Bird Conservation Winter 2019-2020

BIRDCONSERVATION The Magazine of American Bird Conservancy

WINTER 2019-2020

There’s birding… and then there’s

CONSERVATION BIRDING.

Thousands of bird species — up to 2,900 — await you in American Bird Conservancy’s reserve network.

These include many of the world’s rarest. And when you visit, the proceeds from your entry and accommodation fees go directly to sustaining bird habitat.

Why wait? Visit us at our newly redesigned website: conservationbirding.org

Go birding. Save species.

Photo credits, clockwise from top: Araripe Manakin by Ciro Albano; Jocotoco Antpitta by Mark Harper; Long-tailed Woodnymph by Stephen Jones; Blue-billed Curassow by Greg Gough; Lear’s Macaw by Agami Photo Agency, Shutterstock; Long-whiskered Owlet by Alan Van Norman; Seven-colored Tanager by Sergey Gorshkov; Red-fronted Macaw by Doug Janson

ABC is dedicated to conserving birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. With an emphasis on achieving results and working in partnership, we take on the greatest problems facing birds today, innovating and building on rapid advancements in science to halt extinctions, protect

Winter 2019-2020

habitats, eliminate threats, and build capacity for bird conservation.

abcbirds.org

A copy of the current financial statement and registration filed by the organization may be obtained by contacting: ABC, P.O. Box 249, The Plains, VA 20198. 540-253-5780, or by contacting the following state agencies: Florida: Division of Consumer Services, toll-free number within the state: 800-435-7352.

Maryland: For the cost of copies and postage: Office of the Secretary of State, Statehouse, Annapolis, MD 21401.

New Jersey: Attorney General, State of New Jersey: 201-504-6259.

New York: Office of the Attorney General, Department of Law, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

Pennsylvania: Department of State, toll-free number within the state: 800-732-0999.

Virginia: State Division of Consumer Affairs, Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23209.

BIRDCONSERVATION 14 Within a Lifetime:

3 Billion Birds Lost

18 A Better Future for Birds:

ABC's 50-50-5 Plan

22 Minding the Gap

West Virginia: Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305.

Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by any state.

DEPARTMENTS

Bird Conservation is the magazine of ABC and is published three times yearly for members.

4 Bird’s Eye View

Senior Editor: Howard Youth VP of Communications: Clare Nielsen Graphic Design: Gemma Radko

6 On the Wire

Contributors: Erin Chen, David Ewert, Chris Farmer, Bennett Hennessey, Steve Holmer, Brad Keitt, Daniel J. Lebbin, Conor Marshall, Merrie Morrison, Michael J. Parr, Jordan Rutter, Amy Upgren, George Wallace, David Wiedenfeld, Wendy Willis

10 Birds in Brief 28 Ask ABC

For more information contact: American Bird Conservancy 4249 Loudoun Avenue, P.O. Box 249 The Plains, VA 20198 540-253-5780 • info@abcbirds.org

30 Final Glimpse Ruddy Turnstones © Michael Stubblefield

Find us on social!

TOP: Male Blackpoll Warbler. Photo by Ray Hennessy, Shutterstock Short-crested Coquette illustration by Sarah MacLean COVER: Evening Grosbeak by Glenn Bartley

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BIRD’S EYE VIEW

3 Billion Birds Lost: A Q&A with ABC’s President ABC President Michael J. Parr is coauthor of a study published in the journal Science in September that reveals the United States’ and Canada’s bird population dropped by 29 percent — or almost 3 billion birds — since 1970. The results tell us that ecosystems are headed for serious trouble, in light of tremendous losses across diverse groups of birds and habitats.

We sat down with Parr to get his thoughts on the study’s revelations.

Q: In your lifetime, have you observed examples of the kind of bird declines described in the paper?

A: On my first birding trip to North America from the United Kingdom in 1981, aged 18, I remember seeing numerous Common Nighthawks in downtown Leamington, near Point Pelee, Ontario. While I haven’t been back to Pelee itself since, I have been to the nearby south shore of Lake Erie to visit the Biggest Week in American Birding, where the Common Nighthawk is nowadays always a “good bird” that I go out of my way to see. Chuck-will’s-widows and Whip-poor-wills have also become noticeably harder to find in recent years. Northern Bobwhites have all but vanished from this area (Maryland/Delaware/Virginia) and large Evening Grosbeak invasions seem to be a thing of the past.

Other declines are less noticeable, but that’s the insidious thing about

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them: Who is really going to notice a gradual decline in a species like the White-throated Sparrow over a nearly 50-year period? That’s why the North American Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count, which were key sources of data for the Science study, are so important.

They tell us what we miss as our baselines shift.

Q: What do you think are the likely drivers of the bird loss?

A: To me, it is clear that among the major drivers are the loss of grasslands to crops, and inadequate forest management, which has allowed fire-dependent systems to get out of balance in the West, and eastern forests to become less structurally diverse and their species composition to shift. On the wintering grounds, outright habitat loss, as we are currently seeing with Amazonian fires, is surely an important factor. Central America,

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where many of our birds concentrate in winter, has lost around 50 percent of its historical forest cover.

Pesticides appear to be causing serious declines among insects, which most terrestrial birds depend on in some way, and this is likely a major driver as well. Mortality from collisions and unnatural predation by cats and other invasives play a major role in adult bird mortality. And then, of course, climate change is a wild card since we don’t know precisely what impact it is going to have yet, but it is likely to affect all birds in some way. Some adaptive species may benefit, but the majority of birds probably won’t.

These threats are cumulative, and we may never know the relative impact of each of them. It may also be many years before we appreciate their interplay with sufficient sophistication to isolate

specific causes by species. In the meantime, we are going to have to go with the best science we have, which currently suggests that the combination of all these threats is the cause of bird declines. So we must tackle them all.

Q: Were there any particular bird groups you were surprised to see in decline?

A: I think everyone was surprised to see that introduced species such as House Sparrows and European Starlings have declined a lot. This is really the “canary in the coalmine” moment. If urban introduced birds are surviving poorly in this increasingly toxic, urbanized, fragmented, over-heated world, we’ve really got a problem.

To me, there’s now overwhelming evidence that Earth is headed on the wrong path in terms of its future livability for nature and humans.

We need a radical shift in thinking.

It is up to us to impress that upon our global leaders, many of whom currently seem either uninterested in, or unwilling to address, this greatest of all human problems.

Reaching the moon was one of the greatest accomplishments of our parents’ generation. Saving Earth must be the greatest accomplishment of our generation, and our children’s.

Q: What can individuals do to help turn the tide of bird loss?

and position us as a global leader on these issues.

A: Actions that we as individuals can take include keeping cats indoors, bird-proofing windows, reducing — or better still eliminating — the use of pesticides (such as neonicotinoids) around our homes, and reducing or stopping the use of single-use plastics.

In the meantime, improving the regulatory and funding environment for birds and nature, and increasing subsidies for private landowners and states to help birds, would also be great steps in the right direction.

Conserving American nature has always been a strong bipartisan issue, with broad support across the country. This type of legislation would be widely supported by voters, I believe.

There’s also purchasing electrical power from renewable sources, calculating and offsetting carbon emissions, managing your land better for birds, lending a voice to the bird conservation effort with congressional leaders, supporting conservation financially, encouraging children to take an interest in nature, taking a friend birding…. I did every one of these things (except we don’t have a cat) and it was fun and really not

A: By investing in endangered species and waterfowl conservation, we have had tremendous success. Birds such as the Bald Eagle, Brown Pelican, and Peregrine Falcon have recovered

Reaching the moon was one of the greatest accomplishments of our parents’ generation. Saving Earth must be the greatest accomplishment of our generation, and our children’s.

too costly or complicated! One of my boys has started to enjoy bird photography in particular, which is really fun and rewarding to see.

