Birders are the primary user-group of neotropical migratory
birds. In the United States, birders number in the tens of millions and spend
upwards of $20 billion dollars per year on bird seed, travel, and birding
paraphernalia. Average yearly spending by active birders averages between
$1,500 and $3,400, with travel being the major expenditure. Research needs
include studies of birder demographics and birding economics at the national
and state levels, as well as at specific birding sites. In addition, we must
learn more about birder knowledge of how wildlife programs are funded and
their attitudes toward new means of funding such programs. The meager
information available on these topics is reviewed. With funding for nongame
wildlife programs floundering, the need for new funding sources is acute.
As the primary user-group of neotropical migrant birds, birders represent a
large, dependable source of revenue for nongame programs just as hunters
and fishermen have funded game programs. Read More
Author: DST
Birding Activities in Northern Arizona
Are you a birder, birdwatcher, or curious about birdwatching? Come birding with Northern Arizona Audubon Society (NAAS) in the Flagstaff, Sedona and Verde Valley area. Northern and Central Arizona contain all the major types of biomes and offers some of the best inland birding in the United States. We are sponsored by NAAS, but membership is not required to participate. We are an inclusive group, so people of all backgrounds, lifestyles, and perspectives are highly encouraged to participate… for FREE!
Outside your door, on your way to work, in the trees—birds are everywhere. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced birder in search of i.d. tips, come with us. We’ll show you the way and have fun doing it … for FREE!
For more info, visit our website: https://northernarizonaaudubon.org/ and
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/NAZAudubon
Click on this MeetUp site which is sponsored by Northern Arizona Audubon Society: MEETUP
California condors in Arizona, Utah died from avian flu
Reprinted from Grand Canyon Trust: Newsroom | Grand Canyon Trust
PHOENIX (AP) — Twenty California condors in northern Arizona and southern Utah have died since March, and half of the endangered birds tested positive for a strain of avian flu, according to authorities.
Four condors are still receiving supportive care and have shown improvement. But wildlife officials told The Arizona Republic that they are worried the recent outbreak could potentially spread to other condor populations.
So far, authorities say, the virus hasn’t been detected in the other condor populations in California or Baja California, Mexico.
The Peregrine Fund, a group that manages wild populations of the bird, estimates there are 116 wild condors flying over Arizona and Utah and occupying the landscape within Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, on the Kaibab Plateau and in surrounding areas.
“The condor is slow to mature, taking up to eight years before they can produce young, and with an average of one young every other year, the rate of replacement for a loss in the wild is a big impact,” Chris Parish, president and CEO of the Peregrine Fund, told the Republic. “Given the total number of birds we eventually lose and the age structure of those lost will have a tremendous impact on the recovery effort, likely to take decades.”
Challenges at The Great Salt Lake, Utah
A critically endangered bird-world resource is the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Historically, the numbers and diversity of bird populations has been simply awesome. The lake is easily accessed from Slat Lake City and it has been a long-time favorite of birders. Unfortunately, this shallow inland lake is in serious danger of drying up. The many years-long drought has robbed it of input water that sustained it in the past. We have just experienced a very wet winter which has provided some relief, but it is not nearly enough to restore it to healthy levels. Read the in-depth article from Audubon here: Utah’s Wet Winter Gives Some Reprieve to Great Salt Lake | Audubon
Which traits help birds thrive in urban areas?
05-06-2023
Which traits help birds thrive in urban areas?
(Reprinted from Earth.com)
Earth.com staff writer
As cities gobble up increasingly more natural spaces, a variety of birds have adapted to live alongside traffic, noise, skyscrapers, and large numbers of humans. In order to help cities strengthen biodiversity through better urban planning, a team of researchers led by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has recently identified the most important traits that help birds adapt to urban living.
“Identifying traits that help wildlife adapt or even thrive in cities can help urban planners bolster biodiversity by, for example, increasing green spaces, planting more and taller trees, building more varied potential habitats, or reducing housing density,” explained study lead author Monte Neate-Clegg, a postdoctoral fellow in Ornithology at UCLA. “It can also help conservation biologists to identify which types of species are most threatened by urbanization.”
The researchers used data on over 125 million individual bird sightings from the public science project eBird to calculate an “urban association index” – which describes how closely each bird species is associated with living in cities – and applied it to 3,768 bird species in 137 cities across six continents.
“Many of the most common urban birds globally are very familiar to us here in the U.S., including the house sparrow, barn swallow, osprey, and peregrine falcon,” said senior author Morgan Tingley, an associate professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA.
“Although, interestingly, the species with the strongest associations with urban areas are actually three species of parakeet and a tanager from South America. Plus, of course, the feral pigeon.” Moreover, bird families with high average scores on the index included starlings, swallows, swifts, parrots, blackbirds, and orioles.
