November 14, 2009
Brown Pelican's 40-year recovery
National conservation groups focusing on the restoration of coastal Louisiana are hailing the announcement by federal officials that the state bird of Louisiana, the Brown Pelican, is being removed from the Endangered Species List. Audubon, the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Wildlife Federation view the recovering pelican as powerful proof that a healthy coast and strong environmental protections can benefit people and nature alike.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the species has sufficiently recovered from the impact of DDT contamination compounded by continuing habitat loss to be taken off the list in areas where it is not already delisted. Populations along the Atlantic Coast, in Florida and Alabama were delisted in 1985.
Brown Pelican © Mike Richardson, from the surfbirds galleries.
"The delisting of this iconic Gulf of Mexico species shows that cooperation produces results," said Mary E. Kelly, senior counsel of the Environmental Defense Fund's Center for Rivers and Deltas. "Now, we need to ensure that same spirit of cooperation and results extends to restoration of coastal Louisiana's wetlands, which, among many other benefits, provide habitat and food for this beautiful bird."
"This is an Endangered Species Act victory that demonstrates the great success we can achieve when we work together," echoes NWF's John Kostyack. "Maintaining that success will require confronting climate change and its relationship to coastal restoration and the species that depend on these important ecosystems."
According to Audubon's annual Christmas Bird Count, Brown Pelican population trends have risen in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and California for the past 40-50 years. Hurricane Katrina took a toll on the Gulf Coast populations that has not been thoroughly erased, but the prospects remain good, provided coastal recovery stays on track.
Continued monitoring of Brown Pelicans is essential to detect any unexpected future population declines. Conservationists also caution that proper site selection, operational guidelines and vigilance will be needed to ensure that proposed wind power projects don't threaten recovery in Texas and other areas.
For example, officials at Audubon California stated that continued threats to the birds habitat will require continued conservation if the Brown Pelican is going to fully return to its former glory. "Obviously, the dramatic return of the Brown Pelican over the last few decades is a tremendous victory for the Endangered Species Act," said Graham Chisholm, executive director of Audubon California. "But given the threats that still exist, it is important that the Department of Interior and others continue their efforts to protect this important species."
The Brown Pelican was first declared endangered in 1970 under the Endangered Species Conservation Act, the precursor to the current Endangered Species Act. At that time, pollutants such as DDT had driven the species to near extinction. Brown Pelicans along the Atlantic Coast and in the South were removed from the list in 1985.
It is estimated that there the global population of Brown Pelicans has reached about 620,000. Of these, about 172,000 live along the California and Mexico coast. This latest move by the Department of the Interior removes all Endangered Species Act protections for the bird.
Although the Brown Pelican population has increased substantially, much of its breeding grounds face near constant threat from human activity, particularly pollution risks such as oil and sewage spills. Moreover, the Brown Pelican needs fish to survive, which links the species to the continued health of marine fisheries.
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:33 AM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2009
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Florida named Vital Wetland by Ramsar Convention
Audubon of Florida's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, home of the largest stand of Bald Cypress trees in the world, has been listed as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention.
The official designation as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance underscores the need to protect this vital resource from a host of threats, including invasive species and development in sensitive watersheds for which Corkscrew serves as an essential link. Nearly 200 species of birds thrive in the sanctuary, renowned as home to America's largest nesting colonies of Wood Stork, a federally endangered species. The storks nest in majestic 600-year-old bald cypress, reaching heights of 40 meters.
Wood Stork © Richard Fray, from the surfbirds galleries.
Also included in the designation are lands totaling more than 2,700 acres that were contributed to the Sanctuary, together with management funding in perpetuity, by the Panther Island Mitigation Bank. The mitigation bank project successfully restored degraded wetlands and provided additional Wood Stork habitat that complements the Corkscrew sanctuary. This is the first time Ramsar has recognized mitigation bank property.
Adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands promotes conservation of wetland habitats around the world, from the Florida Everglades to Africa's Okavango Delta. The listing of Corkscrew marks the second Audubon sanctuary in the USA to receive the prestigious listing by Ramsar. Audubon's Beidler Forest, in South Carolina, was designated in 2008.