Q: What kind of legislation will make the most difference?

BELOW: Evening Grosbeak flock.

Photo by valleyboi63, Shutterstock

Q: What is a recent experience that gives you hope that the situation might turn around?

A: A bill recently introduced in Congress would provide $25 billion annually to fight climate change and address biodiversity loss. That’s the type of big thinking that is needed.

What’s really stopping us from doing something like that? It would create jobs, since almost all of that money would be recycled into stimulating the American economy, and it would also encourage American innovation

fantastically well. Waterfowl numbers are also well up, following significant investment. We need the same approach for the rest of our birds, too. Turning these population losses around will take individual action, and support from both the private sector and government. But if we all do our part, I can foresee a better world for birds, and for us.

Michael J. Parr, President

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ON the WIRE Kirtland's Warbler Flies Off the List

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ecades of coordinated conservation work have yielded another Endangered Species Act success: The Kirtland’s Warbler was removed from the endangered species list in October.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced the delisting at a ceremony on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

“The delisting of the Kirtland’s Warbler is cause for celebration, and proof that the Endangered Species Act works,” says Shawn Graff, Vice President of ABC’s Great Lakes program. But Graff cautions that this songbird is not out of the woods yet.

“It is conservation-reliant, meaning that continued management efforts are imperative for the population to hold its ground and continue to expand,” says Graff.

From fewer than 200 singing males during parts of the 1970s and 1980s, the population, through careful management of habitat and broodparasitizing cowbirds, surged to more than 2,300 breeding pairs — twice the original FWS recovery goal.

ABC is playing a lead role in continuing conservation efforts for the Kirtland’s Warbler after its delisting, and has launched a longterm fund to raise private resources to meet the warbler’s conservation needs into the future. The fund’s revenue complements continuing state and federal programs. This effort was made possible thanks to major philanthropic support from the Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation of Midland, Michigan.

In addition, ABC’s Kirtland’s Warbler Program Director, David Ewert, serves on the board of the Kirtland’s

Warbler Alliance. ABC has also been funding a full-time Avian Science Officer working in the warbler’s Bahamian wintering grounds, through its partner, the Bahamas National Trust.

In addition to the Towsley Foundation’s support, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service pledge continued dedication to manage habitat and work in partnership to ensure that the species enjoys a healthy future.

Contribute to ABC’s long-term fund at abcbirds.org/donate/kirtlands

Minnesota Vikings’ Stadium: A Perilous Venue for Birds

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new study, led by Oklahoma State University collisions expert Scott Loss, focused on the Minnesota Vikings' U.S. Bank Stadium, which was completed in 2016 and features a large amount of glass. Loss' team found that U.S. Bank Stadium kills at least 111 birds each year, including Ruby-throated Hummingbird, American Redstart, and Wood Thrush. These numbers do not include birds that hit the glass and fly away, many of which die elsewhere or are significantly impaired for the rest of their lives.

The study found that the amount of glass and surrounding vegetation

were leading factors predicting collision rates. In the stadium’s case, the threat posed by surrounding vegetation will likely grow as the landscaped trees do, drawing more birds into close proximity with the stadium's deadly windows. Loss’ team also studied 20 other local buildings, two of which kill even more birds than the stadium.

ABC urges the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority and owners of the other troubled buildings to remediate their windows, adding, for example, bird-deterrent patterns to the glass through window films, etching, or window replacement.

Reducing overnight light pollution during migration is also important.

ABC has volunteered to help find the best solutions, and also continues to push for bird-friendly building legislation at the federal, state, and municipal levels. (See also p. 18.)

Unfortunately, most new buildings do not incorporate bird safety into their design, and many existing buildings, including homes, need to have their deadliest windows treated to prevent collisions.

Visit abcbirds.org/get-involved/ bird-smart-glass for a list of proven solutions to window collisions.

TOP: Kirtland's Warbler by Peter Tamas

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Brazil’s Dwindling Marsh Antwren Gets Key Municipal Refuge

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n October 24, the southeastern Brazilian municipality of Guararema declared the new 5,860-acre Bicudinho Wildlife Refuge. There, within a two-hour drive of sprawling São Paulo’s city center, the Critically Endangered Marsh Antwren clings to existence within isolated wetlands.

This little antbird — known to biologists as Formicivora paludicola and to Brazilians as Bicudinho — lives in small territories within the dense reeds of the Putim watershed.

This new refuge is the first to protect the antwren’s marsh habitat. It also safeguards remaining Atlantic Forest habitat that is home to the Vulnerable Buffy Tufted-ear Marmoset, a squirrel-sized monkey.

The Marsh Antwren was considered a subspecies of southern Brazil’s Paraná Antwren (Formicivora acutirostris) until 2013, when Brazilian researchers showed that the two should be considered separate species. Accelerated development in the area caused the species to dwindle to near-extinction.

Thankfully, the Guararema municipal authorities, the local organization Guaranature, and SAVE Brasil, based in São Paulo, took action. With ABC support, SAVE Brasil conducted a

Marsh Antwren by Karlla Barbosa

population survey and census, and with Guaranature and municipal authorities mapped the bird’s habitat and designed the wildlife refuge’s boundaries.

Public outreach and consultation were critically important to this process, and community and private landowners supported the new refuge’s establishment, both out of pride in their local wildlife and in recognition of the need for watershed protection.

“This wildlife refuge is our first municipal protected area and represents a great advance for our region,” says Ricardo Moscatelli, Environmental Sustainability Advisor at Guararema’s Municipal Secretariat of Environment and Urban Planning.

“It will protect not only the Marsh Antwren, a Critically Endangered

Left to right: Alice Reisfeld (SAVE Brasil), Patima Oliveira, Adriano Leite (mayor of Guararema), Karlla Barbosa (SAVE Brasil), Ricardo Moscatelli.

Photo courtesy of the Municipality of Guararema

bird, but also all natural elements of the Putim Basin, including other threatened animals, flora, and water resources.”

“This is a globally important step forward toward saving the Marsh Antwren from extinction, and we hope it serves as a model for other nearby municipalities to follow suit in protecting their wetlands,” says Daniel Lebbin, ABC’s Vice President of Threatened Species.

The Guararema municipality hopes that the wildlife refuge’s diverse habitats and unique wildlife will draw birders and other tourists. ABC is supporting follow-up work by SAVE Brasil and the municipality to develop bird tourism, including guide training, public bird walks, interpretative signs, marsh boardwalks, and a local birding guidebook, along with development of a refuge management plan and continued monitoring of the Marsh Antwren population.

Work to conserve this area and species is supported by ABC, SAVE Brasil, David and Patricia Davidson, Michael Reid, and the Regina Bauer Frankenberg Foundation.

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ON the WIRE In Dorian’s Wake: A Bahamas Update

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n the first days of September, Hurricane Dorian roared over the northwestern Bahamas, ripping across and swamping Abaco and Grand Bahama. This colossal storm left at least 56 dead, 600 missing, and thousands without food and shelter. The storm also dramatically transformed the landscape and likely impacted its birdlife.

Fortunately, all of ABC’s partners at the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) survived the storm. They are picking up the pieces and now trying to assess how best to repair infrastructure at damaged national parks, and figure out how the birds fared.

Here are a few birds they will be watching for:

Bahama Nuthatch (Critically Endangered) This recently rediscovered endemic species only occurs on Grand Bahama. In the Lucayan Estates, where a few were found in 2018, pine trees are still standing, but storm surges brought flooding and intrusion of saltwater into the karst

limestone substrate on which the pines are rooted. It could be some time before trees die from this, so the extent of habitat damage is not yet known. A search for the nuthatch is planned for December.

