Round Robin » what you can do

Migration Forecasts Help Birders Target Best Date for a Big Day

Hugh — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:58:54 +0000

As Team Sapsucker prepares for their Big Day in Texas, our new BirdCast project is helping pin down the best day of the week for their attempt on the North American record—and its weekly reports can help birders all over North America, too.

On a good day, springtime can deliver spectacular birding. But picking that day can be tricky. Migrants by the millions are flooding into North America, but are they coasting on tailwinds, battling through thunderstorms, or being buffeted by crosswinds? For decades, biologists have noticed that great sightings often go along with certain weather patterns—particularly the near-mythical “fallout,” when northerly winds stop migrants in their tracks as they arrive on the Gulf Coast after an all-night flight from Mexico.

Recently, our BirdCast project began formally compiling weather reports, radar maps, recent sightings, and other data into specific, weekly predictions about what birds are moving, and where they’re likely to be seen. The project aims to develop detailed predictions for conservationists and environmental planners—today, their regional reports are already proving useful to birders like our Team Sapsucker as they plan their Big Day. Thanks to your pledges, each extra species they find helps raise more funds for conservation.

We caught up with BirdCast project leader Andrew Farnsworth, who is also a member of Team Sapsucker, to see how the forecast looks for Texas this week. His short answer: Thursday could be really good.

The elements are already in motion, Farnsworth said. A cold front pushing across central Texas is likely to bring north winds and rain to east Texas and into the Gulf of Mexico by tomorrow morning. “It’s an almost ideal situation to create a fallout,” he said. ”Later tonight, birds are going to take off from the Yucatan, parts of the Mexican coast, and the Caribbean, because conditions are really good down there. Once they take off, they don’t usually turn around.”

As they near the end of their flight they’ll run into the cold front, with its rain and opposing winds, and they’ll start looking for the nearest shoreline to make landfall. (See a more complete breakdown on BirdCast’s weekly forecast page.)

Thursday should dawn cloudy but calm. The exhausted migrants should spend the day where they landed, resting and replenishing their energy stores. Meanwhile, Team Sapsucker will spend the morning scouring the Texas Hill Country, 300 miles away, and aim to arrive at High Island, on the coast, at around 5:45 p.m. They’ll have about two and a half hours of daylight left to look for 20+ warbler species as well as other migrants.

At least that’s the way it looks right now. “Whether it’s going to be as epic as it appears on paper is hard to say,” Farnsworth said. “But I think the chances for a fallout are better than 50:50 and increasingly better with each passing forecast that I’ve seen.”

There’s still time to help spur Team Sapsucker along by making a pledge for each species they see. Thanks to sponsor Carl Zeiss Sports Optics, 100 percent of every pledge goes directly to aid conservation.

Get ready for the 2013 GBBC with our 2012 photo contest winners

Hugh — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 23:41:42 +0000

This year’s Great Backyard Bird Count is happening Feb 15–18. Last year’s count set a new record for participation, netting more than 100,000 checklists. This year could be even bigger, because for the first time ever, the GBBC is going global. Drawing on the international reach of eBird‘s online checklists, we can now accept entries from anyone, anywhere in the world.

I have a hunch it’s going to make the judging for the annual photo contest even more difficult. Already, every year our judges have a tough time sifting through more than 7,000 photo submissions to award prizes and honorable mentions in six categories. What’s going to happen when the field opens up to (hypothetically) six more continents and some 9,000 more species? We can’t wait to find out.

With the aim of giving you a little inspiration, here are the winners of the 2012 photo contest. We’ve chosen a smattering of the winners’ photos to put in the slideshow above—see what we mean about it being hard to decide? You can also check out submissions from 2012 and past years on the GBBC website.

While you’re there, look over the summary of the 2012 results—tangible evidence of how GBBC participants have helped us understand the winter distribution of birds across the continent. We can’t wait for this year’s count to expand our view to the rest of the world. Where will you be counting from?

(New to the GBBC? Find out how to participate. Veteran counter? Tell your friends and let them in on the fun!)

New Young Birders Network Centralizes Resources for High-School Birders

Hugh — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 21:30:50 +0000

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Black Swamp Bird Observatory are excited to introduce the Young Birders Network. This new website offers a wealth of resources geared toward birders of high-school age. This site enables young birders to connect with peers, find clubs in their area, discover conferences and events, and find information on colleges and careers related to birds. And because the site is housed on the eBird website, students can easily track their sightings and keep updated on events via a single convenient website.

