The Leaflet, September-October 2005

Sassafras Audubon Society will hold its annual meeting to elect members to the Board of Directors before the start of the regular meeting on September 28 at 7:00 p.m. The Nominating Committee, consisting of all members of the current SAS Board, will present current board member John Lawrence for election as President and five candidates to serve two-year terms on the Board of directors: David Daniels, Bob Dodd, Nancy Martin, Tom Platt, and Jeff Riegel. Nominations can also be made from the floor, but you should secure permission of the nominee first. John Lawrence is a current SAS Board member and Publicity Coordinator, David Daniels is the owner of the Bloomington Wild Birds Unlimited store, Bob Dodd is a retired IU professor from the Department of Geological Sciences, Nancy Martin teaches at Jackson Creek Middle School, Tom Platt is a graduate student in the IU Biology Department, and Jeff Riegel is a naturalist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The business meeting should be brief, so do not let it discourage you from attending the program!

The pigs are at the trough. The supposed fiscally conservative party running this country has just passed two enormous pork-laden bills in the last week and the president has signed them into law. These are, of course, the energy and transportation bills. Both of these bills were bloated with pork-barrel projects for the folks back home with no real benefit to the taxpayer or relevance to the intent of the bills. The energy bill will do nothing to curb our national appetite for fossil fuels or lessen our dependence on foreign supplies of these fossil fuels. Likewise, the transportation bill does nothing to solve our transportation problems or even try to improve fuel economy. A story has been floating around the last few years about a foreign race enthusiast who came to Indianapolis to watch the U.S. Grand Prix. At the airport he naively asked where he could catch the train downtown. Whether apocryphal or not, it demonstrates the point that we Americans are way behind the ball on our transportation policies. More and bigger highways are not the answer to our problems. Rail lines move freight orders of magnitude more efficiently than semi trucks. But where is the federal pork for the rail carriers? That little piggy is going hungry.

Once again rearing its ugly head is the prospect of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. I don't know about you but I am getting tired of fighting this same old fight over and over. Provisions for opening up the refuge to drilling were thankfully removed from the energy bill. However, language has been added to the Senate budget bill essentially opening the door to drilling. When Congress convenes in September they will have joint committee meetings to hammer out the differences between the House and Senate budget bills. Once again you will need to contact your representative and senators to tell them to remove any drilling language. This issue is too controversial to be buried in a monstrous budget bill for which it has no relevance. It should be addressed on its own. Although with the congress we have now, that may not be such a good idea either. Get outdoors and enjoy the beautiful Indiana fall, rejuvenate and then get back to giving them hell.

Elsewhere in this issue of the Leaflet is a report on the imminent designation by the Audubon Society of 15 areas in Indiana as Important Bird Areas (IBAs). This is exciting news. Not only does this inform us about areas that are special for observing birds, but it brings attention to areas with habitat that needs to be preserved and in some cases restored. Eventually Audubon plans to designate more IBAs, and they are asking us for help in identifying them. This Leaflet also includes what we hope will be a series of articles on the IBAs of Indiana. We are starting close to home with Beehunter Marsh/Goose Pond but hope to eventually take you on a tour of the entire state. We hope that you will join us.

In the last issue we included an article about the endangered Least Terns nesting at Cane Ridge Wildlife Refuge in Gibson County. My wife Joann and I were in Gibson County in early July and thought we would check out the terns. Sure enough we saw a dozen or so terns flying from their artificial island nesting site across the road to Lake Gibson. We sat up the spotting scope in the rain to see them better. I told Joann "There is one beautifully posing for us. It looks just like the picture in the book--and it's standing perfectly still." In fact it was standing so still that we never saw it move. It was a decoy set up on the island to attract the real terns!

Any day now we can expect to find Christmas items appearing in the stores. The holiday season seems to begin earlier each year. So it must be time to start thinking about gift ideas. What would be an appropriate gift for your birder friends (or what might you put on your own wish list)? We would like to include a list of suggestions in the next issue of the Leaflet, but we need help. There are a number of books and a few videos or DVDs that would make good birder gifts. Of course there are such standbys as feeders, binoculars, and field guides. But surely many of our readers could come up with other ideas based on their experience. What is a favorite book that you have read or movie that you have seen that you would suggest as good gifts? Why not send an e-mail note (dodd@indiana.edu) or an oldÐfashioned letter to the editor with your suggestions. We will compile these along with some ideas of our own for a gift suggestion list in the November/December issue, just in time for serious holiday shopping.

[Editor's note: This article came to us from the national office of the Audubon Society]

The fight over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is heating up -- YOUR HELP NEEDED IN AUGUST & SEPTEMBER! Audubon is making a big push to save the pristine wilderness in Alaska from destructive oil drilling, and you can help!