Bahama Swallow (Endangered) This is another species found only in the Bahamas. BNT has access to pre-storm data on this swallow from both Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Follow-up monitoring will be important for this species, which occurs on only one other island.

“Abaco” Parrot (Near Threatened) This Bahamian subspecies of the Cuban Parrot nests in the ground in holes formed by erosion of the karst bedrock. Most of the birds are in the southern end of Abaco, which was spared the storm’s worst effects. But conservationists fear that feral cats and, in the short term, loss of food and nest sites, may stress the birds.

In addition, the storm may have facilitated the spread of invasive plants such as bracken fern and may have caused saltwater intrusion.

"Abaco" Parrot, the Bahamian subspecies of the Cuban Parrot, is currently listed as Near Threatened. Photo by David Ewert

These species also need assessment: Bahama Warbler (Near Threatened); Olive-capped Warbler (Least Concern); Bahama Hummingbird (Least Concern); Cuban Emerald (Least Concern); and Bahama Yellowthroat (Least Concern).

To help support efforts to census and conserve these birds, see: abcbirds.org/donate/bahamas

New ESA Rules Compromise Conservation Efforts

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he U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized three Endangered Species Act (ESA) rules that substantially weaken protections for birds and other wildlife. These changes would result in less protection for species listed as Threatened, allow consideration of economic impacts in listing decisions, and set restrictions against considering climate change in future listing decisions. These provisions run counter to the Act’s aim to

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conserve and recover at-risk species, leaving an uncertain future for birds and their habitats.

ABC remains steadfast in its support of strong ESA protections, maintains that listings should be made solely on the best available science, and believes that increasing funding for recovery efforts should be the top priorities for improving the ESA’s implementation.

B I R D CO N S E R V A TI ON | W I NTE R 2019-2020

Some members of Congress quickly sprang into action, introducing legislative proposals to nullify these rules and restore essential provisions.

You can help advocate for a strong ESA by taking action now and telling your members of Congress what safeguarding endangered species means to you.

See: abcbirds.org/action/ petition-esa

ABC

Deputy Director of International Programs Wendy Willis hit the Appalachian Trail on June 17, after launching a GoFundMe campaign entitled “Trailblazing for Brushfinches” for the Antioquia Brushfinch, a bird she wrote about in our last issue (see Summer 2019, p. 38). Willis’ goal: to raise $5,000 “so that ABC can help Colombian partners do more area searches for this Critically Endangered species.”

Willis enjoyed the company of many great trail companions, including her dog Esteban, who started out with her in Damascus, Virginia, and logged six days and 87 miles before Wendy’s family picked him up and brought him home. The journey was not without challenges, including many blisters and scrapes, made worse by continuous rain the first five days of the journey.

Photo by Natalie Howard

One Woman’s Trail Trek for Brushfinches In the end, Willis tallied 380 miles on the Appalachian Trail and exceeded her fundraising goal, collecting $5,901 for the Antioquia Brushfinch. She was able to ponder her conservation work along the way: “By walking through eight wilderness areas, several state parks, and a couple of national parks, I gained an even greater respect for the protected area systems in our country and feel invigorated to keep protecting birds in Latin America,” she reports.

Before Willis took time off work to start her month-long journey, she vowed that if she reached her $5,000 goal, she would dye her hair the color of her beloved brushfinch’s crown. The accompanying photo shows that she made good on this promise as well.

In October, Willis joined the “buscatón” or “big search” for

Antioquia Brushfinches in Colombia that found the species in eight locations, five of them new. This search, supported by ABC and other organizations, helped raise the population estimate from fewer than 50 to 50-100 birds (p. 25).

Brazilian Reserve Gets New Bird Observation Platform

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who monitors conservation of the Atlantic Forest. As parts of the forest have regrown, antbirds and other species have returned.

erra do Urubu Reserve in northeastern Brazil protects 890 acres of recovering Atlantic Forest. It is home to many endemic bird species and other wildlife and connects to a 1,556-acre private forest reserve.

SAVE Brasil purchased the reserve in 2004. Now, thanks to support from ABC and others, the reserve has a sturdy metal observation platform, allowing visitors to get eye-to-eye views of the Buff-throated Purpletuft, the Critically Endangered Alagoas Tyrannulet, the Orange-bellied Antwren, tanager flocks, and other birds. The new platform follows the 2018 inauguration of a hummingbird

Buff-throated Purpletuft by Aisse Gaertner

garden, built with ABC and Jeniam Foundation support.

ABC, with help from March Conservation Fund, supported SAVE Brasil to hire a local coordinator,

ABC has been working closely with SAVE Brasil to help improve protection of the Serra do Urubu Reserve and to sustainably cover management costs for the future, in part by enhancing its ecotourism assets.

Future support may include local guide training, trail system design, and lodge and kitchen construction.

ABC is also in the process of helping SAVE Brasil expand the reserve with a forest purchase of 181 acres.

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BIRDS in BRIEF

morph breeds. ABC worked on the North Carolina tagging project with the South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit – U.S. Geological Survey and Clemson University; New Zealand seabird biologist Chris Gaskin; and Cape Hatteras-based pelagic tour operator Seabirding.

White-crowned Sparrow by Johanna van de Woestijne

Migratory birds are intoxicated and hobbled by neonicotinoid (or neonic) insecticides they encounter as they try to fuel up at stopovers, according to a study published in the journal Science in September. The new study documented sublethal effects of the neonic imidacloprid on migrating White-crowned Sparrows. Birds ingesting these neurotoxins ate less, built up less weight and fat, and were delayed in their departures, which could adversely affect the birds’ survival and ability to reach wintering grounds.

ABC Efforts Help Halt Brazil Reserve Fire The Amazon fires raging this summer hit home for ABC on August 25, when our partner Instituto Araguaia detected a blaze on the property next to their reserve, which is home to the Kaempfer’s Woodpecker. The fire quickly spread into the reserve and also into nearby Cantão State Park. These protected areas sit on the ecotone between the Cerrado savanna and Amazonian lowland forest, providing habitat for more than 450 bird species.

Tiger Shark by Shutterstock

Neonics Pose Newly Reported Migration Threat

purchased — through the Ecosphere carbon certification company — carbon credits from the Caribbean Conservation Coast, a project of ABC’s Guatemalan partner FUNDAECO. This compensates for ABC’s carbon emissions and supports FUNDAECO’s conservation work.

Tiger Sharks Prey on Migratory Birds A study published in the journal Ecology in May used “DNA barcoding” to decipher the identity of feathers found in the stomach contents of 100 Tiger Sharks (both dead sharks and those captured, tagged, and released). Eleven migratory species were identified, including Yellowbellied Sapsuckers and House Wrens.

In the Summer 2019 issue, we reported on an ABC-led, first-ever at-sea capture of Black-capped Petrels off North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

One of the white-faced morph birds tagged during this project was located September 29, 2019, near Valle Nuevo in the Dominican Republic, near a recently discovered nesting area. The bird’s signal in this area is suggestive, but does not prove nesting.

To date, no one knows where the Black-capped Petrel’s white-faced

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Many migrants succumb to the rigors of migration and bad weather, dying at sea. More research is required, but scientists wonder if migratory birds constitute an important food source at coastal shark nurseries, augmenting young sharks’ diets of small fish and other marine life.

