Saturday, December 3, 2011

Christmas Bird Count Stories

This month's Audubon Chapter Services Newsletter included the following:

"Those who participate in the Christmas Bird Count are part of a wonderful tradition, enjoying the treasure of each species tallied, and all in the service of science. Gary Langham, Vice President & Chief Scientist of Audubon, details his family’s experience on a recent CBC and asks you to share with us your CBC stories. Gary’s article, just released in American Birds, Summary of the 111th CBC, is available here: http://bit.ly/uLBCRO. Please let us know what the CBC means to you by sharing an anecdote or two, or even a photo. Send them to cbc@audubon.org. Throughout this year’s Christmas Bird Count, we will be featuring these stories and photos on our website and in our e-communications."

Here is the anecdote that I submitted:

"Back in 2002, I was new to Audubon. At a meeting in November, a guy came to the Space Coast Audubon to ask for volunteers for the Merritt Island CBC. I had no idea what a bird count was, but I thought the guy was the most handsome guy I'd ever seen in my life, so I signed up in hopes of seeing him again. Well, I got put on a team (not his) with "hard core" birders, which until that point I did not even know existed. They wouldn't stop to let me go pee, and since I was completely unskilled at going in the woods, I had to hold it for hours. I thought these people were completely insane, and to make matters worse, I didn't see that really cute again that day. 

Time has a way of marching on though... I eventually did see that guy again (and again), we've been married for 6 years, and now I am the co-compliler of the Cocoa Christmas Count, and the compiler of the South Brevard Christmas Count. And my greatest accomplishment is that I can now successfully pee in the woods."

What are your favorite war stories from the counts? Please your stories as a reply to this post, I'm sure we would all love to hear them!

Christmas Bird Count Reminders: Volunteers Needed!

This is just a reminder that we have two bird counts coming up that we need volunteers for:

  • Cocoa Christmas Bird Count, December 17: We still need volunteers for the post-count dinner. If you can bring food and help with set up and take down, please send mail to Dee Fairbanks Simpson. If you would like to participate in the count, please send mail to Dave Freeland.
  • South Brevard Christmas Count, January 2, 2012: We still need a LOT of count volunteers, we still have some areas uncovered this year. Please contact Dee Fairbanks Simpson as soon as possible if you can participate in this count. If you have access to a 4-wheel drive vehicle, even better.
The CBCs are the largest Citizen Scientist project, and are vitally important to the continued monitoring and conservation of birds. Your continued help and support are sincerely appreciated.

Reward Offered For Sighting of South Florida Rainbow Snake

(Reprinted from a CNAH email alert)

Feds May Have Prematurely Declared Species Extinct; Reward Intended to Spur Rediscovery, Protection

TAMPA, Florida — The Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Snake Conservation announced today that they are offering a $500.00 reward for the first person to document the existence of the South Florida Rainbow Snake. Both conservation organizations believe that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month prematurely declared the species extinct without conducting targeted surveys and despite several unconfirmed sightings.

"Declaring the South Florida Rainbow Snake extinct without adequate search effort is scientifically irresponsible," said Cameron Young, executive director of the Center for Snake Conservation. "We hope that by offering a reward, we can rediscover this amazing reptile and implement conservation measures to ensure its survival into the future."

The South Florida Rainbow Snake is a harmless aquatic snake that feeds exclusively on the American eel. It is known from just three specimens, the last of which was collected in 1952 near Fisheating Creek in Glades County, Fla. In early October, the Service declared the snake extinct, thereby denying it protections under the Endangered Species Act. The Service made its determination without conducting any focused surveys for the reclusive reptile and despite anecdotal evidence of snakes eating eels in the Fisheating Creek area.

"It’s heart-wrenching to think the South Florida Rainbow Snake could be lost forever," said Collette Adkins Giese, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney focused on the protection of imperiled reptiles and amphibians. "But if we can find these snakes, they’d be very likely to get protection under the Endangered Species Act — the most powerful tool in the country for saving plants and animals from extinction."

