The Great Backyard Bird Count Starts Friday, Feb. 18

by Glynn Wilson

The Great Blackbird Die-Off over the past few months is on just about everybody’s mind who is associated with the Great Backyard Bird Count of 2011, which starts Friday, Feb. 18, and runs through Monday, Feb. 21.

A red-winged blackbird

“When thousands of people all tell us what they’re seeing, we can detect changes in birds’ numbers and locations from year to year,” said Janis Dickinson, director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “An isolated event such as the dead birds in Arkansas may be within the range of normal ups and downs for an abundant species like the Red-winged Blackbird. But the count can serve as an early warning system for worrisome declines in bird populations that result from more widespread problems.”

Blackbirds made the headlines when a flock of thousands fell from the skies in Arkansas on New Year’s Eve, then again when hundreds were found dead in Louisiana a few days later, then again in Alabama a few days after that. Other mass blackbird deaths have been reported in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Could the amateur data gathering during the bird count turn up more evidence of a decline in bird populations since the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history devastated the Gulf of Mexico and its coast last spring and summer?

Dickinson said past counts showed a drop in reports of American Crows since 2003, coincident with some of the first widespread outbreaks of West Nile virus in the U.S. Once ranked among the top 4 or 5 most frequently reported species, crows are still among the top 10 birds reported in the Great Backyard Bird Count, but they have dropped in ranking since 2003.

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Could the BP Oil Gusher in the Gulf Be to Blame?

“The sedge is wither’d from the lake, and no birds sing.”
- John Keats, “La Belle Dame sans Merci”

The Big Picture
by Glynn Wilson

When natural history writer Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962, she was violently assailed by threats of lawsuits and derision, including suggestions that this meticulous scientist was a “hysterical woman,” unqualified to write such a book, according to Wikipedia and many other sources from the time. A huge counterattack was organized and led by the Monsanto corporation, Velsicol, American Cyanamid — indeed, the entire chemical industry — duly supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as the more cautious and conservative in the American news media.

A common grackle

Today, as the birds are dying en mass all over the Southeastern United States in a winter that could lead to another very real Silent Spring, any suggestion that the deaths might have something to do with the largest and worst environmental disaster in this nation’s history, the so-called BP oil spill, is met with derision and cat calls of a “conspiracy theory.”

On the other side, many caught up in the full throes of the economic, environmental and health crisis from the BP, Transocean, Halliburton caused disaster along the Gulf of Mexico coast also see a conspiracy and cover up at work, all the way up to and including the White House.

After several days of attempting to research this story as an experienced science writer, it is now obvious to me that we may never get to the bottom of the riddle of the Great Blackbird Die-Off of 2011. Not because of any conspiracy theory on either side, mind you. But because the way modern science works at government agencies is simply not organized or equipped to deal with such a new and massive threat.

If you have been keeping up with the news, you will recall that the first hint of something going horribly wrong came on New Year’s Eve, when revelers in a small Arkansas town were enjoying midnight fireworks and then noticed something other than sparks falling from the sky: thousands of dead blackbirds. The red-winged blackbirds rained out of the darkness onto rooftops and sidewalks and into fields, according to local newspapers, television news broadcasts and the Associated Press.

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Eleven Young Cranes Complete One-Third of Migration from Wisconsin to Florida

OperationMigration.Org

Thirteen whooping cranes follow an ultra-light through West Jefferson County two years ago as they passed over Alabama Power’s Miller Steam Plant on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River

They flew into Kentucky from Illinois today, landing in Union County, Ky. Only six to seven months old, the cranes have now traveled 463 miles and have another 795 miles to go.

This is the 10th group of birds to take part in a landmark project led by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, an international coalition of public and private groups that is reintroducing this highly imperiled species in eastern North America. There are now about 96 whooping cranes in the wild in eastern North America thanks to their efforts.

“We are proud to be part of this effort to bring this magnificent bird species back from the brink of extinction,” said Cindy Dohner, Southeast Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “This is another example of people working together to help overcome monumental challenges that many species face in surviving in a landscape greatly altered by mankind.”

Three ultralight aircraft and the juvenile cranes are traveling through Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia to reach the birds’ wintering habitats at Chassahowitzka and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuges along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The whooping cranes taking off Nov. 6

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In Memoriam
Birders United

Theodore Cross, a bird photographer, author, publisher, and founder of Birders United, died in Sanibel, Florida, on Sunday, February 28. He was 86.

“All of us at Birders United are extremely saddened by the passing of our leader and dear friend,” the group said in a statement. “He will be deeply missed.”

