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Federal Judge Rules to Protect Izembek Wilderness

By on September 9, 2015 in Conservation, In the News, National Wildlife Refuges

Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

Court Upholds Interior Department’s Decision Against Road

ANCHORAGE, Alaska— In a victory for the conservation of Alaska’s wild public lands, the U.S. District Court today upheld U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell’s decision to protect Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and its designated wilderness.

Last year the court dismissed most of the legal claims made by King Cove and the state of Alaska, allowing only limited claims to go forward. The federal government has repeatedly studied a proposed land swap and road through the refuge, and consistently rejected the project because of its negative effects on the ecological resources and wilderness values of the refuge.

Izembek’s lagoon complex is a globally important ecosystem that contains one of the largest eelgrass beds in the world, providing food and habitat for fish and crabs that feed migratory birds from multiple continents. Virtually the entire world populations of Pacific black brant and emperor geese, and a significant portion of the threatened Steller’s eider population visits the refuge to rest and feed during spring and fall migrations.

Of Izembek’s 315,000 acres, 300,000 are protected as congressionally designated wilderness.

Since passage of the landmark Wilderness Act in 1964, no wilderness area has been stripped of protection for the purpose of constructing a road.

Organizations dedicated to protecting Izembek intervened in the case to protect the exceptional values of the refuge and its wilderness. The groups were represented by Trustees for Alaska, a nonprofit, public interest law firm.

“This decision is the right choice for Izembek wildlife and many Alaska communities. Izembek provides globally important habitat for migratory birds from several continents, including species that people use for subsistence across western Alaska,” said Jim Adams, policy director for Audubon Alaska.

“Izembek is a gem. It’s a national treasure that is—and should be—protected for generations to come. Today’s ruling is an affirmation that protecting wild places enriches all of us,” said Miyoko Sakashita, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity.

“The court has rightly recognized the weakness in the legal claims underlying this lawsuit, and correctly upheld the Secretary of Interior’s rejection of a deeply flawed proposal to drive a road through this pristine wilderness of international significance,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. “The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is critically important for iconic wildlife, including brown bears, caribou, salmon and hundreds of species of migratory birds. It deserves to be protected for future generations.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has conducted extensive scientific studies that repeatedly demonstrate the destructive nature of this unnecessary and extremely costly proposed road,” said David C. Raskin, president of the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges. “We applaud the decision of the court to uphold Secretary Jewell’s wise decision to protect this natural treasure, and we will continue our efforts to find a non-destructive solution to the concerns of the local communities.”

“We are heartened that the U.S. District Court recognized the congressionally designated wilderness resources of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge by upholding a decision by Secretary Jewell and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said David Houghton, president of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. “We can now move forward with helping the people of King Cove find a transportation solution that does not include a road through one of the most biologically important places on the planet.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior have studied this issue exhaustively, and ruled that the road should not be built,” said Nicole Whittington-Evans, Alaska regional director for The Wilderness Society. “We are very pleased by the court’s ruling, and hope that this issue can finally be resolved by all parties working together to find a non-road alternative that will address local residents’ concerns while leaving Izembek’s globally significant resources intact.”

“Wilderness Watch and all of our members are gratified by the U.S. District Court ruling which upholds the decision made by Secretary Jewell against building a road across the Izembek Wilderness,” said Fran Mauer, Wilderness Watch Alaska chapter representative. “We will continue to work to assure that this great wildlife refuge and wilderness remains as it is, wild and free of human developments.”

Water Ouzel Feeding Nestlings at Lassen Volcanic National Park

By on September 2, 2015 in Trip Reports, Wildlife Areas
American Dipper

Water Ouzel or American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus)

One of the best things about our annual Lassen Park campout is that we get to see several species of mountain birds that we don’t normally see in the valley. I know for a certainty that I will be able to see one of my favorites, the American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), whenever I visit Lassen Volcanic National Park.

I call this bird the Water Ouzel because I like saying it – Water Ouzel. Click on photos for full sized images.

American Dipper

The American Dipper is North America’s only truly aquatic passerine, feeding on stream insects, insect larvae and sometimes other invertebrates, small fish, fish eggs, and flying insects. How many birds do you know that can fly underwater?

On the last day of our campout I wanted to see both the Mountain Bluebird and Cassin’s Finch before heading home, so I headed up to Bumpass Hell where both of these species can usually be spotted. I wasn’t disappointed. Not only did I find both species at the parking lot, I found my friend Frank Kratofil photographing some Marmots.

