| September, 2007 - Various Subjects Included in the newsletter this month are the INAS financial statements for the twelve months ended June 30, 2007. I am very excited and happy to report that we generated a net profit (surplus) of $421 for the fiscal year! Ideally, we should generate a small surplus each year to thereby have a contingency fund for other projects. There are several reasons (and people) that created our financially successful year and surplus: • We had $435 revenues from the sale of bird boxes. This was entirely the effort of Jim Harman building the boxes and selling them on behalf of INAS. Thank you Mr. Harman, your dedication and labor personally pushed INAS into a net profit! • We had $339 revenues from our first annual INAS garage sale in June. This was the idea of Linda Dyer, the sale was hosted by our Treasurer David Gill, plus Don & Joyce Varner immediately encouraged Linda and provided sale items. Thanks to all who contributed sale items and volunteered to staff the garage sale. Your efforts are very much appreciated and made the difference for a successful financial year for INAS! • Our grants and contributions increased to $1,631. Don & Joyce Varner obtained a larger grant from a foundation, Lisa Bracken worked at obtaining funding for Audubon Adventures, and many of you contributed additional funds to INAS. All of these efforts resulted in record-breaking grants and contributions revenues! I appeal to you to contribute directly to INAS. These additional contributions are the primary factor to making INAS an ongoing success. We only have two significant expenses: this Newsletter and Audubon Adventures, the elementary school classroom teaching supplement. Amanda Jones, as Newsletter Editor, has devoted much time and energy plus creativity and enthusiasm to expanding and enhancing this newsletter. Lisa Bracken has become Education Chair, succeeding Don & Joyce Varner in continuing our education outreach, Audubon Adventures. Your additional contributions go directly to funding Amanda’s and Lisa’s efforts. As you can see from the financial statements, only $16.74 was spent on administrative expenses for the entire twelve months ending June 30, 2007. Less than ½ of 1% of our revenues was spent on overhead. Not many other conservation organizations can say that, maybe none! This speaks well of the dedication of our officers and members - providing their own resources and money without reimbursement so that INAS can operate as a viable chapter. As an external auditor of financial institutions, even I can’t find anything wrong with our overhead expense ratio! Your contributions go directly to what they are intended for. For those of you who like videos, a new website is now online – Bird Cinema! David Garcia has developed the YouTube for birders’ videos. Birders can share their bird videos online. Go to www.BirdCinema.com. You can spend a lot of time watching some extraordinary videos – the experience is somewhat addictive. You might lose some sleep late at night visiting Bird Cinema! Yet another “new” bird species is believed to have been “discovered” in Colombia. On May 28, a Danish avian researcher, Niels Krabbe, reported he heard and sighted a new species of Dwarf Horned Owl. The “new” owl, not yet named or photographed, is approximately 30 centimeters long and in the Santa Marta Mountains, an area famed for endemic species. The owl was observed eating large beetles but is also believed to eat rodents. Mr. Krabbe noted, “The area (Santa Marta Mountains in Colombia) was however under threat due to ongoing logging that risked the habitat of the birds and the indigenous Indian population”. Niels Krabbe, with the Zoological Museum of Copenhagen, has discovered seven other new bird species during his expeditions to South America. /s/ David Dyer, President\ |
| October, 2007 - Crows Throughout the year at both my home at Long Bay and during my hiking at Sequoyah State Park, there is a bird species that is always present, thriving, vocal, and announcing to Nature my “intrusive” presence. That species is the American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos of the Family Corvidae in the Order Passeriformes). The American Crow is found throughout most of North America and is the largest of the Passeriformes, perching birds, in our area. As noted on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, All About Birds: “Widespread, common, and obvious, the American Crow is known by most people. What is less well known is how complex its life is. Young crows remain with their parents until they can find a home of their own, and individual relationships may last years”. So, through my observations, I have determined that the usually 3 to 7 Crows that live around me on my Long Bay property are a family. The Crow Gang, as I call them, rises early and is walking about my yard at dawn foraging for breakfast. In Spring and Summer, the living is easy and their effort is minimal for food. In the depths of a bitter cold Winter, the Crows’ intelligence is evident through their resourcefulness. The Crow Gang will line up on railroad ties along my driveway to crack open pecans found on the property. If we throw bread out the back door or seeds are on the ground under the feeders, the Crows are there quickly. No foraging opportunity is wasted for these omnivores! American Crows are part of the Family