Over the past few years, the growing young birders movement has gained support in the form of local young birders clubs founded by motivated organizations in several states. These clubs offer opportunities for teenage birders to learn and bird together, and have greatly strengthened the community among high school aged birders. As more clubs form and more events for young birders appear, the need for a central information hub has grown; the Young Birders Network aims to fill that role.

Some teenage birders go on to pursue ornithology or conservation biology as a career. The Young Birders Network provides ideas for transitioning a hobby of birding into a meaningful career. Since young birders represent a variety of interests and talents, the site addresses an assortment of career options ranging from biology to art to computer science. The site’s sections on colleges, undergraduate majors, and careers contain information on incorporating any of these interests into a career related to birds and conservation.

Additionally, the site helps young birders to locate networking opportunities. There are links to active Facebook groups, as well as to young birders’ blogs from across the world. There is also a complete listing of camps, conferences, and other events available at the national level. Finally, the site contains a comprehensive list of local young birders clubs across the country.

Though the listing of young birders clubs is all-inclusive, many regions still lack any such organizations. This leaves ample room for motivated individuals and organizations to create clubs in their local area. Though many groups may be interested in doing so, they might not know how to get started. To promote club-founding efforts, the Young Birders Network features a toolkit that provides encouragement and logistical advice for starting clubs. Regardless of affiliations, most young birders clubs experience similar challenges during their early years. This document aims to ease these issues by answering common questions and concerns.

We are constantly working to improve the site, and we welcome any feedback or suggestions that you have. If you know of additional resources that should be included, or think of questions that should be addressed, please contact us at ybnetwork@cornell.edu. If you have questions about starting a club, the Black Swamp Bird Observatory is happy to advise and support; contact youngbirdersnetwork@bsbo.org. We intend this site to be a comprehensive information source for young birders, and this is not possible without the input of knowledgeable contributors. Thank you, and please visit us at www.youngbirdersnetwork.net and on Facebook.

(This post was written by Hope Batcheller, Cornell ’14, a founding member of the Young Birders Network. Image by Jessie Barry.)

Show how you help birds in “No Bird Left Behind” contest

Hugh — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:42:45 +0000

How can we make life easier for birds in our neighborhoods? That’s the question behind the latest seasonal challenge from Celebrate Urban Birds. This Cornell Lab of Ornithology citizen-scence project focuses on birds in urban settings and how they benefit from green spaces created by humans. Enter by December 15, 2012, and you could win a prize!

Several times per year the project holds contests, or “challenges” to get participants thinking about birds in their neighborhoods. Challenge entries may be photographs, artwork, video, a story, or a poem showing how birds are surviving and making use of their habitat.

“As part of this challenge, we want to see the creative or interesting ways in which people help wild birds,” says project leader Karen Purcell. “Or it could be as simple as setting up feeders or nest boxes, providing water, or planting flowers that provide seeds.”

Deadline for entries is December 15, 2012. Learn more about how you can take part.

Great prizes include feeders from challenge sponsor Kaytee, plus bird guides, sound recordings, posters, fun bird books for adults and children, and more.

How to participate:
1. Email your entry to urbanbirds@cornell.edu
2. Write your FirstName_LastName_City_State_NOBIRD in the subject line
3. Include your postal address in the body of the email
4. Please explain where the photo was taken and the name of the bird if you know it
5. Read and agree to the terms and conditions of the Challenge

See examples of current entries for this bird-inspired challenge.

Celebrate Urban Birds is a free, year-round citizen-science project focused on birds in neighborhood settings.

(Image: Cedar Waxwing by Bob Howdeshell via Celebrate Urban Birds)

Project FeederWatch Takes a Look at the Winter Ahead

Hugh — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:07:36 +0000

The 26^th season of Project FeederWatch begins November 10, and participants are needed more than ever. By watching your feeders from November through April and submitting what you see, you’re making it possible for scientists to keep track of changing bird populations across the continent. New or returning participants can sign up anytime.

After unusual winter weather in some parts of the country last season, many participants found themselves asking, “Where are the birds?”—but the story might be different this year.

The AccuWeather long-range forecasting service is predicting some big storms in the Northeast this winter, so FeederWatchers in that region may see more birds at their feeders than they did last winter. Forecasts also call for another year of below-normal snowfall for the Midwest, above-normal snowfall and below-normal temperatures for the central and southern Rockies, and a wet winter with above-normal precipitation for the Gulf Coast and Southeast.

“We’ll have to see if those predictions pan out and how they might affect feeder-bird numbers,” says David Bonter, project leader for FeederWatch. “The one number we definitely want to see increase is the number of people taking part in FeederWatch. It’s easy to do, and the information is incredibly valuable in helping us better understand what’s going on in the environment and in the lives of the birds we enjoy so much.”

