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The Brown Pelican Nature Conservancy Texas Chapter April/May 2013 The Newsletter of the Coastal Bend Audubon Society On the Web at www.coastalbendaudubon.org Outdoor Cats: Single Greatest Source of HumanCaused Mortality for Birds and Mammals, Says New Study—American Bird Conservancy The study, which offers the most comprehensive analysis of information on the issue of outdoor cat predation, was published in the online research journal, Nature Communications, and is based on a review of 90 previous studies. The study was authored by Dr. Peter Marra and Scott Loss, research scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and by Tom Will from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Migratory Birds. Debi Shearwater Washington, D.C.—A new peer-reviewed study published January 29, 2013 and authored by scientists from two of the world’s leading science and wildlife organizations —the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—has found bird and mammal mortality caused by outdoor cats is much higher than has been widely reported, with annual bird mortality now estimated to be 1.4 - 3.7 billion and mammal mortality likely 6.9 - 20.7 billion individuals. Sonia Nejera Cat with prey--an American coot According to Dr. George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy, one of the leading bird conservation organizations in the U.S. and a group that has called for action on this issue for many years, "This study, which employed scientifically rigorous standards for data inclusion, demonstrates See CATS p. 4 The Aransas Project Wins One for the Whoopers —David Newstead (March 12, 2013) —The Aransas Project (to which Coastal Bend Audubon Society was a party) successfully argued that the state’s agency in charge of water, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), was delinquent by failing to provide adequate freshwater inflows to the San Antonio Bay system, which is the most important freshwater system for the Aransas whooping crane population. Perhaps most importantly, it was ruled that since freshwater inflows were shown to be the primary issue the injunctive relief can NOT be provided by purchase and protection of additional habitat but must take the form of more freshwater coming into the bay. This is a VERY important decision for the Endangered Species Act. Appeals are likely already in the works. Read all about it at their website: http://thearansasproject.org/ Monthly Meetings Tuesday, Apr. 2, 2013 Speaker: Katherine S. Miller Topic: Effects of the Landscape on Bobwhite Genetics in Texas and the Great Plains Tuesday, May 7, 2013 Speaker: Chuck Blend Topic: The Early Bird Gets Wormed! Parasites of Your Favorite Coastal Bend Birds —New Meeting Place— Location: South Texas Botanical Gardens 8545 S. Staples St. Corpus Christi, TX Time: 7:00 p.m. Monthly meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month. All members and the public are invited! Volunteer Opportunities Join the call list for future volunteer opportunities. Contact: Owen Fitzsimmons, [email protected] or 361.885.6247. -Red Knot Study Continued—April trapping and banding with David Newstead and Dr. Larry Niles -Bayside Sanctuary Spring Clean Up Day—Add your name and contact info to the call list above or check our website and Facebook for updates. What’s Up around Corpus Christi FREE GUIDED BIRD WALKS ▪ Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, Port Aransas— Wednesday’s, 9:00 a.m. Info: 361.749.4158 or www.cityofportaransas.org/ Leonabelle_Turnbull_Birding_Center.cfm. ▪ Blucher Park, Corpus Christi—Saturday’s and Sunday’s in April, 7:30 a.m. Led by Audubon Outdoor Club. Info: www.ccbirding.com/aoc/where-go.htm GUIDED BIRD WALKS—Free with admission/pass ▪ Goose Island State Park, Rockport—Wednesday’s Saturday’s, 8:00 a.m. Meeting place varies by day. For meeting place and info call ahead of day: 361.729.2858 TRASH OFF—Packery Channel Boat Ramp—Saturday, Apr. 6, 9:00 a.m. - noon. Land and water clean-up. Lunch provided. Info: 361.826-.673 or [email protected] EARTH DAY-BAYDAY—Heritage Park, Corpus Christi—Saturday, Apr. 13, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Free family-friendly event. www.signupgenius.com/ go/70A094EA4AA2CA20-earth Coastal Bend Audubon Society Annual Membership Meeting There are no monthly meetings for the months of June, July, and August. An annual membership meeting and election