"This designation underscores the importance of protecting and preserving our wetlands around the world," said John Flicker, President of the National Audubon Society; "These wetlands are essential not only to birds and other wildlife, but provide natural flood protection for humans and their homes."
"We are extremely pleased to see over the past year the renewed enthusiasm in the United States for including internationally important wetlands in the Ramsar List," said Mr. Anada Tiéga, Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. "We are particularly grateful for the initiative of the Audubon Society in pushing forward two recent Ramsar designations, first in South Carolina and now this fascinating and valuable wetland in southern Florida."
Corkscrew Sanctuary first gained global significance when named an Audubon Important Bird Area, part of an international initiative with BirdLife International, which identifies and protects vital bird habitats around the world. "Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is the second of Audubon's Important Bird Areas to be recognized as a Ramsar site;" said John Cecil, Director of the Important Bird Areas Program for Audubon and the Society's Representative on the U.S. Ramsar Committee. "This dual acknowledgement celebrates not only the beauty and rich biodiversity found at Corkscrew, but the collaboration of Audubon, its partners, and the South Florida communities that surround it. Each has played an essential role in conserving this jewel."
Created in 1954 to protect great old cypress forest from loggers, Corkscrew is a 13,000-acre sanctuary located inland of Naples and Ft. Myers on the west coast of Florida. In 1950, the Audubon Society purchased the area, protecting the ecosystem not only for birds, but the Florida panther, American alligator, black bear, Florida Royal palm, and rare Ghost Orchid. The Sanctuary also supports a diversity of Neotropical migrants, large numbers of wintering land birds, and the third-largest Swallow-tailed Kite roost in the United States.
Posted by Surfbirds at 7:26 PM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2009
Historic Fledging of Manx Shearwater on Matinicus Rock, Maine
On Tuesday September 8th, biologists visiting Matinicus Rock, an island off mid-coast Maine, discovered a fledgling age Manx Shearwater. While shearwaters were first observed on the island twelve years ago, this is the first time that a chick is known from the island and the first time that a Manx Shearwater chick is known to have reached fledging age (age at which a bird leaves its nest) in the United States. The young bird was found by a team of Audubon and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Researchers, as they checked suspected Manx burrows on the 22-acre island, which already holds the distinction of being Maine's most diverse seabird nesting island.
Located 26 miles south of Rockland, Matinicus Rock is part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge and cooperatively managed by the National Audubon Society's Seabird Restoration Program and the Refuge. The island was also the site, earlier this year, of the first eastern U.S. nesting of Common Murres in more than 100 years.
Manx Shearwater © Steve Round, from the surfbirds galleries
Audubon's Scott Hall, along with Brian Benedict, Bob Houston, Matt Klostermann, and Lauren Scopel of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, discovered the chick in a relatively shallow burrow – one of six burrows on the island. Upon first examination the shearwater appeared to be an adult - but a closer look revealed remnant patches of fluffy light gray down around the legs - proof that this was a nearly fledged chick.
"The young shearwater had a healthy appearance and perfect plumage as it nibbled on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife patch on my sleeve," according to Brian Benedict.
The team had waited patiently until the end of the 2009 nesting season to check the burrows, in order to avoid disturbing the shearwaters during the 120 days a pair needs to hatch and raise a chick to fledging. Because of this, they could have easily missed this historic event if they had checked the burrows even a few days later.
"This is what we all work and hope for;" said Stephen Kress, director of Audubon's Seabird Restoration Program, "This successful nesting provides further evidence of the health of the Gulf of Maine and demonstrates how Audubon's and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's long term collaborative efforts are helping seabirds to thrive."
Manx Shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus) nest throughout the eastern North Atlantic, especially in Great Britain. These crow-sized albatross relatives have a wingspan of nearly three feet, and are named for their habit of flying low over the water. Studies in Britain indicate that they may live 56 years and travel over five million miles during their long lives. Regular visitors to the western North Atlantic since the 1950's, their breeding was first confirmed in 1973 when a pair produced a chick on Penikese Island in Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, but the outcome of this nesting was not confirmed. In 1977, a second North American and first Canadian breeding record was confirmed on Middle Lawn Island in Newfoundland. The species is not known to have nested in the United States since 1973, but a small population has continued to nest on Middle Lawn Island.