The birds with the highest urban associated index shared a variety of traits that allow them to thrive in urban settings, including smaller body size, lower territoriality, greater ability to fly over long distances – a trait known as “dispersal ability” – broader dietary preferences and habitat niches, and larger clutch sizes. Such traits make it easier for birds to find food and suitable nesting places in cities, while raising offspring that survive.
“In a city like Los Angeles, for example, the American crow is a cosmopolitan species whose broad diet, arboreal nesting habits, and long lifespan favor life in the concrete jungle. In contrast, canyon wrens are highly territorial insectivores with low dispersal ability that shun cities and keep to steep, rocky terrain,” Neate-Clegg explained.
However, cities’ geographical properties – such as latitude, population sizes, or surrounding terrain – moderated the importance of these traits. For instance, while a broad diet was found to be more important in temperate cities such as New York, habitat generalists were more prevalent in tropical cities such as Bogotá.
Moreover, if in cities with small populations and plentiful natural surroundings such as Anchorage, Alaska, large birds like bald eagles – which feed on fish from rivers and lakes – can easily thrive, sprawling, densely populated cities like Bangkok usually feature smaller birds that don’t require much raw land and can adapt to consuming a variety of foods to survive.
“Thus, the importance of trait filters in birds varies predictably across cities, indicating biogeographic variation in selection for urban tolerance that could explain prior challenges in the search for global patterns. A globally informed framework that predicts urban tolerance will be integral to conservation as increasing proportions of the world’s biodiversity are impacted by urbanization,” the authors concluded.
The study is published in the journal Current Biology.
Which birds are common in cities?
The types of birds commonly found in cities can vary depending on the location and habitat of the city. However, here are some of the most common bird species found in urban areas:
Pigeons
Pigeons are one of the most common bird species found in cities around the world. They are adaptable and can survive on a diet of seeds and scraps.
Sparrows
Sparrows are also common in urban areas, and they are known for their distinctive chirping songs. They can often be found in gardens and parks.
Starlings
Starlings are a species of bird that have adapted well to urban environments. They are known for their ability to mimic other birds’ songs and sounds.
Seagulls
Seagulls are a common sight in coastal cities, and they are opportunistic feeders that will eat almost anything.
Crows and ravens
These birds are known for their intelligence and adaptability, and they are often found in urban areas scavenging for food.
House sparrows
House sparrows are small birds that are found in cities worldwide. They are known for their brown and gray plumage and their habit of nesting in buildings and other man-made structures.
Canadian geese
Canadian geese are migratory birds that often spend the winter in urban areas. They are known for their distinctive honking calls and their large size.
Overall, many species of birds can be found in urban areas, and the ones listed above are just a few of the most common.
How do birds thrive in cities?
Birds have adapted to living in urban environments by changing their behavior, habitat use, and diets. Here are some ways in which birds thrive in cities:
Nesting
Birds build nests in various urban environments, including buildings, trees, and even on the ground. Many birds also use nesting boxes or birdhouses provided by humans.
Diet
Urban birds have adapted to eating a wide range of foods, including insects, seeds, fruits, and human food scraps. Some species, such as pigeons and gulls, have become particularly adept at scavenging in urban areas.
Flight
Birds have plenty of space to fly in urban areas, and they use rooftops and other structures as perches and launch sites. Additionally, urban areas often have less wind turbulence, which makes it easier for birds to fly.
Light
Urban areas often have a lot of light pollution, which can disrupt some bird species’ migratory patterns. However, other species, such as owls and nightjars, have adapted to living in areas with artificial light.
Temperature
Urban areas can be warmer than rural areas due to the urban heat island effect, which can benefit some bird species. However, this effect can also be harmful if temperatures become too high.
Overall, while living in urban areas can present challenges for birds, many species have adapted to thrive in these environments.
Visit this urban hot spot: The Amitabha Stupa (Sedona) – Birding in the Verde Valley (verdevalleybirding.com)
Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds
From Cornell Labs:
In 2019, scientists documented North America’s staggering loss of nearly 3 billion breeding birds since 1970. Helping birds can be as simple as making changes to everyday habits. Here’s our quick list of 7 Simple Actions you can take to help birds.
And in case anyone asks you why bird conservation is so important, here are five specific, bedrock reasons why birds matter and an in-depth article on the economic value of birds.
Briefly, the seven steps are:
- Make Windows Safer, Day and Night
- Keep Cats Indoors
- Reduce Lawn, Plant Natives
- Avoid Pesticides
- Drink Coffee That’s Good for Birds
- Protect Our Planet from Plastic
- Watch Birds, Share What You See
Read the entire article here Seven Simple Actions to Help Birds | Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Can EBird Help Choose Better State Birds?