Cross published two critically acclaimed books of his bird photography: Birds of the Sea Shore and Tundra and Waterbirds, which was published just a few months back.

The esteemed Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson said of Waterbirds, “It’s a masterpiece. I do not exaggerate when I say that the back-jacket photo of Great Blue Herons is a candidate for the most beautiful illustration of birds in existence, photo or painting.”

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A new report released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wednesday shows one of every five Americans watches birds, and in doing so, birdwatchers contributed $36 billion to the U.S. economy in 2006, the most recent year for which economic data are available.

The report — Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis — shows that total participation in birdwatching is strong at 48 million, and remaining at a steady 20 percent of the U.S. population since 1996.

Participation rates vary, but are generally greater in the northern half of the country. The five top states with the greatest birding participation rates include Montana (40 percent), Maine (39 percent), Vermont (38 percent), Minnesota (33 percent) and Iowa (33 percent).

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This year, the Alabama Coastal BirdFest takes on a new name. Now in its 5th year, the John L. Borom Alabama Coastal BirdFest takes place Oct. 16-19, 2008.

It features 20 guided tours, evening events, and a free, daylong Bird and Conservation Expo. Registration opened in mid-July.

“From here on, the event shall be known as the John L. Borom Alabama Coastal BirdFest, recognizing John Borom for his long involvement in land and wildlife conservation in Alabama” said Jim Griggs, Director of Alabama State Lands, reading a proclamation from Gov. Bob Riley. The naming ceremony took place at Weeks Bay Estuarine Research Reserve.

“Barnett Lawley (Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) suggested that we name BirdFest in John Borom’s name, and I thought it was a wonderful idea,” Griggs said. “I remember when John first came to me with the idea of a holding a festival that would tie in with the then-new Alabama Coastal Birding Trail. The first event was in 2004, and it’s just grown and improved ever since. State Lands is proud to be a part of it.”

John Borom has been recognized for his work leading to the establishment of the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge and the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Reserve. In 2001 and 2006, he was presented with Environmental Responsibility awards from the Baldwin County Commission, and in 2006 he was honored with the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award.

A Fairhope native, Borom earned his Ph.D. in biology and science education at the University of Southern Mississippi. He has served on numerous boards, including the Weeks Bay Foundation and Forever Wild, and is currently a board member of the Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust. He is also president of the Mobile Bay Audubon Society.

“It is, of course, a great honor to have the festival named for me, but I’m just a small cog in a big wheel when it comes to land and wildlife conservation,” Borom said. “Without the support of people like Barnett Lawley as well as the many generous sponsors and supporters of BirdFest, none of this could happen.”

For more info, check out the site for the fest: AlabamaCoastalBirdfest.com.

by Glynn Wilson

ROEBUCK SPRINGS, Ala., Sept. 25 — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed a solution to the Corps of Engineers and the city of Birmingham to build a temporary dam out of sand bags and then construct a permanent structure to control the flow of water from the spring pool behind the Roebuck tennis courts into Village Creek.

The permit was expected to be approved Thursday afternoon and work is expected to start Friday morning, one week after a beaver dam and man-made dam were removed illegally by a crane operator, not a backhoe, as previously reported, according to sources on the fish-kill scene.

Sources who are familiar with the area and its history say beavers have constructed a dam in the same spot on and off for years. And well before the endangered watercress darter was discovered there, city officials would periodically rip out the beaver dam, supposedly based on a fear that the pond would overflow and flood the tennis courts.

Today, with the Endangered Species Act and other regulations on wetlands — and with the full knowledge of the presence of an endangered fish species in the pond — that destruction would not be allowed under federal law or state regulations without a permit.

To naturalists, a beaver dam is actually the perfect natural solution to controlling the water flow from the pool to the creek, if the tennis courts and drainage pipe had to be built on that location at all.

According to a federal official on the scene today, however, the spot is not really where you would want to build a tennis court if you had it to do over again with modern knowledge of science. It is on a high spot between the pond and the creek.

“What a stupid place to put a tennis court,” the biologist said, who will remain anonymous since the Atlanta field office has still not concluded its investigation and released a report, or even so much as a statement about what the plan is for the area, yet.

According to multiple sources, the intent of Regina Nummy, the director of Roebuck-Hawkins Park, and her superiors at the city, was most likely to tear out the beaver dam, which had been done in the past by park and city officials. So some of the culpability for destroying the entire dam rests with the crane operator.

It is still not known whether the operator who actually removed the dam was a city employee or a private contractor, which could still be an issue in any investigation or lawsuit.

Biologists sampled the area today and found at least 100 watercress darters still alive, so at least the destruction of the dam did not wipe out the entire local population.