A Manx Shearwater was first observed on Matinicus Rock in May 1997 and a nesting burrow was discovered the following year. Two Manx were seen briefly together in 1999 and appeared regularly in 2000. From 2001-2004, shearwaters used the burrow on multiple occasions and an egg was found in the burrow in 2005, but it failed to hatch. In 2006 and 2007, up to 19 Manx Shearwaters were seen around the island. In 2008, a new burrow was found, and visiting adults were documented with an infrared camera, but breeding was not confirmed. Several adjacent burrows were discovered later in 2008. It was in one of these burrows that the fledgling was discovered.
Seabirds nesting on Matinicus Rock and other Maine seabird colonies are dependent on ample supplies of fish such as Atlantic herring and white hake, which they feed to their young. Despite the unusually wet summer, 2009 appears to have been a banner year for both Atlantic herring and Maine seabirds.
Posted by Surfbirds at 6:54 AM | Comments (0)
September 2, 2009
Annual Festival will celebrate Hummingbird Migration - September 11-13 2009
Thousands of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have begun their fall migration from as far north as Canada toward their winter home in Mexico and Central America. Moving south of Memphis, they stop to refuel at the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, near Holly Springs, Mississippi. Last year 8,000 human visitors to the Center got to see these tiny titans before they continued their daunting journey, which includes a 500-mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico.
Renowned expert Bob Sargent and his team, the Hummer/Bird Study Group, will again be hosting bird-banding demonstrations. Bird banding helps unravel the mysteries of migration. If you think hummingbirds are small, you should see the delicate band that goes around their leg. The tiny numbered leg bands enable scientists to determine how far south the birds go for winter, where they stop during their travels, how long they live, and whether they come back to the same sites year after year. (Many do.) At the 2008 festival, over 280 hummingbirds were banded and a bird was recaptured that had been tagged in 2006.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird © Kanae Hirabayashi, from the surfbirds galleries
"Hummingbirds are amazing ambassadors for nature and conservation," said Walter Hubbard, director of Strawberry Plains Audubon Center. "Seeing these tiny birds up close inspires us to appreciate the amazing diversity of life on planet earth. Their flight over the Gulf of Mexico would compare somewhat to each of us running a marathon with no stops. How many of us would make it?"
Hummers are not only beautiful and inspiring for their migratory achievement, they play a vital ecological role as pollinators. Visitors to the festival will learn how to attract them to their own backyards and gardens through special plantings and other techniques.
While the hummingbirds visit the Audubon Strawberry Plains Center throughout September, the weekend Migration Celebration, from September 11-13, is a prime opportunity to experience its 2,600 acres of magnificent forests, grasslands and native plant gardens. The Center, at 285 Plains Road, in Holly Springs, MS, was described as an "outdoor lover's paradise" by The Tupelo Daily Journal. From the enclosed porch of historic Davis House, visitors watch the hummingbirds swarm like bees in the garden outside. A full schedule of nature walks and workshops and other special events, along with opportunities to shop for gifts, arts and crafts, hummingbird feeders, and bird-friendly plants makes the festival a rewarding destination for everyone in the family.
This year's Hummingbird festival features a number of new speakers, including Douglas W. Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants and Miyoko Chu, whose new book, Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds, explores the amazing migratory habits of songbirds. Popular returning programs will include the live bat encounter with Rob Mies, guided nature walks, wagon rides, and tours of historic Davis House.
Kristin Lamberson, the Interpretive Gardens Specialist at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, will be answering questions about what kind of plants appeal to birds, how to place your feeders for maximum benefits, and why indigenous plants are easier to maintain.
Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for children under 12; admission for 12-passenger vans and buses is $7 per person. All parking is free.
For more information on the Tenth Annual Hummingbird Migration Celebration events, please visit http://strawberryplains.audubon.org or call 662-252-1155.