After 25 years of fighting, our last best chance to protect the refuge will be in the House of Representatives on a vote quickly approaching in September. In August, members of Congress that will be casting deciding votes will be back home talking with their constituents--like you! All Audubon chapters and Audubon members around the country will be using this opportunity to weigh in with their members of Congress and fight at this critical time for one of the most pristine places left in America!

Please make a point to call, write or e-mail your congressman today! Every member of Congress will be voting on this measure and right now, it's too close to call.

Log on to Audubon's special "Protect the Arctic" website--accessed via www.audubon.org, or contact Desiree Groves in Audubon's public policy office in Washington, DC at 202-861-2242, x. 3038 (dgroves@audubon.org) to find out more about how you can help!

Ross Brittain and Jess Gwinn will be conducting their Northern Saw-Whet Owl banding program again this year. In conjunction with the program SAS is renewing its owl adoption program (see the form in this Leaflet). You can adopt an owl for $30 with the proceeds supporting research on the migration patterns of the Northern Saw-Whet Owl in southern Indiana. Contact Ross Brittain at 317-887-1650 or rabritta@indiana.edu for additional details.

Last year we were able to find adoptive parents for over 30 owls. While this revenue helped offset some of our startup costs, there are ongoing costs associated with this program such as the periodic replacement of nets, equipment upgrades, and other supplies like batteries. Your continuing support through this adopt-an-owl program will help us to increase the knowledge base of the Northern Saw-Whet Owl in southern Indiana. For an update on this research, be sure to come to the SAS October program to hear Ross and Jess discuss last year's work.

The SAS fall bird feeder cleaning is scheduled for October 15 at Bloomington Hardware on South College Mall Road. Drop off your feeder between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. You can pick up your feeder between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. The suggested donation is $4 for small feeders and $6 for large feeders.

Give your backyard birds a sanitary place to dine by having your feeders thoroughly steam cleaned! Cleaning your feeders will help prevent the spread of avian diseases such as salmonella and conjunctivitis. Keep in mind that steam cleaning will remove the build-up that has accumulated, but it will not make your feeders look brand new. We regretfully cannot accept hummingbird or other delicate feeders or suet feeders.

Bring your friend's or neighbor's feeders when you bring yours. If you cannot drop off or pick up on Saturday, alternate arrangements can be made. The proceeds go toward the education and conservation activities of SAS. To request more information, please call Cathy Hiatt, 339-7388.

We will have three-hour shifts available or whatever times you can help. Dry tasks include taking in feeders and money and overseeing drying and pickup. Damp tasks include pre-soaking and cleaning the feeders and steaming the clean feeders. Waterproof footwear and gloves are helpful, and we can provide rubber gloves. You will be doing a good service for the birds, helping a worthy cause, (SAS), and working with like-minded, fun people!

To volunteer or request more information, please call Cathy Hiatt, 339-7388.

I have always wondered what it was like for Charles Darwin when he roamed around the Galapagos Islands. This summer I found out. This was my once-in-a-lifetime trip when I was booked onto a 20-passenger boat for an eight-day trip. My boat visited nine islands and made 14 landings. In addition, we snorkeled most days at least once and sometimes twice.

Becoming familiar with the wildlife on the Galapagos Islands is relatively easy due to the limited number of endemic and native species. There are only 13 species of Darwin Finches, three species of Boobies, the Wave Albatross, Flightless Cormorant, two iguanas, Galapagos Penguins, two sea lions, two turtles, and a small variety of other animals.

My trip to the Galapagos Islands required flying to Quito, Ecuador and then on to San Cristobal Island. The islands and surrounding ocean are all part of the Galapagos Islands National Park. This year I was one of 60,000 visitors to the park, and I feel privileged for the opportunity. You can only visit with a licensed guide, so one must join a "tour". On arrival in San Cristobal, the guides were waiting for us. After a brief safety drill and orientation we were off to our first excursion. We made two kinds of landings from the boat: wet and dry. In the wet landing the panga (small boat somewhat like a dingy) pulls up on a beach and you get off into one to two feet of water. In the dry landings the panga pulls up nose to nose to a rock or platform and you step onto relatively dry land. The landings are easy to master if you keep the surf in mind and hold onto the guides as you step off the boat.