Marmot

Marmot at Bumpass Hell

I mention this because Frank is the one who told me about the Dipper nest on Kings Creek. So, after photographing the Mountain Bluebirds, Cassin’s Finches, Marmots and Picas, I stopped at Kings Creek and found this beautiful Water Ouzel nest atop a log in the creek…

American Dipper

with four hungry nestlings.

American Dipper

I knew they had to be close to fledging the way they were sticking their heads out of the nest.

American Dipper

Plus the adults were feeding them every few minutes.

American Dipper

They were begging so loud when the parents came with food that you could hear them above the sound of the rushing creek!

American Dipper

More food!

American Dipper

We’re hungry!

American Dipper

I’m on the way!

American Dipper

 Here I come!

American Dipper

Are you kids ever satisfied?

American Dipper

I shot this video of the adults feeding the nestlings at King’s Creek. Near the end of the video (2:05) you might catch one of the nestlings defecating out of the nest between two of its siblings.

The Plight of Cavity Nesting Birds

By on July 1, 2015 in BirdWords
Western Bluebird Nestlings

Western Bluebird Nestlings Day 1

Some eighty-five species of North American birds excavate nesting holes (primary cavity nesters), use cavities resulting from decay, or use holes created by other species (secondary cavity nesters) in dead or deteriorating trees. Over half of those species may be encountered here in Northern California.

These deteriorating trees, commonly called snags, have often been considered undesirable by forest and recreation managers because they are not esthetically pleasing, conflict with other forest management practices, may harbor forest insect pests, or may be fire or safety hazards. In the past such dead trees were often eliminated from the forest during a timber harvest. As a result, in some areas few nesting sites were left for cavity-nesting birds.

Purple Martin Pair

Purple Martin Pair at Nest Cavity

Many species of cavity-nesting birds have declined because of habitat reduction. In the eastern United States, where primeval forests are gone, Purple Martins depend almost entirely on man-made nesting structures. In the southeast the Red-cockaded Woodpecker is currently listed as near threatened (NT), primarily as a result of habitat destruction, and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is listed as critically endangered (CR) and thought by many to be extinct. The wood duck was also very scarce in many portions of its range – at least in part for the same reason – and probably owes its present status to provision of nest boxes and protection from overhunting.

As early as the 1930’s people noticed that the Eastern Bluebird was fast disappearing from their fields, their backyards and their lives. Dwindling sightings of these most endearing of North American birds encouraged several bluebird enthusiasts to sound the alarm concerning their plight. In addition to nesting sites for bluebirds being lost to deforestation and snag removal, competition for the remaining sites was brought about by the increasing populations of two non-native species, the English (House) Sparrow

House Sparrow Male

House Sparrow Male

and the European Starling.

European Starling at Nest Cavity

European Starling at Nest Cavity

After decades of alerting people to the plummeting bluebird problem, Dr. Lawrence Zeleny, a retired agricultural biochemist living in Maryland, with the help of several supporters from National Audubon Society chapters and the Audubon Naturalist Society, founded the North American Bluebird Society (NABS) in 1978.

The North American Bluebird Society is a non-profit education, conservation and research organization that promotes the recovery of bluebirds and other native cavity-nesting bird species in North America. An affiliate of the NABS here in California is the California Bluebird Recovery Program (CBRP). Both of these groups promote placing and monitoring nest boxes (birdhouses) in optimal locations for cavity nesting birds. Because of these programs and hundreds of thousands of nest boxes put up across North America, cavity nesting birds are on the rebound!

If you have birdhouses in your yard and want to learn how to monitor them and add your nesting statistics to the CBRP database, or you are interested in information on how to build, place and monitor nest boxes, our Wintu Audubon webmaster, Larry Jordan can help. He is the Shasta County coordinator for the CBRP and you can contact him by email at webmaster@WintuAudubon.org

You can also find lots of information about birdhouses and attracting birds on our “Attracting Birds” page.

Climate Change is Beginning to Take Its Toll on Bird Populations

By on June 3, 2015 in BirdWords, Conservation, In the News
Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark

Last month I wrote about insect-eating birds swarming into Shasta County to raise their young. Unfortunately, I was indulging in a bit of optimistic nostalgia. The migration itself is as real as ever, but our nesting numbers are dismally down.

