Want To Band Birds In the Peruvian Amazon?

SPRING 2009 BIRD-BANDING WORKSHOP IN THE PERUVIAN AMAZON (21-31 Mar 2009): Ten days of bird surveying and bird-banding as we continue to document the avifauna of a private reserve on the Tambopata River, Madre de Dios Peru.

The workshop will include training in bird survey and capture techniques (ground and canopy mist nets and bal-chatri traps). It will also offer a rare opportunity to examine plumage variation by species, age and sex up-close on rainforest birds in the hand. Birds will be individually marked for long-term monitoring and research. We plan to work in different habitat types around the reserve and will leave plenty of time for birding and independent explorations of the surroundings. A field trip to the nearby Lago Sandoval is also included.

The workshop will take place at the Centro de Education, Ciencia y Conservacion Tambopata (CECCOT), a young conservation, education and research center dedicated to promote the knowledge and conservation of the region’s natural history with a minimal human footprint. The center is rustic with thatch-covered cabins, a large and comfortable common area, shared cabins, composting toilets and cold water camping showers, limited solar-powered electricity available. Requirements: serious interest in birds, research and conservation (although previous experience not required) and willingness to stay in very rustic/shared conditions in the rainforest. Good mobility. Yellow fever shot, immunizations and your own travel insurance.

Cost: US$2200 includes: Roundtrip air-fare to Lima (either from Los Angeles or Miami), in-country transportation and airport taxes, lodging and meals, field trip costs, materials and instructional fees. Group size 9-14. For detailed information and to determine availability contact us before 1 Feb 2009: DANIEL FROEHLICH (EM: dan AT ceccot.org, PH: 206-595-2305) or URSULA VALDEZ (EM: uvaldez AT ceccot.org, PH: 206-219-9924).

South Padre Island Logo Contest!

South Padre Island's Birding and Nature Center is holding a contest for a new logo:

Those who are talented in art and graphic designs are encouraged to submit their unique, individual creation to the South Padre Island Economic Development Corporation for consideration as the official Logo. The winner will not only receive area-wide recognition for their work, but will receive:

• Certificates for two, 2-nite stays at the La Quinta Beach Resort,
• Certificates for four free Friday night Seafood Buffets from Isla Grande Beach Resort (formerly the Radisson Resort)
• A year’s membership for the winner and his/her family (family membership or a total of four individual memberships) to the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center which allows free entrance into the facility and its boardwalks;
• Free entrance for the winner to all programs sponsored by the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center for one year.

They are looking for that special picture, symbol or graphic that best describes the Birding and Nature Center here on South Padre Island, which may, if approved, be used for signage, business letterhead, business cards, and any/all advertising and promotions for events and programs. The ideal submission will look attractive in color or in black and white; easily ‘fits’ within the uses of letterhead, business cards, etc.; and is easily reproducible, enlarged and/or reduced.

The South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center is one of the nine locations within the World Birding Center (WBC): a collaborative initiative between Texas Parks and Wildlife and area towns, to introduce residents and visitors of the Rio Grande Valley to the plants and animals, especially birds, which make the Valley such an interesting and unique place to be. Each WBC site is located in a particularly unique ecosystem in an effort to provide visitors of each site a new and different glimpse into the wonderful ecology surrounding us here in the Rio Grande Valley. The ultimate goal for each of these sites, besides acting as an economic generator for nature and eco-tourism, is to educate the locals and visitors of the Valley to that which makes this area so unique. By so doing, we hope to instill love and pride of this area, and ultimately the desire to conserve our nature resources.

ARE THERE RESTRICTIONS ABOUT WHO CAN PROVIDE A SUBMISSION?
No. We are sending this request out to the public in general, young and older alike; to schools, universities, trade shows, etc. We have no age requirements or restrictions and will not limit the number of submissions anyone would like to provide.

SUBMISSION
If your unique and original submission embodies these visions, missions and/or goals, we’d like to see them. Please submit the original (if a work of art) as well as a digital version of the piece that can be reproduced, reduced and/or enlarged. Send your digital work via e-mail to: spiedc@aol.com; or via postal carrier (in paper and on CD) to: South Padre Island EDC, 600 Padre Boulevard, South Padre Island, TX 78597 Attn: Cate Ball, Manager Birding & Nature Center. Please don’t forget to provide us your name, phone number and mailing address so we can contact you.

DEADLINE:
December 30, 2008 at 5 pm.

You can read the full contest rules here.

Rusty Blackbird Blitz

From The Birding Community E-Bulletin:

Vounteers are needed to look for and count wintering rusty blackbirds (not grackles or starlings):

Rusty Blackbird has been a species in serious decline over the past four decades. Some estimates put the drop at over 80 percent during this period, but the precise figure is not known. Neither are the causes for decline known, although winter habitat loss and degradation are likely candidates. These blackbirds are becoming scarce and patchy in their winter distribution, making it difficult to focus the research and management efforts needed to save them.