ABC Offsets Its Carbon While Supporting Guatemalan Forest Conservation ABC forest conservation projects sequester vast amounts of carbon, but ABC wanted to go the extra mile. Calculating that its carbon footprint totals 155 tons, ABC

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Fighting fires in Brazil. Photo by Instituto Araguaia

Black-capped Petrel Tracked to Possible Nesting Ground

ABC acted quickly, with the help of the recently formed Earth Alliance (cofounded by Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Brian Sheth) and Global Wildlife Conservation, providing emergency funds for Instituto Araguaia to hire extra workers to fight the fires. The blazes were extinguished after a tough week-long effort, with no extensive damage to woodpecker habitat. ABC is helping Instituto Araguaia to acquire additional equipment to detect, prevent, and control future fires.

Peregrine Falcon by Collins93, Shutterstock

2019 a Bumper Crop Year for Bird Reports In addition to the Science paper on bird declines since 1970 (see pp. 4 and 14), three other noteworthy works came out this year. The State of the Birds 2019 report, published by the U.S. Committee of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI), focuses on possible bird population recovery options, especially with state wildlife agency involvement. See: stateofthebirds.org

Zion’s Condor 1,000 Is Utah’s First to Fledge

Impact Network, or GRIN, is available online and as a free smartphone app, aimed at enticing birders and biologists alike to collect new data on birds of prey from the field and old data from museums and other sources. The Peregrine Fund estimates that more than half of the world’s raptor species are in decline, with nearly 20 percent threatened with extinction. GRIN springs from a pilot project launched in Africa from 2011 to 2016.

“Condor 1,000” hatched in Zion National Park in late May and is already a two-time record-setter. Not only is it the thousandth condor to hatch in a breeding program that began in 1982 — by late September, California Condor 1,000 by Zion National Park

Also, the State of Canada’s Birds 2019 report, released by NABCI Canada, noted downward trends in groups including grassland species but gains for waterfowl and other wetland birds. See: whc.org/2019/06/24/ the-state-of-canadas-birds-2019/

Gunnison Sage-Grouse, a Threatened species now only found in patches of western Colorado and eastern Utah.

ABC and other groups call the FWS plan vague and unable to assure the species’ recovery. Critics also say the target recovery population of about 3,600 is too low, below the actual population estimate from 2014, the year the species was listed.

See: globalraptors.org Gunnison Sage-Grouse by Noppadol Paothong

And the National Audubon Society published Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink, using climate models to point out birds and places in greatest danger from changing climate, with 389 of 604 modeled species declared vulnerable to extinction. See: audubon.org/ climate/survivalbydegrees

New Database Seeks Birders’ and Scientists’ Input to Save Raptors The Peregrine Fund is launching a worldwide database aimed at monitoring and conserving the world’s birds of prey. The Global Raptor

Recovery Draft for Gunnison Sage-Grouse Disappoints The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released a draft recovery plan in October for the declining

it left its cave nest, becoming Utah’s first wild fledgling California Condor. The current California Condor population is about 500, more than half of which live in the wild in California, Arizona, Utah, and northern Mexico. The rest are part of captive breeding efforts.

Lead poisoning remains the top threat to condors, which ingest the toxin when feeding on carrion. This year, California became the first state to ban lead bullets. Elsewhere, public awareness efforts and quality nontoxic ammunition are starting to convince hunters to turn their backs on lead.

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SAVE BIRDS

A study in Science shocked the world with the news that nearly 3 billion breeding adult birds have been lost from the United States and Canada over the past 50 years.

Now celebrating our 25th year, American Bird Conservancy is mobilizing a response equal to the challenge — our “Save Birds, Save Our Earth” campaign — to kick off our action plan for the next 25 years of bird conservation. We cannot do this without you.

Please use the enclosed envelope to make a gift, or give online at: abcbirds.org/save-birds-save-earth

ABOVE: Blue-throated Hillstar by Roger Ahlman; RIGHT: Piping Plover chick by Ray Hennessy, Shutterstock

SAVE OUR EARTH “If you take care of the birds, you take care of most of the big problems in the world.”

Thomas Lovejoy, conservation biologist

This fall we will jump-start our campaign by raising $1 million by year’s end. Thanks to several generous donors, we’re already half-way there.

Will you step up to a 1:1 match and double that amount?

Please help us meet our 1:1 match by giving your most generous gift by December 31.

Our vision is ambitious and bold, but it is also possible — and deeply necessary. It leverages our quarter-century of expertise in getting results for birds. It sets us on a path to positively alter the course of history for birds. And it protects millions of additional species of plants and animals, making a huge contribution to solving our planet's biodiversity and climate crises.

Give now, and help make a transformational difference for birds.

Over the next 25 years, we will: • Recover populations of 50 flagship birds.

• Protect and conserve the next 50 million acres.

• Reduce 5 key threats to birds.

Our “50-50-5 Action Plan” will make an enormous difference for birds, for our Earth, and for future generations. (For more details about this plan, see page 18, or visit abcbirds.org/50-50-5-plan) You are the deciding factor. You can help move the trend line from declining to increasing. You can help alter the course of history for birds, and for our Earth.

WITHIN A LIFETIME:

3 Billion Birds Lost

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B I R D CO N S E R V A TI ON | W I NTE R 2019-2020

by Howard Youth

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r. Donald Messersmith remembers June 1970 for laborious but enjoyable hours spent in the rolling fields around Pleasant Valley, Maryland.

A life-long birder and University of Maryland emeritus professor, Messersmith recalls volunteering with some of his students, running a route for the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), then a fledgling bird monitoring effort. Their goal: to tally as many singing and nesting birds as possible.

“We would get started about 5:30 in the morning listening for birds, would do our route very carefully, and at every half-mile stop we had a lot of birds,” remembers Messersmith. “Bobwhites were common; we would hear them all the time. Meadowlarks were regular. There were Grasshopper Sparrows and Vesper Sparrows. In other words, the grassland birds, which are now in trouble, were not in trouble in those days.”

Western Meadowlark by Paul Tessier, Shutterstock BIR D C O NS ER VATIO N | WINTER 2019-2020

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Fast-forward 50 years. “There aren’t as many birds now,” reflects Messersmith, who still leads bird walks in his community. He hasn’t seen a bobwhite in five years: They’re disappearing from the region, along with other species, declines chronicled by the volunteer-fueled BBS, which continues to this day under the auspices of the U.S. Geological Survey and Canadian Wildlife Service.

Through the decades since 1970, much has changed relating to social issues, politics, style, and technology.

Striking physical change has come as well: In 1970, the United States population was 205 million people. It’s since grown by more than half, to 330 million. Canada’s population also jumped by more than half, from 21 to 35 million. This growth has affected the landscape, as demands for various resources have grown. In many places, forest, meadow, desert scrub, and small family farms have been replaced by expansive industrialized farms and warehouses, and spidery suburban clusters strung across the countryside on wide webs of pavement.

Recent studies sounded alarms on declines in large mammals, amphibians, and insects, and on the impacts of climate change on wildlife. Now a new study sheds light on five decades of loss in the most easily observed animal class. “Decline of the North American Avifauna,” published in Science in September, reveals that since 1970, the combined avian population of the United States and Canada shriveled by a net of more than a quarter, or almost 3 billion birds.

16

Five decades, within a human lifetime, is a blip in geologic time, not much time at all to see so much change.

Looking back at decades of data, including the tallies of Messersmith and thousands of other citizen-science birders, the authors found startling declines even among some of the most abundant bird species.

Birds’ colors, varied behaviors, and songs inspire and delight. But the loss of this much bird biomass goes beyond impacting our enjoyment. These feathered insect-eaters, scavengers, predators and prey, pollinators, and avian “johnny appleseeds” are crucial to the health of food webs and ecosystems. The study reminds us that we need to watch, study, and most of all act — because humanity has everything to do with the wellbeing and future of our birds, and our world.