But the incident still shows an appalling incompetence on the part of park management and makes one wonder what kind of an educational program is set up for city workers — or private heavy equipment operators — when it comes to working around ecologically sensitive waterways.

There is a consensus building among federal, state, and local sources that heads should definitely roll as a result of this disaster — and that a legal price should be paid.

by Glynn Wilson
Editor and Publisher

If Regina Nummy, the director of Roebuck-Hawkins Park, has not already resigned her position — for her ignorant order telling Birmingham city workers to illegally excavate wetlands without a permit and to remove a dam on a Village Creek spring pool — she should be fired immediately.

Glynn Wilson

A yellow-crowned night heron feeding on the section of Village Creek that intersects the Roebuck Golf Course, just down stream from the destroyed dam.

It may take the discovery phase of a lawsuit and depositions to find out who came up with the dimwitted idea to remove the dam in the first place, as well as how the order was carried out, since city officials have now clammed up and are not talking in expectation of a lawsuit.

What is clear is that what Ms. Nummy told The Birmingham News about the need to remove the dam to prevent damage to the tennis courts due to flooding is just a lie. What is not clear is why she would concoct such a story. But ignorance is no defense in a court of law.

What we know is this.

Last Friday, Ms. Nummy somehow obtained a work order for a crane operator to drive into a protected wetland that was home to the largest population of endangered watercress darters on the planet. Without a federal or state permit or permission of any kind, the heavy equipment operator removed a beaver dam built on top of a small man-made dam that helped the Roebuck Springs pool hold water in part of Village Creek.

Over the weekend, most of the water ran out of the pond downstream through a drainage pipe leading under the Roebuck tennis courts. The shock of all the water rushing out of the pool forced at least 1,000 darters, most likely way more than that, to hide in the grass, where they died of suffocation.

There is no doubt that this constitutes a blatant violation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and the Locust Fork News-Journal is calling on the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alabama Department of Conservation to move with all deliberate speed both to restore the habitat and to hold the responsible parties legally accountable.

This story is not just about some little rare fish. The destruction of its habitat will no doubt have a ripple effect throughout the ecosystem and have a negative impact on bird populations as well.

In recent times this independent online news organization has focused more on national issues and crimes of the Bush administration, specifically on the Bush Justice Department’s political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, than local stories such as this. But we have extensive experience covering science and the environment going all the way back to the 1980s.

And this particular spot holds a special place in our hearts. It is a remarkable place to experience the wonders of nature in the very center of an urban area.

For the past four years, I have joined other wildlife photographers to keep a watchful eye on the special population of yellow-crowned night herons that nest in the area around the Roebuck Golf Course along Village Creek. We have taken hundreds of photographs of these beautiful creatures during that time frame.

And right now, in addition to being concerned about the endangered fish, we are also concerned that the destruction of this dam and the habitat for the fish will have a negative impact on the bird populations in the area.

In addition to the herons, there are often wood ducks feeding in the area as well as great egrets, kingfishers, red-shouldered hawks, great blue herons, and red-winged blackbirds.

In fact, my photograph of a red-winged blackbird on Village Creek just downstream from the destroyed dam was recently chosen for an educational poster showing the 50 most common bird species in Alabama. Of 50 pictures chosen, submitted by birders from all over the state, nine or 10 are mine.

You can see a picture of the poster and order free copies from this link on the Legacy Partners for Environmental Education Website.

We would also like to see the local television news shows and the local newspapers do more to get to the bottom of this environmental tragedy.

For the past three days in a row, The Birmingham News environmental reporter has published the same lie about the tennis courts flooding, apparently by taking information on the phone from the office and not actually visiting the site in person.

Any empirical observation by any lay person will show that the tennis courts have not flooded and have not been damaged by flooding. It is not enough for a news organization to take the word of a city official in a case like this. There is a responsibility to get off the phone, away from the e-mail, and out of the office to go look at the scene. Anything less is irresponsible journalism.

The Bureau of Land Management, a division of the Department of the Interior, has changed an internal policy, which will lessen protections given to certain birds and other species, according to the Birder’s United newsletter just out this morning.

In the past, birds that were considered endangered by state governments, but were not on the federal list of endangered species, were still considered when the bureau made land-use decisions in their habitats.

But under the new policy, the Bush Bureau of Land Management will no longer make policy based on considerations for birds that are on state lists of endangered or threatened species. Nor will the agency make policy based on species that are on the Fish and Wildlife Service’s list of species that are candidates for federal protection.

The Bureau of Land Management oversees 258 million acres of lands owned by the federal government.

If you disagree with this policy, call your Senators and Congressmen today…