Posted by Surfbirds at 7:17 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2009
Egg discovery fuels hope of return to Eastern US seaboard
For the first time in more than a century, a Common Murre egg has been discovered south of the Canadian border, boosting hope for the success of valiant efforts to restore the species. The rare egg was discovered by an intern working for Audubon's Seabird Restoration program on Matinicus Rock, one of 50 islands in Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
"We are absolutely elated. This is a small egg, but with a big promise," said Dr. Stephen Kress, director of the Seabird Restoration Program. "We have high hopes for the successful hatching and fledging of this egg, and for greater numbers of murres in years to come."
The egg marks the first time since 1883 that the species, which spends most of its life at sea, has nested south of the Canadian border on the U.S. east coast. It was discovered on a rocky cliff by intern Maria Cunha, after she noticed a pair of murres in typical incubating posture. The nest was surrounded by about 50 murre decoys, and artificial eggs, and close to a sound system that emits murre calls to encourage the long-absent birds to establish new nests.
Common Murre, Waldport, Oregon © Tim Avery, from the surfbirds galleries
While widespread on the Pacific coast from Alaska to California, and breeders in Canada's Maritime Provinces, Common Murres were eliminated from their Maine breeding sites in the 1800s by people hunting the birds for food. Collecting of eggs—a popular pursuit at the time—may also have contributed to the disappearance. Common Murres are especially vulnerable to oil spills and predation, so new colonies within their historic range offer the best assurance for their survival. .
Audubon and partners from the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge have spent 17 years trying to bring the Common Murres back to the islands. Regardless of the fate of this specific egg, its presence signals a success story in the making.
"Each new colony offers another margin of safety for Common Murres and other seabirds," said Kress. "The return of the Common Murre to its long-lost nesting grounds shows that conservation works – even against great odds."
Common Murres are not the first seabird species that Kress and his team have helped restore to Maine. Pioneering the use of decoys and sounds now employed to attract the Murres, the team began working to attract Atlantic Puffins to the Maine coastal islands in 1973; four breeding pairs nested at Eastern Egg Rock in 1981, after an absence of nearly a century.
Today, Project Puffin protects more than 42,000 of Maine's rarest seabirds on thirteen islands. The techniques have helped establish 12 new tern colonies in Maine and are proving useful globally, helping endangered seabirds in California, the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, and Japan. At least 40 seabird species in 12 countries have benefited from seabird restoration techniques developed by Audubon.
To learn more about the murre egg discovery, puffins and seabird conservation visit www.projectpuffin.org
Posted by Surfbirds at 7:56 AM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2005
2005 Kirtland's Warbler and northern Michigan specialty tours
Michigan Audubon Society (MAS) is pleased to announce its involvement in Kirtland’s Warbler tours for summer 2005. In cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MAS will be leading free tours to view the Kirtland’s Warbler from the Grayling, MI Holiday Inn between May 15 and July 4, 2005.
Tours depart daily at 7 AM and 11 AM, and give participants their best chance of seeing this highly endangered bird. More information is available here
Kirtland's Warbler from Surfbirds Galleries by Brandon Holden
In addition, MAS will also be leading specialty tours to three other excellent birding destinations in northern Michigan, including Tawas Point State Park, the Grayling area, and the Trout Lake area of the eastern Upper Peninsula. Top targets are Connecticut Warbler, Spruce Grouse, Least Bittern, Upland Sandpiper, Clay-colored Sparrow, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and possibly Black-backed Woodpecker and more. Tours depart Tuesday through Friday from the Grayling Holiday Inn between May 17 and July 1, 2005. MAS members will receive a $10 discount for reservations, and non-member participants will receive a $15 savings toward an MAS membership or a $5 discount toward a subscription to Michigan Birds and Natural History, Michigan’s ornithological journal. Details are available online here or by phone at the MAS office: 517-886-9144.
Posted by Surfbirds at 2:38 PM | Comments (0)
October 5, 2002
Senate OKs Broad Waiver for Pentagon on Migratory Birds
By Elizabeth Shogren, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Wednesday passed and sent to the president
compromise legislation designed to give the Defense Department a broad
exemption from the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects 850
species of birds from harmful practices.