Corvidae or “Corvids”. Corvids, including Ravens and Jays, are a very successful worldwide Family. Crows and Jays are always listed at the top of bird intelligence tests devised by researchers. Although some Corvid species, such as Crows and especially Ravens, are associated with darkness or death, I don’t see this somber link in them. To me, they are fellow tenants in my small part of the world - plus they keep the lawn clean! Another Crow we have in Spring and Summer is the migratory Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus). The smaller Fish Crow is described as sounding like an American Crow with a bad cold - a very nasal call. The Fish Crow is known for its “aggressive actions” in defense of territory and at a food source. The Fish Crow range in the southeastern USA is expanding. In March 2005 at Sequoyah State Park in Cherokee County, I witnessed a confrontation between a family of 6 American Crows and a family of 4 Fish Crows. This event began as I observed the 6 American Crows mobbing a Red-tailed Hawk in a stand of pine trees. This noisy commotion attracted the attention of a family of 4 Fish Crows, which flew straight towards the American Crows and Red-tailed Hawk, sounding their battle cry all the way. The American Crows thereupon disengaged from the mobbing of the Red-tailed Hawk and confronted the invading Fish Crows. A moving skirmish between the American Crows and Fish Crows ensued that proceeded away from me through the forest until I could no longer hear them. I was aware that the Fish Crows normally nested nearby each Spring, so apparently they were threatened by the encroaching American Crows. The Red-tailed Hawk then flew away; no doubt relieved the local Crows were fighting among themselves! Next month I will tell you about the Oklahoma bird that is truly at the top of the avian food chain, the true King of Bird World in our area, the ultimate avian predator, plus the arch enemy of the American Crow. Stay tuned! Corvid Trivia Questions: 1) What is a group of crows called? A “murder”, “mob”, “congress”, or “storytelling”. What is a group of jays called? A “band”, “party”, or “scold”. /s/ Dave Dyer, President |
| January, 2008 - Poisonous Birds! I came across something surfing the internet that I never dreamed of – a poisonous bird! That’s right! Ten years ago Jack Dumbacher discovered that the Hooded Pitohui in Papua New Guinea was poisonous. The discovery was quite by accident. He was actually studying Birds of Paradise and caught a Hooded Pitohui (Pitohui dichrous) in his mist nests. As he untangled the Hooded Pitohui from the net, the bird bit him on the hand. Jack licked the graze on his finger and continued with his mist netting. Shortly thereafter he noticed a tingling on his lips and in his mouth. He eventually realized he had been slightly poisoned by contact with the Hooded Pitohui! Dr. Dumbacher then asked the local natives about the Hooded Pitohui, a jay-sized bird. The natives were well aware the bird was poisonous and called it the “rubbish bird”, because they couldn’t eat it without very careful preparation, which they rarely did. Jack immediately stopped studying Birds of Paradise and began researching the Hooded Pitohui – the first known poisonous bird. Eventually five of the six species in the genus pitohui were discovered to be poisonous to varying degrees. The toxin is an alkaloid that is very similar, if not the same, as utilized by the poison arrow frog. The Hooded Pitohui is a forest dweller and one of the most common birds in Papua New Guinea. The genus pitohui has been known to science since the 1800s. The poison was determined to be on the feathers and skin, especially concentrated on the breast and belly. This concentration is believed to benefit nesting birds, which then rub the toxin on their eggs thereby protecting the eggs from snakes and other predators. As one writer noted, “The discomfort caused by attempting to eat one would repel most creatures. Anything foolish enough to consume an entire pitohui could well face death”! The pitohui has a pungent and lingering odor. The toxin is odorous to provide an effective protection against predators which use their sense of smell to detect prey, such as snakes. If the toxic odor isn’t a sufficient deterrent, the pitohui is also brightly colored orange and black – a visual warning to possible predators. Where does the toxin in the pitohui’s skin and feathers come from? This has yet to be conclusively determined. The most probable source is believed to be from insects the birds eat. Fungus has also been suggested as a source of the toxin. The toxicity varies among species of the pitohui and even among individual birds in a species. Toxicity variation has also been noted over the range of the pitohui species. Since Jack Dumbacher’s discovery of the toxicity in the genus pitohui, another genus utilizing the same toxin has been located in Papua New Guinea. The Blue-capped Ifrita (Ifrita kowaldi) was discovered through inquiry of native tribes. This species also shows variation in toxicity over its range. Humans have consumed small amounts of “toxic” bird skin with no severe effect. /s/ Dave Dyer, President |