Ken Rosenberg, a senior scientist at ABC and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is the paper’s lead author. He says, “This is the first analysis to look at the net change in total population, across North American bird species, and we see this staggering net loss in breeding birds, across all habitats, and including generalists.” Twelve bird families accounted for 90 percent of the cumulative loss, including sparrows, warblers, blackbirds, and finches.

The study’s 11 co-authors represent a range of nonprofit and public organizations: ABC, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Georgetown University, the Smithsonian Institution’s Migratory Bird Center, and the U.S. Geological Survey.

ABOVE: Red Knots by Martin Pelanek, Shutterstock

B I R D CO N S E R V A TI ON | W I NTE R 2019-2020

RIGHT: Rusty Blackbird by Paul Reeves Photography, Shutterstock

The study puts a microscope on population changes for 529 species, or 76 percent of the species breeding in the United States and Canada. The authors analyzed longstanding, “on-the-ground” survey work and population estimates, but also put eyes to the skies, using computers to crunch spring data via weather radar. The authors consider their estimates conservative because they only take into account birds returning to breed (in the case of the radar) and those breeding (in counts).

“The question we had,” says Rosenberg, “is if you account for decreasing and increasing species, is there a shift toward more common/generalist species? We found

that this was not the case.” Instead, there seemed to be a large net decline. “We decided this was big news,” he says.

Apocalypse No, Troubling Yes When it came to covering the study, the media dove in and made a big splash: CNN, Fox News, major TV networks, dozens of radio stations, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, BBC News, CBC News, and so on. While increasing people’s awareness is important, Rosenberg worries that many stories written about the study miss an important point, highlighting instead nightmare scenarios.

Continued p. 19.

Bird Species Showing Greatest Declines Since 1970, these species lost the largest estimated percentage of their populations. Some are birds of the wilderness; others are among the most familiar of birds, underscoring the concern that a range of birds and ecosystems have been affected by the losses.

The Science study focused on bird groups to indicate the net decline in the United States’ and Canada’s bird population. The species-decline percentages below come from trend data used in the analysis, but did not come from the study itself.

1. Evening Grosbeak

90%

11. Red Knot

82%

3. Bank Swallow

89%

13. Ruddy Turnstone

80%

2. Black Swift

4. Chestnut-collared Longspur 5. King Rail 6. McCown’s Longspur

7. Bendire’s Thrasher

8. Blackpoll Warbler

9. House Sparrow

10. Northern Bobwhite

89%

88%

86%

85%

85%

84%

83%

83%

12. Herring Gull

14. Pine Siskin

15. Rusty Blackbird 16. Eastern Meadowlark

17. Pinyon Jay

18. Least Tern

19. Allen’s Hummingbird 20. Lark Bunting

81%

80%

79%

79%

79%

79%

78%

77%

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A Better Future for Birds: ABC’s 50-50-5 Plan In the wake of the Science paper’s troubling news, ABC has launched its “50-50-5” campaign.

Over the next 25 years, the aim is to: Recover populations of 50 flagship birds. These species represent major ecosystems across the Western Hemisphere. Alagoas Antwren to Wood Thrush: Restoring these and 48 other signature species opens an umbrella under which myriad birds and other wildlife sharing the same habitats will flourish.

Conserve the next 50 million acres. ABC already conserves more than 7 million acres with our partners, and we have identified areas across the hemisphere — BirdScapes — that cover more than 20 ecosystem types. These are among our next targets.

Tackle five key threats to birds. Through partnership, advocacy, and action, we will take on these challenges affecting all birds:

1) Habitat loss is likely the single most significant threat to birds worldwide. For example, more than 90 percent of U.S. and Canadian native grassland is gone, and only five percent of natural habitat remains in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, a top biodiversity hotspot.

ABC has already: ✔ Protected more than 1 million acres of bird habitat for the rarest bird species and other wildlife sharing their habitats in Latin America: abcbirds.org/ program/reserves ✔ Helped to conserve and manage 6.4M acres of habitat for birds in the United States via our partnerships in Migratory Bird Joint Ventures: abcbirds.org/ISSUU/ bird-conservationsummer-2019

2) Climate change greatly complicates conservation efforts, potentially shifting habitats, food supplies, and synchronization between birds and important food sources.

ABC has already: ✔ Planted 5.6 million trees and shrubs to create bird habitat that also helps to sequester carbon: abcbirds.org/program/ habitat-restoration/ ✔ Generated a report on climate solutions and promoted renewable energy: https://bit.ly/ 2qfXiNX ✔ Offset our own small carbon footprint through Verified Carbon Standard credits in a habitat conservation project with ABC’s Guatemalan partner FUNDAECO and EcoSphere (see p.10) ecosphere.plus/ conservation-coast

3) Pesticides affect birds both directly and indirectly via their food supplies, their impacts often reaching far beyond where they are applied.

ABC has already: ✔ Pushed for a ban on chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate harmful not only to birds and their food base, but also humans. ✔ Studied long-lasting, far-reaching, and prevalent pesticides called neonicotinoids, finding that a single coated seed can kill a bird the size of a Blue Jay. See: abcbirds.org/neonics

4) Invasive species, such as feral cats, pigs, and exotic plants, impact many birds and other wildlife. Cats alone are estimated to kill 2.4 billion birds a year in the United States.

ABC has already: ✔ Protected a colony of federally Threatened Piping Plover, successfully suing to relocate feral cats from Jones Beach State Park, New York. ✔ Advocated for responsible pet ownership ordinances and cat owner solutions, opposing Trap, Neuter, Release and other policies that keep cats running at large.

This strategy aims to protect not only rare species but also still-plentiful species that, as the Science study says, “may be disproportionately influential components of food webs and ecosystem function.”

To learn more about ABC’s 50-50-5 plan, see: abcbirds.org/50-50-5-plan

5) Collisions with windows, tall towers, powerlines, and wind turbines take a huge toll on birds. Glass collisions alone are estimated to kill up to 1 billion birds each year in the United States.

ABC has already: ✔ Educated thousands of architects and worked directly on legislation around the country, resulting in more than 20 municipalities enacting bird-friendly building practices. Federal and state legislation efforts are in the works. ✔ Convinced operators of a growing number of communication towers to change steady burning to flashing lights, greatly reducing birdtower collisions. ✔ Advocated for bird-smart wind to protect birds as we develop renewable energy sources. See: abcbirds.org/program/ wind-energy-and-birds

To support ABC’s efforts, go to: abcbirds.org/ save-birds-save-earth

Piping Plover chick by Betty Rizzotti

Northern Bobwhites by Jacob Spendelow

“We’re seeing troubling loss. But we are not at the point of an apocalypse. The skies are not emptying,” says Rosenberg. “What we’re saying is that this loss of abundance is big and real and we need to pay attention before it is too late. What’s new and different here is this erosion of abundance among the common birds. If we weren’t doing these detailed year-to-year surveys, we wouldn’t know about it.”

The paper gives the extinct Passenger Pigeon a cameo mention, as a cautionary poster bird. Once the continent’s most abundant bird species, by 1900, the blue-gray and orangish dove bowed to widespread deforestation and over-hunting, vanishing from the wild. Fourteen years later, the last individual died in a zoo. Today, the species inhabits only the collective memory, its plumage only seen on taxidermy specimens found in some museum exhibits and drawers.

“The decline of the Passenger Pigeon looked a lot like what we’re seeing in the common birds today,” says Rosenberg. “No one thought that the Passenger Pigeon would go extinct. If we could have monitored them, we almost certainly could have prevented that extinction.”