The bill, which passed the House on Tuesday, is only a partial victory for the Pentagon, which had sought exemptions from eight landmark environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Nonetheless, environmentalists and their supporters in Congress were outraged at the migratory bird waiver.
"The provision, which was inserted at the Bush administration's request, will effectively give the Defense Department license to bomb and destroy at will the natural habitats of migratory birds, endangering more than 1 million birds and curtailing the enjoyment of more than 50 million bird enthusiasts in this country," said Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.).
The measure was inserted into the $393-billion defense authorization bill, which approves funds for a variety of military programs, during a conference committee meeting, in which a small group of Senate and House members hammered out the differences between their two versions of the bill. The House version contained an exemption; the Senate's did not.
The provision passed Wednesday would give the Defense Department an interim exemption from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and would direct the Interior secretary within a year to come up with regulations permanently exempting military readiness activities from the law. The provision also would require the military to take appropriate actions to avoid unnecessarily killing or harming migratory birds, and to monitor the effect of the exemption on birds.
Members of Congress who supported the military's requests for exemptions were angered that Congress had given the military so little of what it had asked for, especially at a time when it is poised to put American forces in harm's way.
"The secretary of Defense submitted eight ideas; we enacted half of one," said Rep. James V. Hansen (R-Utah), chairman of the House Resources Committee.
Hansen said that because the migratory bird provision would shift responsibility to the Interior secretary, rather than writing the exemption into law, delays and lawsuits would be likely to keep the military from getting what it wants.
"That is going to open up a can of worms and is clearly not going to be sufficient even over the short term," Hansen added.
The Pentagon and its supporters in Congress argued that environmental laws have been inhibiting training at bases across the country and on the waters offshore.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act had caused the Pentagon a particular headache since March, when a U.S. district court in Washington held that the military must comply with the act.
The Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based environmental organization, had sued the Defense Department because the Navy conducts bombing exercises on Farallon de Medinilla, a 200-acre island in the middle of the Pacific that is part of the Northern Mariana Islands. Many birds are killed during those exercises, including some protected by the act, such as the Micronesian megapode, which is on the endangered species list; great frigatebirds; and three types of boobys -- masked, red-footed and brown.
The judge ordered the Defense Department to stop the bombing until it came into compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. During the case, a government lawyer argued that bird lovers benefit when the military kills birds because "bird watchers get more enjoyment spotting a rare bird than they do spotting a common one."
Judge Emmet G. Sullivan reprimanded the government for that argument. "There is absolutely no support in the law for the view that environmentalists should get enjoyment out of the destruction of natural resources," he said.
Peter Galvin, the California and Pacific director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said his organization would try to fight the exemption through the courts and in Congress. He blamed the Bush administration for creating a climate that encouraged such actions.
"The current administration's attitude toward environmental law is summed up by their submission in the case that environmentalists and birders should enjoy bombing because it makes birds rarer," Galvin said.
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)
90 Day Comment Period on Cerulean Warbler
The U.S. Fish Wildlife Service (USFWS) has opened a 90-day comment period to allow the general public to provide information on listing the cerulean warbler as "threatened" on the Endangered Species List. This is a positive step towards getting this songbird the protections it needs to survive! The comment period will close on January 21, 2003.
The cerulean warbler - a small woodland songbird known for its bright blue plumage and distinctive song - was once common in eastern forests. But over the last 30 years, the species has declined more than 70%, and 80% in the core of its range! Cerulean warblers range across eastern North America, from the Great Plains, north to Minnesota, east to Massachusetts, and south to Louisiana. It breeds primarily in the Ohio and Mississippi River basins - and spends winter months in the Andes Mountains of South America.
Unfortunately, due to habitat destruction in both its breeding and wintering ranges, primarily because of development, logging, roadbuilding and, more recently, mountaintop removal mining, the cerulean warbler has become one of the fastest disappearing birds in the United States!