The Service announced the extinction of the South Florida Rainbow Snake in response to a petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity seeking Endangered Species Act protection for the snake and more than 400 other aquatic species in the southeastern United States. If rediscovered, the Rainbow Snake would receive an in-depth scientific review along with 374 species from the petition (including 114 in Florida), which the Service found may warrant protection under Act.

Background
The South Florida Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma seminola) is a subspecies of Rainbow Snake known only from a single population in Fisheating Creek, which flows into the western side of Lake Okeechobee. Fisheating Creek remains relatively pristine and could still support the snakes. But potential habitat in other parts of Florida has been severely degraded by channelization and pollution, especially agricultural runoff. The snake is believed to be nearly entirely aquatic and active only at night, making detection difficult without extensive and specialized survey effort, although there were multiple unconfirmed sightings of the snake in the late 1980s. It’s a beautiful animal, with three red stripes along its iridescent bluish-black back and a belly that is yellow and red with black spots on each scale. Adult snakes can be over four feet long.

Snakes and other reptiles are among the most imperiled vertebrate species on the planet. Globally, nearly one-quarter of all evaluated reptile species are endangered or vulnerable to extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s 2011 Red List. Also, scientists currently lack sufficient information to assess the status of nearly 20 percent of the world’s reptiles. Many species are disappearing faster than scientists can study them.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 320,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

The Center for Snake Conservation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the conservation of snakes and their natural ecosystems and implement positive change in human attitudes towards snakes.

FWF Launches Research Literature Database

(Reprinted from the Florida Wildflower Foundation's News From the Field)

The Florida Wildflower Foundation launched an online research literature database of Florida wildflowers on Monday that draws together findings on more than 260 species.
“This new tool provides research sources that can be used to protect and preserve our native wildflower species,” said Lisa Roberts, the foundation’s executive director. “Because many Florida species also occur elsewhere in the Southeastern U.S., we expect wide interest in the database throughout the region.”

The collection, found at FlaWildflowers.org/Literature.php, is intended to give researchers, botanists, the nursery industry, conservation scientists, instructors and wildflower enthusiasts a resource that lets them easily find data on specific species. They will be able to tailor searches in a variety of ways, including using key words, authors’ names, and article topic.

Each data entry provides a brief synopsis of the study or article featured, along with links to records in national databases, including the USDA library and scientific journals.

The Florida Wildflower Foundation intends to keep expanding the database, which currently contains fewer than 10 percent of the state’s native plants. To recommend articles or make other suggestions, email literature@FlaWildflowers.org.

The Florida Wildflower Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Maitland, Fla. Through programs that promote the use, availability and advantages of native wildflowers, the Foundation is helping to curb water use in landscapes, support pollinators that put food on our tables, reduce water and air pollution, provide wildlife habitat, and maintain a healthy environment for all. To learn more about its work, visit FlaWildflowers.org.

Interesting Blog by Marta Curti

I am sure that many of your members are general bird lovers, like me, and are interested in birding news no matter where it happens! So, I just wanted to share a very fun and informative blog with you. Different from most birding blogs, it contains entries on birding "hotspots" around the world, book reviews on wonderful books about birds, birding, and/or bird conservation that you may otherwise not have heard of, trip reports, conservation news (like a recently discovered Stygian Owl nest in Belize) and even links to some of the latest scientific articles, like a recent post on an adult Crested Eagle feeding a young Harpy Eagle in Panama!

The link to the blog is http://whitehawkbirding.com/en/blog.html. Please feel free to share this link with anyone you think might be interested.

Happy Birding!