Grassland birds are a group that Rosenberg most fears could go the way of the Passenger Pigeon. According to the study’s data, since 1970, grassland birds have been the most hard-hit group, losing more than 700 million breeding individuals across 31 species. In all, 74 percent of grassland species were in decline, and this group sustained the largest proportional loss, at 53 percent. In

According to the study’s data, since 1970, grassland birds have been the most hardhit group, losing more than 700 million breeding individuals across 31 species.

recent decades, similar losses have been logged in farmlands across Europe and in other parts of the world.

“We lost 90 percent of native grasslands,” says Rosenberg.

“The birds that are left are squeezed in around the agriculture. And there’s been an intensification of agriculture and greater use of more-toxic pesticides. When we eliminate the last bits of habitat and the insect food supply, then our landscapes can’t support birds or other wildlife.”

Tracking Birds Like Weather A backbone of the study’s data comes from bird count surveys including the BBS, which started in 1966. But to shed a different light on declines, the study’s authors looked beyond the visual abilities of mere mortals, tapping data gathered nonstop by 143 NEXRAD weather radars. Coauthor Adriaan Dokter, a research associate at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, moved from Europe to

NEXRAD satellite data allows ornithologists to map and quantify bird migration.

This map shows a snapshot of the “bird biomass” in flight at 5:00 a.m. on May 8, 2017.

Heavy migration in the center of the country is typical in spring, but the apparent lack of activity in the East is likely due to bad weather grounding the birds there.

Image courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Adriaan M. Dokter

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Taking Action to Reverse Declines Reversing such a massive decline in birds will require action at all scales, from landscapelevel land-use changes and national policies affecting birds, to individual actions. If you're ready to help, here are seven things you can start (and share) today.

1. Make Windows Safer: Simple adjustments to your windows to break up reflections can save birds' lives, day and night. See: abcbirds.org/get-involved/ bird-smart-glass

the United States in good part to work with the colossal bird data set provided by these radars. “We had this focus on counting how much was lost in absolute terms and we wanted two independent ways of looking at it. It’s been only a few years that analyzing vast amounts of radar data has been technologically feasible, and it comes together at just the right moment for us to look both in the skies and of course on the ground with the counts.”

One criticism of bird counts is that it’s impossible to tally all birds. Many boreal forest birds and shorebirds, for example, nest in wilderness areas with few roads and people. “Radar, as an independent source of information, really helps us,” says Dokter. Although weather radar cannot allow ornithologists to identify which species and how many individuals are flying, they provide an allseeing eye on the skies that observers can’t match. “The radar network counts all the birds passing over in a year above our heads at night, in each region of the U.S. — many more individuals than we could ever count on the ground,” says Dokter. “And we find the same result: a dramatic net decrease in the amount of living birds that fly by.”

2. Keep Cats Indoors (or Contained): Keeping cats indoors or contained when outside is healthier for cats and removes a great threat to birds and other wildlife.

Now things are much more clear. Today’s large networks of weather radars, combined with super computers’ boosted analysis capabilities, allow a far more comprehensive view. “The huge data centers of internet companies can handle enormous data sets,” says Dokter. “Every five or ten minutes the radars spit out more new data, continuously expanding the historical archive of weather data. We’re able to look at the entire air space of United States, and it’s always on.”

Scientists now also use algorithms to teach computers to recognize the differing signatures of not just rain and

How do meteorologists and biologists know the difference between clouds and living things? Birds move faster, for one thing. And masses of birds show up when weather is otherwise clear. As far back as World War II, people noticed “angels,” mysterious images in radar that we now know were migrating birds. Over the years, some pioneering scientists started using radar technology to study birds’ flight behavior.

King Rail by FotoRequest, Shutterstock

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3. Reduce Lawn by Planting Native Species: The U.S. has 63 million acres of lawn. That's a huge potential for supporting wildlife.

4. Avoid Pesticides: Look for organic food choices. Learn more about neonicotinoids: The world's most commonly used pesticides are toxic to birds — and they may be in products that you unknowingly buy.

5. Drink Bird-Friendly Coffee: Bird-friendly coffee is delicious, economically beneficial to farmers, and helps North American songbirds wintering in the tropics. Look for birdfriendly certified coffee in your store or ask the store to stock certified products.

6. Protect Our Planet From Plastics: Avoid single-use plastics.

Unfortunately, 91 percent of plastics are not recycled, and they take 400 years to degrade. Seabirds are among the birds most at risk from plastic pollution.

7. Get Involved: Contact Congress and elected officials on conservation issues, and watch birds, sharing what you see: Birders are one of science's most vital sources of data on how the ecological world is faring. Make sure you contribute your data to eBird and other citizen science efforts.

(See also p. 5.)

other precipitation, but also moving masses of birds and insects. A recent upgrade of the radar network has greatly enhanced researchers’ ability to distinguish between living birds and daily weather.

In the Science study, radar data helped to prove that habitat generalist species weren’t filling the void as scarcer species declined. “Mostly common birds are measured in the radar bird biomass,” says Dokter, “and what we found using the radar was this general loss of birdlife.” Looking at spring night-time radar data from 2007 to 2017, the study reports a 14-percent decline in migration biomass.

The investigators chose to only analyze spring migration data because this passage happens the closest to breeding season and also during a time when there are fewer insect flights to cause confusion.

Going for the Rebound The paper does not quantify or delineate causes, but the authors suggest “multiple and interacting threats” are at play. Habitat loss is likely the largest driver, plus the widespread effects — both directly and indirectly (through food sources) — of pesticide use. The researchers hint at what might happen if nothing is done to turn the tide: “Today, monitoring data suggest that avian declines will likely continue without targeted conservation action, triggering additional endangered species listings at tremendous financial and social cost,” not to mention their invaluable worth in natural goods and services.

and legislation works,” adding that “societal change” will also be required to prioritize and incorporate the needs of other living things and ecosystems. When these forces came into play for raptors and waterfowl, they rebounded.

When lead author Ken Rosenberg thinks back to 1970 and before, his most vivid memories recall the rarest birds, species now back from the brink. “I remember my father and I drove to the far east end of Long Island to see the only remaining Osprey pair,” he recalls. “And seeing a Bald Eagle in those days was really a big deal.”

Today, Long Island alone hosts 300 nesting Osprey pairs, and the species has recovered in many other parts of its range, following better protection, improved water quality under the Clean Water Act, and the ban on DDT. And New York now has a growing Bald Eagle population of more than 400 nesting pairs. The study found that as a group, raptors increased by 200 percent, and that waterfowl were up more than 50 percent. Just as there was a sea change in efforts to save these charismatic birds, the landmark study released this year lays out a new challenge: for us to rescue the rest, for their sake and ours.

To see bird migration tracked via radar in real-time and in forecasts, check out birdcast.info Howard Youth is ABC’s Senior Writer/Editor.

While skeptics might think birds can’t face a bright future in our increasingly crowded world, the study’s authors write: “History shows that conservation action

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21

MINDING

THE

The Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager (Endangered; population estimate 250-2,500 birds; ~4% habitat protected) is a species on ABC’s conservation radar screen due to the lack of protected areas in its range.

A

six-foot-long photo of a Marvelous Spatuletail adorns ABC President Mike Parr’s office wall. Its flowing tail tipped with racket-shaped feathers, the looming, larger-than-life hummingbird daily reminds Parr that “we not

miss something obvious — that something doesn’t go extinct right in front of us.”

Parr remembers watching one of these gorgeous birds flit from flower to flower in a shrubby clearing near cloud forest almost two decades ago. And he remembers worrying about this highly localized bird’s fate. Although the species is still only known from a few sites in northern Peru, its prospects are looking up, since habitat is now set aside specifically for this hummingbird.