| February, 2008 - Belted Kingfisher If you observe the birds and other wildlife in Nature for any length of time, sooner or later you observe “bird and wildlife events” that you always remember. Having spent a considerable amount of “outdoors time” hiking, climbing, walking, and/or running in Oklahoma, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Missouri, and Kansas, some events stand out as memorable. I have told about some of these Oklahoma events I have observed in previous newsletters, such as a Great Horned Owl being mobbed by an extraordinary number of American Crows plus a Red-shouldered Hawk and also of a skirmish between American Crows and Fish Crows. Despite all of my travels and observations, one of the most interesting observations occurred looking out my dining room window! In September 2006, I saw a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) at the pond in my backyard. They show up periodically and it is always exciting to see and hear this somewhat exotic-looking bird. The distinctive, loud rattle call has been described as “rapid- fire”, “reverberating”, and “penetrating”, even “metallic”. This time I was fortunate enough to see the Kingfisher catch a fish and then land on a tree branch facing me. As one writer noted, “The king of fishers hovers over water, then dives headfirst to catch its prey in its bill. Emerging from the water, the bird flies back to a perch. There it juggles the meal—usually a fish, frog, or crawdad—into position and gulps it down”. I learned there is a lot more to the Kingfisher’s procedure than hovering, diving, catching, emerging, flying, juggling, and gulping. The writer did not mention pulverizing and killing! Upon seeing the Kingfisher catch the fish, I focused in with a scope and watched the Kingfisher at very close-up range. The fish was quite large, or so I thought, for even an ambitious Kingfisher. The "king of fishers" proceeded to rapidly and repeatedly bash and strike the fish’s head on the branch he was perched on until blood ran out of the fish’s gills. My perspective of Kingfishers began to change! The Kingfisher also repeatedly bashed the tail on the branch. This pulverizing went on for several minutes. Finally, the large fish was totally limp, hanging straight down on both sides of the Kingfisher’s mouth, with no signs of life. The fish didn’t start out that way and was struggling in the beginning. This was not some little fish-eating bird but a true carnivore in action. This Kingfisher wasn’t messing around catching minnows or very small fish. He was beating up this large fish to kill it and prepare it for eating! I was totally surprised by the power and strength of this predator. When the bird was satisfied the fish was sufficiently pulverized, and dead, the Kingfisher thereupon flipped the fish around headfirst and swallowed it. You could see the Kingfisher’s throat enlarge as the large fish slid downwards. Then, the meal time was over. The bird lingered on the branch for a few minutes and then left my pond. I have viewed the Belted Kingfisher differently, and with much more respect as a predator, ever since. I hear Belted Kingfishers almost every week, all year, at Fort Gibson Lake. I even saw one chasing another, flying through the woods on a peninsula! I believe it was a turf battle and one had strayed over to the other side of the peninsula into another’s territory along the shore. Still, it was unique to see two Belted Kingfishers flying through a forest below the canopy, not along the shore or over water, both Kingfishers “rattling” the whole way. /s/ Dave Dyer, President |
| March, 2007 - INAS Mission Statement This is my first report to you since becoming President of INAS in 2006. I was much honored to be elected President, especially knowing the great character of the Nominating Committee that chose me and the membership that elected me. I sincerely believe I have an obligation to continue the efforts of several members that founded and/or continued this Audubon chapter through the years. These members have devoted countless hours to maintaining the viability of Indian Nations Audubon Society. As noted in this newsletter and on our website, the mission statement of the National Audubon Society is “to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity”. Therefore, that is our ultimate mission at the chapter level, which can be achieved by accomplishing by a Strategic Plan. I am discussing with Board members, and it will be on the agenda for the next Board meeting, to begin developing and implementing a Strategic Plan to accomplish our Mission Statement. We’ve had many changes in chapter operations over the last few months. In the upcoming newsletter issues, I will report on the efforts of the Board and Officers. This newsletter is the first one with Amanda Williams as the newsletter editor. It is with mixed emotions that I report this to you. We are excited that Amanda has volunteered to continue the newsletter but it is with sadness I announce that Don Varner has relinquished his newsletter editor duties. For many years Don and Joyce Varner have consistently published this newsletter and devoted their effort and time. Thank you, Don and Joyce, for your persistency and loyalty on behalf of Indian Nations Audubon Society! /s/ David Dyer, President |