CBC Participants: Loggerhead Shrikes Wearing Leg Bands Observations Requested

Dear Florida birders and Christmas Bird Count participants:

If you see a Loggerhead Shrike wearing leg bands, Wildlife Preservation Canada needs to know the details. Please report to: admin@wildlifepreservation.ca or 1‐800‐956‐6608

Recently, keen-eyed birders in Delaware and Virginia have reported two Canadian born shrikes. A photo of the Delaware bird with 4 colored leg bands can be seen in the attached pdf file. This file has many details about the extensive research in Ontario directed at the recovery of this endangered bird. If you are reporting a banded Loggerhead you should read this file.

Some of the banded birds are wearing geolocators fastened with a harness. These top priority birds have only 2 leg bands, red on one leg and silver on the other.

The geolocators will reveal where these endangered, migratory birds spend the winter.  It is critical that we locate these birds so that we can retrieve the data.  Note that the geolocator and the leg bands can be hard to see so please take a careful look. Photos are a great help, even grainy images can be useful.

Thank you,

Dan Bone, 705 887-4691

Volunteer- Wildlife Preservation Canada ( and die-hard Christmas Bird Count participant.)

Introducing Andy Wraithmell of FWC

I am the new Information Assistant for the WV section and GFBT here at FWC, replacing Selena Kiser. One of my roles will be to produce the Kite Tales newsletter, which will be a quarterly publication from now on. I am currently working on the winter edition, which will be sent electronically in December. The spring and fall newsletters will be both electronic and hardcopy, and like the winter edition the summer issue will be electronic only.

One of the new features of our newsletter is called “On the Trail” and will be written by trail users describing their trail adventures. If you are interested in becoming an “On the Trail” contributor, please send me an email for further details on what I am looking for.

We are also on Facebook. Follow the link and click like to receive our Facebook posts on your wall. https://www.facebook.com/MyGFBT#!/MyGFBT.  We are also on twitter. Follow @MyGFBT to receive our tweets. Also, if you need any information regarding the trail and birding in general, please do not hesitate to give me a call or send an email.

Thanks for your continued support of the trail.

Andy Wraithmell
Information Specialist II
Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail
Wildlife Viewing Section
Office of Recreation Services
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
(850) 488-9453

www.floridabirdingtrail.com
www.myfwc.com
www.myfwc.com/chinsegut

Amphibian Ark Calendars Available

Click here to order now!

See the Rosetta Stone for Warblers (Reprinted from the Cornell Lab eNews)

By day, warblers dazzle us with their colors and songs. By night, they migrate unseen, uttering calls lasting a fraction of a second. Using the "Rosetta Stone for Warblers," the Cornell Lab is creating tools to listen to the night sky and identify the birds passing overhead. Thanks to new grants and gifts, we're also developing a project called BirdCast to forecast migration using radar, sound, weather data, and observations from eBird. See the Rosetta Stone for Warblers.

We rely on your support to advance scientific discoveries and conservation! Please make a tax-deductible year-end gift today.

Saint Louis Zoo & Missouri Department of Conservation Announce World's First Captive Breeding of Ozark Hellbenders

(Reprinted from The Center for North American Herpetology newsletter)

Salamander Numbers Drastically Down in the Wild
Decade-Long Collaboration of Zoo and Federal, State Scientists Yields 63 Baby Hellbenders

The Saint Louis Zoo's Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation and the Missouri Department of Conservation today announced that Ozark Hellbenders have been bred in captivity—a first for either of the two subspecies of Hellbender. This decade-long collaboration has yielded 63 baby Hellbenders.

The first Hellbender hatched on November 15, and currently there are approximately 120 additional eggs that should hatch within the next week. The eggs are maintained in climate- and water quality-controlled trays behind the scenes in the Zoo's Herpetarium. For 45 to 60 days after emerging, the tiny larvae will retain their yolk sack for nutrients and move very little as they continue their development. As the larvae continue to grow, they will develop legs and eventually lose their external gills by the time they reach 1.5 to 2 years of age. At sexual maturity, at 5 to 8 years of age, adult lengths can approach two feet. Both parents are wild bred: the male has been at the Zoo for the past two years and the female arrived this past September.