Volunteers are being sought to help locate wintering concentrations of Rusty Blackbirds in order to hopefully get more accurate population numbers. The intent is to have an all out "blitz" to locate Rusty Blackbirds and in order to create a map of wintering Rusty Blackbird "hot spots" that will help focus future research, monitoring, and conservation attention.

During a nine-day period in February, volunteers are being asked to search in any locations and habitats deemed as potentially suitable for wintering Rusty Blackbirds, particularly for sizable flocks or concentrations of birds (i.e., dozens or even hundreds of birds).

Areas of note will be revisited in the future to determine if they are indeed Rusty Blackbird hot spots. Search efforts will be concentrated in the east-central United States, from eastern Nebraska to eastern Texas, and from southern New Jersey to Florida.

The dates for these searches are to be February 7 -15 -, the period when Rusty Blackbirds are expected to be easiest to find (i.e., males are singing) and the population is relatively sedentary.

The search effort is being led by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center along with assistance from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, all of which will be using eBird as the vehicle for data collection.

Click here for instructions and information on the identification, habitat preferences, range map, and general protocols for the Rusty Blackbird Count.

$50,000 Reward For An Ivory-billed Woodpecker

From The Associated Press:

Last year, Allan Mueller thinks he saw the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker. The wildlife biologist wants to make sure of it this winter.

Mueller plans to head back into the swamps of eastern Arkansas with a scaled-back search team consisting of 26 volunteers and three expert field biologists.

Searchers will begin their work in the Big Woods on Saturday. The campaign will run through the bird's nesting season in March and April when the ivory-bill is most active, Mueller said.

he huge bird was believed to be extinct until a sighting four years ago stirred national experts and federal funding to launch a full-blown campaign to verify the bird's existence and study its habitat.

For want of a clean photograph or audio recordings of the bird's distinctive sounds, searchers have been unable to convince fellow scientists that the bird has survived years of land development and loss of habitat.

Over the last four years, The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas, where Mueller is avian conservation manager, along with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Arkansas Audubon Society have collaborated to study the ivory-bill in Arkansas and enlist other groups to scout potential habitats in other Southern states.

Besides Arkansas, researchers say the bird has been seen and heard in the swamps of northwestern Florida. A Cornell team will soon begin looking in Florida and travel to Arkansas and elsewhere in the Southeast in hopes of spotting the bird.

Mueller reminds fishermen, hunters and the general public that they can help, too, by calling his office if they have a sighting. An anonymous donor has pledged a $50,000 reward to anyone who leads the team to a live ivory-bill, he said.

The Big Woods swallow up the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, where kayaker Gene Sparling says he spotted the bird Feb. 11, 2004, and Cornell University experts made subsequent sightings. Since then, searches have been made in about 83,000 of the 550,000-acre woods.

Read the full story here.

Where's The North American Field Guide For iPod & iPod Touch

Yo, field guide authors! Yeah, I'm talking to you, Sibley. And get out from under that table, Kaufman. Yo, you too, Jon Dunn, aka Mr. National Geographic Field Guide...why aren't any of your field guides in a software format for an iTouch and an iPhone?? Huh?

I just got the BirdGuides Catalog in my email inbox this morning and there are British versions of this. Heck, there's even a video field guide. Embrace the technology, boys. Give the birders what they want: a field guide on an iPhone or iTouch--or even one of those new Google Phones.

We Interrupt Naked Thanksgiving For A Long-tailed Duck!

I unsubscribed from a local birding listserv awhile ago. For some reason, I started receiving emails again and took it as a sign when someone reported seeing a long-tailed duck about six blocks from my home. I'd seen one before, but it was years ago in a Wisconsin sewage pond. As a matter of fact, it was so long ago, I think the bird was called by its old name: the oldsquaw.

Non Birding Bill and I have a low-key attitude towards the holiday. We do Naked Thanksgiving: no dressing, pie for breakfast, and showing our gratitude. I read the email that someone had spotted the long-tailed duck this morning at Lake Calhoun--within walking distance of our home and a periodic bike ride for us.

So, we broke tradition, put on some clothes and headed over--I made sure to take along a flask of scotch, partially for Bill and partially for a toast if we saw the bird. We went to the northeast side of the lake. That was where it was last reported. We found lots of ducks, but no long-tailed duck. I scanned the lake and noticed lots of birders scattered about the shore. I then noticed a flock of hooded mergansers and goldeneyes on the south side. We headed over. I scanned a bit and then NBB went back to the car. I ran into local birder Jim Ryan (who is a regular of Birds and Beers) and he was with another local birder named Dave (can't remember his last name). We scanned and admired the waterfowl but found no long-tail. Jim mentioned he saw an odd duck earlier but it took off. He mentioned that he thought it might go to nearby Lake Harriet and he was going to head over. I wondered if I had enough scotch for NBB, so I could pursue the duck.

Just as Jim and I were about to enter our vehicles, Dave called us over--weird duck flew in with some other waterfowl. Jim and I hustled over and sure enough...