Depending on whose taxonomy you use, there are close to 10,000 bird species on Earth. How can we hope to prevent species extinctions with so many birds and so many threats in today’s world? At ABC we have broken the challenge down into a series of steps. The first begins with the IUCN Red List — which for birds is maintained by BirdLife International. The Red List uses the best available data and a sophisticated ranking system to determine which birds are most endangered worldwide. ABC works only in the Americas, so we subdivide the Red List, first to focus only on birds in our region, and then to prioritize the species in the highest threat categories — those listed as Endangered (EN) and Critically Endangered (CR). These are the birds most likely to go extinct first without conservation action. If we can safeguard these species, we stand a good chance of stemming the most imminent extinctions.

While there’s much more to do for birds overall — keeping common birds common, for example — once a species is lost, it is lost forever. So, for ABC, stopping these extinctions is a critical aspect of our mission.

ABC has been creating reserves for such species for nearly two decades (over 1 million acres of habitat so far protected), with a focus on EN and CR species found only at single sites (known as Alliance for Zero Extinction or AZE species), but we recognize that this alone, while critically important, is not enough to prevent all bird extinctions. For example, species found at a handful of highly threatened sites such as the Royal Cinclodes of southeastern Peru and Bolivia can be in more urgent need than birds that are found at only one site that is mostly protected, such as the Black-cheeked Ant-Tanager of Costa Rica.

To truly have a robust zero-extinction program we needed to identify the gaps in current protection for all the most endangered bird species, and to work to ensure that every one of these birds is covered by at least some effectively

GAP ABOVE: Bosque Unchog, Peru, is Golden-backed Mountain-Tanager habitat. Photo by Mike Parr

Continued next page.

What is the gap? The “gap” refers to the lack of protected area coverage for endangered bird species. ABC studied the ranges of all Endangered and Critically Endangered birds in the Americas and is focusing action on those that are either not found in any current protected area, or have less than 10 percent of their range under protection.

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23

MINDING THE GAP protected habitat, as a front line of defense against the most predictable imminent extinctions.

To really drill down on this issue, ABC assessed the ranges of all EN and CR species using Geographic Information System (GIS) software and overlaid them with the boundaries of existing protected areas to see which ones were well protected, which were partly protected, and which were not protected at all. This project is what we refer to as our “gap analysis.” It provides a road map to address the conservation needs of the most endangered birds that remain insufficiently protected.

The following ABC staff members contributed to this article: Daniel J. Lebbin, Howard Youth, and Michael J. Parr.

Bird illustrations by Sarah MacLean.

It’s All About the Habitat — Mostly

W

hile the gap analysis is focused on protected areas, not all species are most threatened by habitat loss, and not all protected areas adequately conserve species found there. ABC also works on birds threatened by invasive species, wildlife trade, fishery bycatch, and other non-habitat-related threats. Two examples are the Waved Albatross and Mangrove Finch, both from the Galápagos Islands. ABC is working to reduce fishery bycatch for the albatross, and to control invasive botflies threatening the finch’s chicks.

What is ABC doing to close the gap? ABC is working with partners to create new protected areas for all endangered birds that are presently unprotected or insufficiently protected. Here are some examples.

Ecuador

Photo by Michael Moens

Lilacine Amazon (Endangered; population estimate 600-1,700; 5.2% habitat protected) Recently recognized as its own species, the Lilacine Amazon was split from the more widespread Red-lored Amazon. These large green parrots with dark bills and red foreheads live only in western Ecuador, where their total population is fragmented into six main core areas, the largest (400-500 birds) being found at the Las Balsas

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community. While the community protects mountain forests used by parrots for foraging under a national program called SocioBosque, the lowland dry forest used for roosting is imminently threatened by charcoal production and clearance for agriculture. ABC, Rainforest Trust, and Fundación Jocotoco are working together to protect 209 acres of key parrot roosting areas under a 99year easement with the Las Balsas community.

Photo by Daniel J. Lebbin

Colombia

Antioquia Brushfinch (Critically Endangered; population 50-100; 0% habitat protected) Re-discovered in 2018 by a keen-eyed conservationist on his way to mass, this large, rufous-crowned songbird hangs on in small patches of native scrub dotting expansive dairy farms and cropland on the outskirts of Medellín, Colombia. ABC has been supporting and joining local researchers to search remaining habitat for brushfinches, and to identify areas suitable for protection. Although land is expensive in the area, ABC

and multiple partners are working to identify the most suitable areas to protect. ABC is currently fundraising for this project. Meanwhile, silvipasture — a balanced use of trees, forage plants, and livestock — and other habitat enhancement techniques on working lands may also prove pivotal to increasing habitat for this species, and connecting currently isolated populations. Fortunately, silvipasture experts at the Colombian agricultural research organization CIPAV work in the area and are collaborating in this effort.

Climate Resiliency

O

ne common threat that ABC cannot ignore is climate change. While we cannot yet accurately predict the long-term outcomes

of warming for each ecosystem we work in, it is already clear that reserves that include a greater cross-section of altitudinal habitats and those that allow migration of species along connected corridors are likely to be more biologically resilient than those that do not.

ABC has already begun the process of planning how to implement climate resiliency strategies across the network of reserves we support — for example, by supporting expanded protection of lowland forest in the Ecuadorian Chocó region to complement higherelevation ridgeline forest at Canandé Reserve and other

A lush forest trail in Canandé Reserve. Photo by Daniel J. Lebbin

nearby protected areas.

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25

Ecuador

Photo by Michael Moens

Blue-throated Hillstar (not yet evaluated by IUCN, likely Critically Endangered; population unknown but possibly <50; 0% habitat protected) Hard to imagine, but this dazzling blue-throated hummingbird, which lives out in the open above the treeline, was just described to science in 2018. But the Blue-throated Hillstar only inhabits shrubland atop one mountain, the Cerro de Arcos in southern Ecuador.

There, its habitat is currently unprotected and vulnerable to burning for cattle pasture. Efforts are underway to

establish a reserve there, but for the time being, burning remains a threat. ABC is partnering with Fundación Jocotoco to purchase 616 acres for this hummingbird and begin restoring patches of its favorite flowering plant — the chuquiragua. ABC is now raising funds to initiate this two-year project, with the long-term goal of protecting 1,235 acres, restoring additional chuquiragua patches, and promoting birding tourism, as this site lies between two other popular Jocotoco reserves.

Mex

ico Photo by Greg Homel, Natural Elements Productions

Short-crested Coquette (Critically Endangered; population estimate 250-1,000; 0% habitat protected) Less than three inches long, males adorned with spiky orange crowns, the Short-crested Coquette is a tiny treasure only found at one site globally — the AZE site of Sierra de Atoyac in Guerrero, Mexico. ABC and its Mexican partner at the Universidad Autónoma de

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Guerrero have studied the species’ ecology, reached out to local communities, and are working to develop a conservation action plan for the coquette. Thanks to these efforts, much more is known of the species’ range and diet, and landowners better appreciate this endemic bird. Work has begun to establish a protected area on communal lands that preserves habitat for the species, through collaboration with local landowners and government officials.

Photo by Tulio Dornas

Brazil

Goiás Parakeet (Endangered; population estimate 20,000-25,000; <1% habitat protected) In a small zone of central Brazil, fast-flying flocks of Goiás Parakeets flash green, blue, and red as they head to and from fruiting and flowering trees. But this colorful vision could be fleeting if quick conservation action is not taken to save this species’ fragmented and isolated

dry forest habitat. The Goiás Parakeet occurs in Terra Ronca State Park, but habitat there is threatened by over-browsing goats. ABC has worked with the Federal University of Tocantins in the past to encourage the creation of private reserves in the area, and is supporting a project with a local researcher to evaluate the population and create an action plan to protect it.