| April, 2007 - INAS Conservation Efforts As I noted in the March newsletter, the mission statement of the National Audubon Society is “to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity”. Therefore, that is our ultimate mission at the chapter level. Our chapter is already involved in three important conservation issues in eastern Oklahoma. Our efforts involve preserving and protecting specific ecosystems, which therefore prevent degradation of bird and wildlife habitat. These important habitats are Lake Atoka, Spring Creek, and the Illinois River. Our goal at Lake Atoka has been to stop the logging of the Lake Atoka watershed by the City of Oklahoma City, the owner of the lake. This logging attempt of a public watershed by Oklahoma City has been ongoing for over ten years. To date, not a single tree has been logged in the Lake Atoka Forest, thanks primarily to Bob Jackman. At this time, I can report that an attempt to log the watershed is not imminent. Additional information is available at: www.SaveLakeAtoka.com. Spring Creek, both the stream and watershed, is a special place in eastern Oklahoma. A near-pristine ecosystem is still intact in Cherokee County. Accordingly, in partnership with the Spring Creek Coalition, a variety of efforts are underway to maintain the viability and sustainability of this bird and wildlife habitat. There isn’t always a single issue or threat to focus on, but a general effort to effectively manage preservation and protection efforts of this ecosystem is in progress. The Spring Creek Coalition has a website: www.SpringCreekOK.org. The Illinois River is well-known throughout the region. Major litigation and legislative issues have occurred over the years. Fortunately, the very effective advocacy of Save The Illinois River (STIR) continues to protect the stream and watershed. Our chapter is in partnership with STIR to continue the protection of the beautiful Illinois River. STIR monitors legislation that affects all waterways and lakes in Oklahoma. Visit their very active website at: www.IllinoisRiver.org. I hope you will become involved in our conservation issues. As threats to our natural heritage occur; write your legislators and newspapers, become involved in a specific organization, including Indian Nations Audubon Society. This is an important way to leave a legacy for future generations of Americans. This is an important way to save bird and wildlife species from extinction and to maintain the Earth’s biodiversity. /s/ David Dyer, President |
| July, 2007 - Various Subjects About our website: www.IndianNationsAudubon.org I have been working on the INAS website and added new pages. Hopefully you will have the opportunity to spend some time browsing our website content. I have tried to publish something for everyone: photos, essays, videos, and information. MAPS bird banding has begun at both the Fort Gibson Waterfowl Refuge and Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. You can access the new MAPS web page through the INAS website home page. Further information is available there. Visiting a MAPS bird banding session is a good way to see birds first hand (pun sort of intended). Mist nets are utilized to capture the birds, which are then measured, weighed, tested, banded, and released. The Spring Creek bird census has been completed. Four counts were conducted in order to include each season (winter, spring, summer, & autumn). This effort was to assist the Spring Creek Coalition in documenting the biodiversity of this beautiful, pristine stream and watershed. Don Varner has written a report, “Spring Creek Birds”. The report was edited by Jeri McMahon and Joyce Varner. A new web page has been created for Don’s report, which can be accessed through the INAS website home page. I encourage you to read Don’s report on the Spring Creek birds, as this is also a good primer on some of the birds in our area. We will all undoubtedly learn something from reading Don’s report! A little known endangered species in northeastern Oklahoma is the Gray Bat. Vicki Hatfield, President of Grand Lake Audubon Society, spoke about her work with bats at the May 2006 meeting of INAS. Vicki has recently written an article about the Gray Bat. In honor of Vicki’s conservation efforts and to provide more information to INAS members, a new web page, including Vicki’s article, is now accessible through the INAS website home page. The big avian news, announced May 13, is the discovery of another bird species, the “Gorgeted Puffleg”, in Colombia. This species of hummingbird is in the Puffleg genus and described as “flamboyantly colored”. To quote, “The highly distinct new species is characterized by an enlarged, bicoloured iridescent throat patch (hence ‘Gorgeted’) in males and white tufts above the legs which are characteristic of ‘Puffleg’ hummingbirds.” This hummer was discovered and thereupon proclaimed endangered because its small habitat is unprotected – it has only been found on one mountain ridge! In 2006, another new bird species was also discovered in Colombia, the “Yariguies Brush Finch”. Colombia leads all countries with over 1,800 species of birds, with Peru and Brazil close behind. For comparison, Oklahoma has 470 recognized species. Links to articles about new bird species can be found on the INAS website home page. /s/ David Dyer, President |