Everyone was very excited about our first island encounter. We had an easy wet landing onto a beach called Playa Ochoa. I managed not to get dumped into the surf and kept my camera dry. The star attraction was a colony of sea lions. We were instructed about the human-animal interaction rules, which contrasted greatly with my trip last summer in Alaska where the safety distance for a bear is 150 yards and a moose is 100 feet. In the Galapagos, the rules are just don't touch the animals. The only safety distance was five feet for sea lions. I quickly realized that I was in a different world. You have a hard time not stepping on nesting birds. The dog-like sea lions sleep on the beach and play in the surf. They are very friendly, unafraid of humans, and love to play. It was a great introduction to how easily we could observe, without disturbing, the wildlife. Finches and mockingbirds were flitting about the bushes at the back of the beach and the sea lions seemed to pose for us.

The entire eight days were full of wonderful wildlife viewing. I was especially interested in Blue-footed Booby, Darwin Finch, Galapagos Penguin, Giant Tortoise, and the Marine Iguana. The three resident Booby species, the Blue-footed, Red-footed and Nazca Booby, all do a magnificent mating display known as the booby dance. As if we were at Disney Land where everything is choreographed, my first Blue-footed Booby encounter included being treated to the entire booby dance. It is an intricate dance including sky pointing, foot lifts, head swaying, and exchanging of twigs. We encountered many booby dances in the next few days. We had to be aware of the many Blue-footed nests in the path. Luckily the Red-footed and Nazca Booby nest off the ground.

The Darwin Finches were always around either on the ground, in a bush, tree or cactus. It would not have been a Galapagos visit without them. Distinguishing the Ground Finch and the Tree Finch can be tricky. There are small, medium, and large forms that were difficult to distinguish (much like Greater and Lesser Yellow Legs in Indiana). The concrete ponds for watering the Galapagos Turtles at the tortoise corals breeding center in the Charles Darwin Research Station were great for viewing the Darwin Finches side by side. I finally could distinguish small, medium, and large Ground Finches. On other occasions I watched a Woodpecker Finch probing a tree limb with a twig, a Cactus Finch eating a Prickly Pear fruit, and a Medium Ground Finch picking parasites off a Marine Iguana. The Darwin Finches were doing what they are famous for--what a great time!

Galapagos Turtle (photo by N Martin)

Darwin Finches (photo by N Martin)

Snorkeling was great fun also. The fish were colorful and the marine mammals and sea turtles were awesome. My favorite snorkels involved sea lions and penguins. During one snorkel I swam with a group of five or six friendly juvenile sea lions. The guide had encouraged us to spin in the water to play. I would spin one way and then change directions. The sea lions loved swimming around me as I spun. Then they gave me some of the seaweed they had been playing with. I thrashed it around and gave it back. This exchange was very thrilling. The biggest highlight for me was being visited by Galapagos Penguins. They dart through the water at amazing speeds looking like streaks going by. But when fishing by some coral they slowed down and swam slowly around me. After a while a group swam by my head and walked out on shore right next to me. I have some great pictures; it was amazing. My dreams were greatly exceeded by my first ever penguin sighting. On another snorkel there were six fur sea lions sleeping in the water. They sleep on their sides with one fin down and another up in the air. It looks quite odd but seems to stabilize them.

Other notable bird encounters included seeing Red-footed Boobies and Great Frigatebirds nesting in the Palo Santo trees and Nazca Boobies and Storm Petrels nesting in the lava flows by the ocean. A Yellow Warbler followed me along a trail for about 20 minutes. At Darwin Bay there were Waved Albatross, Red-billed Tropicbird, Swallow-tailed Gulls, Striated Heron, and Ruddy Turnstone. The Ruddy Turnstone was especially interesting to me since I also had seen one in Barrow, Alaska and one in Hilo, Hawaii. The list goes on with a Galapagos Hawk, Flightless Cormorants, Lava Herons, Magnificent Frigates, American Oystercatchers, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Semi-palmated Plovers, Black-bellied Plover, Brown Noddy, and Blue Herons. I watched a Yellow-crowned Night Heron eat a Sally Lightfoot crab.

In the highlands of Santa Cruz there were male tortoises in the wild. Along one trail there was a Vermilion Flycatcher that right on cue caught a flying insect, sat on a limb next to the trail, and ate the insect before going on to its next perch. While visiting a nearby lava tube, there was a Barn Owl sleeping in a crevice.

Upon returning to Bloomington I have spent many hours going through photos and reading more about Darwin's voyage and work. I have never felt as close to the natural world as my time spent in the Galapagos Islands.

Backyard Wildlife Habitat Stewards training will be held at Karst Farm Park for four weeks starting September 10. Sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Living, Monroe County Parks and Recreation, and Bloomington Parks and Recreation, the course will feature expert speakers, hands-on practice, field trips, and a manual of resource material to help participants learn about creating and restoring wildlife habitat in their own yards, their schools, and their communities. Topics include providing basic habitat needs, identification of native and exotic plants, bats, butterflies, birds, landscape design, gardening, composting, and common problems. The cost is $26. You need to register by September 6 at Bloomington Parks and Recreation, 401 N. Morton St, Bloomington. Call Michael Simmons, 349-3737, with any questions.