Current ABC Priority Gap Species SPECIES

IUCN STATUS

POPULATION

RANGE

Tolima Dove

EN

600-1,700

W. Colombia

6.5%

Goiás Parakeet

EN

20,000-25,000

Central Brazil

<1%

Lilacine Amazon

EN

600-1,700

SW. Ecuador

5.2%

Gray-bellied Comet

EN

250-1,000

N. Peru

<1%

Blue-throated Hillstar

Recently Described

Unknown, likely <50

Ecuador

0

Short-crested Coquette

CR

250-1,000

S. Mexico

0

Royal Cinclodes

CR

50-250

S. Peru

Antioquia Brushfinch

CR

50-100

Central Colombia

Yellow-headed Brushfinch

EN

250-1,000

W. Colombia

This table shows some of ABC’s highest-priority target “gap” species — those in most need of conservation attention as of November 2019. Note that the Yellow-headed Brushfinch (right) has slightly more than 10 percent of its range protected, but co-occurs with the Tolima Dove, meaning that ABC and partners can potentially protect habitat for two high-priority birds at the same time. As time goes on, ABC aims to ensure that this list changes, winnowing it down so fewer and fewer species sit on the verge of extinction.

Yellow-headed Brushfinch by Fundación ProAves

% PROTECTED

7.8% 0 13%

ASK ABC “Angry” Birds Dear Ask ABC, Today I saw a very annoyed bird riding on a Red-tailed Hawk’s back at Huntley Meadows Park, Virginia. Is this a common phenomenon?

Jonathan, Alexandria, Virginia You witnessed a key moment in a string of events frequently happening during the breeding season, especially among some open-area songbirds. While it looks like the smaller bird’s taking a back-surfing ride on the larger one, this was just a short interlude in the broader context of mobbing — when birds defend territories from potential predators.

Mobbing is often a more social and less acrobatic activity, when gatherings of smaller birds scold and hound a perched predator. Spying on such a cluster of rankled songbirds is a good way for birders to find hidden owls and hawks.

But back to the hawk-riding songbird you saw: Red-winged Blackbirds breed in the marsh at Huntley Meadows Park in northern Virginia. So do Eastern Kingbirds, which are also known for their aggressive

A Red-winged Blackbird attacks a Red-tailed Hawk that has entered its territory. Photo by Dan Logan, Shutterstock

territorial defenses, as advertised both in their common name and scientific name Tyrannus tyrannus. These species and the Western Kingbird and Northern Mockingbird are among the birds frequently seen harrying herons, hawks, vultures, and cranes, among others. Jays and crows partake in mobbing too, and, being nest predators, crows and ravens are often mobbed themselves.

During an attack, it’s not impossible for a raptor to quickly turn and grab its attacker. Usually, though, the smaller bird torments the large trespasser until it reaches beyond its territory. Then it veers off and heads back to its nesting area.

Do you have questions about wild birds and bird conservation?

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Getting a Fix on Bird Loss Numbers Dear Ask ABC, As highlighted elsewhere in this issue, a recent Science paper reported that almost 3 billion birds have been lost since 1970 in the United States and Canada. A number of readers and reporters asked ABC to make sense of this figure, in light of other reported birdmortality numbers. ABC’s Director of Public Relations Jordan Rutter breaks it down here: Large numbers can be hard to visualize. For example, how do you conjure in your mind the almost 3 billion birds lost over 50 years? Or annual figures from other sources, such as the estimated toll of up to 1 billion birds killed by window collisions in the U.S.?

Important points are that the Science paper calculated the estimated net loss of adult birds in the breeding season and did that over a span of five decades. The authors did this to be conservative. Counting breeding

birds of both resident and migratory species in the spring best represents the true adult population at a single time of the year in the United States and Canada, before that year’s new cohort of young are factored in.

Adult birds in spring are what is left after the vagaries of migration and the prior season’s breeding. This is the net population, and this population’s increase or decrease from year to year is known as the net change in population. This is the measure the paper’s authors used to gauge the decline.

In contrast, the commonly cited mortality figures — such as those for various collisions and cat predation — are annual, and they take into account all of a population’s birds, including young ones, at all times in a single year.

ABOVE: Blackbird flock by Mike Parr BELOW: Allen’s Hummingbird by Monica Lara, Shutterstock

Email us at: askabcbirds@abcbirds.org

BIR D C O NS ER VATIO N | WINTER 2019-2020

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FINAL GLIMPSE

It’s Time to Treat Cats Like Dogs

By Grant Sizemore

Cats

of hunting, Amelia Bedelia plays with laser pointers and toys. When she does venture outdoors, she is on a leash or in an enclosure and always supervised.

.

It’s the four-letter word of bird conservation.

For over a century, ornithologists have been sounding the alarm about cats and their impacts in the environment. Whether owned, stray, or feral, roaming domestic cats have the capacity — indeed the propensity — to hunt and kill the wild creatures that we value. At least 40 bird species have been driven to extinction in the wild due, at least in part, to cats.

ABC, through its Cats Indoors program, is helping others to experience the same benefits of keeping cats safely contained. Many of my coworkers also have beloved cats at home, and indoors. We believe that we can have both happy cats and healthy birds!

Their predatory instinct, however, does not diminish cats’ value as pets. Instead, it means we must be responsible about how we manage our pets, not just for our cats’ wellbeing but also for the welfare of the community around us.

Learning these lessons, however, can take time. For my part, growing up in suburban Ohio, I long believed that preventing a cat from running at large was cruel, somehow a perversion of the beautiful and primeval mystery of cats. To me, cats’ predatory behavior was “only natural.”

But, like a growing number of cat owners, I began to see things differently. I learned that cats kept indoors live longer, healthier lives, which is why veterinarians strongly advise not letting cats roam outdoors. I learned of the substantial and preventable losses of wildlife caused by cats and that cats are one of the world’s most harmful invasive species. In the United States alone,

Today, I’m proud to keep my cat, Amelia Bedelia, safely contained. I’ve chosen to protect her and local wildlife by keeping her indoors. they are estimated to kill 2.4 billion birds each year.

I experienced these lessons firsthand, sometimes painfully, through my own cats. For example, my favorite childhood cat was struck and killed by a car. I hope other cat owners will not have to learn such lessons the hard way.

Today, I’m proud to keep my cat, Amelia Bedelia, safely contained. I’ve chosen to protect her and local wildlife by keeping her indoors. Instead

Although the concept seemed revolutionary to me as a kid, safely containing our pets is nothing new.

In fact, the model for success already exists: Only decades ago, domestic dogs frequently ran wild, whether owned or not. Thanks to education and a concerted community effort, permitting pet dogs to roam is no longer acceptable — or legal — in most of the United States. This transition from semi-wild pet to responsibly contained companion animal is precisely what is needed for domestic cats.

It’s time to treat cats like we treat dogs.

I’m confident that cats, like dogs, will one day get there, and I hope you will join me in facilitating that transition. Until then, I’m proud of the work ABC and our partners are doing to lead the way to a more sustainable future for birds, cats, and people.

Grant Sizemore is ABC’s Director of Invasive Species Programs.

OPPOSITE: Rufous Antpitta by Petr Simon, Shutterstock

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B I R D CO N S E R V A TI ON | W I NTE R 2019-2020

25 YEARS of RESULTS FOR BIRDS...

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Join ABCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Legacy Circle with a gift through your will, retirement plan, trust, or insurance policy, and you will ensure bird conservation results for years to come. If you would like more information, please contact Jack Morrison, Planned Giving Director, at 540-253-5780 or at jmorrison@abcbirds.org

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Marsh Antwren by Matheus Bernardo