Rivers in south-central Missouri and adjacent Arkansas once supported up to 8,000 Ozark Hellbenders. Today, fewer than 600 exist in the world—so few that the amphibian was added in October 2011 to the federal endangered species list.

Due to these drastic declines, captive propagation became a priority in the long-term recovery of the species. Once the captive-bred larvae are 3 to 8 years old, they can then be released into their natural habitat—the Ozark aquatic ecosystem.

Also known by the colloquial names of "snot otter" and "old lasagna sides," the adult Hellbender is one of the largest species of salamanders in North America, with its closest relatives being the Giant Salamanders of China and Japan, which can reach five feet in length.

With skin that is brown with black splotches, the Ozark Hellbender has a slippery, flattened body that moves easily through water and can squeeze under rocks on the bottom of streams.

Like a Canary in a Coal Mine

Requiring cool, clean running water, the Ozark Hellbender is also an important barometer of the overall health of that ecosystem—an aquatic "canary in a coal mine."

"Capillaries near the surface of the Hellbender's skin absorb oxygen directly from the water – as well as hormones, heavy metals and pesticides," said Jeff Ettling, Saint Louis Zoo curator of herpetology and aquatics. "If there is something in the water that is causing the Hellbender population to decline, it can also be affecting the citizens who call the area home."

"We have a 15- to 20-year window to reverse this decline," added Missouri Department of Conservation Herpetologist Jeff Briggler, who cites a number of reasons for that decline from loss of habitat to pollution to disease to illegal capture and overseas sale of the Hellbender for pets. "We don't want the animal disappearing on our watch."

Reversing a Decline

In 2001, the Ozark Hellbender Working Group of scientists from government agencies, public universities, and zoos in Missouri and Arkansas launched a number of projects to staunch that decline. These included egg searches, disease sampling, and behavioral studies.

In 2004, funding from private donors, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the United States Fish & Wildlife Services, and the Zoo covered the cost of building sophisticated facilities including climate-controlled streams to breed the Hellbender.

The Hellbender propagation facilities include two outdoor streams that are 40 feet long and six feet deep. The area is landscaped with natural gravel, large rocks for hiding and artificial nest boxes, where the fertilized eggs were discovered. A nearby building houses state-of-the-art life support equipment used to filter the water and maintain the streams at the proper temperature.

In addition, two large climate-controlled rooms in the basement of the Zoo's Charles H. Hoessle Herpetarium are the headquarters for the program. The facilities recreate Hellbender habitat with closely monitored temperatures, pumps to move purified water, sprinklers synced to mimic the exact precipitation and lights that flick on or dim to account for brightness and shade. The largest room includes a 32-foot simulated stream, complete with native gravel and large rocks for hiding. It houses a breeding group of adult Ozark Hellbenders from the North Fork of the White River in Missouri; offspring from these Hellbenders will eventually be released back into the wild.

Background

The Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation is part of the Wildcare Institute. Ranked as America's #1 Zoo by Zagat Survey and Parenting Magazine, the Saint Louis Zoo is widely recognized for its innovative approaches to animal management, wildlife conservation, research and education. One of the few free zoos in the nation, it attracts about 3,000,000 visitors a year.

Saint Louis Zoo launched its WildCare Institute in 2004 to further numerous wildlife conservation projects around the world. The Zoo partners with other zoos, universities, field biologists and government agencies to develop a holistic approach: wildlife management and recovery, conservation science and support of the human populations that coexist with wildlife.

The Missouri Department of Conservation protects and manages the fish, forest and wildlife resources of the state of Missouri. The state agency facilities citizens' participation in resource management activities and provides opportunities for use, enjoyment and education about nature.

The Trouble with Tuna By Heather Stapleton, Education Coordinator, Environmental Learning Center

 When it comes to food choices, "doing the right thing" requires more research than it should. Canned tuna is a big challenge. Tuna is a staple most of us keep around; but, most people don't have the time to do the research needed to make informed decisions.