Other things to look forward to as the season approaches:

A new photo gallery featuring some of the many photos FeederWatchers sent in during the 2011-12 season. We enjoy seeing what’s visiting your feeders each and every year!
This year’s Winter Finch Forecast shows it could be a great winter for birds at feeders—so don’t miss it! Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red Crossbills, Evening Grosbeaks, and other birds are likely to be on the move after a relatively poor summer for cone crops. Read the full forecast for more details.
Winter Bird Highlights is our annual summary of the previous season’s results. The 2012 issue is being mailed to Canadian FeederWatch participants in their kits and will be mailed to U.S. participants with the fall issue of Living Bird News (late October). You can also get a PDF version online and read it immediately.
A new resource for educators. Pennington Wild Bird Feed and the Cornell Lab have developed a new program for educators who want to use wild bird activities to teach K-12 science concepts. Teachers can even get a free window feeder from Pennington by attending BirdSleuth’s “Feeding our Feathered Friends” webinar. Note: We can ship the window feeders to U.S. school addresses only. Learn more about this great offer.

To learn more about joining Project FeederWatch and to sign up, visit www.feederwatch.org or call the Cornell Lab toll-free at (866) 989-2473. In return for the $15 fee ($12 for Cornell Lab members), participants receive the FeederWatcher Handbook and Instructions with tips on how to successfully attract birds to your feeders, an identification poster of the most common feeder birds, and a calendar. Participants also receive Winter Bird Highlights, an annual summary of FeederWatch findings, as well as the Cornell Lab’s quarterly newsletter, Living Bird News.

(Project FeederWatch is a joint research and education project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada. Image: American Tree Sparrow by Susan Szeszol, from our 2012 FeederWatch Photo Gallery.)

Making sense of coffee labels: Does your coffee support wintering warblers?

Hugh — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:50:18 +0000

Imagine you walk into the neighborhood coffee house for your morning cup of joe, and on the counter is a tip jar with a sign reading, “$ for wintering warblers” with a photo of a Chestnut-sided Warbler in a tropical forest.
You’d drop your change in, right? Any proud bird watcher would do their part for the wellbeing of the sprightly warblers that delight us so much come spring.

It’s not such a stretch of the imagination, York University researcher Bridget Stutchbury told a packed audience at the Cornell Lab’s Monday night seminar series last week. Many of the colorful songbirds that are just now leaving us for the winter, including warblers, tanagers, orioles, and grosbeaks, will spend the next five months in and around shade coffee plantations in Mexico and Central and South America.

But only if the birds can find them. Shade-coffee plantations—particularly ones that grow coffee under a natural forest canopy—are increasingly being deforested, leaving North American migrants with fewer places to spend the winter. The good news, Stutchbury said, is that you can have your dark roast and your songbirds too if you buy sustainable coffee, particularly Bird Friendly coffee.

Stutchbury recapped recent research on Wood Thrushes, sweet-singing birds of Eastern forests whose numbers have dropped by half since the 1960s. Yet, with regenerating forests in the Northeast, Wood Thrushes now have more breeding habitat than they did decades ago. “What does that tell you?” Stutchbury asked her audience. “Must be a problem on their wintering grounds.” (Although some researchers point out that the quality rather than quantity of forest in North America might still be limiting this species.)

And indeed, when Stutchbury tracked individual Wood Thrushes from the U.S. to Nicaragua and back, she found that regional Wood Thrush population declines matched deforestation trends in Nicaragua, where forest cover has dropped 30 percent in just the past two decades.

This deforestation likely affects other wintering songbirds, too, such as Baltimore Orioles and Chestnut-sided and Kentucky warblers, which have also declined in the last half-century, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

Can shade-grown coffee help these birds? Most coffee drinkers figure the answer is yes. But as it turns out, the words “shade-grown” on a package of coffee can refer to a range of habitat conditions that offer varying degrees of refuge for migratory songbirds.

Making Sense of Sustainable Coffee Labels
They’re those little rectangular icons lined up on your favorite gourmet coffee bags—a tree, a flower, a frog, a harvester, each trying to tell you something about how the coffee was grown. But what does each one mean, and how do they differ? Here’s a list of common labels and their benefits for birds. For more specifics, see the list of links below.

Bird Friendly. Certified by scientists from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, this coffee is organic and meets strict requirements for both the amount of shade and the type of forest in which the coffee is grown. Bird Friendly coffee farms are unique places where forest canopy and working farm merge into a single habitat. By paying a little extra and insisting on Bird Friendly coffee, you can help farmers hold out against economic pressures and continue preserving these valuable lands. The good news is that there’s more Bird Friendly coffee out there than many people realize—we just need to let retailers know we want it (see below).