| May, 2007 - Spring Migration I think I can safely state that we are in the most important time of the year for most birders – the Spring Migration! There are an overwhelming number of bird species in breeding plumage and singing right now. So now is the time to sharpen both your visual identification skills as well as your bird song identification skills. Most of you should be able to walk out on your porch and identify up to 20 species, even more if you are in a rural area. So now is the time to easily see and hear, and therefore identify, numerous species. The Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America is a good field guide to begin with. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America is an excellent supplement, if the Peterson’s doesn’t quite positively identify the bird in question. The field guide you become partial to is a personal preference. The Peterson’s Field Guide is by the late Roger Tory Peterson, who literally “invented” the concept of the field guide. Go to www.RTPI.org/ to read more about this remarkable naturalist and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. To enhance your bird song identification skills, both the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (http://www.birds.cornell.edu/) and Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs sell audio CDs of bird songs. Both can be purchased through www.Amazon.com. It is Eastern and Central North America that apply to northeastern Oklahoma. By having a field guide and listening to audio CDs, you begin to increase your identification skills and discover bird species around you that you never knew were there before. I remember the first time, in April a few years ago, I went out to identify absolutely every bird species I possibly could. After a winter of birding, the increase in species was dramatic. Several years ago, it seemed there were so many winter birds to identify. Now, standing there at the Fort Gibson Wildlife Management Area during the full force of the Spring Migration, the number of birds singing and flying about was absolutely overwhelming. I remember thinking it was literally a “wall of sound” – countless birds in all directions all singing at once! The Fall Migration is much more difficult for bird identification, so the Spring Migration is the time to get out there and see and hear numerous bird species. During the Fall Migration, the birds are phasing out or completely phased out of breeding plumage. Visual identification is much more difficult, especially for some groups such as warblers. The birds are not “colored up” as they are in the Spring Migration. In the Fall Migration, the birds are not singing because the breeding season is over. So, right now, during the Spring Migration, is the time to see the birds in their breeding plumage and hear their singing. /s/ David Dyer, President |
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| Indian Nations Audubon Society Eastern Oklahoma Muskogee, Tahlequah, Wagoner Fort Gibson & Tenkiller Lakes |
| President's Notes |
| 2008 May - Ancient Cross Timbers Forest April - Ospreys March - Blue-gray Gnatcathers & Indigo Buntings February - Belted Kingfisher January - Poisonous Birds! 2007 December - Christmas Bird Counts November - Great Horned Owl October - Crows September - Various Subjects July - Various Subjects May - Spring Migration April - INAS Conservation Efforts March - INAS Mission Statement |
| This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls. - My First Summer in the Sierra, John Muir |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron Taylor Ferry, Fort Gibson Lake, June 2007 Click here to read more about birds in our area! (Photos by Connie Travelletti, Identified by Jeri McMahon) |
| November, 2007 - Great Horned Owl For most Americans, the Bald Eagle represents the epitome of birds – a regal, majestic, beautiful raptor that is our National Symbol. Many would assume the Bald Eagle is the “top bird”, the ultimate avian predator, the top of the bird food chain, the King of Birds. There is another bird, sometimes associated by people with death and misfortune (and rightly so in the world of birds!) that would normally not be considered a candidate for the “Ultimate Bird”. In researching local birds, I came across the bird that really is at the top of the food chain – the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus of the Order Strigiformes and Family Strigidae). I was very impressed by this large owl and avian ambusher! The Great Horned Owl is also known as the Hoot Owl. As noted on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, All About Birds: “Found from the Arctic tundra to the tropical rain forest, from the desert to suburban backyards, the Great Horned Owl is one of the most widespread and common owls in North America”. The population is noted as “robust”. Great Horned Owls really are the ultimate avian predator and birds rightly fear them! These stealthy carnivores eat adult American Crows and Peregrine Falcons, regularly kill and eat other owls, and are the only regular predator of skunks. They eat the nestlings and fledglings of many birds, including Ospreys and hawks. Regardless, there is no point in malice towards the Great Horned Owl nor do I intend any. Great Horned Owls are an integral part of ecosystems. Cornell Lab of Ornithology also states, “The Great Horned Owl is a regular victim of harassment from flocks of American Crows. Crows congregate from long distances to mob owls, and may continue yelling at them for hours. The enmity of the crows is well earned, however, as the owl is probably the most important predator on adult crows and nestlings.” Anyone who has spent much