[Editor's Note: This is the first in what we hope will be a series of articles describing important bird areas in Indiana.]

Beehunter Marsh and Goose Pond, located some 40 miles southwest of Bloomington [view map], comprise one of the 15 important bird areas likely to be announced soon by the Indiana Audubon Society. Many of our members are well acquainted with Beehunter and Goose Pond as SAS birding trips have visited them on occasion, most recently last August 27. But for those who are not familiar with these nearby treasures, we are including a brief description and directions to find them. The Goose Pond/Beehunter project has been in the news for the last few years as the property has been undergoing restoration and possible sale. The restoration of Beehunter is further along and birding is easier at Beehunter than at Goose Pond at present, so we will concentrate our comments on this area. All of the property is still privately owned, so birders must stay on the public roads.

Beehunter has become a favorite birding spot of many of our local birders and listings of the species found frequently appear on the Bloomington and the Indiana bird lists. Before traveling there, you may wish to check the list to find out what you are likely to see. This summer Lee Sterrenburg has made frequent reports--and Dawn Hewitt described a trip to Beehunter in her Sunday birding column. That trip yielded her first views of Least Bitterns. Other special birds found recently include numerous Great Egrets, Pied-Billed Grebes, Little Blue Herons, Sedge Wrens, Blue-Winged Teal, Wood Ducks, and many, many more common but never-the-less special grassland, shore, and water birds. The cast of characters will change as the year progresses. This fall we should begin to see a wider variety of ducks and shorebirds as they migrate through our area. We should see Sandhill Cranes and perhaps even some of the eastern Whooping Cranes during their migration. Birders have listed a variety of raptors, especially during migration season. The wetlands restoration project has proceeded rapidly in the last few months and we continue to be amazed at the variety and numbers of birds of all kinds that have found this new wetland. When the Goose Pond project a few miles further west is complete, the spectacle should be even greater.

To reach the Marsh from Bloomington, take State Highways 45, 445, and 54 southwest through Bloomfield to Switz City. From there turn left onto Highway 67, drive two miles to County Road 100S. Turn right on CR 100S and proceed for about three miles to the broad, flat area filled with cattails, willows, tall grass, and weeds that is Beehunter Marsh. CR 100S is very lightly traveled, so you can drive slowly as soon as you leave SR 67. You will spot many "country-road" type birds such as Barn and Tree Swallows, Eastern Meadowlarks, Kingbirds, and Kestrels along the way before coming to the wetlands. Slow down even more when you enter the wetlands. You will be rewarded with the sight of many grassland birds such as Horned Larks, Dickcissels, and various sparrows. If the vegetation is not too tall you should see shore birds in the wet patches. Depending on the time of the year you may see hawks, herons, and cranes flying overhead. Near the far side of the wetlands the road rises slightly to a bridge across a drainage canal. You can pull off the road here beside the NRCA sign that announces the reclamation project. This allows you to see large expanses of open, but shallow water with numerous herons, egrets, ducks, grebes and shore birds. If you are fortunate you may even see a bittern or a rail. In the area west of the bridge you leave the marsh and agricultural fields lie on both sides of the road. But the fun is not over. If you arrive at the right time in the fall or spring you may see hundreds of Sandhill Cranes in the fields. CR 200S also traverses the property a mile to the south. It is a somewhat busier road but has also yielded good views of a variety of birds.

Goose Pond is about three miles further west and can be accessed via country roads leading off of State Highway 59, especially CR 200S and CR1400W.

Beehunter is in the process of being transformed from open farm fields back to the wetland that it was for millennia before it was drained for agriculture early in the 20th century. The low marshy areas were formed during the last glacial stage when sand and gravel deposited in the major streams leading from the melting glaciers blocked side valleys and formed shallow lakes and eventually marshes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) purchased an easement in 2000 that allows them to restore the marsh to its wetland condition and provides that it will remain a wetland in perpetuity. However they did not purchase the property outright. The Wilder Corporation owns both Beehunter and Goose Pond. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources intends to purchase the property by the November 2005 deadline that was set in an agreement with the Wilder Corporation. If for some reason the DNR does not purchase the property, it can be sold as a unit or parcels to private entities such as hunting clubs, but it must remain a wetland. NRSC has completed work on Beehunter but continues to develop the Goose Pond area. Ducks Unlimited has also been a major player in the restoration by providing expertise and funding.