Organic. As with other organic crops, certified organic coffee is grown without most synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and is fairly sustainable—although there are no criteria for shade cover. Because of coffee’s growth requirements, it’s likely that organic coffee has been grown under some kind of shade. However, many farmers shade their coffee using other crops or nonnative, heavily pruned trees that provide substantially less habitat for birds, and the organic label offers no information about this.

Rainforest Alliance. The most popular environmentally friendly certification for coffee as well as tea, cocoa, and fruits, Rainforest Alliance requires alternatives to chemical and pesticide use (though they stop short of organic certification), erosion control, restricted water use, and ecosystem management efforts. Because Rainforest Alliance develops standards for a wide range of farms, their shade-cover requirements are not as demanding as Bird Friendly coffee. Also, Rainforest Alliance allows coffee blends to be sold with the Rainforest Alliance label even if only a percentage of the beans (currently only 30 percent, with plans to scale up to 90 percent) carry the certification. Rainforest Alliance has a laudable goal to make a difference on a fairly large scale (they certified 540 million pounds of coffee in 2011), but there is no guarantee their certified coffee farms meet the wintering needs of migrant songbirds.

Fair Trade. Inspired by humanitarian concerns, Fair Trade labeling helps to ensure that the workers on coffee farms get paid fairly for the work they do. The higher prices that Fair Trade products earn help to provide an alternative to the price leverage that large coffee buyers can wield. However, a Fair Trade label does not automatically indicate that any environmentally friendly practices were followed.

Shade-grown. “Shade-grown” labels often appear on specialty coffees, but unfortunately this designation is not regulated and doesn’t tell you much about the growing conditions at the farm. When the idea for Bird Friendly coffee was hatched by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in 1996, plans for the certification process faltered while coffee companies quickly adopted the term “shade-grown” as a marketing buzzword. Unfortunately, this type of coffee can be grown among sparse trees on farms that lack diverse forest structure. Some shade-grown coffee is even grown under only the flimsy cover of banana trees fed artificial fertilizers and pesticides.

Sun-grown. Most coffee grown at an industrial scale is grown under full sun. Acres upon acres of coffee bushes planted in hedge-like rows are sustained by fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation. If a coffee brand bears no labels at all, it is likely produced with these methods and is unsustainable.

Bird Friendly Farmers Offer Half a Solution—We Can Be the Other Half
Bird Friendly certified coffee can be hard to find on store shelves and in coffee shops. One reason is that the standards for certification are so rigorous that only a small fraction of coffee farms can qualify. The total amount of Bird Friendly coffee certified in the past 12 years amounts to less than 2 percent of the Rainforest Alliance–certified coffee in 2011 alone.

But there’s another, paradoxical reason: coffee sellers don’t always advertise that their coffee is Bird Friendly. “Probably about only 10 percent of coffee from Bird Friendly certified farms carries the Bird Friendly stamp on the package,” said Robert Rice, a research scientist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

For example, Starbucks and Whole Foods sell some coffee from Bird Friendly certified farms. But they don’t see the need to make room on their packaging for a separate label that appeals to a relatively small—and silent—minority: birders. And without the consumer demand and higher prices for Bird Friendly coffee, past history in Central America suggests that the market pushes coffee farmers toward partial-shade and sun-grown practices.

That’s understandable, said Stutchbury. “We can’t demand that they don’t cut down their forests, and give up money, unless we’re willing to give them something as compensation,” she said. That’s the central idea behind Bird Friendly certified coffee: paying a price premium to growers on rustic coffee plantations so that they can continue to provide prime bird habitat.

The good news is, birders can make a difference—by asking retailers to stock Bird Friendly coffee, and by buying it. Think of it as a tip jar next to your coffee maker. More than 46 million Americans say they watch birds, and half of all Americans drink coffee. “If every birder in the U.S. committed to drinking Bird Friendly coffee, the market would grow 1,000-fold,” said Bill Wilson, owner of Massachusetts-based Birds & Beans, an online coffee retailer that specializes in selling only Bird-Friendly coffee.

Stutchbury closed her talk on Monday by saying it’s time for birders to assert themselves in the coffee marketplace. “Buying Bird Friendly coffee is one of the best ways you can do your part to preserve wintering habitat for our migratory songbirds,” she said.