It can’t really be a surprise. Everything needs its habitat, and in actions that seemed reasonable, we have converted much wildland to more prosaic purposes. But the yellow-headed blackbird can’t nest where the marsh is drained, nor can the meadowlark make a home where grasslands are converted to row crops. The thrasher can’t sing where the chaparral is cut for houses, or the pet cat kills its young. The kestrel can’t nest where old woodpecker holes have been cut down to reduce hazards, and the pygmy owl can’t stalk grasshoppers where the woodland is paved into yet another retail center.

Driving up the valley as a kid it seemed there was a hawk on every telephone pole. But we reasonably want produce, and farmers pragmatically maximize their production. So after forty years of our plowing through the lairs of fieldmice, gophers, and snakes, of course the hawk numbers are down; after forty years of pesticides to kill hungry insects, of course the songbirds are reduced; after more recent advances to mow right to the fenceline, of course the hedgerow birds are gone.

Unfortunately, our personal perceptions of too-quiet treetops, empty telephone poles, and vacant fencelines are confirmed by research around the globe. Complementing the 115 year old Christmas Bird Count, the North American Breeding Bird Survey has run each May since 1966. It documents declines of 40-60% in a quarter of our birds, and up to 96%, depending on the species and region.

And that’s what has happened already. Now farm produce is being bio-engineered to withstand yet more pesticides, and their application has begun. Climate change is beginning to take its toll. At current carbon emission projections, 314 of 588 species studied by Audubon will lose at least half their seasonal habitat within the lifetime of this year’s graduates.

Many birds will face challenges as seasons unsynchronize: hummingbirds can’t sip on flowers that have already fruited, and fields gone dry offer fewer insects to bring to the nest. Some birds will be unable to shift northward as quickly as this climate change is demanding—especially if they need vegetation that moves north more slowly. Those who successfully shift will encroach on existing nesting grounds; ravens, which eat eggs and nestlings, are already increasing in the arctic, and invaded tundra birds have no Farther North to flee to.

As in most places, in Shasta County we have not, to my knowledge, lost any entire bird species in recent history. But the music is fainter, the voices fewer. Not so long ago, when the canaries started dying we recognized a problem and acted on it. We should be so wise and disciplined today.

The Mountain Bird Festival is Back

By on May 23, 2015 in Events

Great Gray Owl

The award winning Mountain Bird Festival is back, celebrating the natural wonders of southern Oregon and northern California. The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival will be held in Ashland, Oregon from May 29th-31st. Registration for the Festival will be available on the Klamath Bird Observatory website at www.klamathbird.org. The Mountain Bird Festival offers guided bird walks, a keynote presentation, fine art galleries, local wine, microbrew and food vendors, and a feel-good community atmosphere. Registration includes half-day or full-day field trips offered on both Saturday and Sunday.

The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival combines a celebration of the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion’s spectacular mountain birds and the stewardship ethic needed to ensure thriving landscapes for humans and wildlife. Every citizen who participates in the Festival helps to advance bird and habitat conservation in multiple ways. They contribute to habitat protection through the purchase of a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (a.k.a. the Duck Stamp), thereby supporting one of the most successful conservation programs in the United States. Festival attendees also purchase a Conservation Science Stamp with proceeds supporting Klamath Bird Observatory’s regional science and education programs aimed at achieving sustainable natural resource management. Additionally, every Festival goer serves as a citizen scientist contributing field trip bird sightings to eBird Northwest, a rapidly growing database that advances our knowledge about birds and their habitats.

This year’s Mountain Bird Festival features a keynote presentation by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s International eBird project leader, Brian Sullivan. Brian will show us how eBird and its state of the art technologies are revolutionizing birding, making this popular recreation a powerful conservation science activity.

The Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion of southern Oregon and northern California is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, an absolute must-see for birders and naturalists. The 2015 Mountain Bird Festival offers guided bird walks to some of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes of the region. Field trips will target highly sought after mountain birds of the Cascade, Siskiyou, and Klamath Mountains, as well as Klamath Basin specialties. Target birds include Mountain Quail, nesting Sandhill Cranes, dancing Western and Clark’s Grebes, Black Terns, Great Gray Owls, Calliope Hummingbirds, and the bird that will be featured on this year’s Conservation Science Stamp, the White-headed Woodpecker.

The Mountain Bird Festival has received national awards for becoming one of our nation’s leading conservation events. Please join us for the 2015 Mountain Bird Festival and become part of our efforts to elevate bird conservation.