When the DNR purchases the property they plan to construct trails and viewing platforms to provide better access and wildlife viewing. Access to the area is likely to be restricted during hunting season.

Many of the most ardent and capable birders in the Sassafras Audubon Society are also dedicated to the identification and study of butterflies. Thus, as a so-so birder, I thought it would be a good idea to see what butterflying was all about. In June I volunteered for the annual butterfly count being sure to tell Sandy and Jeff Belth that they could not expect much of me in the way of knowledgeable identification. I could probably recognize a Monarch or Tiger Swallowtail, but that was about the limit of my expertise. Along with three others I was assigned to the Ross Brittain team, which searched the Paynetown area. As we plunged into the weeds and underbrush I realized my first mistakes were in wearing short pants and not bringing insect repellent. Beware potential butterflyers; these are essential to comfortable pursuit of your task. I soon discovered that butterflying has certain definite advantages over birding. You can get very close to them without scaring them into flight. You do not have to be up at dawn to catch them in their active period. They do not sing so you do not have to learn songs as well as appearance. I also learned that it is difficult to mix birding and butterflying in the same trip. We became so engrossed in spotting and identifying butterflies that no one seemed to be paying any attention to the birds singing around us and their shadowy forms flitting among the trees. Another difference is that usually in birding we are always close to our cars or at least along roads that lead directly to our vehicles. Not so in butterflying. We thrashed through the weeds all morning going from clearing to clearing. When Dan Sparks and I had to leave early to return to town for afternoon obligations we were hard pressed to find our way back along the circuitous path.

Butterfliers studying Hackberry Emporer on Bob Dodd's belt. (photo by J Lawrence)

My experience on the butterfly count was positive enough to encourage me to join Sandy Belth and eight other butterflier-birders on a Saturday morning SAS trip in late July. I had learned some lessons from my previous trip and thoroughly sprayed myself and my long pants with insect repellent. Sandy also advised us to put our pant legs inside our socks to seal out the chiggers. It was a great trip with lots of real butterfly beauties. We managed to see 20 species including both Tiger Swallowtails and Monarchs--which I was pleased to be able to identify. Perhaps the prize of the trip was a Hackberry Emperor. The encounter with this species revealed another difference between butterflying and birding. Although the butterfly may be only a foot away, you may not be able to see it (see the photo below). The Emperor landed on the seat of my pants, and while the others were admiring its beauty (the butterfly), I couldn't see a thing. Nancy Martin showed me a digital photo on her camera and then Sandy graciously picked the butterfly off to show me.

Here is a final difference between butterflying and birding: We sometimes imitate Screech Owls or make other bird sounds to attract birds. That does not work with butterflies, but we were told that a good way to attract some species is to pee in the road. Our mixed group did not try this, but I am going to give it a whirl some day when I am butterflying solo.

Local butterfly experts, Jeff and Sandy Belth, were kind enough to share their knowledge at the July program for SAS. Their vast depth of knowledge accompanied by Jeff's outstanding slides provided a very fascinating and educational presentation. Sandy told some interesting facts about butterfly habits such as tasting with chemosensors in their front feet and the five stages or instars a caterpillar goes through before it forms a chrysalis. She also detailed several specific food sources for many butterflies such as coneflowers, milkweed, and thistle and how even the leaf litter under redbud trees is beneficial. Jeff's expert photography captured the detail of such small beauties as the thumbnail-sized Spring Azure and Henry's Elfin, the fairly common Spicebush Swallowtail and all the crescents, hairstreaks, and anglewings in between.

[This item is a bonus for online readers! There was not enough room for it in the hard copy of the Leaflet.]

A recent posting on the Indiana bird list by Don Gorney of Indianapolis asks Hoosier birders to be on the lookout for unusual hummingbirds at their feeders in the late summer and early fall. This is the time when selasphorus hummingbirds occasionally appear in the state, although their usual range is far to the west. The most common of these "outsiders" is the rufous hummingbird. Adult males of this largely rusty-brown bird are conspicuously different from our ruby-throated variety. Females and juveniles are more difficult to distinguish from ruby throats, but careful examination will reveal that they are different. Last year the Bloomington and Indiana bird lists included reports of rufous hummingbirds. Cathy Meyers had one around her feeder for several weeks from Veteran's Day in November to January 11 in 2003-2004.

If you spot one of these unusual-for-Indiana hummers, take a photo if possible. You might also let one of our local experienced birders know about it. Don Gorney writes that there is a program for banding these birds to learn more about their migratory pattern. Last year a rufous hummer banded in Boone County, Indiana was recaptured in January in Louisiana, well east of this species normal range.