is usually held in the month of July. Keep up with developments on the website and on Facebook Membership Director Volunteer Needed Basic skills in Excel and Access helpful. Training and support available until June 2013. Contact Laura Cooper at [email protected]. Big Day Committee Needed 2013 CBAS Big Day fundraiser dinner and silent auction coming up this October. Let’s spread the workload. Contact: The Brown Pelican at [email protected] or Rosalie at [email protected]. Vice President Needed Contact David Newstead for more details at 361.885.6203 or [email protected]. Page 2 Upcoming Programs & Speakers Apr. 2 Effects of the Landscape on Northern Bobwhite Genetics in Texas and the Great Basin Katherine S. Miller—Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Katherine attended California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology and a minor in environmental science. She moved to Corpus Christi and worked on her master's degree in biology at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, investigating the nest success of the Botteri's Sparrow in South Texas. For her Ph.D. she is working on landscape molecular genetics of Northern Bobwhite in Texas under the guidance of Dr. Leonard Brennan and Dr. Randy DeYoung. May 7 The Early Bird Gets Wormed! Parasites of Your Favorite Coastal Bend Birds Charles K. Blend—Chuck received his Ph.D in Biological Sciences from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2001, his M.S. in Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University— College Station in 1996, and his B.S. in Biology from the University of Texas -Dallas in 1990. Most recently Chuck was an Assistant Professor of Biology at Gordon College, Wenham, MA. He is currently an independent researcher in parasitology, deep-sea biology, based out of Corpus Christi. He is President/President-Elect of the Southwestern Association of Parasitologists, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, and Research Associate with Harold W. Manter Laboratory & Collections of Parasitology, University of Nebraska. His primary interest is Deep-Sea Parasitology. Specifically, the taxonomy, morphology, evolution, ecology and zoogeography of helminths (parasitic worms – flukes, tapeworms, roundworms, gill worms and spinyheaded worms) infecting a wide variety of deep water organisms in general, and parasitizing fish in particular. Chuck has described ~30 new taxa of parasitic worms. Needed: Suggestions for next season’s programs and silent auction items for CBAS Big Day 2013 in October. Respond to: [email protected] Check this out . . . Great Texas Birding Classic 2013:—April 15 - May 15. Registration due April 1. New rules! Categories for any age and skill level. [email protected] www.tpwd.state.tx.us/events/great-texas-birding-classic Toyota Extends Program—Toyota, Audubon’s largest corporate sponsor, approved a new $3.5 million grant to extend the TogetherGreen program into its sixth year. www.togethergreen.org/ 2013 Python Challenge Nabs 68—Jan./Feb. 2013. Check out the images, especially the female carrying 59 fertile eggs. Images for Burmese python challenge and www.pythonchallenge.org and www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/stories/121211.html Connecting People with Dementia to Nature Health Professions Press announced the release of Bird Tales, a low cost, high-impact program to improve the lives of people living with Alzheimer’s disease. http://ow.ly/htPz0 February Program: The Reproductive Ecology of American Oystercatcher By B. Rapstein There was no January meeting of the CBAS due to the fact that the meeting fell on New Year’s Day, so upon return in February it was as great pleasure to hear from Lianne Koczur regarding her master’s work on the American oystercatcher. Lianne first acquainted us with the 11 other species of oystercatcher in the world including one extinct species. Then she addressed her study subject, the eastern race of the American oystercatcher (AMOY). We saw their range maps, learned from a 2002-2003 winter survey there are approximately 11,000 in the U.S. with about 500 of those in Texas, and learned something about their physical traits. Lianne explained that male and female oystercatchers can be almost identical and shared with us the findings of a genetic study of the black oystercatcher showing that the presence of a heavy eye fleck is a pretty good indicator of a female bird. The objective of Lianne’s