 Much of the tuna consumed in the US is imported. Fishing practices, stock status and management of tuna fisheries around the world vary greatly. Exact labeling and brand names are not always useful when trying to differentiate how it was caught.

For example, you might buy "dolphin safe tuna;" but, according the US Consumers Union, there is no universal and independent verification of the dolphin-friendly claims. Moreover, because of newly emerging trade agreements, US tuna regulations have been declared "more restrictive than necessary with regards to ...protecting dolphins," which means the term "dolphin safe" might become further watered down.

Even if the dolphin may be "safe," other animals aren't. No international laws to reduce bycatch exist. Sea turtles, seabirds and sharks are accidentally caught as bycatch in the international longline fleet, the most common method of catching albacore.

Additionally, many species of tuna are already overfished  A study conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and published in the journal Science found that
5 out of the 8 tuna species are at "risk of extinction."  The study said some species were heavily over-fished, with little interest in conserving them because of the high commercial value of the catch.

IUCN experts warned that all three bluefin tuna species were susceptible to collapse. Skipjack tuna are vulnerable to extinction, while yellowfin and albacore tuna will be threatened with extinction if conservation measures are not taken.

The two principal species of canned tuna found in the U.S. market are albacore (white) and skipjack (light). Yellowfin, tongol and bigeye make up a smaller percentage and are often found mixed with skipjack and sold as "light."

Get started learning about sustainable seafood by visiting Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch web site. Because there is little or no bycatch, Seafood Watch recommends troll or hook-and-line caught as a best choice for any species of fish.

Overall, US caught tuna are best bets. A few American brands have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The MSC has standards for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability. Fisheries and seafood businesses voluntarily seek certification. Independently accredited certifiers carry out the assessments. Some of these brands currently include:

  • American Tuna Wild ~ Bornstein Seafoods
  • Vital Choice Wild Seafood and Organics ~ Wild Pacific Seafood
The next time you crave tuna salad, keep all of this in mind. All of our actions have big impacts on the planet - even simply eating a sandwich.

For other environmental news, please visit the Environmental Learning Center online.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Switching Gears to Protect Ocean Wildlife By Cameron Jaggard, Pew Environment Group

Western Atlantic bluefin tuna migrate thousands of miles annually as they crisscross the ocean. Their travels expose them to intense commercial fishing pressure that has depleted the population of reproductively mature adults by 82 percent since 1970. Because the Gulf of Mexico is the only known spawning ground for this majestic fish, building greater protections for bluefin in those waters is absolutely critical.

Commercial fishermen in the Gulf set surface longlines that stretch on average 30 miles and dangle more than 700 baited hooks. This fishing method targets healthy populations of yellowfin tuna and swordfish, but also incidentally catches and kills more than 80 other types of vulnerable ocean wildlife including bluefin tuna, endangered leatherback sea turtles, blue marlin, sailfish and sharks. The capture of these unwanted species is known as bycatch.

Switching to more selective fishing methods, already approved for use in the Gulf, could eliminate this decades-old problem. Green sticks and buoy gear are two novel alternatives that some commercial fishermen have already adapted for use in the mid-Atlantic, the east coast of Florida, and, to a lesser extent, the Gulf of Mexico. These gears require fewer hooks and allow any unwanted catch to be released within minutes. This significantly reduces the number of non-target animals caught and killed while fishing for yellowfin tuna and swordfish.

The Pew Environment Group and its partners are working to transition the surface longline fishing fleet to these more selective fishing methods and calling on the federal government to prohibit the use of this indiscriminate gear in the Gulf of Mexico. Please visit www.PewEnvironment.org/GulfTuna to learn more about switching gears and email cjaggard@pewtrusts.org to find out how to take action.


Editors note: Please join us for Cameron's presentation at our December general meeting!