Where to buy Bird Friendly Coffee
Grab a supply of Bird Friendly coffee with the help of these Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center pages:

More resources on coffee and bird habitat

For much more detail about coffee labels and their meaning visit the Coffee and Conservation blog, operated by University of Michigan biologist Julie Craves.
Not all coffee retailers advertise that their coffee is Bird Friendly. If you’re unsure whether your favorite coffee source is Bird Friendly, you can check this list of certified Bird Friendly farms organized by country.
The Committee for Environmental Cooperation is a joint effort by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. They provide background on sustainable coffee and a wealth of information and research.

(This article was written by Cornell Lab science editor Gustave Axelson. Image: Hugh Powell.)

Celebrate Urban Birds hosts Latino youths for informal summit

Hugh — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 18:16:15 +0000

“It feels so fragile!” said Alexis, cupping a tiny Song Sparrow in her hands for the first time. On a hot, sunny August day, Alexis and two dozen other teens were visiting the Cornell Lab as part of an informal summit of Latino youth. Hosted by the Lab’s Celebrate Urban Birds project, the trip capped off months of activities focused on bird habitat projects on Long Island and in Syracuse, New York. The visit was an eye-opener in many ways: the participants got to see a university campus up close, took walks along wooded trails, learned about careers in science, and felt the heartbeat of a living bird.

The Syracuse teens belong to a group called LACE: Latino Achievement, Commitment, and Excellence.The group was created to provide education and job training for Latino youth in the area, many of whom are recent arrivals from the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. It was formed by Nosotros Radio Inc., “Your Latino Voice,” and is directed by Fanny Villarreal.

This summer, members of LACE wrote a proposal to the Cornell Lab through our Celebrate Urban Birds mini-grant program. They won funds, training, and support for their neighborhood project: creating a “bird garden” in an abandoned train yard. The young people built benches, painted a mural, planted a garden, and put up bird feeders.

“Thicklets” In the Thick of It

The Long Island students call themselves the Thicklets because of their habitat restoration work at the Fish Thicket Land Preserve in Medford, New York. The project also promotes community awareness about the environment. The young people have installed screech-owl nest boxes, planted a garden, and conducted cleanup in the preserve. They’ve learned how important it is to connect with and preserve nature and how to work as a team.

Members of both groups blended as they moved through activities during their field trip to the Lab and concluded the day with presentations about their community projects.

“That’s when the kids got to really shine,” said Celebrate Urban Birds leader Karen Purcell. “They were nervous and excited. But you could see some of them get five inches taller as they spoke about what they’d accomplished over the summer.” Both LACE and the Thicklets also took the show on the road, explaining their habitat projects at tables in the 4-H building during the New York State Fair the following day.

Building For the Future

The workshop concludes year one of a three-year grant for youth development in New York from Cornell Cooperative Extension. Years two and three will build upon this year’s successes, bringing in more Latino groups to learn about birds, citizen science, habitat, and about connecting people to nature.

“It’s just a little seed,” says Karen Purcell. “We hope that seed will bloom into something strong…that’s all we can hope for.”

If you know a Latino group that could benefit from this project, write to urbanbirds@cornell.edu. Celebrate Urban Birds supports other projects across North America, including one that brought urban students to the Lab from as far away as California for a weekend of art and science. CUBs also offers annual mini-grants, a remote internship program for youth created with help from Kaytee Avian Foundation, and ideas for community projects that combine citizen science and art.

(Text and images by Pat Leonard. Images: Alexis and Cornell undergraduate Luke DeFisher band a Song Sparrow; students explore the trails in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary.)

Wildlife-Trafficking Bust Highlights Problems in Caged Bird Trade

Hugh — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 19:04:25 +0000

Writing intern Abby McBride explores the caged bird industry with help from Cornell Lab scientist Eduardo Iñigo-Elias, who coordinates our Neotropical Bird Conservation Initiative. Here’s Abby:

Environmental crime officials cracked down on wildlife trafficking between Latin America and Europe this summer, seizing more than 8,700 contraband animals in an Interpol bust dubbed Operation Cage. Authorities arrested nearly 4,000 people during raids on coastal ports, airports, post offices, markets, pet stores, and taxidermists in 32 countries. The sting focused on South and Central American birds, but it also uncovered illegally traded mammals, reptiles, fish, and insects—along with guns, ammunition, trapping equipment, and animal products such as elephant ivory.

“The trade of wild-caught birds has a long history,” said Cornell Lab biologist Eduardo Iñigo-Elias, who has studied parrot conservation and bird trafficking for the past 29 years. “It’s so difficult to trace because it’s a network—a very dynamic trade.” Iñigo-Elias works with government agencies, research institutes, and conservation organizations to combat wild bird capture. I listened with special interest because I have an exotic pet of my own: a Green-cheeked Parakeet, whose great-grandparents probably roamed the cloud forests of Bolivia, Brazil, or Argentina.