study was to estimate the reproductive success of nest pairs she monitored. She would also try to determine the causes of any failed nests. Factors that can affect the success of AMOY nests include: habitat loss, disturbance, predators, and the bird’s small population and low nesting productivity. The AMOY has been identified as a Species of High Concern in the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan and a Priority Species for National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Texas Parks & Wildlife. Through her field research Lianne observed that the AMOY is very territorial which worked to her advantage when trapping AMOY during the breeding season. Through the use of a wooden AMOY decoy, a little MP3 player of their call, and a noose carpet. “The birds were pretty easy to catch,” she recalled. Lianne began her field work 2012 along the central Texas coast and was working collaboratively with Dr. Susan Heath of the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory and another grad student who began trapping on the upper Texas coast in 2011. First, Lianne searched for and monitored territorial pairs. After locating incubating pairs, she was able to reduce the amount of disturbance by monitoring from the boat. Eggs began to hatch approximately 27 days from the start of laying. Chicks were banded and fledglings were considered successful if they survived to 35 days. Lianne has completed some of her analyses but still has more to do, and she should be out doing more field research right Bart Ballard about now. Explanatory variables she will consider include island size, distance of the island from the mainland, colony size or breeding density, the amount of vegetation on the island, and the amount of foraging area near the nest. The collaborative study to date has monitored 134 breeding pairs which produced 197 total nests. Only 73 of those nests hatched. Those nests produced 107 chicks of which 60 survived 35 days which is a success rate of .45 fledgling/pair. Lianne was a 2012 CBAS Bird Conservation Research Award recipent and hopes to return next year with an update on her project. WHAT’S UP AROUND TEXAS Featherfest Apr. 11-14, 2013—Galveston Phone: 832.450.5533 Website: www.galvestonfeatherfest.com Arthur Morris—A Lifetime of Nature and Photography— FREE—Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Ctr., Ballroom C1, San Antonio Apr. 13, 2013—11:00a.m.– 12 noon Website: http://brandwein.org/ Attwater Prairie Chicken Festival Apr. 13-14, 2013—Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR Eagle Lake Phone: 979.234.3021 Website: www.fws.govuploadedFilesBoominNBloomin2013.pdf Wings over the Hills Nature Festival 2013 Apr. 26-28, 2013—Fredericksburg Phone: 830.998.1927 Website: www.wingsoverthehill.org National Endangered Species Day May 17, 2013 Check website for events and locations. Website: www.endangeredspeciesday.org Birding 101 for Kids! June 2013 Open to children 7-16 yrs. Mornings 8:30 - 11:00 Four classes. One each at: ▪ Birding Center, Port Aransas ▪ Rockport Beach Park ▪ Indian Point, Portland ▪ Hans Suter Park, Corpus Christi Dates TBA later. Or contact Linda Fuiman at [email protected] . If possible, bring binoculars. Lianne Koczur with an adult AMOY Page 3 that the issue of cat predation on birds and mammals is an even bigger environmental and ecological threat than we thought. No estimates of any other anthropogenic [human-caused] mortality source approach the bird mortality this study calculated for cat predation.” CATS cont’d from p. 1 “To maintain the integrity of our ecosystems, we have to conserve the animals that play integral roles in those ecosystems. Every time we lose another bird species or suppress their population numbers, we’re altering the very ecosystems that we depend on as humans. This issue clearly needs immediate conservation attention,” he said further. “The very high credibility of this study should finally put to rest the misguided notions that outdoor cats represent some harmless, new component to the natural environment. The carnage that outdoor cats inflict is staggering and can no longer be ignored or dismissed. This is a wake-up call for cat owners and communities to get serious about this problem before even more ecological damage occurs,” Fenwick said. The study’s estimate of bird mortality far exceeds any previously estimated U.S. figure for cats. In fact, this magnitude of mortality may