time outdoors has witnessed an American Crow mobbing of an owl or hawk at least once. In October 2006, at Sequoyah State Park in Cherokee County, I witnessed the most spectacular mobbing of a Great Horned Owl by American Crows I have ever seen. There were at least 50+ Crows, perhaps as many as 100. This loud and huge “scene” was back in heavy forest, so it was difficult to accurately count all the Crows moving about and “yelling their enmity” at this Great Horned Owl. In addition, a very vocal Red-shouldered Hawk circled the periphery of this mobbing adding his input - a loud, repeated “kee-aah”. I was aware that a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks had nested in the area for the last few years. The Great Horned Owl has reportedly been known to take a Red-shouldered Hawk nestling for a meal. This noisy commotion and fracas continued for well over an hour and had been going on before I arrived. The Great Horned Owl finally attempted to escape through the cover of the forest canopy, with the huge mob of American Crows following. Later, I could barely hear the yelling Crows a great distance away, undoubtedly still following the Great Horned Owl. Owl Trivia Question: What is a group of owls called? A “parliament”. For more information about owls, visit www.OwlPages.com. A new species of flycatcher has been identified in the dense, thorny, and inaccessible bamboo thickets of the Peruvian Amazon - Cnipodectes superrufus. The first specimen, a brownish-reddish color, was actually netted in 1990 but only this year did researchers realize this was a new species of twistwing, a type of flycatcher. There is hope the population is not threatened. Links to articles about new bird species can be found on our INAS website home page. /s/ Dave Dyer, President |
| December, 2007 - Christmas Bird Counts I hope during this Christmas Season you will consider giving extra, over and above your $20 membership dues, to Indian Nations Audubon Society. 99.5%+ of the expenditures of INAS go directly to two efforts: • Audubon Adventures, the elementary school classroom teaching supplement. This effort was successfully managed for many years by Don & Joyce Varner. Lisa Bracken, as Education Chair, is now continuing the Varner’s’ legacy. Additional contributions by you support Lisa’s efforts and our educational outreach to grade school children. For more information about Audubon Adventures, go to: http://www.audubon.org/educate/aa/ • This newsletter created and edited by Amanda Jones. Again, this effort was successfully managed for many years by Don & Joyce Varner. Amanda, as Newsletter Editor, is now continuing the Varner’s legacy. Additional contributions by you support Amanda’s efforts, enthusiasm, and dedication to produce this newsletter. The INAS Christmas Dinner will be at 6:00 p.m. at KC Harris Burgers, 200 East Downing Street, in Tahlequah on Thursday, December 20. This is a special time for birders, the season of the Christmas Bird Counts. This will be the 108th year of the Christmas Bird Counts! To quote, “Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early officer in the then budding Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition - a "Christmas Bird Census" - that would count birds in the holidays rather than hunt them. So began the Christmas Bird Count”. Nowadays, the Christmas Bird Count is not just on Christmas Day itself but is a day chosen from early December to early January by each specific CBC. It is citizen science in action, utilizing the bird census data obtained to preserve and protect species and habitat. To quote again, “The count period, which is from December 14th to January 5th, in North America, is referred to as "early winter," because many birds at this time are still in the late stages of their southward migration, so it is not "true" winter”. When we combine these data with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, we begin to see a clearer picture of how the continent's bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years”. You are encouraged and invited to participate in one of our CBCs: Fort Gibson Lake, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Broken Bow, and/or Lake Atoka. More information about our CBCs mentioned above and CBCs in general is available at our website: www.IndianNationsAudubon.org A new bird species has been “discovered” in Brazil – the Sincorá Antwren (Formicivora grantsaui). This small brown and black bird is quite striking in appearance with a black mask. The bird has been known since 1997, but was determined to be a separate species from the Rusty-backed Antwren (Formicivora rufa) by further study of its vocalizations and habitat preference. In some areas the two species’ ranges overlap, hence causing the misidentification until now. The conservation status of the Sincorá Antwren is being assessed to determine if it is threatened. Links to articles about new bird species can be found on our INAS website home page. Happy Holidays! /s/ Dave Dyer, President |
