Grand Haven, Michigan October, 2019 Volume 31, Issue 2 3 billion birds gone 5 Bird Hazards 4 Field Trip 6 Programs 2 Ruddy Turnstone 3 October 15 LOUTIT DISTRICT LIBRARY 407 Columbus Avenue Grand Haven Birding Ecuador’s Northwest Cloudforest Presented by Carl & Judi Manning, OIAS Members Visit OIAS: • Homepage: http://www.oias.org • Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OwashtanongIslandsAudubonSociety Our adventure took us northwest from Quito into the cloudforest. From the stunning landscapes of the west highlands of the Pichincha volcano, down through the cloudforests of the Maquipucuna and Mindo Valleys, our adventure was filled with unique cloudforest specialties and Choco endemics. True cloudforest in Ecuador is between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, where one finds a stunning array of colorful tanagers, such as Moss-backed, Rufous-winged, Golden-hooded and Blue-whiskered Tanagers. If that were not enough, there were Long-wattled Umbrellabird, White-faced Nunbird, Barred and White-whiskered Puffbirds, and even Lanceolated Monklet. But don’t forget the hummingbirds! – Sword-billed Hummingbird, Great Sapphirewing, and Sapphire- vented and Golden-breasted pufflegs and more! Truly an unforgettable experience. 7:00 P.M. Everyone is welcome to OIAS’s programs 5 Minute Program eBird updates - Carl Manning
LOUTIT DISTRICT LIBRARY 407 Columbus Avenue Grand Haven
Birding Ecuador’s Northwest Cloudforest Presented by Carl & Judi Manning, OIAS Members
Visit OIAS: • Homepage: http://www.oias.org
• Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OwashtanongIslandsAudubonSociety
Our adventure took us northwest from Quito into the cloudforest. From the stunning landscapes of the west highlands of the Pichincha volcano, down through the cloudforests of the Maquipucuna and Mindo Valleys, our adventure was filled with unique cloudforest specialties and Choco endemics. True cloudforest in Ecuador is between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, where one finds a stunning array of colorful tanagers, such as Moss-backed, Rufous-winged, Golden-hooded and Blue-whiskered Tanagers. If that were not enough, there were Long-wattled Umbrellabird, White-faced Nunbird, Barred and White-whiskered Puffbirds, and even Lanceolated Monklet. But don’t forget the hummingbirds! – Sword-billed Hummingbird, Great Sapphirewing, and Sapphire-vented and Golden-breasted pufflegs and more!
November 19 Ottawa County Peregrine Falcons Chip Francke, Retired Ottawa County Parks Naturalist January 21 Birding in the Solomon Islands Steve & Angie Hamberg, Holland Audubon Club February 18 Birding Costa Rica Jamie Krupka, Outdoor Discovery Center March 17 Birding in Thailand John McAree, OIAS member April 21 Adventures in Nature Ed Post, Nature Photographer May 19 Potluck, business meeting Member’s digital photos
This Season’s Programs
December 14th
Vacancies in two sections of Hudsonville Christmas Bird Count
Two groups of counters are unable to count their sections this year. If you know of someone who is interested, please let Carl know or have them contact Carl at: [email protected] Also if you plan to count, please let Carl know.
In May we were out driving around the gravel roads on a drizzly day looking for birds. We were very surprised to see a pair of Red-winged Blackbirds flying around and sitting on a deer way out in a field. We watched them for over five minutes and the deer just stood there and then it ambled off and we drove on.
Arenaria interpres This sandpiper is named for its feeding style. They insert the stout, slightly upturned
bill under stones, shells, etc. and flip them over in search of food underneath. They do probe under seaweed or debris and in the cracks at the piers. It can be treacherous as they walk on wet and slippery rocks. To help them their feet are somewhat spiny, with short, sharply curved toenails. The short legs lower the center of gravity. The bright orange legs and uniquely patterned black-and-white head and
chest and bib make them easy to identify. Two species make up the genus Arenaria that are the most northerly breeding species of shorebirds. The other species is the Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) that is found from Alaska to Baja, California.
During breeding season, they eat mostly insects, spiders, beetles, bees, wasps, seeds, berries, and moss. During nonbreeding they eat crustaceans, mollusks, worms, small fish and unattended eggs. The downy hatchlings leave the nest soon after hatching. The female leaves before the young can fly. The male leads the young to the feeding area but they feed themselves.
First flight is at 19 days old and two days later they leave to fly thousands of miles to the nonbreeding grounds with average flight speeds between 27 and 47 miles per hour. Mated pairs meet again over many years in the same breeding territory used the year before. Many predators eat more ruddy turnstone eggs and young when numbers of collared lemmings are low.
They are listed as a species of high conservation concern by both the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network and the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan. Threats include: habitat loss along their migratory pathways and on their nonbreeding winter grounds mistake tiny bits of plastic for food that gets stuck in their digestive system changes to their food resources. Horseshoe crab populations in New York and New England are declining.
In Delaware Bay there are stricter regulations and the crab populations are now stable. Coastal areas are prime sites for development, but beach development can eliminate or
reduce wintering and stopover habitat. The breeding grounds may be influenced by global climate change.
In September we were watching all of the foraging shorebirds on Grand Haven’s North Pier, including a Ruddy Turnstone. I took many pictures of the Turnstone as we walked out the pier. On our return it presented more opportunities for photos. I noticed it had managed to get a lot
of fishline wrapped around its legs. It was picking and pulling at the fishline as we watched it. We continued walking toward the parking lot. Carl looked back and the Turnstone was successful in removing the fishline.