exceed all other direct sources of anthropogenic bird and mammal mortality combined. Other bird mortality sources would include collisions with windows, buildings, communication towers, vehicles, and pesticide poisoning. The study estimated that the median number of birds killed by cats annually is 2.4 billion and the median number of mammals killed is 12.3 billion. About 69 percent of the bird mortality from cat predation and 89 percent of the mammal mortality was from un-owned cats. Un-owned cats are defined to include farm/barn cats, strays that are fed but not granted access to human habitations, cats in subsidized colonies, and cats that are completely feral. Free-ranging cats on islands have caused or contributed to 33 (14 percent) of the modern bird, mammal, and reptile extinctions recorded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of threatened animals and plant species. Native species make up the majority of the birds preyed upon by cats. On average, only 33 percent of bird prey items identified to species were non-native species in 10 studies. Studies of mammals in suburban and rural areas found that 75–100 percent of mammalian prey were native mice, shrews, voles, squirrels, and rabbits, all of which serve as food sources for birds of prey such as hawks, owls, and eagles. March Program: Long-billed Curlew Capture Methods on Wintering Roosts By B. Rapstein The long-billed curlew (LBCU) is a grassland shorebird—“a kind of split personality bird,” according to Marc Woodin. It occurs in wetland habitats, tidal estuaries, tidal flats, freshwater, and brackish ponds but can also be found in grass plains and prairies, fallow agricultural fields and golf courses, and even in the middle of urban areas in yards and parks. It is also North America’s largest shorebird. It is not a long distance migrant in contrast to other shorebirds. Its range is from North to Central America. There may be more LBCU than originally thought, perhaps as many as 200,000, but they are a species of concern for several agencies because their range is contracting. The birds are easily trapped on breeding grounds where they nest singly on ground scrapes. No trapping had taken place on their wintering grounds where they gather in number at the time of this study conducted in 2010 - 2011. In past years large winter roosts of LBCU had been reported near Raymondville and along Petronilla Creek on the King Ranch however they were not present at those locations at the time of this study. Roost numbers may be more dynamic than previously thought. If Woodin and team were to study LBCU on their wintering grounds on the Texas coast an evaluation of trapping methods had to be carried out. Any birds captured would be measured, weighed, and inspected for ectoparasites—feather lice. The team evaluated six capture methods: noose rope, bow net, herding by foot, cast netting, net gun (two types), and a whoosh net. The noose rope was unsuccessful because the birds saw the shiny monofilament and walked over or around the rope. The bow net was too risky because birds too near the edge where the tubular steel comes down could be injured or killed. Birds could be easily herded by a slow easy walk which lead to the idea of a cast net, but birds quickly scattered at the least bit of movement. Two net guns were tested. One was quiet but underpowered. The other was loud, heavy, and awkward, but it did capture birds and was the most successful technique of the six. The final method, whoosh net, was powered by a remote release bungee and captured one bird. A total of seven birds was captured and banded with orange over green over metal bands on the left leg. If spotted, please report banded LBCU to Marc, Mary Kay Skoruppa, or Gene Blacklock. The study charges that, “Despite these harmful effects, policies for management of free-ranging cat populations and regulation of pet ownership behaviors are dictated by animal welfare issues rather than ecological impacts. Projects to manage freeranging cats, such as Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) colonies, are potentially harmful to wildlife populations, but are implemented across the United States without widespread public knowledge, consideration of scientific evidence, or the environmental review processes typically required for actions with harmful environmental consequences.” Read study results: www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/ cats/pdf/Loss_et_al_2013.pdf Page 4 Clint Jeske Successful release of banded LBCU from keeping box. Keep Us Up To Date Fun Feathered Facts—Owen Fitzsimmons To conserve funds and resources, CBAS is considering going to an all electronic newsletter which would be e-mailed to members in place of the paper copy received by U.S. Mail. It may begin as early as the next issue which comes out at the end of August. At this time we have few member e-mail addresses. Addresses will be for newsletter use only and will not be shared. Please send your name and email address to [email protected]. Did you know . . . ▪ The only parrot species that normally builds nests is the Quaker parrots (monk parakeets) which link their nests to one another to create “nest condominiums” which can reach up to 200 lbs.! ▪ Some parrot species must fly over 500 miles a day to gather food. Black-legged Kittywake ▪ There are over 40 million pet birds in the U.S. Keep up with the latest birding news and be our friend! Sonia Nejera This is the juvenile gull that was hanging around the Horace Caldwell Pier for several weeks in early March. ▪ A blue and gold macaw named Charlie, reportedly once owned by Winston Churchill, is claimed to be over 100 years old. We don’t know how long he basked in Texas sunshine before heading to his familiar Arctic region. Thanks Linda! Linda Fuiman New or Renewing Membership New Member Renewal Name: Address: City: State: Phone (optional): Email: Chapter: C3ZW130Z ZIP: Indicate Membership Preference: I would like to become a member of National Audubon Society and Coastal Bend Audubon Society. Your membership includes the National Audubon Magazine, chapter membership and other benefits. Your chapter receives part of your dues. Dues: One year $20 Make checks payable to National Audubon Society member of Coastal Bend Audubon Society ONLY. No NAS membership and no National Audubon magazine. Your chapter only membership includes all other Audubon membership benefits. Your chapter receives all of your dues. Dues: One year $15 Make checks payable to Coastal Bend Audubon Society Additional Tax Deductible Contribution Please consider making a tax deductible contribution to the local chapter, Coastal Bend Audubon Society. You may designate the category you would like your contribution applied to. Designate category of support. Tern One year $50 Osprey One year $100 Pelican One year $500 Designate specific area of support (Optional). General Fund Education Program Sanctuary Maintenance Newsletter Fund AMOUNT Enclosed: ___________________ Date: ________________ MAIL TO: COASTAL BEND AUDUBON SOCIETY, P.O. BOX 3604, Corpus Christi, TX 78463 01/2013 Page 5 The Newsletter of the Coastal Bend Audubon Society Non-Profit Org. U. S. Postage The Newsletter of the Coastal Bend Audubon Society PAID Permit No. 1080 Corpus Christi, TX P.O. Box 3604 Corpus P.O. Box Christi, 3604 Texas 78463 Corpus Christi, Texas 78463 Phone: 361.885.6203 Email: [email protected] Website: www.coastalbendaudubon.org Regular Regular CBAS CBAS meetings: meetings: First Tuesday of the month, September through May, 7 p.m. at the CC Museum of Science and History The Brown Pelican April/May 2013 Coastal Bend Audubon Society Board of Directors PRESIDENT David Newstead 361.885.6203 [email protected] VICE PRESIDENT Vacant SECRETARY Rosalie Rossi [email protected] TREASURER Leatrice Koch [email protected] DIRECTORS The Coastal Bend Audubon Society is a nonprofit 501c(3) organization dedicated to the conLinda Fuiman, [email protected] servation of birds and bird habitat, and to conser- Education Sanctuary John Keller, [email protected] vation education in the Coastal Bend. The organization is supported by contributions from local memberships and from the National Audubon Society. Your CHAPTER needs you! You can help steer the course of growth and change in our community by working together. Please contact us at 361.885.6203 about getting involved! Membership Newsletter Laura Cooper, [email protected] Barbara Rapstein, [email protected] Outreach Owen Fitzsimmons, [email protected] At-Large Gene Blacklock, [email protected] This newsletter is compiled, written and published a minimum of five times per year. News is gathered from volunteers, contributing authors and other sources. Please send comments, articles and photos to: B. Rapstein at [email protected] or 409.789.3811 Look for color, web-linked version of newsletter on the web at www.coastalbendaudubon.org