| March, 2008 - Blue-gray Gnatcatchers & Indigo Buntings Migrant Nesting Passeriformes at Sequoyah State Park The big Spring Migration push will soon be here. Based on my ongoing, year round counts at Sequoyah State Park in Cherokee County, the most successful nesting migratory bird in the Passeriformes (perching birds) Order is the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. This tiny bird is described as looking like a “miniature Mockingbird”. In some wooded areas, these little birds aren’t just abundant, they are everywhere! I have easily counted 50+ in just over three miles of hiking in forest at Sequoyah State Park. What’ s amazing is there are many more behind the ones I’m seeing and hearing in the woods. Some Blue-gray Gnatcatchers will show up in March and more come in April. The high counts occur during May, June, and July and they are usually in pairs in a tree flitting about. The count seems to peak towards the latter half of this time period and then begins to decrease in August. By the end of September, most have left to migrate. I see just a few in the first half of October and by late October they have all left until they begin their migratory return in March & April. Although Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are not reclusive or secretive, they are somewhat hard to see, even with binoculars, because they are so small and active. It is easier to identify these tiny birds by ear - their call is described as a thin, nasal “spee”. To me, the call is “wheezy”. The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is the northernmost of the Gnatcatchers and the only one to migrate. They reside along the Gulf Coast and southwards into Central America during the Winter. The strikingly colored Indigo Bunting is another very successful nesting migrant. In 2007 these birds were the second-most numerous nesting migrant Passeriforme I counted at Sequoyah State Park. At abundance peak during the Summer, I count 25-35 Indigo Buntings in the same time and distance as I count 50+ Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Certain migratory warblers that are common in the forest include the Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Parula, and Black-and-white Warbler. The non-migratory Pine Warblers and migratory Yellow-throated Warblers are in or near virtually every pine stand at Sequoyah State Park. The peak counts of any of the warblers, compared to Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Indigo Buntings noted above, is almost always <10, over the same time and distance, except if I’m there right when a push of migratory warblers is going through, not staying and nesting. Then I could count 10+. I’m not including resident nesting Passeriformes in this discussion, just migratory nesting Passeriformes. The resident Passeriformes such as the Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, and American Crow are numerous throughout the year at Sequoyah State Park. Woodpeckers are in the Piciformes Family and are not considered in this discussion. Regardless, at peak abundance, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is the undisputed nesting champ at 50+ with the Indigo Bunting a distant second. Some Piciformes and resident Passeriformes count 20-30 consistently in the Winter, but the count drops during the breeding season. It is encouraging that some bird species are able to flourish as we hear of more and more species being added to the threatened, endangered, and critically endangered lists worldwide. Last year, it was reported that Barred Owls are thriving in Charlotte, North Carolina. The city has been called an “uber forest” because Barred Owls require old-growth forest. The trees in Charlotte are old and as far as the Barred Owls are concerned, Charlotte is an old-growth forest! The Barred Owls are thriving in a suburban environment. /s/ Dave Dyer, President |
| May, 2008 - Ancient Cross Timbers Forest Our area, eastern Oklahoma, includes portions of the “Cross Timbers”, which can be viewed as an ecosystem, a specific type of forest, or even an entire region. There are several definitions and uses of the term “Cross Timbers”. A very general definition of “Cross Timbers” is an area dominated by Post Oak and Blackjack Oak trees, interspersed with grasslands. This region is from southeast Kansas through central and eastern Oklahoma to north central Texas. The Cross Timbers are dense and nearly impenetrable. I have encountered areas in my hiking, which I believe are remaining fragments of the Cross Timbers. You cannot get through these “walls” of vegetation (trees, bushes, and vines) without considerable determination and effort. It’s easier to find a way around the “wall” nowadays. The Native Americans and early explorers of our area did not have this option! The Cross Timbers Urban Forestry Council website reports, “The first non-native explorers to write about the Cross Timbers were the Spaniards. Their initial attempts to make their way through the woods proved to be quite frustrating, leaving one explorer to state, ‘The forest was so impenetrable that we could not pass through on horseback without cutting down some trees with axes and knives. We lost two knives. We advanced seven leagues with great difficulty, arriving in the afternoon in an open spot, that God had placed there for us to rest after such a painful journey.’” Josiah Gregg, in his classic book and journal, “Commerce of the Prairies”, describes some of his experiences with the Cross Timbers in the early 1800s. He reported, “The Cross Timbers vary in width from five to thirty miles, and entirely cut off the communication betwixt the interior prairies and those of the great plains. They may be considered as the ‘fringe’ of the great