Pine Creek Trail: On June 22nd we walked only a short way in from the north when a 10 year old, a 7 year old and their grandmother were headed back north. The 10 year old asked us if we were bird watchers and we said yes. He said there was a baby duck with a hook in its beak. They said they lived not far and were headed home for boots and other things. We continued our walk slowly enjoying the birds and dragonflies (and worrying about the duck). Soon they came back with a towel, clippers, scissors, and gloves. The 10 year old had on grandmother’s boots. We followed them a short distance further and there was a ½ grown wood duck. The hook was in its upper beak and the line was wrapped around a branch about 14 inches off the water. It saw the five of us approach and started to struggle. The boy did not hesitate and went around the railing and down toward the duck and I followed to do whatever I could. I suggested breaking off the branch it was wrapped around as it was only about an inch in diameter. The duck was located over a deep hole in the stream. Fortunately, there was a small space between two trees and the boy could wrap one arm around one tree and reach out to attempt to break the branch. All the time the duck was frantically trying to get away. As the boy reached the branch, I grabbed the towel his grandmother had so I could wrap it around the duck when he got it to the edge. The boy broke the branch and was bringing it to the edge when the duck somehow managed to release itself.
We immediately thought the line broke and the duck swam off in search of its family with the hook still in its beak. The boy quickly noticed that the line and hook were still wrapped around the branch. She was going to take the hook and line and throw it in the garbage. I told her that we would take it and dispose of it. I briefly explained to her the problems with throwing line away and there was a disposal unit at the Holland State Park. She was unaware of this. Both parties headed down stream. Very happy ending for a young duck.
Ottawa County Park: We were told this story on June 15th just after it happened. A birder was hiking an Ottawa County Park trail. As the birder was passing a deer exclosure, the birder spotted a Wood Thrush flapping its wings with its beak trapped in the fence. The birder ran back to the car and fortunately had a small wire clipper in the car. The birder clipped the fence in a circle a small distance around the bird and removed the bird and the fence section. The birder was then able to clip the part of the fence away from the beak of the Wood Thrush. The beak had some blood but nothing appeared broken. The birder released the bird and it flew. The next day the birder went to that area to check on the Wood Thrush and it was doing well. A major congratulations to this birder for the birder’s heroic part in saving this Wood Thrush.
Yellow on rump Bolder stripes with yellow wash on sides
3 billion birds gone By Team eBird, September 19, 2019 eBird synopsis excerpts, https://ebird.org/news/3-billion-birds-gone “The first-ever comprehensive assessment of bird population trends in the U.S. and Canada reveals that 2.9 billion individual birds have been lost in the region since 1970. This is a 29% decline—more than 1 in every 4 birds gone. This includes even common birds: more than 90% of the losses come from 12 bird families that include familiar species like Dark-eyed Junco, both species of meadowlark, and Red-winged Blackbird. Yet there is hope! Simple actions like eBirding can help us better understand and therefore potentially control these declines—sharing your observations allows us to understand population changes over time and better inform conservation efforts. The information from your everyday eBird checklists is critically important in helping us understand how bird populations are doing at the continental, hemispheric, and global scales. Thank you.” Read more: Learn more about the study results and see how you can help.”
Bird 1 dull Cape May Warbler
Bird 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler
Nearly 3 Billion Birds Gone Since 1970 “The first-ever comprehensive assessment of net population changes in the U.S. and Canada reveals across-the-board declines that scientists call “staggering.” All told, the North American bird population is down by 2.9 billion breeding adults, with devastating losses among birds in every biome. Forests alone have lost 1 billion birds. Grassland bird populations collectively have declined by 53%, or another 720 million birds.” Read more:
CraneFest, sponsored by Michigan Audubon in partnership with the Kiwanis Club of Battle Creek, focuses to raise awareness and appreciation of our natural heritage and to support the ongoing educational and conservation efforts of Michigan Audubon and its Bernard W. Baker Bird Sanctuary. The festival is held at the Kiwanis Youth Area in Bellevue, overlooking Big Marsh Lake. https://www.michiganaudubon.org/news-events/signature-events/cranefest/#iLightbox[a89f6e4141911b3bf7e]/0
25th Annual Cranefest October 12-13, 2019
Field Trip November 23rd Stearns Creek Park, 13594 136th Ave, Grand Haven Ottawa County’s newest park. Opened in the summer of 2019, it has a 1.7-mile system of trails. There are also benches and picnic tables donated by members of the Vollmer family who lived on the property for over 100 years. Meet in the parking at 9:00 AM
For the night of September 23rd, the Migration Forecast (on the left) showed major migration. I checked migration that shows on NOAA radar.weather.gov throughout the evening. It was heavy while I was up. I have not often seen it as heavy as is shown at 9:25 PM (on the right).
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is a publication of the Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society, Grand Haven, MI. All articles are copyrighted; permission is granted to copy any article in its entirety with author and references attached. Please contact Editor at [email protected] for other arrangements.
FAR FLOWING WATER
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7:00 Birding Ecuador’s Northwest Cloudforest Carl & Judi Manning
Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society Judi Manning, Editor P.O. Box 1654 Holland, MI 49422 PLEASE FORWARD ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
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Mission Statement Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation
Provide stewardship of local Grand River island wildlife sanctuaries owned by the Michigan Audubon Society; Achieve through education, public recognition of the value and need for protecting and preserving wildlife, plants, soil,
water and other natural resources as well as an understanding of their interdependence; Promote an interest in our native birds and as well as native flora and fauna, and their habitats because of their great
economic, cultural and recreational value; and Aid the Michigan Audubon Society in its study, conservation and research efforts.
Even 10 minutes in your backyard will help. Follow along with sightings from more than 150 countries. Stats will be updated in real-time on our October Big Day page. https://ebird.org/news/october-big-day-19-october-2019