In many countries, including the United States, the only birds that can be legally sold in pet stores are ones that were hatched and raised in captivity. And it’s illegal to sell wild-caught birds from country to country, thanks to international regulations such as CITES and rules implemented after an outbreak of avian influenza in 2007. But illicit trade continues all over the world, and some bird species—like the Palm Cockatoo of Australia, a big black parrot with red cheeks and an extravagant crest—go for tens of thousands of dollars on the black market.

“It’s like drugs—there is a demand,” Iñigo-Elias said. “People want to have these animals.” Traffickers go to great lengths to conceal and transport the coveted birds, and are sometimes caught with eggs or small birds crammed into medicine tubes and hidden within their clothing.The most at-risk birds are those with colorful plumage or musical songs. Parrots are at the top of the list—part of the reason why a third of all parrot species are threatened in the wild.

Tragically, as a declining bird species gains legal protection, it becomes more valuable in under-the-table transactions. The traffickers themselves have little incentive to worry about whether a bird will go extinct. “Unfortunately, many of them are also involved in smuggling drugs, guns, and ammunitions in the black market,” Iñigo-Elias said. “The birds are just another commodity for them.”

With each covert project like Operation Cage, environmental authorities are able to identify and keep an eye on more and more members of the illicit network. But it’s difficult to enforce regulations against wildlife trafficking. Airports and other international hubs lack sufficient resources to properly monitor cargoes. And even when traffickers are caught in the act, the penalties are tame: a few weeks or months of jail time or fines of $5,000 to $10,000, according to Iñigo-Elias.

It’s uncertain how much wildlife trafficking goes on across the United States, but one problematic area is the state of Florida. An enforcement operation in 2006 caught smugglers importing birds into Florida from Cuba and other Caribbean islands. People are willing to pay $15,000 for a Cuban Bullfinch in Miami, Iñigo-Elias said, because the finch’s song reminds them of Cuba.

Wild bird trapping—a cultural tradition across the Caribbean—has become a problem in Florida. Iñigo-Elias has spent years combating the trade of Painted Buntings, which are captured both on their Florida breeding grounds and on their wintering grounds in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. Trappers take only the showy adult males, skewing the sex and age ratios in the population as well as reducing overall numbers. In part because of trapping and habitat degradation, the Painted Bunting population in Florida declined by 3.9 percent per year between 1966 and 2000, compared to nearly level populations in the rest of the U.S.

Buntings are nabbed as they arrive in Florida in the spring, with sophisticated wooden traps that are identical to ones traditionally built in Cuba. After essentially smuggling themselves into the country, the Painted Buntings are sold at flea markets for $50 to $100. Trappers make most of their profits by pitting the birds against each other in clandestine singing competitions, another Caribbean tradition. “It’s like dog fights or horse racing—there’s a lot of money there,” Iñigo-Elias said.

It’s not just illegal activity that threatens wild bird populations. Although the caged bird trade is much better regulated than it was 30 years ago, there is plenty of room for improvement, Iñigo-Elias said. In some countries people can legally capture native birds, as long as the wild-caught birds stay within the country. In Mexico, for instance, dozens of native species are authorized for wild capture—including Cedar Waxings and Scott’s Orioles. ”Thanks to our efforts with partners such as CONABIO, Painted Bunting and Indigo Bunting are no longer authorized in Mexico’s bird trade,” Iñigo-Elias said. [See the current official list (in Spanish).]

On a global scale, the fate of declining species is usually decided by economic and political factors rather than environmental ones. Countries sometimes look for ways to circumvent the international regulations on wild-caught birds, even when the species involved are clearly dropping in numbers. The European Union, for instance, is fighting to allow import of African Grey Parrots, Iñigo-Elias said, though the practice is unsustainable.

Besides cutting into wild populations, wildlife trafficking stresses individual birds, which may succumb to sickness or pass infections to other animals in holding areas. This happened in 1971, when Yellow-headed Parrots infected with Newcastle virus were smuggled from Mexico to the United States, infecting some 12 million chickens and costing the poultry industry millions of dollars.

Iñigo-Elias encourages people to steer clear of the risks linked with the pet trade by enjoying wildlife in nondestructive ways, through activities like birding. Carefully managed ecotourism can be a lucrative industry that’s animal-friendly at the same time. Watching wild birds in their natural habitat is a special thrill, even though it’s not the same as cuddling with a pet.