Now the general public has until January 21, 2003 to provide additional information to the USFWS as to why the cerulean warbler should be included as "threatened" on the Endangered Species List. Such listing will provide the species protections under the Endangered Species Act and an earnest effort at recovering the species can begin. If you have information on present or threatened destruction or modification of cerulean warbler habitat, or other information illustrating the need to protect the species, please do not miss this opportunity to share it with the USFWS! Be sure to submit your comment by the January 21 deadline! Comments and any supporting materials should be directed to: Field Supervisor, Ecological Services Field
Office, U.S. Fish
Wildlife Service, 608 East Cherry Street, Room 200,
Columbia, MO 65201, or FAX: 314-876-1914.
For more information on the
process, log onto the USFWS website at:
http://midwest.fws.gov/Endangered/birds/cerw_find.html
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)
October 2, 2002
Audubon WatchList 2002
New York, NY, Wednesday, October 23, 2002- Despite the exciting recovery of Endangered birds like the Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, more than one-quarter of America's birds are in trouble or decline, according to the National Audubon Society. In a report released today, entitled "WatchList 2002", Audubon identifies 201 species that show either significantly decreasing numbers or restricted range, or are under other threats.
"Audubon WatchList 2002 is a warning system that shows us where to focus our attention and resources if we want to help the survival of a vast number of bird species," says Frank Gill, Audubon's chief ornithologist and senior vice president for science, and author of the comprehensive reference, Birds of North America. "It is also a powerful tool that policy-makers, businesses, and the general public can use now to take positive conservation action."
Based on a stoplight model, WatchList places selected bird species in green, yellow, or red categories, depending on the danger they face. A centerpiece of conservation efforts at Audubon, the WatchList aims to halt the declines of America's birds and to rebuild their populations to healthy, green-light status.
WatchList serves to underscore some disturbing trends; since 1970, many songbird species have declined by as much as 50 percent or more. The California Thrasher and the southeast's Painted Bunting both show declines in excess of 50 percent, while the Cerulean Warbler of the eastern U.S. has declined by more than 70 percent and the Henslow's Sparrow from the Midwest has dangerously dropped by 80 percent. The Hawaiian 'Akikiki from Kauai has dropped from about 6,800 birds in the early 70's to only 1,000 individuals today.
Ironically, these declines come at a time when bird watching is hitting an all-time high in popularity; the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment tallies 71 million Americans participating in 2001, up 250 percent from 1982, making birding the fastest-growing outdoor activity in the U.S. And, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Americans spent $40 billion on wildlife watching in 2001, up steadily from $30 billion in 1996 and $21 billion in 1991.
"WatchList is preventative medicine," continued Gill. "It will be used first and foremost to enlist federal, state, and local governments to focus their resources towards protecting these birds before they become endangered or threatened - when they would demand more serious action and major taxpayer support to recover."
Audubon WatchList is a unique project that filters information on bird populations compiled by field scientists in the U.S. and overseas. The final product recognizes three levels of concern:
RED - Species in this category of global conservation concern are declining rapidly, have very small populations or limited ranges, and face major conservation threats. Audubon identifies several red-listed species as probable candidates for inclusion on the Federal Endangered or Threatened Species Lists.
YELLOW: Category includes the majority of species identified. Yellow-list birds are declining, but at slower rates than those in the red category. These typically are birds of national conservation concern, and those that can be saved most cost-effectively.
GREEN: species in this category are not declining, have unknown trends, or have very large population sizes. These species are not included on the Audubon WatchList.
For the first time in 2002, the Audubon WatchList includes birds of Hawaii and Puerto Rico, in addition to the birds of mainland North America.
"The reasons for identifying species on the WatchList is not entirely
altruistic," concluded Gill. "Like the proverbial canary in the coalmine, birds are primary indicators of environmental health, and what hurts birds also hurts the people who share the same space. We should in no way take WatchList birds for granted; we should rather listen to what their declines are telling us about the ecosystems we both inhabit."
Methodology used in the WatchList was developed in conjunction with Partners in Flight, a coalition of North American ornithological groups of which Audubon is a leading member. Bird Life International developed global methodology; Audubon is the U.S. partner designate for BLI.
Audubon is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based Audubon nature centers and chapters, environmental education programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in positive conservation experiences.
Contact: John Bianchi
212-979-3026
jbianchi@audubon.org
Posted by Surfbirds at 11:18 PM | Comments (0)