; a hanging hammock, courtesy of Bloomingfoods; prints from a local wildlife photographer; a Charlie Harper print; a Bill Zimmerman print; and more) will be available for bidding. All of the items will be on display from May 15 to May 19 at Bloomingfoods on East Third Street. Preliminary bidding will be permitted at Bloomingfoods, but final bidding will be held at EarthFest until 4 p.m. The funds raised will be used to provide area schools with "Audubon Adventures" educational kits. Also at EarthFest, Bloomington Parks and Recreation will be holding it's "Bike Rodeo" to promote safe biking practices. Participants will receive a helmet. So, come out to EarthFest for a fun afternoon and learn all about birds (and more)!
Wanted: Conservation Chairperson
SAS is urgently in need of a Conservation Chairperson to keep on top of the many important environmental issues that are developing right now. The Conservation Chair will assemble a committee to keep track of important local, regional, and national conservation issues. The committee will then formulate and propose actions for the SAS board of directors and general membership to take in response. The chair will attend board meetings to keep the board apprised of these issues, and will oversee chapter efforts to develop conservation objectives and strategies. The chair will also write articles for the Leaflet on important issues and activities, and provide the chapter webmaster with timely information to be included on the web site. Approximate time commitment averages several hours each month, including board meetings. For more information or to volunteer, contact Jess Gwinn at 876-8623.
Wanted: Hospitality Chairperson
What a fun job! Sassafras Audubon Society is in need of a person to coordinate refreshments at our evening programs, which are held monthly. This person would be responsible for assembling a pool of volunteers from which two are picked out for each program. The two volunteers would make sure that snacks and drinks are provided for that particular program and would also be responsible for cleaning up after the program. Approximate time commitment for each program would be two hours. If you are interested in being the chairperson or in serving on this committee, please call Jess Gwinn at 876-8623