If you do want to buy a pet bird, Iñigo-Elias said, it’s important to understand the long-term commitment you’re getting yourself into, with the help of resources like the World Parrot Trust’s Guide to Parrot Keeping [PDF]. Parrots in particular are intelligent, social animals that need lots of attention. And they have long lives: once you buy one, it may be with you for several decades.

It’s also important to buy a legal, captive-raised bird rather than one that was taken from the wild. I was ignorant of shady dealings in the caged bird industry when, as a teenager, I bought a parakeet from the pet store down the street. The three-month old bird was a little green bundle of personality with a long, maroon tail and a smoky head, which he liked to have scratched through the bars of his cage. Enthralled, I never thought to ask for the documentation proving he was captive-bred. I simply brought him home with me—naming him Thalo after one of my watercolor paints, which matched his brilliant blue primary feathers.

I should have checked the metal band on his leg to make sure it was smooth and seamless on all sides—showing that a breeder slipped it over his foot when he was a small nestling. If there’s a seam, the bird could have been banded as a wild-caught adult. After talking with Iñigo-Elias the other day, I double-checked Thalo’s band, and I’m relieved to report that it’s seamless and legitimate.

My captive-bred parakeet is now 12 years old and just as mischievous as ever, and I’m still glad I bought him. But as I’ve spent more and more time watching wild birds in their natural habitats, I’ve come to value those experiences just as much as keeping a pet. If I ever get an urge to buy another caged bird, I’ll be a lot more conscious of its wild relatives—and the sinister side of the pet trade.

(Illustrations by Abby McBride: Thalo, her Green-cheeked Parakeet; Palm Cockatoo, Painted Bunting.)

eBird passes the 100 million mark!

Hugh — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:46:42 +0000

For a few weeks now we’ve been looking forward to a major milestone in our eBird project: the addition of our 100 millionth bird observation.

It couldn’t have arrived in better style: Liron Gertsman, a keen young birder from Vancouver, British Columbia, reported an American Robin along with 23 other species as part of his standard bird watching routine. That’s exactly how we want people to be using eBird—to keep records of everyday sightings. In addition to maintaining a complete history of your own personal birding journey, those records combine to provide a comprehensive picture of birds across the continent, and ultimately the world.

To celebrate the achievement, the eight members of the eBird team are assembling a prize package of specially chosen gifts to send to Liron. They’ve also selected one eBirder at random to receive a prize package, and that award goes to Wisconsin birder Chuck Heikkinen (whose winning checklist included Whooping Cranes, Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and more).

Congratulations Liron and Chuck! And thanks to everyone who submits observations to eBird. Because of your efforts, we are building one of the largest environmental databases in existence. Read more about both winners (and their prizes!) on the eBird site.

(Bird photos by Liron Gertsman; photo of Liron by Andre Chan.)

Q&A: Olivia Bouler on the Cornell Lab, starfishes, and building a “kid army”

Hugh — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:27:49 +0000

It’s been a little over a year since Olivia Bouler came to visit the Lab and taught an arts workshop for local kids. Olivia made headlines during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, when she raised more than $200,000 for wildlife by painting pictures of birds. Since then, she hasn’t looked back, taking her art and her irrepressible personality to tours, exhibitions, schools, and festivals to talk about what’s possible if people—and kids in particular—believe in our ability to change the world.

In May, Olivia, who’s about to enter the eighth grade, was named one of the top 25 most powerful and influential young people (age 5–25) by Youth Service America. The award came with a cash grant, which Olivia donated to the Cornell Lab. Congratulations and thank you, Olivia! Ever since her first letter to Audubon during the Gulf oil spill, she’s been outspoken about her support of the Lab and her desire to attend Cornell someday.

I called her up to say thank you, and got the chance to hear what she’s up to—birds she’s seen recently, her belief in the power of a “kid army” for conservation, and her thoughts on high school now that it’s “just around the corner.” Personally, we can’t wait for her college days to get here.

Thank you for thinking of us—donations play a key part in making the work we do possible. Can you tell me what the award is and what it’s for?

It’s basically a grant, and if you win it you can donate to whatever cause. Cornell is my favorite place in the world, so why wouldn’t I donate it to you?

How did you come to have such a soft spot in your heart for Cornell?

Ever since I was little I kept on hearing, when I read about Audubon, Cornell was always associated with it, and a top ornithology school. I found out it was a college, and that the Lab’s there, and I immediately wanted to go there.

Did your parents get you into bird watching?

Well, my dad is a green architect, but I was the first bird watcher in the family. I was the first real bird nerd.