prairies, being a continuous brushy strip, composed of various kinds of undergrowth… The underwood is so matted in many places with grape-vines, green-briars, etc., as to form almost impenetrable ‘roughs’, which serve as hiding-places for wild beasts, as well as wild Indians…” Negotiating the Cross Timbers has been noted as “painful” by the Spanish, described as “almost impenetrable” by Josiah Gregg, and I have used the adjective “bloody” in my stories of Cross Timbers adventures! The briers, woody vines with thorns/spines, will generally stop you, after they have entangled you and you find yourself bleeding from the thorn scrapes and punctures. The residents of the Cross Timbers also must be dealt with – copperhead snakes, rattlesnakes, ticks, and chiggers. I can attest that the Cross Timbers can be a formidable obstacle! The Ancient Cross Timbers Consortium, at the University of Arkansas, has a website that is a good starting point to learn about the legendary Cross Timbers area. The most common remaining fragments of the Ancient Cross Timbers Forest are on rocky hills and ridges. These areas were never farmed, ranched, or logged. They have remained pristine. This is where I have discovered remnants of this ecosystem intact. I have never happened upon another person in these Cross Timbers remnants, although I have seen evidence of deer hunters. Some of the Cross Timbers trees in these remaining areas are centuries old. The Consortium website states, “Millions of 200- to 400-year old post oak survive in the Cross Timbers, and red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) trees over 500-years old have also been found on fire-protected blufflines.” Other trees you are familiar with, e.g. hackberry, hickory, pecan, etc. also are interspersed throughout the Cross Timbers. Black bears were common. Of course, many of our indigenous birds inhabit and thrive in this ecosystem, including woodpeckers and warblers. Efforts to preserve and protect this part of our habitat, heritage, and history continue… /s/ Dave Dyer, President |
| April, 2008 - Ospreys The Spring Migration is now underway. Our “summer birds” are arriving to nest. There are also many species that are “just passing through” northbound to the Boreal Forest in Canada or even further to Alaska and the Arctic Tundra. Northeastern Oklahoma is stopover habitat for these sojourners. One sojourning species that can be seen at our area lakes is the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). According to the Oklahoma Ornithological Society’s “Date Guide to the Occurrences of Birds in Oklahoma”, Ospreys are going through our area northbound from late March through late May. They will return, heading southbound, from late August through late November. Watching the Ospreys come through on Fort Gibson Lake has become a ritual for me; they are the heralds of the changing of the seasons. Ospreys are striking in appearance and are fairly easy to identify either flying or perched on branches along the lakeshore. They are a large bird with a white belly and breast plus a dark back and wings. In flight their wings are at an angle, “crooked”, the wingtips angled slightly backwards. Upon closer view, with binoculars or scope, the face has a dark eye stripe on an otherwise white throat and head. Ospreys are very unique raptors – no other species is closely related, although they are “classified” in the Order Falconiformes (Falcons). They are the only member of a separate Subfamily Pandioninae of the Family Accipitridae (“Accipters”, including Cooper’s Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, and Red-shouldered Hawks which can be seen in our area). On the family tree, the Ospreys sit out on their own branch. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, All About Birds, states “One of the largest birds of prey in North America, the Osprey eats almost exclusively fish. It is one of the most widespread birds in the world, found on all continents except Antarctica”. Although there was a decline in population beginning in the 1950s because of the pesticide DDT, the Osprey has recovered. So, there are plenty of Ospreys on this Earth and some migrate through northeastern Oklahoma in the Spring and Autumn! The Osprey is also unique in another way - their method of actually catching a fish. Cornell Lab of Ornithology reports, “Dives feet- first into water to grab fish from near surface. Often hovers over water before dive”. The “business end” of an Osprey is their feet: “long claws and spiny foot pads secure live fish prey”. Slippery fish are not a problem for the “sure predator grip” of Ospreys! I have been fortunate to see an Osprey take a fish at Fort Gibson Lake. This Osprey didn’t “hover” per se; he “plummeted feet- first” from about 10 – 15 feet straight down into the water. There was a large splash! Up from the spraying water came the Osprey, mightily flapping his wings, with a fish firmly gripped by his feet. He thereupon flew off to shore and landed on a tree branch for his meal. Another time I was mowing my lawn at Long Bay, which is a large peninsula of Fort Gibson Lake. I glanced up and saw an Osprey descending directly for my backyard pond. Unfortunately, the lawn tractor and I disturbed his descent and he veered off at tree level for a better fishing area. That’s one of the best “yard birds” I’ve ever had! /s/ Dave Dyer, President |