There it was. On the left is a hooded merganser, on the right is the long-tailed duck. The long-tailed duck breeds in up in the arctic. After breeding, the ducks migrate to either coast or even to the great lakes. This bird is far from either coast and far south of Lake Superior, not sure how it got here or how long it will stay, but it was treat so close to home.

It didn't stay near us long. There was a lot of traffic on Lake Calhoun--sail boats, kayakers, fishermen. The long-tailed duck appeared to be nervous and soon flew off, perhaps searching for a less boat heavy part of the lake. There were also quite a few walkers, joggers and rollerbladers around the lake. One woman stopped to see what we were looking at and I showed her. She asked if the ducks were here because the lake was heated. Apparently, someone told her that lakes in Minneapolis stay open because the city heats them. We laughed and told her that someone fed her quite a line.

I sent NBB a text that we had the bird (he decided to wait in the car where it was heated while I searched for the long-tailed duck). He came down with the flask and all of us, including the woman who asked what we were doing had a celebratory sip of 18 year old scotch for such a great bird on Thanksgiving Day!

NBB and I returned home and resumed our gratitude.

National Eagle Center Job Opportunity

This job opening caught my eye. It's perfect for anyone interested in eagles and living in Wabasha, MN:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: The National Eagle Center, today’s leading organization dedicated solely to eagles and their relationships with the natural world and human cultures, seeks an enthusiastic and highly ambitious senior-level candidate for the position of Executive Director.

Reporting to the board of directors, this newly created position will be responsible for all strategic and operational aspects of this fast-growing, highly visible organization. Leadership responsibilities include visionary strategic planning and direction toward the organization’s mission and goals; aggressive membership, endowment, grant, and gift store/web site revenue growth; effective management of a highly-dedicated staff of employees and volunteers; supervision of traveling and permanent exhibits including live resident eagles; and efficient operation of the National Eagle Center, a newly constructed, 14,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility. The Executive Director will serve as chief executive officer of this dynamic and progressive enterprise and will accept responsibility for its success on all levels.

The ideal candidate will have an advanced degree or equivalent experience in administration, business or the natural sciences, along with an increasingly responsible and successful record of managing seven-figure enterprises. In addition, he or she will possess exceptional interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills that combine to take full advantage of the opportunities available to the National Eagle Center and maximize the organization’s chance for continued growth and success.

The National Eagle Center, a 501c(3) not-for-profit corporation, was founded in 1989 by a group of highly dedicated volunteers and has operated continuously since that time. The organization’s goal is to explore the importance of eagles to human cultures throughout history and to ensure long-term sustainability of native eagle populations through a wide variety of educational and experiential programming. Situated on the banks of the Mississippi River in historic Wabasha, Minnesota, the National Eagle Center enjoys a breathtaking location in the heart of the picturesque Hiawatha Valley, and serves as enthusiastic host to the highest number of wintering bald eagles found anywhere in the lower forty-eight states.

If you are ready to assume an executive leadership position with a nationally-prominent organization, yet appreciate the healthy rewards of an outdoor lifestyle and small-town living, this is the ideal opportunity for you.

National Eagle Center
50 Pembroke Avenue
Wabasha, Minnesota 55981

(URL: Please submit your resume via email along with salary requirements to National Eagle Center Executive Director Search Committee, c/o RANDY EGGENBERGER, Board Member (EM: eggenbrd AT myclearwave.net)

How To Pick Up A Birder

"Hey, is that an ibis in your scope, or are you just happy to see me?"

Well, here's an interesting question that came through the BirdChick Email from a new birder who I met on my travels this fall. She asks:

"Being both single and new to the birding community with a renewed commitment to take advantage of the birding opportunities in my area, I was wondering if there is any "birder" behavior I should be on the lookout for. They say the best place to meet someone is doing the things you enjoy, though it hasn't worked for me so far, but you never know when the right guy might trip over me.

I know different groups of society have quirks in their verbal and body language when showing interest in a member of the opposite sex, i.e. when the IT guy was showing me all the cool features on my work computer and no one else in the office, he was doing the best his geeky little heart could to flirt with me; for really shy guys, just speaking to a girl is flirting; macho guys break stuff; military/law enforcement blow stuff up etc. as a way of showing off for the "female bird" and getting her attention. So, are there any identified exhibitions to look for in the male birder? Do they brag about their equipment (no, I don't mean it that way!), or their life bird list? Do they point out lots of birds to you, showing their ornithological prowess? Or do they just walk around with their eyes hooked to binoculars and noses in field guides?"

I don't feel qualified to answer this question. I have never dated a birder--ever. (I even dated a guy with a bird phobia, but never a birder). I know the signs from men in general to know when they're attracted but nothing specific to birders. This is a question that does come up in one form or another about 4 - 6 times a year in my inbox, so fellow birders, can we help this single birder out? I should mention that she's a younger birder, this isn't necessarily an older person but I'm sure all single birders out there could benefit from the answer.

How do you know when a birder is flirting with you?