I always went to the Gulf [of Mexico] when I was little, and my grandmother would always tell me about the pelicans. She would just tell me how they used to be endangered, all this cool stuff about them. And then I wanted to know more so I got this bird book, I think when I was about 4 or 5, and it was all about birds—you know, the Great Auk and how it’s been hunted to extinction…. It sparked my imagination, my creativity, and I absolutely fell in love with birds. And when I realized what I was hearing in my backyard and what I was seeing, the history behind all the birds, something clicked.

Is the Brown Pelican still your favorite bird?

I personally don’t have a favorite bird because that wouldn’t be really fair for the rest of them—I don’t want to offend them or anything [laughs]. But there is a soft spot in my heart for the pelican.

Have you had any cool new sightings recently?

I saw a loon for the first time up in Maine, last weekend. It was absolutely amazing. And I went to Florida a little ways before, and I saw an Eastern Towhee. It was calling in the bush and then it flew out at me, it was pretty awesome.

In Maine you went to Hog Island, right? What were you doing there?

It was a teachers and educators camp. I was speaking to teachers about how in every classroom, they have a kid army, and they just have to teach them the right things and they can spark their own creativity and take action. Because everybody has a talent, no matter how young and no matter how old. Kids want to make a change, it’s just they don’t know how to do it. They don’t think they can make anything, and sometimes parents even put them down on it.

There’s this story about a boy (I forget which beach), but there were tons of starfish that washed up on the beach. And he started tossing them in one at a time, you know, they’re still alive. And there was a man on the beach and he said, “That’s not going to make any change. There’s thousands of starfish on this beach.” And then the boy threw a starfish into the water, and he said, “Well that just made a change to that starfish, didn’t it?”

So sometimes kids, they don’t have reality weighing on their shoulders yet. They just want to do whatever they can, and even if it’s that little boost it still makes a change.

Well that’s a great message—do you still think there’s hope for the environment then?

Definitely, there are new resources, and green opportunities for energy. And I’m not just saying that because my dad is a green architect [laughs].

I remember when you were here last year, you had a Pileated Woodpecker puppet that you were flying around all over the place. Do you still have it?

Oh of course I still have it. I use it for my birding events when I go to schools and stuff. I have this whole array of puppets…. It’s very fun bringing them to schools and pretending like they’re real. And my brother’s like the puppeteer guy and he goes around and makes the noises and everything, and the kids always love it. I say, “This is my friend the Pileated Woodpecker. He lives in such and such an area in this range and he loves to eat insects, and this is how he gets it. And then Jackson does the drumming noise, and then he moves on to, say, a Bald Eagle or a Great Horned Owl or something.

I try to make it as fun as it can be, because i know what it’s like to sit through an assembly that you aren’t really paying attention to because, you know, it’s really far out there. So I try to make it as interactive as possible.

You’re starting eighth grade this fall. Are you excited?

Excited? Yes and no. Pretty much yes. I do like summer because I get to do more birding events and I’m not really on a schedule, I get to sleep in more. You know, with high school on the horizon it’s slightly… it brings the birds in the belly. That’s what I say instead of “butterflies in the stomach.” I like “birds in the belly.”

If you were going to Cornell right now instead of eighth grade, what would you study?

Definitely ornithology. Probably all of it. I’d get a degree, maybe work to rehabilitate birds… I don’t know if my heart could take it if they didn’t make it though.

And what’s this about designing a board game?

Oh yeah, I’m doing a board game and part of the proceeds are going to go to Cornell. My target with my book was to inspire kids and this is another type of thing like that. I’m going to have a puffin from Maine, a Western Bluebird from Arizona, stuff like that. I’m doing a lot of brainstorming. It’s kind of like “Sorry” except a litttle different, with the regions of the U.S. are like the [birds'] homes. You start in one area and it’s like the yearly migration, and the nest is your home, and you’re going back to your mate.

There’s also things like special spaces where you have to draw a card and it could be a good thing or a bad thing. If you answer a question correctly it could help you. Or if you answer it wrong, like say, “What does a Red-tailed Hawk eat?” and if you say, uh, “Flowers,” you move back a couple spaces because one chased you or something. We’re hoping for this Christmas.

And you’re coming here in October to show some of your artwork?

Yes, it’s basically my traveling exhibit, it’s some of the paintings from the book, and some of the newer ones. it’s at Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art right now in Pennsylvania [through September 15], and then it’ll travel to Cornell and who knows where after that?

(Images: Brown Pelican painting by Olivia Bouler. Olivia poses with her book before a portrait of Louis Agassiz Fuertes, one of the premier bird artists of the 20th century; image by Tim Gallagher.)