Our state bird here in Arizona is the Cactus Wren. It’s a perfect bird to represent our desert state and, if you have seen one and listened to it, you will understand. But not all states have such a diagnostic bird species as the state bird. In fact, several bird species are used multiple times. For example, 7 states have adopted the Northern Cardinal as their avian flag bearer. Two enterprising associates of the Cornell Lab have used Ebird data as a basis for a suggested reassignment system. It makes sense, really. Why should the Kentucky Warbler be the state bird of Arkansas? Look at this article:
State birds are meant to pay tribute to local wildlife while inspiring people to get to know their avian neighbors. But for birders, some of the official state and provincial birds are a bit, say, uninspiring—and there’s an amazing amount of overlap. Only 20 out of 50 states have unique state birds. Seven states share the Northern Cardinal, six claim Western Meadowlark, and five honor Northern Mockingbird. Even among the unique state birds, there are exotic species (such as Ring-necked Pheasant of South Dakota) and domestic chickens (like the Rhode Island Red).
A birder might ask: With more than 700 native bird species to choose from, is the current selection of state birds really the best that our societies can come up with? (In fact, Nick Lund, aka “The Birdist,” tackled just this question in a hilarious 2013 post State Birds: What They Should Be on his blog.) Read More
Cactus Wrens are not common in the Verde Valley, but you might find one here: Montezuma Well (Nat’l Mon) – Birding in the Verde Valley (verdevalleybirding.com)
Northern Cardinal Takes a Bath
Enjoy this video of a Northern Cardinal enjoying (Do birds actually “enjoy”) a bird bath.
You can find even more great videos of birds at bird baths or water features by clicking here: Backyard Birding – YouTube .
Northern Cardinals are fairly common in the Verde Valley and are easily heard before they are seen. Look for them here: Beaver Creek Trail (camp Verde) – Birding in the Verde Valley (verdevalleybirding.com) or here: Tavasci Marsh (Tizigoot NM) – Birding in the Verde Valley (verdevalleybirding.com)
The Best Field Guide Is …
There are many field guide books on the market these days. Some of these are broad enough to cover the lower 48 states and some are tightly regional. Some are bulky and some are digital and take up space only on your smart phone. My first guide was a Peterson Field Guide that I purchased in 1967. Today it seems rather primitive by modern standards. Now Cornell Labs has written an article that attempts to review many of the exiting guides including the digital variety.
They say that “A good field guide is one of the most important tools to help identify birds. Traditionally, field guides took the form of books, often quite big books, that for field use could be heavy or vulnerable to wetting on rainy days. Nowadays there are also some great smartphone apps as well, making bird ID fit into the palm of your hand. Many people rely on both books and apps to identify birds; below are some of our favorite guides for North America.”
The article discusses books, folding guides, regional guides, digital guides and apps. It’s a good read regardless of how mush you love your present guide. You can rtead the article here: What’s the best book or field guide for bird identification? | All About Birds All About Birds.
Also, local resources in the Verde Valley can be found here: Helpful Services – Birding in the Verde Valley (verdevalleybirding.com)
Experience The Wonder of Bird Migration Indoors
The next you happen to be in Washington DC, you will want to visit the National Zoo because they just reopened the Bird House. The Bird House is a fantastic facility which presents three major world habitats and is big and so well managed that the diets of the captive birds actually support the food habitats of bird species which migrate in the wild. These are some excerpts from the article in the “Smithsonian Magazine”:
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“In the old bird house, the animals were a more international mix. But while the experience is now focused on birds of the Americas, it’s not likely you’ve seen them all before. These species surround us in forests, coasts and cities, but so many of them go undetected.
“This is this hidden component of North America’s biodiversity that to many people, they never lay their eyes on,” says Scott Sillett, a research biologist and head of the NZCBI’s Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. “There’s literally hundreds of species that fly overhead twice a year. It’s like a Serengeti in the sky of migratory birds.”
‘Almost immediately, the birds adjusted to the curated environment. They began vocalizing, bathing and eating—telltale signs that they felt comfortable. And now, some of them are even giving the biggest signal that they’re thriving: performing courtship displays in advance of breeding. “Currently, we’re seeing a lot of dramatic breeding behaviors and dances,” says animal keeper Jen Ferraro.”
“Raising a migratory bird in captivity requires a very regulated diet. In the wild, these birds start packing on weight in spring and fall in preparation for the extreme exertion of their journeys. But in a zoo, the birds won’t be burning as much energy, since they’ll stay in one place. To compensate, keepers change the animals’ meal plans to match how they would look in the wild: For songbirds, they get more insects during the breeding season. Shorebirds get larger amounts of krill.”
Read the entire article here: Experience the Wonder of Migration at the National Zoo’s New Bird House | At the Smithsonian | Smithsonian Magazine