Archive | December, 2016

Quail Live the Good Life

California Quail Male

If your True Love went local, and instead of offering an Old World “partridge in a pear tree” gave you their California native counterparts, be glad! A quail in a crab apple brings much to enjoy!

Quail, after all, are a lesson in living the good life!

For starters, they enjoy music. They sing to one another, a hello call that is usually rendered Chi-CA-go, although the North State dialect sounds more like Lake-SHAS-ta. Pairs sing together, duets in which the female maintains the hello refrain and the male fits high grace notes into the spaces of her song.

Quail are dedicated parents, too. They have large families, 10-16 eggs in a clutch, or more if a neighbor contributes. They help their children explore the world, watching dutifully as the young leave the nest within a day of hatching to start poking at the world, beak first. The parents are, of course, unable to produce milk, but their chicks, no more discerning than human infants, pick through the adults’ feces and, just as humans acquire valuable antibodies through nursing, they swallow protozoans that help in digestion.

Families of quail typically neighbor up to form a covey, a community for living and child-rearing that unsurprisingly increases adult life expectancy. The covey keeps together with an ongoing low pit-pit chatter: I’m right here – Don’t go away – We’re OK.

Sometimes a male will perch prominently on a bush, boulder, or fencepost , but he is not alone. He is watching for danger, and if he becomes alerted his calls grow louder and more urgent. Other males in the covey may join him to peck at a small predator, or the quail may all flee. Once the chicks can fly, which begins at about day ten, the covey’s wings create a burst of thunderous flutter as the birds explode into their short flights from peril.

The high-perched male is certainly watching for predators, but he might also be showing off a bit. Quail are stylish, and, while the female wears the muted tones common to avian patterns of nest camouflage, the male sports a striking attire of scaled grays, chestnut, cream, black and white, all under a burgundy crown decorated with a black plume that might inspire royalty, or punk rockers, or a praetorian guard.

Beyond sharing the cultural pleasures of music, family, community, and flair, quail take care of their individual physical needs, too. They eat a healthy diet, up to 30% lean meat, but mostly vegetables—seeds and such. They also get enough sleep. Particularly in winter, while hordes of daybreak sparrows flitter through yards and under feeders, quail become scarce, seeming content to sleep late through the cold hours of the season. Their coveys, numbering scores or hundreds of birds, provide plenty of eyes and ears to attend to safety in their brushy hideaways and protective trees.

This good life seems to be serving the quail well. In a time when many species are declining, California quail have slightly increased their population, even while sustaining a statewide shotgun harvest of a million birds per year.

If you have brush close by, California quail may troop to your backyard bird feeder. And if they pass an old crab apple tree that still struggles along the fenceline, perhaps you’ll hear them chuckle a low song of satisfaction.

Conservation Group Seeks Protection Of Rare Western Sparrow

Conservation Group Seeks Protection Of Rare Western Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow with Nestlings by Suzanne Beauchesne

Calls for Oregon Vesper Sparrow to be Listed under the Endangered Species Act

(Washington, D.C., Dec. 21, 2016) American Bird Conservancy has petitioned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to list the Oregon Vesper Sparrow as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In a letter sent to Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior, ABC describes this subspecies of the Vesper Sparrow as highly imperiled and threatened with extinction throughout its range.

The petition makes the case that the species warrants listing because of significant population declines and ongoing habitat loss and degradation, among other threats, and because it lacks adequate protection under existing regulatory mechanisms.

Without ESA listing, the sparrows’ future looks grim. The current estimated population of the Oregon Vesper Sparrow is fewer than 3,000 birds, and Breeding Bird Survey data indicates a statistically significant population decline of more than five percent every year over the last 45 years.

This migratory species has a restricted breeding range that historically included southwestern British Columbia, western Washington and Oregon, and northwestern California. Now, breeding populations have disappeared from British Columbia and California, along with numerous local breeding populations throughout the range.

The species overwinters in California west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and south of San Francisco Bay, and historically it ranged into northwestern Baja California, Mexico. But wintering populations in Baja and southern parts of California have now disappeared.

“We are deeply concerned about the future of this bird,” said Bob Altman, ABC’s Pacific Northwest Conservation Officer. “With so few birds remaining, many in small and isolated populations, the Oregon Vesper Sparrow needs the immediate protection and conservation focus made possible through ESA listing.”

Several primary threats are driving the sparrow’s decline:

  1. The continuing loss and degradation of its grassland and savannah habitats because of development, conversion of those habitats to intensive agriculture, and the encroachment of invasive shrubs, trees, and exotic grasses;
  2. Harmful or poorly timed land-use activities such as mowing, overgrazing, military training, and recreational use; and
  3. The vulnerability of small, isolated breeding groups of birds.

“Every year, more populations are being lost, and we are not seeing the establishment of new populations where habitat restoration has occurred,” Altman said.

Existing regulatory mechanisms do not provide the protection needed to prevent the Oregon Vesper Sparrow from continuing on its trajectory toward extinction. There are no Federal or State programs dedicated to its conservation, and only about 20 percent of the birds’ range-wide population occurs on public lands. Without ESA listing, this vulnerable species will continue to decline and is likely to disappear forever.

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American Bird Conservancy is the Western Hemisphere’s bird conservation specialist—the only organization with a single and steadfast commitment to achieving conservation results for native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. With a focus on efficiency and working in partnership, we take on the toughest problems facing birds today, innovating and building on sound science to halt extinctions, protect habitats, eliminate threats, and build capacity for bird conservation.

Contact: Bob Altman, ABC’s Pacific Northwest Conservation Officer, 541-760-9520

Invasive Mammals Are Pushing Native Birds To The Brink

Cat with Bird

Cats Among Biggest Threats to Global Biodiversity

(Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2016) Invasive mammalian predators are killing endangered species around the world at much higher rates than previously known and are “arguably the most damaging group of alien animal species for global biodiversity,” according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The findings are the latest evidence that cats and other invasive species pose a major threat to birds and other wildlife worldwide.

Non-native mammalian predators have contributed to the extinction of 87 bird, 45 mammal, and 10 reptile species, and have helped put another 596 species at risk of extinction, according to the study by Dr. Tim S. Doherty and colleagues, most of whom are researchers affiliated with Australian universities. Chief among these predators are cats, which have negatively affected 430 species of threatened or now-extinct birds, mammals, or reptiles.

The researchers estimate that cats have contributed to the extinction of 63 species, including 40 bird species—approximately double the number of extinctions previously attributed to these non-native predators. Combined with introduced rodents, such as Norway rats, “cats are major agents of extinction, collectively being listed as causal factors in 44 percent of modern bird, mammal, and reptile species extinctions,” Doherty et al. write. Both cats and rodents negatively affect the most bird species.

“This comprehensive study confirms yet again just how dramatic an impact cats and other invasive predators are having on bird and other wildlife populations,” said Grant Sizemore, Director of Invasive Species Programs at American Bird Conservancy. “Its findings are striking evidence that the problem is even bigger than previously recognized.”

ABC remains dedicated to confronting the challenge of outdoor cats. “Cats are popular pets, and many of us at ABC have pet cats. Once introduced into the environment by people, however, these cats cause extensive negative impacts,” Sizemore said. “Native species are ill-equipped to defend against such effective predators.” Not only do these cats kill birds and other native species, they also spread diseases such as rabies and toxoplasmosis that put human and wildlife health directly at risk. “The only realistic long-term solution is to contain cats, which simultaneously protects cats, wildlife, and people,” said Sizemore.

Learn more about ABC’s commitment to combating the threat of invasive species and our campaign to keep cats indoors. A recent Q&A on ABC’s Bird Calls blog has more on why cats represent such a serious threat to our irreplaceable wildlife.

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American Bird Conservancy is the Western Hemisphere’s bird conservation specialist—the only organization with a single and steadfast commitment to achieving conservation results for native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. With a focus on efficiency and working in partnership, we take on the toughest problems facing birds today, innovating and building on sound science to halt extinctions, protect habitats, eliminate threats, and build capacity for bird conservation.

Contact: Grant Sizemore, 202-888-7480

Science Celebrities Visit Redding

Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco “Oregon” Subspecies

The flit of little gray birds with a conspicuous flash of white outer tail feathers signals the arrival of our charming winter visitors, the Dark-eyed Juncos. Look more closely, and you will see a sparrow-shaped bird with a whitish bill and belly, gray central tail feathers, a rusty back and a black head. The female has a similar plumage pattern only more muted. In this part of the country, juncos migrate vertically. They nest in the high mountains – I’ve seen pairs on Mt. Lassen during the summer – then move downward to spend the winter in the valley.

Dark-eyed Juncos build a nest of grass, moss, rootlets, bark and twigs in a shallow depression with overhead protection. The three to five white eggs with reddish-brown markings are laid by the female and incubated by both parents for about 12 days; then the initially naked and helpless young are cared for for another 9-13 days before leaving the nest. Nestling juncos’ feet develop rapidly, so even before they are able to fly, they can run away if threatened by a predator.

Juncos are lively birds to watch at bird feeders this time of year. Most of the adult diet consists of seeds of various kinds. Juncos can also be seen in open woods, undergrowth and roadsides, and can frequently be found in parks such as Lema Ranch. In winter, flocks of 10-30 occupy a foraging territory, so your yard may have its own flock. Within a flock, each bird will have a definite social ranking with the “top bird” getting first crack at the edibles. See if you can tell who is who in your yard!

This common little bird is a “rock star” in scientific circles. Juncos easily accommodate to laboratory aviaries and so have been the subject of avian behavioral studies in courtship and nesting, care of young, and status of individuals in flocks.

Juncos have even been caught in the midst of evolving. At the University of California San Diego, a study is being performed to compare the “city” juncos on campus with “country” juncos in the nearby mountains. Differences have been found in the tolerance for proximity to humans, and those differences have proven to be inheritable. Also associated have been subtle physical differences, which, as time goes on could lead to separate subspecies. Evolution is often thought to take many, many years, but in fact changing conditions frequently cause rapid changes in species. In this case, it’s happening right before the researchers’ eyes!

Different populations in various geographical areas are highly variable, so much so that the western juncos were once split into four distinct species. Deeper studies revealed that the different groups can interbreed freely and are now considered to be one complex species. Thus, juncos are very interesting for genetic investigation.

So, this ordinary familiar little harbinger of winter is actually famous in scientific circles, and a very important bird in the furthering of human knowledge. Enjoy these avian celebrities in your yard and neighborhood until spring when they return to the mountains to produce the next generation.